Hannah's+Essay

Essay by Hannah White

Hydropower is a reliable and emission-free source of energy. It uses the natural flow of water to create "clean, fast, and flexible electricity," (3 Hydropower). Because hydropower relies on a continuous source, it can respond quickly to increases in demands of energy and provide a safe source of electricity to surrounding homes and businesses. Hydropower dams have a life span of over 100 years and include non-power benefits. These benefits are "water supply, flood control, navigations, irrigation, and recreation," (4 Hydropower). Dams provide a source of water in many metropolitan areas that provides millions of people with water and they help spread the water throughout land that would be barren without irrigation. Right now, researchers are even looking for ways to increase the proficiency of hydropower dams and the safety of local fish and aquatic species. New structures like wicket gates are being introduces which allow fish a safe passage through the dam without being injured or hurt. Hydropower's benefits outweigh the few drawbacks and hydropower is helpful to the enviorment around it while still supplying energy for the electricity grid.
 * Hydropower:**

Nuclear power is unreliable and can be unsafe in the wrong hands. Nuclear power plants have "not been ordered in the U.S. since 1978," (2 Next Generation Nuclear Power) because many questions arise over the problematic foundation of nuclear energy. They usually address nuclear power's "economic viability, improved operating safety, and efficient waste management, as well as weapons nonproliferation," (2 Next Generation Nuclear Power). Unlike hydropower dams, nuclear power plants produce radioactive waste which is extremely dangerous and cannot be disposed of for thousands of years and even though the standard of safety in plants has improved, accidents are more likely to happen there than in a hydropower dam. The nation's safety would also be at risk if a terrorist attack was aimed at a nuclear power plant, along with the world's stability. Nuclear power's source is not continuous like the flow of water is for hydropower dams. The source, Uranium, is scarce and likely to run out in the next 60 years. Nuclear power maybe an alternate type of energy to fossil fuels, but it is in no way renewable and has many drawbacks compared to hydropower.
 * Nuclear**:

Solar energy, though it's renewable, has a high initial price and is very unreliable. The energy converted from solar power can only be produced during daylight hours and has to be conserved for later use at night. Hydropower can provide energy throughout the day and night without any conservation needed and though "advance technologies have the potential to use less land," (1 Solar energy), current solar fields take up thousands of square miles and not everywhere is suitable for a solar panel field. The many different sizes of hydropower dams can fit in almost any situation though and are easily accessible to the public though. The energy produced by a solar field is no where near the amount needed to power a city and can be affected greatly by the weather or air pollution. Solar panels also need repairs frequently and are hard to recycle because of the solar cells inside. "It is unlikely that a solar cell technology will become predominate," (1 Solar Energy) because of the high initial price and the many natural restrictions on its energy production, making hydropower more appealing to homeowners and businessmen.
 * Solar**:

Wind energy is neither safe nor reliable. The main concern is with the "major limitation of wind energy [which] is that it is intermittent," (2 Solar Energy). The production of energy is dependent on the weather and if the nation grew to rely mostly on wind power "any shortfall could cause severe economic penalties," (2 Solar Energy). The technology used to produce wind power could easily be destroyed during a storm because of the tall and thin structure. Areas with low wind speed would not profit from installing wind power because the amount of energy harvested would be low. Wind turbines have also been known to affect bird flight patterns or injure any bird flying to close to the blade, and they can also interfere with T.V. reception of near by homes. A field of wind turbines takes up thousands of square miles of land which have to be completely flat without any interfering trees or buildings to block the wind and not many places fit this requirement. The production of wind energy would require space, money, and repairs, while a hydropower dam will last for over a 100 years and helps its surroundings instead of taking up space.
 * Wind:**

Biofuel production requires thousands of acres of land and is non-sustainable. There is not enough farm land to produce the amount of crops needed and "first generation biofuels are simply not a long term solution," (1 Biofuels Grassoline). Forests would have to be cut down to continue production which would be hurtful to the environment and animals living there would loose their homes. Food expenses could potentially become higher because "the additional crop demand raises the price of animal feed," (1 Biofuels Grassoline) and some food items as well. Research is also currrently being done regarding the fact that no biofuel production is completely emission--free, unlike hydropower which releases no pollutants or toxins into the air or water. Biofuel also uses more energy then they can produce, making it a poor economic choice compared to hydropower. The many drawbacks to biofuel compared to hydropower show that hydropower is a more reliable and an economically safer energy source.
 * Biofuels:**

Goldman, Peter. "Hydropower." //U.S. Department of Energy Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy//. Print.
 * Bibliography:**

Hoagland, William. "Solar Energy." //Scientific America// 1995: 1-4. Print.

Huber, George E., and Dale Bruce. "Biofuelds Grassoline at the Pump 2009." //Scientific America// 2009: 1-8. Print.

Lake, James A., Ralph G. Bennet, and John F. Kotek. "Next Generation Nuclear Power." //Scientific America// 2009: 2-10. Print.

Kammen, Daniel M. "The Rise Of Renewable Energy." //Scientific American//: 84-93. Print.Lake, James A. "Next Generation Nuclear Power." //Scientific American//. Print