THE FUTURE OF ENERGY!

As energy bills are soaring and becoming unaffordable for many people the UK needs to start looking for alternative sources of energy for the future.  The UK's remaining coal-fired power stations are having to reduce their hours of operation ,under European Union regulations on pollution, so replacing that capacity is a matter of urgency.

source: www.infrastructurene.ws

However before we get into energy alternatives let's take a look at the energy consumption of different countries. Figure 12 shows that countries in the OECD ,the United Kingdom, United states and Australia,  are not going to increase their energy consumption very much. OECD stands for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and development "The OECD provides a forum in which governments can work together to share experiences and seek solutions to common problems. they work with governments to understand what drives economic, social and environmental change". However non- OECD members include India and China (developing countries) and they are projected to dramatically increase their energy consumption. This may be because LEDC's will need more energy to keep up with their increasing population and their increasing industry. Factories and new appliances will be in high demand which will increase the energy demand. 

Energy Provisions

The problem is fossil fuels are non-renewable. They are limited in supply and will one day be gone.. Fossil fuels formed from plants and animals that lived hundreds of millions of years ago and became buried way underneath the Earth’s surface where their remains, under high pressure, transformed into natural gas and oil.

Alternative energy is becoming more important in today's day and age. Renewable energy sources are not finite and can be readily created. However collectively they only provide the world with 7% of its energy. This means that fossil fuels and nuclear energy account for 93% of the world's energy

I do not think that Nuclear energy is likely to be a main source of energy in the future because of public pressure and dangers associated with decaying and unstable nuclei. However MEDC's like the united states may see the vast potential and put pressure on further research into harnessing nuclear.

 Fossil fuels are eventually going to run out, whether it's in 50 years or 100 years, it's inevitable. As the energy consumption increases from a number of different factors , the fossil fuels are going to run out faster. So in order for us to keep up with energy demand we must look for alternative energy resources. Another cause for looking for alternative sources of energy is as fossil fuels become more scarce their value will rise until they are unaffordable to use. This is why energy from sun wind and water are almost perfect, they are renewable and efficient.  Solar energy is very useful. The sun is the ultimate source of energy for the world, plants make energy from the sun and other animals then eat them. Essentially the suns energy is being transferred from every animal in the food chain to the next . This is why the is essential to life
 in earth, without it nothing would exist "According to the European Photovoltaic Industry Association, solar power could provide energy for more than one billion people by 2020 and 26 percent of global energy needs by 2040." Although it will be very expensive to replace all fossil fuel use now, soon they will be more expensive than solar power.

 Finally the environment will be impacted by our fuel use in the future. As fossil fuels run out there will be no more pollution pumped into the atmosphere. This means that global warming will stabilise. However other problems will arise from nuclear power like radioactive leaks and explosions.  Bio fuel may also cause food shortages in the world as well. This is why I believe that solar power is the way forward.

What do you think?

As always, Seemal 

sources:

http://www.ecology.com/2011/09/06/fossil-fuels-vs-renewable-energy-resources/

http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/uk-future-energy-mix