Energy Alternatives

Your Electricity Resources

There’s really no need to think about it where it comes from, unless it’s gone.�When you flip that useless light switch, then you miss it horribly.�We’re talking about electricity, that pervasive source of everything we think of as “modern day life.”�

For most people, electricity comes from a power plant.�In its simplest form, electricity resources come from a spinning generator.�Something has to make that generator spin.�In most power plants, that something is steam.���

What is the source of that steam?�The most common source for the steam is the burning of fossil fuels.�Coal, oil and natural gas currently provide most of our electricity resources.�Burning fossil fuels has some very negative effects on our environment. � We have all heard of the ill effects of the emissions that come from consuming fossil fuels.�

These emissions contribute to global warming, endangering the planet and life as we know it.�This warming can lead to the rising of ocean levels, the melting of glaciers, increases in powerful hurricanes and other weather events, droughts in some areas, and even a mini-ice age in Western Europe.���

Add to that the fact that we are rapidly running out of these non-renewable resources.�More than fifty percent of the fossil fuels believed to exist globally have been exhausted.�With worldwide usage increasing daily, it is estimated that we have less than 30 years worth of fossil fuels left on the planet.���

Are there other sources of steam to turn those generators?�Absolutely.�Some alternative electricity resources are in use right now.�Nuclear power plants provide steam to create electricity all over the country. Unfortunately, nuclear power plants also generate nuclear waste, which we cannot safely dispose of at this time.���

There are also renewable sources of energy, all of which have significantly fewer adverse effects on the environment. These include wind energy, hydro energy and solar energy.��

Wind energy solutions capture the power of the wind with windmills or wind turbines. The blades of the wind turbine harness the wind to turn the generator, instead of creating steam with fossil fuels.�A wind farm the size of ten percent of the State of Nevada could provide the energy needs of the entire United States.���

Hydro energy is harnessed by building a dam on a major water source.�Again the force of the moving water turns the generator, creating electricity. More than 6% of our current electricity resources are provided by hydroelectricity. �Building a dam on a major water source can cause difficulties for the plants and animals using that water source.�Careful studies of the ecosystem of a water source are needed to minimize the impact.��

The sun shines on every part of the planet, which means that solar energy is available everywhere on the planet.�It’s free and will be readily available for millennia. �Instead of turning a generator, solar energy systems excite the electrons in the sunlight.�They collect them for use in powering your appliances or send them to a group of batteries.�The batteries store the energy for times when the sun isn’t shining. You can do more than just wish you weren’t using fossil fuels to create your electricity.�

Wind and solar powered systems are available for use by private individuals.�These systems are easy to install and maintain.�They are becoming more and more affordable as new technology is developed.�After your initial investment pays itself off, you will even find yourself saving a great deal of money.�Consider taking yourself out of the fossil fuels and global warming equation.

Jeff Fisher is a renewable energy enthusiast and the owner of http://www.renewableenergysimplified.com. Harness the renewable energy of the wind and sun to eliminate your power bill. Find our complete guide at http://www.renewableenergysimplified.com.