Is Renewable Energy a Viable Option

One of the most critical questions that majorities ask and the main hurdle to renewable energy is whether renewable energy can ever efficiently become a viable energy option relative to the traditional, ready available sources of energy. This question has become relevant as the world continues to face an ever-growing energy and environmental crises due to negative impacts of burning fossil fuel.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Is Renewable Energy a Viable Option? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More As a result, many stakeholders such as environmentalists, scientists, governments and the public have embarked on reviewing the latest developments in the renewable energy sector. Renewable energy may be obtained from a wide range of sources such as solar, wind and biomass. These are cheap sources of energy, friendly to the environment, but they are not the mainstream sources, and account for low rates of energy consumed today. It is imperative to evaluate whether renewable energy is a viable option for the world energy crisis. This is a consequential explanation essay on adoption of modern technologies to create viable renewable energy to meet the world’s energy demands. Renewable Energy Technologies The traditional sources of energy such as coal, oil and other natural gases have shown that they are greatly dependable sources of energy, but their damaging effects on the public health and the environment have prompted the world to seek for alternative viable sources of energy (Herzog, Lipman, Edwards Kammen, 2001). These conventional sources of energy have created greater impacts on the environment, which are mainly related to global warming and the increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Clearly, continued use of traditional energies will escalate global warming and the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Renewable energies can cater for the global energy needs. In these attempts to meet the world’s energy demands, technologies have become critical aspects in generating renewable energies. Globally, biomass, solar and wind energy resources are abundantly available. If new efficiency measures and technologies are deployed, these renewable energy sources can meet the world’s energy needs. Renewable energy sources can provide decentralised energy and help in reducing the cost of infrastructures relative to centralised power stations (Herzog et al., 2002).Advertising Looking for essay on natural sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Technologies could be used to facilitate mass production of solar energy, wind power, biomass and hydropower. In this case, technologies will reduce costs of energy production and meet specific needs during production and service factors. Moreover, technologies have minimal impacts on the environment. In case activities from technologies generate negative impact s, such impacts do not cause severe damages to relative to centralised power stations, which may even result in acid rain and massive air pollution. Over the years, the cost of using technologies to generate renewable energies have continued to decline, whereas costs of producing energy from traditional sources have continued to surge. Generally, renewable energy technologies offer relatively low or no costs related to fuel usages. Costs of initial investments in such technologies may be considerably high. Technologies allow manufacturers to develop efficient photovoltaic cells with few mechanical components relative to other combustion systems of traditional sources of energies. This implies that photovoltaic energy systems are likely to be affordable on a long-term basis. As a result, costs of renewable energy systems will continue to decline considerably over the years with enhanced efficiency, reliability and low emissions. Figure 1: A forecast shows that costs of renewable ene rgy technologies will continue to drop (Herzog et al, 2001) On the other hand, some researchers in the energy industry have noted that prices of oil and natural gas have been â€Å"predictably unpredictable†.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Is Renewable Energy a Viable Option? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Conversely, some studies have shown that low incremental costs may be required to â€Å"increase the production capacity of wind and solar energy compared to traditional sources of energy† (Herzog et al., 2002). Still, technologies can enhance efficiency of renewable energy and make it competitive with the preferred energies from fossil fuels. Previously, analysts had focused directly on damages to river channels and pollution in urban areas and crops to understand environmental costs of traditional energy sources. They did not account for impacts of such energies on global warming, which coul d have shown high costs of depending on traditional sources of energy. It is imperative to note that the need to develop clean energy technologies for producing renewable energy has resulted from advancement in technologies, environmental concerns, competitive abilities and viability of such technologies to support clean energy initiatives. Moreover, traditional energy sources continue to lose their appeal to stakeholders because of massive investments required, heavy regulation, unpredictable growth and cyclical nature of the industry. Although the world does not show adequate support for innovative ventures that rely on technologies to produce renewable energy, clean energy players will continue to make inroads into the market to become leaders in the energy industry as costs of traditional energy production become unbearable. The major hurdle is, however, breaking a large-scale reliance on fossil fuels among users. A possible explanation to this scenario is that in the past, tech nologies were expensive and costs could not allow mass production to drive the generation of renewable energy. Moreover, various governments continued to offer subsidies for extractions of energy from traditional sources. This is, however, likely to change as costs of renewable energy technologies continue to drop. As a result, there would be mass production of technologies to support the generation of renewable energies from various sources (Pernick Wilder, 2012). In some instance, governments have even offered security for oil and gas extraction, facilitate the development of infrastructures and offered tax breaks to make traditional energy sources economically viable.Advertising Looking for essay on natural sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More One major drawback is the intermittent nature of solar and wind energy which affects renewable energy generation. Developing several systems to generate energy could eliminate this problem. This approach would ensure that there is adequate energy to meet daily needs of users at all periods. Renewable energy technologies must compete with well-established technologies in nuclear and fossil fuels. For several decades, many countries have focused on both fossil and nuclear fuel technologies, but neglected renewable energy technologies (Herzog et al, 2001). Such systems were designed to cater for existing infrastructures only and did not allow for the introduction of new technologies to support new sources of energy. Moreover, various governments globally have focused on expanding natural gas, oil, coal and nuclear fuel sources without accounting for alternative sources of energy. Such intentions aim at increasing the number of available power plants for the next many years (Herzog et a l, 2001). Most of these power plants will run on coal and natural gas. Hence, many countries will continue to depend on coal and natural gas than in the past years. As noted earlier, renewable energy technologies have relatively low environmental costs. These are, however, externalities which are neglected and do not influence the market prices. In some cases, costs that arise from such impacts may be considered when they have significant impacts. Although the Kyoto Protocol introduced carbon-based tax, some countries have failed to implement it. Renewable energy technologies can, therefore, play critical roles in developing new forms of energy that may protect the world from pollution, greenhouse gases and global warming. In addition, such technologies will eliminate expensive mitigation approaches by many nations and stakeholders. This should provide a basis for supporting renewable energy technologies to join the mainstream energy business (Pernick Wilder, 2007). Reference List Goodall, C 2009, Ten Technologies to Fix Energy and Climate, 2nd edn, Profile Books, London. Herzog, A, Lipman, T, Edwards, J Kammen, D 2001, ‘Renewable Energy: A Viable Choice’, Environment, vol. 43, no. 10, pp. 1-17. Lovins, A 2002, Small is Profitable: The Hidden Economic Benefits of Making Electrical Resources the Right Size, Routledge, New York. Pernick, R Wilder C 2007, The Clean Tech Revolution, Collins Business, New York, NY. Pernick, R Wilder, C 2012, Clean Tech Nation: How the U.S. Can Lead in the New Global Economy, Harper Business, New York, NY. Scheer, H 2006, Energy Autonomy: The Economic, Social Technological Case for Renewable Energy, Routledge, London. Shrader-Frechette, K 2011, What Will Work: Fighting Climate Change with Renewable Energy, Not Nuclear Power, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Simon, A 2006, Alternative Energy: Political, Economic, and Social Feasibility, Rowman Littlefield, Maryland. This essay on Is Renewable Energy a Viable Option? was written and submitted by user Paloma Q. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

