![]() A 1.5 kilowatt PV system will keep more than 110,000 pounds of carbon dioxide, the chief greenhouse gas, out of the atmosphere over the next 25 years. From photovoltaic (PV) cells that capture photons and convert them into electricity, to solar thermal energy (STE) that makes use of the sun’s heat, solar is one of the most promising alternative energy sources on the market today.įrom an environmental perspective, solar power is the best thing going. What better way is there to reach Type I status, than to get your energy straight from the source-solar power involves harnessing the power of our sun. Unfortunately, these are currently insufficient to fully power our modern society. The range is from solar water heating with solar collectors or attic cooling with solar attic fans for domestic use to the complex technologies of direct conversion of sunlight to electrical energy using mirrors and boilers or photovoltaic cells. ![]() Solar energy can be collected and converted in a few different ways. This form of energy relies on the power from the core of the Sun. These include Biomass Energy, Wind Energy, Solar Energy, Geothermal Energy, Hydroelectric Energy sources.Ĭombined with the use of recycling, the use of clean alternative energies such as the home use of solar power systems will help ensure man's survival into the 21st century and beyond. They all have lower carbon emissions, compared to conventional energy sources. Alternative energy sources are renewable and are thought to be "free" energy sources. Climate change, population growth, and fossil fuel depletion mean that renewables will need to play a bigger role in the future than they do today.Īlternative energy refers to energy sources that have no undesired consequences such as fossil fuels or nuclear energy. This is according to British Petroleum and Royal Dutch Shell, two of the world's largest oil companies. Alternate Energyīy 2050, one-third of the world's energy will need to come from solar, wind, and other renewable resources. Sources of energy include solar, wind, biomass, hydroelectric power, geothermal, and other carbon-neutral energy sources that will help humanity transition to a sustainable future. ![]() Renewable energy sources don’t produce carbon dioxide emissions and other greenhouse gasses that contribute to anthropogenic climate change. While we’ve got a shot at Type 1, the adverse effects of burning fossil fuels have left us in dire need of an alternative.Įnter, alternative energy - any energy source that provides an alternative to the status quo. So where does that leave us today?Ĭontemporary society currently rests at 0.73 on the Kardashev scale. By the dawn of the Industrial Revolution (mid-1700s), fossil fuels had fueled the rapid advancement and expansion of human civilization, reaching a population of 1 billion by 1800. In many ways, energy is the currency of our Universe, from single-celled organisms swimming in primordial pools to colonies of Meerkats on the African savannah, to sprawling metropolises like New York, Sydney, or Beijing.Īt the dawn of the first millennium AD, the global population was a mere 150-200 million people, reaching 300 million by the year 1000 AD. When renowned astrophysicist Nikolai Kardashev first set out to measure a civilization’s level of technological advancement in 1964, he settled on energy consumption as the best metric for gaging progress on a cosmic scale. One answer to global warming is to replace and retrofit current technologies with alternatives that have comparable or better performance but do not emit carbon dioxide. This increased content of Carbon Dioxide increases the warmth of our planet and is the main cause of the so-called “Global Warming Effect”. Every day, the world produces carbon dioxide that is released into the earth’s atmosphere and which will still be there in one hundred years.
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