Alternative Energy

Ever since the Industrial Revolution, we have been dependant on using energy in order to fuel our economies and make our lives easier. Unfortunately, there have been several unforeseen side effects to doing this. Economically, we need to utilize new and renewable types of energy, as our supplies of many current types of energy are very limited. Environmentally, some types of energy such as those that burn fossil fuels has been greatly affecting and damaging to the planet. Higher levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases have increased greatly in our atmosphere, leading to global warming and damaging many different types of ecosystems and types of life. Eventually, this could threaten the sustainability of humans on Earth. Thus, it is important to compare all types of energy, in order to determine which would be the best ones, economically and environmentally, for the short term and long term. (Article44) So far, the following types of energy are currently being used: Fusion which is Perhaps one of the most important fuels of the future, this is the process combining atoms to create massive amounts of clean energy, currently powering stars such as the sun; Nuclear which is currently one of

the most financially efficient types of energy, this one can produce large amounts of energy by splitting atoms, but also produces radioactive material and can lead to damaging mishaps; Hydro which is one of the cleanest types of energy because it is also renewable, this one utilizes the hydrologic cycle but can damage local ecosystems and has high initial costs; Solar which is perhaps the cleanest form of energy because solar energy comes from sunlight and is renewable, but is currently very expensive to use in power plants; and coal which is a cheap form of energy. Coal is a combustible rock that can be found in the Earth, but is non-renewable and contributes pollution and global warming.