Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Environmental impacts of fossil fuel consumption
Environmental impacts of fossil fuel consumption
Environmental impacts of fossil fuel consumption
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Environmental impacts of fossil fuel consumption
Executive Summary Bangladesh is a developing country which has been facing power shortages for decades and the unavailability of electricity has resulted in an overall decline in lifestyle. Currently, most of Bangladesh’s electricity is generated using fossil fuels- especially natural gas. However, fossil fuels are finite and contribute significantly to pollution. Since energy is a basic pre-requisite for a nation’s development, sustainable development for electricity production is imperative. Thus, a shift towards renewables would be quintessential for Bangladesh’s goal of electrifying the whole country by 2020 (Hossain 1646). Bangladesh has great potential for renewable energy, particularly- solar and biomass. Hydropower potential is limited due to the relatively flat terrain of the country. Wind and tidal/wave energy is still being researched. However, many barriers need to be overcome to successfully implement renewable technology in Bangladesh, including- cost, technical skills and knowledge, etc. Therefore, effective policy measures regarding renewable energy are necessary for the overall well-being of the country. Proper energy planning and policy integration can provide long term environmental, economic and social benefits to the people of the country, especially those in rural areas Introduction and Background Bangladesh is a small yet densely populated country in South Asia. It inhabits approximately 150 million people in a land area of about 150,000 square kilometers. (The United States is about 70 times bigger). Most of Bangladesh’s energy consumption involves natural gas and biomass (and waste). The rest of the energy comes from oil, coal and hydropower. According to M.A.H. Mondal’s “Assessment of Renewable Ener... ... middle of paper ... ...upplies such as solar panels, etc. Additionally, this would also increase the level of awareness among the local communities (Mondal 4631). According to a World Bank Study in 2006, Bangladesh lost around $1 billion due to load-shedding and unreliable power supply systems (Hossain 1646). The Bangladesh Government has plans to eliminate power shortages by 2020. Thus, in order to achieve the goal, the government would require a transition towards more promotion, dissemination and commercialization of renewable energy. Furthermore, all barriers, including- technology and skills, financial, policy and institutional need to be addressed. To conclude, an integrated energy planning approach, along with consistent policies regarding technological, economic and social issues are the pre-requisites for long term sustainable development of renewable energy for power generation
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...
In chapter thirteen of our book, Environment by Raven and Berg, it shows us just how important renewable energy sources are. Currently the United States of America thrives on the use of fossil fuels and nuclear power. The main problems with these types of fuel are that they are both limited and can be extremely harmful to our environment. They cause global warming, air pollution, acid rain, and oil spills (Environment), and not only that, but in the grand scheme of things, these sources really aren’t even that cheap of a fuel source. There are many alternatives to these all but outdated fuel sources.
... reduce natural gas consumption. Long-term I am committed to installing new energy efficient windows to truly reduce energy consumption. To help reduce the family’s water consumption we recently installed an energy efficient washing machine that uses over 60% less water than the previous model that was installed. As an additional means in which to help conserve water I will be installing a rain barrel in the summer to water our outdoor plants. While these actions might not seem significant, they can make a significant difference. According to Energy Star, a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, if every home in America replaced just one incandescent light bulb with an Energy Star qualified CFL, in just one year it would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes. That would prevent the release of greenhouse gas emissions equal to that of about 800,000 cars.
In addition to the fact that solar, wind, and hydro power are local resources, they are also emission free resources. Emissions and pollution are a key concern with traditional power sources. The coal-fired plants that dominate U.S. energy production also produce more emissions than any other energy source. “Em...
To utilize newer sources of the agriculture waste for the purpose of electricity generation and double the start up capacity in five years.
Energy is the basic necessity of daily life. Nowadays, dependence on fossil fuels for energy needs becoming lower in numerous countries due to the potential of renewable energy to supply sustainable energy to the huge populations in many developing countries who are short of clean and continues energy. Generally, renewable energy can be defined as energy that is derived from natural resources which are constantly replenished and theoretically inexhaustible. Fossil fuels on the other hand can be described as energy that cannot be renewed and will eventually diminish. Thus, in many developing countries renewable energy is the alternative energy to replace non-renewable energy or commonly known as fossil fuels. In addition, according to Sorensen (2004), there is a greater demand for renewable energy sources nowadays due to the uncertainty of fuel price rise in living expenses. Commonly, there are many types of renewable energy available in our world such as wind power, biomass energy, solar energy, hydroelectric power and geothermal energy. However, the main three example of renewable energy are hydroelectric power, solar and biomass energy (Refer to Figure 1 in Appendix 1).
