Clean Energy
Noun.
Definition: Energy that does not pollute the atmosphere when used
History
Following the discovery of the use of nuclear energy to provide electricity, many nuclear power plants were planned to be built, with homes being fitted with all-electric heating systems to take advantage of nuclear power, which was even declared to be “too cheap to meter”.
If nuclear energy (one of the many sources of clean energy) was being adopted so rapidly, why is it that countries today are still struggling to adopt the use of clean energy and why are other sources of clean energy being used more commonly?
1. Partial meltdown of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant as well as the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster shook public confidence in nuclear power and resulted in the cancellation of orders for new nuclear plants
The nuclear disaster at Three Mile island
Image reproduced from http://nucleaire11.wordpress.com/tag/three-mile-island/)
2. Mining and enriching uranium is extremely energy intensive
3. Nuclear fission produces toxic and dangerous waste, of which there remains no place in the world where it can be stored safely.
A toxic nuclear waste dump in Handford, Washington.
Image reproduced from http://inhabitat.com/washingtons-hanford-nuclear-dump-is-leaking-toxic-waste/
4. The United States and Germany alone have accumulated more than 50,000 and 12,000 tonnes respectively, of highly radioactive waste which has not yet been disposed of securely. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, it will be at least 10,000 years before its threat to public health is substantively reduced
5. The materials and technology required for operation of nuclear plants can be harnessed to make dangerous nuclear weapons
6. Nuclear energy is expensive
Impetus for Clean Energy
The world needs to transition from the current use of unsustainable energy sources to a future powered by clean energy supply sources, of which renewable energy would play a huge part. Only through making such a change will the impacts of climate change be avoided.
Child with a mutated body, caused by radiation in Hiroshima
Image reproduced from http://japanfocus.org/-gayle-greene/3672
The manhattan project, which produced 4 atomic bombs included Fat Man, cost nearly 2 billion - equal to around 26 billion in today's terms.
Image reproduced from http://www.trumanlibrary.org/photographs/view.php?id=587
1. Limited non-renewable energy resources
In view of the limited and declining supply of our fossil fuels and our increasing energy demands, countries understand the need to invest in the future through adopting renewable methods of energy production.
Production from known oil and gas reserves will fall by around 40-60% by 2030.
Energy consumption from developed countries have not abated in recent years. The trend of increased share of energy consumption of non-OECD countries stems from the increase in energy demand of developing countries.
Image reproduced from http://www.financialsense.com/contributors/chris-puplava/commodity-secular-bull-market-continues
Should everyone consume as much energy as the average Singaporean or U.S. resident, the world’s proven oil reserves would be used up in less than 10 years
Although there has been an increase in energy consumption worldwide, there has been a divergence in energy usage from fossil fuels into renewable sources
Image reproduced from http://www.financialsense.com/contributors/gail-tverberg/world-energy-consumption-since-1820-in-charts
Increase in energy demand from developing countries
World oil production by type
Image reproduced from World Energy Outlook (2010) - http://www.worldenergyoutlook.org/docs/weo2010/key_graphs.pdf
2. Global warming & climate change: Its effects on us
Image reproduced from http://www.worldpreservationfoundation.org/blog/wpf
Water Shortage
Crop failures
Image reproduced from http://theenergycollective.com/robertrapier/93501/poor-corn-crop-will-have-major-impact-ethanol-marke
Tropical Diseases
The increase in warmer climates will increase diseases such as malaria, which warm and wet environments are prone to.
Image reproduced from http://topnews.ae/content/214310-pharmaceutical-companies-bring-improvement-tropical-disease-treatment
Flooding
Increased cost of having to build flood walls such as this one would plague countries located not far above sea level
Image reproduced from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7592283.stm
Extreme weather events
The increase frequency of tropical storms, such as this in North Atlantic, is attibuted to the increase in heat waves caused by global warming.
Image reproduced from http://www.climate.org/topics/extreme-weather/
Acidification of the sea through carbon emissions destoys coral reefs
Image reproduced from http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/12/coral-reefs-2100/
The world would have to spend around €200 billion a year on measures to cope with the effects of climate change, including building flood defences, transporting water for agriculture in arid land as well as reconstructing infrastructure damaged by the effects of climate change such as extreme weather. To avoid the possible consequences of climate change global warming has to be kept below 1.5°C compared to pre-Industrial temperatures. To do so, emissions have to be reduced to 20% of current amount by 2050 (from 1990 levels), a key method employed to do so would be the adoption of clean energy, as the global energy sector is responsible for two-thirds of global greenhouse gas emissions. Coal is the most carbon intensive fuel and thus the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions.
The WHO estimates that climate change is already causing more than 150,000 deaths a year.
Change in temperatures would also affect fragile ecosystems, leading to close to a quarter of all species to extinction. The loss of ecological services from forests, coral reefs and other ecosystems will also have huge economic implications.
Satellite view of Indonesia : Before and after the Tsunami. Tsunamis are caused by earthquakes. Global warming leads to melting of glaciers, causing movement of the earth crust, increasing the chances of earthquakes.
Image reproduced from http://www.coolgeography.co.uk/GCSE/AQA/Restless%20Earth/Tsunamis/Tsunamis.htm
To avoid the possible consequences of climate change global warming has to be kept below 1.5°C compared to pre-Industrial temperatures. To do so, emissions have to be reduced to 20% of current amount by 2050 (from 1990 levels), a key method employed to do so would be the adoption of clean energy, as the global energy sector is responsible for two-thirds of global greenhouse gas emissions. Coal is the most carbon intensive fuel and thus the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions.
3. Environmental Concerns
With the dwindling number of proven fossil fuel reserves, companies are starting to seek to extract fuel from less explored areas (such as in the artic, or in rainforests), which are host to fragile ecosystems.
Oil drilling in the artic releases much chemical pollution that enters the seas and causes poisoning and hence loss of biodiversity.
Image reproduced from http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/Blogs/makingwaves/the-price-of-arctic-oil/blog/36848/
The extraction of oil from rainforests require significant deforestation, and the harmful fumes emitted endangers wildlife
Image reproduced from http://www.forbes.com/fdc/welcome_mjx.shtml
4. Impetus for Developing countries
Increases in energy prices for oil and coal would affect the world’s poor the greatest, as the cost would form a more significant portion of their income.
More than 2.7billion people rely on traditional bioenergy, such as from wood. Its unsustainable harvesting causes soil erosion, increases risk of flooding, and threatens biodiversity.
Wood is the main source of biomass used, and such logging leads to deforestation
Image reproduced from http://www.upwoodybiomass.org/harvesttech.asp
Developing countries also do not use safe methods of consuming fossil fuels. Tradiotional stoves are used to burn the fuels, and according to the World Health Organisation, an estimated 2.5million women and young children die prematurely each year from the inhaling of poisonous fumes emitted from these traditional stoves.
An elderly woman operating a traditional stove, located within the household. Such poisonous fumes are particularly toxic to young children
Image reproduced from http://news.stanford.edu/news/2012/june/cleaner-cook-stoves-060712.html
Fossil fuels, with their finiteness and increasing cost, are not a good investment for developing countries. Instead, renewable energy sources offer the potential to transform the quality of life and improve the economic prospects of billions.