Energy Alternative

Introduction

There is a great deal of information and enthusiasm today about the development and increased production of our global energy needs from alternative energy sources. Solar energy, wind power and moving water are all traditional sources of alternative energy that are making progress. The enthusiasm everyone shares for these developments has in many ways created a sense of complacency that our future energy demands will easily be met.

Effects On The Economy By Using Energy Alternatives

The world energy economy has the largest influence on the decisions that people and governments make. Current global consumption rates are depleting the planets ability to sustain our way of life. Increased demand means increased prices in every sector of the world economy. Many alternative energy companies are creating new economies in order to facilitate a more sustainable enegy market. The articles on this page explore the possibility of a new energy economy. When we talk about the Middle East Asia, we imagine harsh terrain, blazing sun and sand dunes. Abu Dhabi is a part of the United Arab Emirates. Its currently hostile area is being developed as the world's first carbon neutral city in the coming 5 to 10 years. This city will be a green example that will not be constructed using polluting technologies and fossil fuels. The greatest irony is this city would be located in a country that is a leading producer of fossil fuels. Its architects and designers claim that the city will be powered up by various forms of renewable energy, including solar and wind power.

Energy Alternative

Alternative energy is an interesting concept when you think about it. In our global society, it simply means energy that is produced from sources other than our primary energy supply: fossil fuels. Coal, oil and natural gas are the three kinds of fossil fuels that we have mostly depended on for our energy needs, from home heating and electricity to fuel for our automobiles and mass transportation.

The problem is, fossil fuels are non-renewable. They are limited in supply and will one day be depleted. There is no escaping this conclusion. 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 collectively transformed into the combustible materials we use for fuel.

In fact, the earliest known fossil fuel deposits are from the Cambrian Period about 500 million years ago, way before the dinosaurs emerged onto the scene. This is when most of the major groups of animals first appeared on Earth. The later fossil fuels -- which provide more substandard fuels like peat or lignite coal (soft coal) -- began forming as late as five million years ago in the Pliocene Period. At our rate of consumption, these fuels cannot occur fast enough to meet our current or future energy demands.

Despite the promise of alternative energy sources -- more appropriately called renewable energy, collectively they provide only about seven percent (7%) of the world's energy needs (Source: Energy Information ...