The Philippines being named as the 12th most populated country in the world, garnering an estimated number of 98 million people, produces and consumes an increasing measure of energy. (World Population Review, 2013)
Figure 1. Philippines Total Primary Energy Production and Consumption by Year
As seen in Figure 1, the Philippines’ Total Primary Energy Production and Consumption by Year, which is energy in the form that it is first accounted for in a statistical energy balance before any transformation to secondary or tertiary forms of energy, the production of energy is lower in measure compared to the country’s consumption (United States Energy Information Administration, 2010).
The country’s main sources of energy involve coal, petroleum, and natural gas (Department of Energy, n.d.). The major environmental impact of these energy sources involve large emissions of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) which then serves as the cause of the Greenhouse Effect. If illustrated for example, 11 million tons of Carbon Dioxide is produced after a large coal-burning plant annually burns 3 million tons of coal (Environmental problems with coal, oil, and gas, n.d.).
In regard to the current energy profile of the country and the harmful effects of the mentioned main sources of energy, the Philippine government should invest in the renewable energy, solar energy, because of several factors such as its continuous decrease in cost, versatility, low measure in its environmental impact, and its infinite source of sunlight as its main source of energy production.
II. Body
According to environmental group, Natural Resources Defence Council (NRDC) (2012),
In the last few decades, technological leaps and the scaled-up production of solar panels have made sol...
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...uture for America.
With this much energy coming from the sun, and if it’s harnessed for practical purposes such as heating homes, lighting bulbs and running automobiles and even airplanes (Why is solar the best energy solution, 2008). The sun will always be there; therefore solar energy’s main source will always be at large. Unlike nuclear energy which requires the process of fission for uranium which isn’t as easily accessible or the production of geothermal energy would require it to be mostly from volcanic areas, geysers, and/or hot springs, solar energy is in closer reach for consumers.
III. Conclusion
As the increase in the consumption of energy gradually increases per year, the government needs to take measures in opting to renewable energy sources, preferably solar energy because of its decreasing price, versatility, and its abundant main source of energy.
Our energy needs have significantly changed since the first Industrial Revolution that took place in the period from about 1760 to sometime between 1820 and 1840. Before this time period, our energy needs were modest. For heat, people relied on the energy of the sun, but when it failed them, they burned wood, straw and dried dung. For transportation horses and the power of the wind was used in sails. For agricultural work animals were used to do the jobs that could not be done with man labor. By harnessing the power of steam and wind simple machines could be run to grind our grain and pump our water. The Second Industrial Revolution, also called the Technological Revolution is considered to have begun around the time of the introduction of the Bessemer steel in the 1860s. This technological Revolution is considered as the second phase of the Industrial Revolution that resulted in factory electrification, mass production, the creation of production lines and the development of machine tools. With the appearance of the low cost automobile and the wide spread of electricity our society's energy needs have changed forever. Since the modest beginning of the oil industry in the mid 19th century, petroleum has risen to global dominance leading to mass consumption as the primary fuel to generate electricity, heat, to power our homes, cars and to support economic growth. Unfortunately, as a consequence of industrialization, atmospheric CO2 levels started to rise in proportion to the usage of fossil fuels. This trend raises some concerns about the well being of our environment, and researchers around the world started to look for alternative, cle...
The emission of carbon dioxide has contributed to 80% to the heating of the earth atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is produced due the burning of fossil fuels such as natural gas, coal and oil. The burning of fossil fuel is very important in our society today, because it is used for cooking, used to produce electricity, for heating, for cooling and also for transportation. The industrialization has led to the use of fossil fuel for running machines and driving cars. The building of fossil fuel contributes towards 80-90% of the carbon dioxide we find in our atmosphere today. When the ecosystems are altered and vegetation is either burned or took out, the carbon stored in them is relinquished to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide (What causes global climate change, 2005). Methane is another gas being produced in the process which all have served to increase the greenhouse effect in our atmosphere. Methane is produced from the cultivation of rice, from the burning of coal and from cattle, it has increased by 145% due to human
The sun has been a major aspect of life since the beginning of time. People used many other forms of energy before electricity was discovered. There has been a debate over energy resources for years. Many people are worried about what current energy resources may be doing to the environment. Oil spills and nuclear power plant mishaps have only been a few accidents that have had a big impact on the environment and the people who inhabit it. There are plenty of energy sources that do not harm the environment and are still able to get the job done. Solar energy is one energy alternative that will insure the betterment of the country and, at the same time, protect the natural environment.
