Emory's+Content+Essay

** Emory’s Energy Content Essay **

Sunbeam Systems is a solar energy company. Solar energy harnesses the sun’s energy using photovoltaic cells and converts it into usable energy. Solar energy also contributes to the availability of other clean energies, such as wind, hydroelectric, and biomass, which makes it very important. Solar energy has “ the ability to harness electricity in remote locations that are not linked to a national grid” which makes it good to use in places like Africa or space. Another advantage of solar energy is that the solar panels can be installed on roof tops, which does not take up extra space like wind turbines, while still being efficient and easy to install. Although the cost of photovoltaic solar cells can be expensive, once they are installed the energy has no additional costs and will pay off over the years. Other types of energy may need to use fossil fuels to kick start the clean energy, which costs more money.

Wind power is another type of clean energy that is not very efficient. Wind turbines can be damaged in thunderstorms, and if they fall, they can be very hazardous to surrounding areas. The blades of the turbine can also “  hit birds who attempt to fly between them, especially if the turbines are placed in migratory flight patterns”. For wind power to supply a sufficient amount of energy, wind speeds need to remain at 10 mph or higher for prolonged periods of time. This is very inconvenient for areas with low wind speeds or inconsistent wind patterns. The turbines can also interfere with the local television reception and also create lots of noise.

Biofuels may be easy to use, by replacing gasoline with oils like ethanol and biodiesel, derived from agricultural products, but they are not easy to find. There are not many cars on the market that can be used with biofuels, and there are also not many places to fill up with biofuels versus regular petroleum. Another challenge is “ growing enough crops to meet demand” which would “require diverting approximately 60 percent of today’s soy crops to biodiesel production”. Farmers might also not be willing to use their farm land to grow crops for biofuels rather than food crops for profit. Statistics show that biofuels require 29% more energy for production than the energy that they actually produce.

Although nuclear energy can produce high amounts of energy while emitting very low amounts of carbon dioxide, it is still very dangerous. One problem is the radioactive waste it produces, “ which is extremely dangerous and it has to be carefully looked after for several thousand years”. This nuclear waste is also a terrorist target. If a nuclear power plant were to be bombed, it would have catastrophic results for the entire world. The waste can also be stolen to be produced into nuclear weapons, which the production and owning of is very dangerous. Another downside is that the main energy source for nuclear energy is Uranium, which is a scarce resource, and is expected to be depleted in 30-60 years. Nuclear power plants also take a very long time to build.

Hydroelectric power also has many disadvantages. The building of dams can cause flooding of valleys and surrounding areas. Dams disrupt the natural pressure and currents of rivers, which can upset wildlife living there. The dams also block the silt traveling the water which can cause the dams to be clogged, also keeping the silt from building up on beaches and estuaries further down the rivers. Studies have shown “that the plant decay caused downstream of major dams produces as many greenhouse gasses as more conventional methods of producing electricity.” Dams can also become useless during a drought, and leave the people relying on it helpless. They can also break and cause a massive flash flood.

 "The Pros and Cons of Biofuels." //Environmental Issues//. Web. 9 Dec. 2009. .
 * Works Cited**

"Pros and Cons of Nuclear Power." //Time for Change//. Web. 9 Dec. 2009. .

"Pros and Cons of Solar Energy." //Clean Energy Ideas//. Web. 9 Dec. 2009. .

"Pros and cons of Wind Power." //Wind Power//. Web. 9 Dec. 2009. .

"PROS AND CONS." //Sir Francis Drake High School Website//. Web. 09 Dec. 2009. < [] >.