Is it sustainable to continue using non-renewable energy resources? Why or why not.
Consider the impact on the economy and how realistic it is to change. Use any knowledge of our current dependence on non-renewable energy, how non-renewable energy is transformed into electricity and the laws of thermodynamics.
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It is not sustainable to continue using non-renewable resources, at least certainly not at the rate we are using them. Non-renewable resources can not be replenished in a human lifetime, so once they are gone, they're gone. While one might argue that finding alternative fuel sources would be financially costly,our descendants will one day be forced to change their ways, and they might not be able to survive without the vast quantities of resources they have been depending on. Another problem that comes from using non-renewable resources is the negative effects it has on the Earth. One type of non-renewable resources are fossil fuels, such as coal, natural gas, and petroleum, which can be burned to generate electricity. The burning of fossil fuels releases a lot of carbon dioxide into the air, which affects the equilibrium of CO2 in the atmosphere. Studies have shown that this extra CO2 may be linked to an increase in Earth's surface temperatures. If the surface temperature gets too hot, then the ice caps will melt and the oceans will rise, flooding the planet. So by choosing to use these non-renewable fossil fuels, we are potentially destroying our future. Luckily, there are ways to generate electricity without burning fossil fuels. We need to change to these methods before its too late.
I do not believe that it is sustainable to continue using non-renewable energy, at least not at the rate that we are using it. These non-renewable resources can be replaced with renewable ones, and I think that they should, regardless of the hidden costs. However, there are certain activities that require the use of fossil fuels, and oother non-renewable resources such as driving a car, providing electricity for a home, and more, but all of those activities can be restricted. If we keep transferring a lot of our available energy into unavailable energy with all of these energy transfers to do daily activities, then we are not/ will not be very sustainable.
Of course it is not sustainable to continue using non-renewable resources. But that is not the main problem. Using non-renewable resources is certainly not good, but the rate at which the world (especially the U.S) is using them is very dangerous. For example, using oil for cars is very unsustainable. Of course, we need to get around somehow but not only does this contribute to the massive oil consumption each year, but it also emmits large amounts of pollution into the atmosphere, causing a rise in the earth's surface temperature; global warming. So, using these resources at such a pace not only decreases the amount we have left, but also creates more pollution and CO2 into the atmosphere. We need to think about ways to use other renewable resources, such as food. In the beginning of the year, we experimented with the energy within a chip, and discovered that although it does not contain as much chemical energy as ethanol, it would indeed be a better trade considering we grow the food...there would still be plenty for generations to come. If we could figure out more ways to use renewable resources as fuel, we could prolong sustainable existence and make lives better for the generations to come.
Evidence compiled over years of data clearly suggests that the use of non-renewable rresources is not sustainable. Human energy use is constantly going up, as human population is growing at an exponential rate. More humans means more energy is needed, and most of that ebergy is supplied by non-renewable energy sources. As the rate of energy use goes up, and the amount of non-renewable energy sources goes down, evidence suggests that humans will run out of non-renewable energy in a relativly short time. Humans must turn to alternate energy sources, including wind, solar, nuclear, geothermal, hydroelectric, and others. The 2 most heavily used non-renewable resources are coal and gasoline. Coal is normally used to provide electricity and energy. There are a vast amount of alternative energy sources that we could use to provide electricity such and hydroelectric and wind energy. Gasoline is mainly used in transportation, and for that we aldready have hybrid cars which allow us to go the same distance for less gas. There is also speculation about hydrogen fuel cell cars which could be the new alternative energy source (ethanol needs more energy to produce than it gives out which doesn't make it a very good energy source). Using non-renewable resources is not sustainable at all (it is just easier for humans), and we do have the capability to turn to other sources of energy. We just have to start using them.
It is not sustainable to continue to use non-renewable resources. I say this becasue it most likley won't happen in our life time but for generations to come there will be no more resources left. We are useing a resources way to quickley and therefor they will run alot sooner than they would have if we would have just slowed down a little. For example fossil fuels i know that coal, patroleum and natural gasses are the easist and cheapest things to use now, but they are polluting our enviroment. If we keep on useing fossil fuels this quickly than we will run out very soon. these fossil fuels can be burned to make electricty and to heat our houses. The only bad thing is that these fossil fuels are realesing alot of cardon dioxide in to the atmosphere which is causeing the world to heat up faster. There are still ways we can use electricty without burning fossil fuels for example solar energy. the only downside to that is that it is very expensive.
It is not sustainable at all to be using non-renewable resouces. In a sustainable environment, the energy souces need to stay constant and not hurt or cahange the environment when being used. Thew non-renewable resouces we are using now are not constant, because we can and will run out of it, and are hurting the environment. The non-renewable resouces are hurting the environment because when using these materials, carbon dioxide is produced and an increase in carbon dioxide on earth can result in temperature increases. The temperature increases will cause ice caps to melt, which will destroy habitats for many arctic animals and the excess water can flood land masses thaqt are inhabited by humans. All these negative effects can come from using non-renewable resouces for our energy. If we destroy the environment by using these non-renewable resouces, then how is that in any way sustainable to the environment.