Global warming is threatening to destabilize human society unless we make immediate and drastic changes to our lifestyle, particularly our usage of energy resources. Coal happens to be the most abundant, and therefore, the least expensive of Earth's energy sources. Due to coal's abundant supply and low price, the world burns eight billion tons of coal a year, providing for 40% of the world's energy, and 39% of the carbon dioxide emissions (Nijhuis, 2014). The IPCC report makes it clear that the more carbon dioxide emitted, the more numerous and more severe consequences society must face. Climate change is not one simple consequence of humanity's actions, rather the spark from which all other consequences are derived. Climate change, carbon dioxide emissions, and ultimately coal, are the cause of declining food crops, water supplies, and human health (Holthaus, 2014).
In this modern fast paced world that we live in, there are many issues that are looked over, energy is one of these. As a world, we are dependant on dwindling fossil fuel supplies and take for granted electricity, oil, and gas. There are four completely renewable sources of energy around us that should be used and developed, they are: wind, growing plants, flowing water, and the sun. These sources of energy are the ones we should be tapping, because they are reliable and renewable. Harnessing the suns energy is the most certain and ultimate energy source. Looking at a brief history and some facts about solar energy, a glimpse of the future can be seen, a future not dependant on fossil fuels.
Solar energy’s largest substitutes are nuclear power and fossil fuels - coal, oil and natural gas. Even though these are not renewable energy sources they are considered substitutes for electricity production.
Claim: Solar power has the potential to become the United States main supply of energy and replace are needs for more conventional and harmful forms of power generation.
Solar is a viable alternative energy source with solar panels becoming more affordable and more efficiently designed.
How Efficient is Solar Energy Technology? Engineering Challenges. n. d. a. d. a. d. d. 8 April 2014. http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/cms/8996/9082.aspx>. How do Nuclear Plants Work?”
Humans and animals breathe out Carbon Dioxide, often referred to as the greenhouse gas, as a waste product. Plants take in this CO2 and use it to make food. This is called photosynthesis. During this process oxygen is released which is then breathed in by humans and animals. This procedure is repeated over and over and a natural balance is obtained. However this natural balance is disrupted by human activity. People of the world are putting more than 5.5 billion tons of CO2 into the atmosphere every year. 75% of this is caused from the burning of fossil fuels. These fuels are burnt all the time to run factories, power plants and vehicles. The main sources of CO2 emissions are electric utilities, residential buildings, industry and transportation. The other 25% is induced by the destruction of the world's forests. The reason for this is that there are less trees and plants to take in the CO2 but there is just as many, if not more, humans and animals to breathe it out.
The commonly debated “greenhouse effect” refers to “the global average temperature increase that has been observed over the last one hundred years or more” (Spencer). President Barack Obama addressed the issue in an effort to highlight its severity, "We have to all shoulder the responsibility for keeping the planet habitable, or we’re going to suffer the consequences – together” (Leader). The earth’s increasing atmospheric and oceanic temperatures result in climate changes due to cumulative amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. As an outcome, researchers around the globe have established that the by-product of burning fossil fuels is the main culprit of the increasing temperatures. Global carbon emissions from fossil fuels have significantly increased since 1900, as shown above from a study carried out by the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center.
The emission of green house gasses due to human activity contributes the most in increasing global warming. Today, fossil fuels are used as a source of energy for transportation, electricity, industrial process and to increase human comfort in this era. Over the last decade humans have created mass amount of industries. These industries have been burning fossil fuels such as coal, which release carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide; carbon dioxide absorbs heat that raises the temperature of the earth. More than 80% of carbon dioxide comes from tr...
... Sunlight and heat will always be available to us because, it is a non-extinguishing resource and so, let us make use of it. With all these points made, there is no question that, solar energy is capable of becoming the world's future power supply. Works Cited Venables, M. (2008), “Bring me sunshine [Solar energy].” Engineering and Technology Vol.
The Earth captures around 342 W/m2 of energy from the sun. This energy is in the form of solar radiation, which the atmosphere reflects about 77 W/m2 and will absorb around 68 W/m2 of solar radiation annually. Therefore, the Earth’s surface is receiving, on average, about 197 W/m2 of solar radiation annually. This amount of energy received is roughly more than 10,000 times the amount of all energy humans consume per year. This energy can be used to produce electricity or heat. This energy source is not being used to it’s potential considering how much effort would come into effect to store and transport this energy.
One of the most compelling arguments for the use of renewable energy is how many forms exist of it. Nuclear power, solar power, wind power, tidal power, hydroelectric power, pumped storage, wave power, geothermal power, biomass, and biogas are the most widely known renewable energy sources (Darvill, 2013). This large selection of fuels supports the idea of renewable fuels one day powering the entire planet. All the sources of energy have different niches and benefits. Solar energy is extremely ef...