Energy sources

    Energy is quite an essential element in our lives. There are different sources of energy from which energy can be obtained so as to provide heat light and power as well. These sources are essential as the energy can be extracted from them directly or indirectly through the process of transformation. There are primary sources of energy which may take so many forms such as the natural resources that include coal, natural gas as well as oil. The other form of primary sources includes the renewable sources such as the wind, hydropower, geothermal and solar. All these sources are transformed into another source of energy such as the electricity which is a form of the secondary sources which is, in turn, is used to provide to transform energy. There are numerous energy sources as indicated above but there are those ones that are commonly used but they are however unique in their nature with different advantages and disadvantages. This paper, therefore, will look into the various advantages and disadvantages of the major sources of energy that are commonly used by most people. These energy sources are mostly involved in the production of the generation of energy. They include the wind, hydroelectric, solar, natural gas and coal energy sources.

    Coal is basically regarded as the largest energy source of electricity and it involves the burning of the coal so as to produce heat and electricity which is used in the industries. The extraction of coal is undertaken through mining. There are numerous advantages and disadvantages that accrue from the extraction and utilization of coal. Coal is cheap and hence its prices are affordable as well as stable thus enabling lesser proposal for industries. The energy source is easily available and also easier to transport as the coal reserves are available in most of the countries. Coal has a high level of calorific thus in combusting a smaller quality of coal, energy is produced in large amount.

 There is a low capital investment that is required in the extraction of coal. Since coal reserves are found across the world there are no politics involved in the dictation of the terms of its extraction (Miller et al 385). As compared to other energies, coal is independent in terms of climatic conditions. It is easy to scale coal, for instance, it is easy to establish coal plants of different sizes for the power generation. Coal production has high environmental impacts that are attributed by the extraction of coal and its burning. The extraction of coal mines results in deforestation as well as degradation of the land and habitat loss. This therefore negatively affects the biodiversity. The mining process leads to the soil, air, and water as well as biodiversity pollution while the conditions of mining are quite dangerous as they have been identified as the worst mines to work in. combustion of coal results to carbon emission from the industries and the emission of these harmful gasses cases causes health problems. Coal is a non-renewable resource meaning that with continuous extraction the coal deposits deplete and thus the future generation to come may not be able to use this energy source (Miller et al 385).

    Wind energy harnesses the influence of wind to drive the blades of the wind turbines and it is widely used by countries such as the United States, Asia, and Europe (Miller et al 420). The Wind is environmentally friendly since it involves no combustion so as to produce it but rather comes naturally. Wind turbines occupy lesser space as compared to industries and this allows the multi-purpose use of the land. The Wind is a free resource and it is a great source of energy production in remote areas. It provides steady as well as reliable electricity supply, especially when combined with solar energy (McDonald 37). The energy is a renewable resource which cannot be depleted. However, this source of energy has its own cons one of them being it is unreliable since in some areas the wind strength is low.

 Electricity production is low while the construction of the wind turbines is relatively expensive. It also pollutes the environment through the production of noise by the wind turbines (Miller et al 421).

    Natural gas is a fossil fuel just like coal and oil but the gas is less harmful than the other fossil fuels. It is easy to store, preserved and transported. It can be used for residential purposes since it can be transported through the pipelines into the houses or in tanks. The energy source is cheap as compared to petroleum and cleaner than other fossil fuels since it burns without leaving any smell of smoke. It is economical and it ensures that it produce instant energy hence it is quick. It is abundant and it can be easily distributed and it is safer than the other fossil fuels since it is lighter than air. It can also use in the production of electricity. Leaking of this energy source is extremely dangerous as they make cause explosions and are highly toxic when inhaled by humans. The process of extraction of the gas is complex and the gas is non-renewable hence it can be exhausted (Miller et al 381).

    Nuclear energy is reliable and it involves no greenhouse gasses emission. The required amount of fuel is less since only less amount of fuel is required in the production of energy. Generation of energy through the use of nuclear energy lessens the amount of energy that is produced by the fossil fuels. Nuclear is naturally unstable and it pollutes the water during the cooling of the nuclear fission. Nuclear produces a lot of waste and it takes so many years to stop its radioactivity and the risks associated (Sarkar 138).

    Hydroelectric power is renewable hence it cannot be depleted. It is a green source hence it does not pollute the environment. This source is quite reliable, flexible and safe as there is no use of fuel.

It has some cons including the environmental consequences as the water biodiversity is affected. There are limited reservoirs for the hydroelectric power industries. The source is highly dependent on climatic conditions hence any change within the environment affects the water availability. It is expensive to construct the hydroelectric power (McDonald 36).

    Solar energy has low maintenance cost as they require minimal maintenance. The energy source is a renewable resource and there is high technological development in the solar energy industry. Solar energy is used for diverse purposes unlike any other energy and it helps in reducing the electricity bills (Evans 30). However, there is a high initial cost that is used for buying of the solar system and this source is highly dependent on the climatic condition. The storage of the energy is expensive as it also uses a lot of space while the transportation of the solar system causes pollution (McDonald 35).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

             Evans, Lynda. The New Wider World Coursemate. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes, 2005. Print.

            McDonald, Laura. Energy Resources. Pelham, NY: Benchmark Education, 2010. Print.

                Miller, G T, and Scott Spoolman. Living in the Environment: Concepts, Connections, and Solutions. Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole, 2009. Print.

             Sarkar, Dibyendu, Rupali Datta, Avinandan Mukherjee, and Robyn Hannigan. An Integrated Approach to Environmental Management. , 2016. Print.