Prevent dangerous climate change by phasing out fossil fuels (oil, coal, gas) and replacing them with clean renewable energy such as solar.
Instilling this new way of energy usage into off-grid communities will inevitably increase the state of living for those in cities and other well populated areas. The change to renewable energy sources could drastically lower the pollutants currently being dispersed into the atmosphere by coal mines and other harmful power options,
The year is 2200. The world is going through a fossil fuel shortage. Oil reserves are almost completely consumed and it is becoming impossible to find new fossil fuel sources. Not prepared for this event to occur, The United States, has no alternative options. As a result of the oil shortage, the standard of living deteriorates. Heat in homes, supermarkets full of food, and transportation, all basic necessities taken for granted, will be depleted because fossil fuels are used to power almost everything. The key to the prevention of this future is renewable energy. Unfortunately the support for the use of renewable energy is weak and ineffective. Unless the US puts forth effort to research and promote the use of renewable energy to consumers, conversion from fossil fuels to renewable energy will no longer be an option.
...cessary for the economy of Bangladesh, (b) To find out the positive and negative impacts of that subsidy both in short and long runs. By involving myself in this project work, I enriched my knowledge on the impact of energy subsidy in Bangladesh.
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 effective when providing energy for small establishments such as a house or small store, but hydrothermal power would be a more plausible solution for factories or large establishments....
In 21st century almost all devices work with electricity. Electricity makes activity of people easier and more comfortable. Moreover, it plays a great role in development of medicine, science, education, transport and other spheres of human’s life. However, electricity production is becoming more and more problematic because the biggest part of energy for electricity is produced by natural resources, which are neither infinite nor renewable. It means that one day mineral reserves can run out, and, as a result, there will be risk of possible energy crisis. This situation stimulates humanity to transfer to renewable power system. Countries around the world are promoting sustainable energy policies, particularly to reduce greenhouse effect that contributes to severe problems such as Global warming and acid rain (Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2010). The problem of alternative energy source search is also popular in Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan is extremely abundant in natural resources, especially in fossil fuels, which are mainly used as energy sources to generate electricity (CIA Factbook 2011). To be more precise, almost 60% of 4.6 billion kilowatt energy that was produced in Kazakhstan in 2008 came from coal, nearly 35 % - from natural gas and oil, 3% of electricity was created by hydro and nuclear electric stations and rest energy was imported from Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan (EIA 2010). It seems that the electricity production in Kazakhstan is mainly based on coal and other minerals. Therefore it is important to find an alternative source of energy in Kazakhstan to reduce its reliance on coal and to avoid power crisis and other negative effects of non-renewable energy usage. Since the territory of Kazakhstan is ...
The world that we live into today affords us the expectation that the flip a switch will turn the lights on. As populations increase and developing nations undergo dramatic economic growth, this energy demand will only continue to grow. The International Energy Agency (IEA) believes that “the world’s energy needs could be 50% higher in 2030 than they are today” (ElBaradei). Given this projected growth, it is necessary for world leaders must take action to secure the energy supply. Meaning that world leaders need to start seriously considering an alternative to non-renewable energy sources. “In 2012, the United States generated about 4,054 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity. About 68% of the electricity generated was from fossil fuel (coal, natural gas, and petroleum), with 37% attributed from coal” (U.S. Energy Information Administration). The fossil fuels that are used to supply over half of our country’s energy are in finite supply and are increasing in price to astronomical heights.
“Is Renewable energy an economically viable option for South Africa?” “Renewable Energy is a source of energy that is not exhausted when used.” “Economical means giving good value in relation to the resources used or money spent.” “Viable means capable of working successfully; feasible.” (Soanes, Hawker & Elliot et al., 2005)
In addition to, a huge issue with non-renewable energy is the fact that we get most of it from foreign countries. According to a recent study done by Energy Information Administration, “58% of our petroleum comes from outside the country”, this means as some speculate, that o...