It is not sustinable to continue using non-renewable resources. The result of using non-renewable sources are 1) polluting environment, putting world in danger of global warming (even if it is a pattern in the atmosphere, the fact that all these pollutants such as CO2 are going into the air are not helping) 2) there will not be enough non-renewable resources for generations to come, due to the excessive energy use as of now (esp. in U.S.) 3) the future generations of our world may not be able to find a new source of energy in their time because they do not have a small amount of non-renewable energy that it might take to fuel a mechanism that will help find another energy source and/or will not have experience in looking for a new energy source and be clueless. It is not very realistic in our time that we would change our habits; people love their unnessessary luxeries (cars, planes) because it is easier for them to not work at all and destroy the environment than working hard to help the environment make a change that they might not see in their lifetime. The fact that non-renewable energy is transformed into electricity does not help; the world is becoming more and more technologically advanced every day; new computers, new televisions, etc. At the rate our world is developing in technology and how that directly relates to the use of non-renewable resources, it will be very difficult to change our ways, more so than if we had done something about this problem 10 years ago. Using the laws of thermodynamics, first, the first law states that heat entering a system adds that amount of energy to that system. So when we use fossil fuels, the resulting energy is given off into the environment and being added to the atmosphere. The second law states that thermal energy will travel from places of high to places of low temp. Now, the sun's rays are millions of degrees hotter than our atmosphere, so naturally the heat would be attracted to our atmosphere. So, though some of that thermal energy would have been reflected back into space, the CO2 emissions and other green house gases are trapping this radiant energy. This heat is being added energy to the system of our atmosphere as well. All of these things are forming a massive 'tool of destruction' in our atmosphere.
It is obviously not sustainable at all to use non-renewable energy resources. But, if the world wants to help the environment and stop using non-renewable resources, we would have to consider the implications on the economy. The only way to stop using non-renewable resources is by what the Carbon Wedges Diagram said: Efficiency and Conservation, Carbon capture and Storage, Low carbon fuels, and biostorage. In order to do that, though, we would have to invest a lot of money and time because we would be replacing many power plants, creating wind generators, increasing the use of solar power, and we would also have to use all new technology to capture and store the CO2. I believe that we have some hope of doing this, but right now, it's very slim. We would need futuristic technology, and a lot of money. Right now, I do not believe that we will be able to do this any time soon, but in the future, we could save the planet. All I strongly believe in is that we have to get going on this in less than 35 years in the future, because in 2043, scientists say that the CO2 levels will reach 450 parts per million. We have to start the reduction of carbon before then.
It is not sustainable to continue to use non-renewable recourses. Non-renewable recourses will run out one day and therefore will not be available to us anymore. Non-renewable recourses are also very bad for the environment. For example coal is a non-renewable resource. When we burn coal our environment suffers because of the carbon dioxide that is released into the air. This extra carbon dioxide is causing Earths surface temperature to increase. The higher surface temperature causes many negative effects to the Earth, such as the melting of polar ice caps, the extinction of many animals, and much more. To stop using non-renewable recourses means spending time, money, and effort on finding new resources. We would have to build new energy efficient power plants, tear down the old ones, replace normal light bulbs with energy efficient florescent light bulbs, and our economy would suffer. Even though it would be difficult to stop using non-renewable resorces very soon to cut carbon dioxide emmissions.
It is not sustainable at all to use fossil fuels when there are other fuel sources available. Right now the world is being in gulfed by Co2 emissions caused by the fossil fuels we use. These fossil fuels will continue to be used because they are so easy to burn and provide a lot of energy. If we continue to use these resources (non renewable) the world as we know it will start to change dramatically. First off these resources will begin to run out, then we will have to forge for a new resource and no one knows how long that will take. Second by the time the resources run out the world surface temperature will already have changed by so much it would have been very hard to live in the world anyway. Already the temperature has risen about 1 degrees Celsius for one decade. As small as that seems if this keeps up the temperature will be increased by ten degrees by 2100. Our children will be left to suffer the consequences we created if we do not stop this monstrous crime from happening. The change is grueling and there is a lot of time that needs to be placed into the fixation of our nation.Since the United States is already responsible for one quarter of the worlds co2 outputs we need to make direct changes in order to begin the process. the first step is just to realize there is a problem with using these fuels. We already know the the process of burning the fossil fuels is not sustainable and therefore we have completed the first step. Now the second step is a lot harder. How are we going to continue advancing in technology without causing a major depletion of our nations technology. Right now most of the fossil fuels we use are transformed from chemical energy to electrical energy by the process of burning the product. This process creates energy that is needed to power a machine or to drive a car. This process is also bad because it produces a side product called Carbon Dioxide that is killer to the environment. There is without a doubt that this is not sustainable at all. The process of burning fossil fuels is supposed to be so easy because the fossil fuels have low Specific heats. If we were to find another product that has a low Cp but does not produce Co2 as a side product then we will begin to be in business. We already have solar and wind panels, if we produce more of these and cut back on CO2 by using them this is the first step in making a healthier country.
Now that we know how to stop the levels of Co2 from rising, we can start to explain the process of it happening. the first law of thermodynamics states that all energy entering a system will add that amount of energy to that system, therefore if the fire's energy is being put into the fossil fuels, then the energy has to come out somehow. It must come out in the form of a gas called CO2.That explains the first law, the Second law of thermodynamics states that energy will flow from hot to cold. This can be explained because the heat from the fire is transfered to the cold coal, then out again in the form of Co2. Finally the subset of the first law the law of conservation of energy states that energy cannot be created or destroyed. This also means that the energy that is found in the coal not only goes to what it was desinged for (heating a home, a car ride) it also goes to the air in the form of CO2.
Co2 is a odorless deadly gas that is slowly killing us all, and the only way to stop it is to take a punch. What will America do? Forge on and continue to kill future generations, or sacrifice on or two now to save America in the future?
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