If I was the President essays

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The Challenge :: Education School Teaching Learning Essays

The Challenge The SCANS report challenged schools, parents, and businesses to help all students develop competencies in the basic skills, thinking skills, and personal qualities required for work in the current and future workplace. It identified five broad categories of competencies that would lead to successful transition from school to work (SCANS 1991): - Resources-Identifies, organizes, plans, and allocates resources - Interpersonal-Works with others on teams, teaches others, serves clients, exercises leadership, negotiates, and works with diversity - Information-Acquires, organizes, interprets, evaluates, and communicates information - Systems-Understands complex interrelationships and can distinguish trends, predict impacts, as well as monitor and correct performance - Technology-Works with a variety of technologies and can choose appropriate tool for task The SCANS report recommended that these competencies be learned in context in the environment in which they will be applied. Thus, the need for collaboration between schools and employers became apparent, as did the need for educational reform. Guided by these factors, vocational-technical programs have been redesigned and efforts such as tech prep have been initiated to respond to the SCANS challenge. State and Local Efforts Since 1991, many educational efforts have been initiated to incorporate the SCANS skills in the vocational-technical curricula of both secondary and postsecondary institutions. The Division of Vocational Education in the Idaho Department of Education, for example, developed a curriculum framework for the state's vocational-technical programs to address the training needs of employers and students. This framework, developed by industry and education personnel, encompassed the goals outlined in the SCANS report (Idaho Department of Education 1994). Tech prep programs in many states have been developed around the SCANS competencies. The Texas Education Agency and the University of Texas at Austin developed a model that incorporates tech prep components and SCANS competencies into their health science technology education program (McCarty et al. 1994). As part of their tech prep project, 91 Indiana secondary and postsecondary educators developed 50 application-based lessons during the 1993-1994 school year. Modeled around the SCANS competencies, these lessons are designed to bridge the gap students encounter when moving from school to work, focusing on long- and short-term project topics such as "creating a videotape" (Indiana Region 10 Tech Prep Consortium 1994). Most tech prep efforts incorporate recommendations presented in the SCANS report. For example, tech prep in Ohio is characterized by six benchmarks that focus on SCANS competencies (Ohio Department of Education 1993): - Tech prep programs will demonstrate systemic change at both the secondary and

