Alternative Energy?
Monday, March 29th, 2010 at
3:10 am
What form of alternative energy should be developed to solve the energy problems that we face today and could possibly face in the future?
Thank You.
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All forms of renewable/alternative energy come with their own list of pros and cons.
Windmills are great for producing energy in the plains states and coastal regions, but they are a hazard to birds.
Photovoltaic cells work well just about anywhere in the US. But if we used enough of them to provide a significant amount of our energy, we’d also be contributing to a warmer climate because of the heat being absorbed by the black surfaces of the solar panels.
Hydroelectric dams interfere with wildlife and increase the amount of water that is lost to evaporation.
One of the sources of energy that has the most promising future with regards to having minimal adverse impacts would be that derived from geothermal sources. However, geothermal energy isn’t as widely available as other sources of energy.
The answer might just be that we shouldn’t limit ourselves to any one single source of energy but rather to draw from a variety of sources.
Whatever the market selects. There are many "alternative" energy sources that will stand or fall largely on the price point; if oil gets expensive enough the best candidates will be coal derivatives, coal-bed methane and nuclear as all are cost-effective (or nearly so) at today’s prices.