Kwame Anthony Appiah’s “The role of religion” Essay

Kwame Anthony Appiah, author of â€Å"The case for contamination† focuses on three main interrelated issues throw out his essay. Globalization, cultural diversity, and ethical consideration. Religion plays two major roles within this issues, claims made by people in favor of globalization and those against it. Religion can be used positively to protect culture in the idea of globalization, in the same way it can be a double-edge sword when relating to the role it plays in the issues at hand. Religion is a great way for individuals to keep in touch with their traditions as the process of globalization gets larger. Sipho is a very religiouse Zulu man, from the province of South Africa of KwaZulu-Natal. He was raised with strong traditions from his culture, but still has encounter and been affected by globalization in ways such as the television. He was heavily influenced by the soap opera â€Å"Days of Our Lives.† Sipho explains how the show helped him fix his relationshi p with his father, but certain aspects of the show like women dating before 20 were still completely unacceptable as it went against his believes and those of his people (Appiah 40). The role of religion in the process of globalization can also harm the situation. Preservationists fear globalization, and are scared it will negatively impact they’re culture. Every single human life is different from one another. We range from sex, religion and different cultural backgrounds, but still were all connected to one another no matter how we look at it, as deep inside were all the same. Whether it be throw media or conversation, were constantly being exposed to new ideas that help us transition better to change. Conversation is an important factor in social growth. We must learn what every individuals definition of living a normal life is before we can open our minds and learn to tolerate each other’s different rituals and ideals. Appiah is not saying to agree with every other cultural practice u come across, but throw conversation we can see different views on the  subject and grow to accept the values of our fellow brothers and sisters. Liberal cosmopolitanism is based on the premise of universal human dignity. It follows the idea that every human being has responsibilities to every other. Appiah’s father was a patriot of Ghana, Appiah explains how he remembers his father’s teaching that he was a citizen of the world. That he should work for the good of the places where he set tent, weather it had been for just a moment or a lifetime. Appiah is highly critical about emphasizing how humans can learn from the open mind examinations of alternative achievements. He recognizes the important values of localism and moderate nationalism. In his paper he quotes his favorite philosopher John Stuart Mill: â€Å"there is no nation that doesn’t need to borrow from others, not only particular arts or practices, but essential points of character in which its own type is inferior† (Appiah 62). Appiah believes humans have a common nature ranging from individual variations. This idea relates to his criticism of moral relativism. It is expected for principles like toleration, individualism, and benevolence to be of universal acceptance as the basics of a civilize organization, yet it’s 2015 and we still see countries killing one another for religious believes or being underappreciated for their sex or race.A proverb from Ghana Appiah’s home town renders: â€Å"In a single political order there is no wisdom† (Kuro koro mu mni nyansa.) In this world, there are so many different cultures and ethicnicities that it is impossible for us to decide what the correct way of living actually is. Another great example Appiah gives us on how society has changed in the last twenty years, look at the ideals behind gay marriage. Not too long ago Homosexuality was always kept hidden from everyone as it was viewed wrong. Now it is legal in most states to the point where they can actually get married. It’s a fact that as people become more confident about themselves it becomes more acceptable the more time passes by. When a person opens they’re mind towards the views of another they will come to peace in mind, as there is no right or wrong answer to any believe or tradition. Religion is a gate for us to feel at peace mentally and spiritually. Is a beautiful thing rich in faith and values, but with so many different believes all over the world no matter what our believes are it is crucial for us to love and accept one another.  In the end, were humans and all the same inside and out. Work Cited 1. Appiah, Kwame Anthony. â€Å"The Case For Contamination.† The New York Times. The New York Times, 31 Dec. 2005. Web. 15 Feb. 2015. 2. â€Å"Anthony Appiah â€Å"The Case for Contamination†Ã¢â‚¬  Google Docs. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2015. 3. â€Å"Will Dixon’s ECO 108 Site: Critical Analysis: The Case for Contamination.† Will Dixon’s ECO 108 Site: Critical Analysis: The Case for Contamination. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2015.