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Jason Farrand
Malcolm Campbell
ENG 1102
1213/20144/21/2014
Is Renewable Energy Renewing a Cycle of Pollution?
Negative Effects of Renewable Energy
Everyone has had exposure when it comes to learning about how renewable energy is
great for the environment because of the clean energy that is obtained from its use, but the
negative effects are somehow tactfully avoided during documentaries, lectures, and other
presentations on the subject. Most people do not even pay any mind to the fact that there are
indeed negative effects of renewable energy that may not directly affect the human race, but do
affect the environment that they are set in. For example, using biomass technology may seem
like a practical idea, but when burning waste that is needed to produce power, large amounts of
toxins are introduced to the atmosphere. The public need to be informed of these negative
consequences that are brought about by using different types of renewable energy, so these
energy sources can become truly clean rather than as clean as most experts would have you
believe.
There are various sources of energy that can be used that are less harmful to the
environment than using fossil fuels as has been the norm for decades. Many of these sources
include wind, solar, hydroelectric, geothermal, biomass, and hydrokinetic energy (UCS). While
each of these has their own set of ways that they are harmful, they tend to be less damaging than
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what is currently being used; however, this step in the right direction does not cover up the harm
that is being done.
Sources of renewable energy do have a wide variety of benefits despite the number of
hidden negative consequences that they bring with their use. Many of these alternative sources
are still cutting down on the pollution that is emitted by energy sources that use fossil fuels as the
method of production. According to the European Renewable Energy Council, by 2009 carbon
dioxide emissions had been reduced by nearly 340 million kilograms from that of the levels of
emissions from 1990 in Europe ("CO2'). These numbers will continue to increase in reduction of
other harmful pollutants as time passes and renewable sources of energy become more
widespread. At the beginning of 2013, about nineteen percent of the generated energy was
created by renewable energy sources, and by 2035, it is predicted that about twenty-three percent
of energy produced will be from renewable energy sources ("U.S. Energy Information
AdministrationEIA). With these predicted percentages, harmful gases emissions will be
drastically reduced by using these clean energy sources.
Wind power is one of the cleanest sources of energy, but is not perfect. Wind power
works by utilizing wind to turn massive blades that are attached to a shaft which is connected to
a generator and causes electricity to be produced ("How DoOEERE). This is good because this
source means that there will be no emissions from the turbines, but the damage that is done from
wind turbines is not from dangerous gas emissions. The turbines create differences in pressure
and lead to the deaths of many birds and bats that collide with the giant turbines (USC). One
other possible danger is that during large storms, some turbines have mechanical malfunctions,
spin out of control, and violently destroy themselves causing large pieces of metal to fly in all
directions which can be dangerous for surrounding people, animals, and plant life.
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Biomass energy is a form of energy production that focuses on burning various types of
crops to generate power. Some common ways of producing energy using biomass is burning
crops to generate steam power. Another method involves converting biomass to a liquid form
which burns much cleaner than the actual biomass, and once this is done, the liquid fuel is used
in a manner similar to the raw materials (UCS). This source of alternative energy is not carbon
neutral which is the ultimate goal of using sources of renewable energy. When the crops are
burned in the electricity creation process, carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere when
burning the crops, during decomposition, and clearing land for the growing of crops (Williams).
Though some of the carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere while growing crops, it
would still take decades if not centuries to remove it from the atmosphere. The increase in green
house gases in the atmosphere is not the only negative effect of using this. Land has to be cleared
in order to harvest large numbers of crops to produce energy. This in turn destroys the
environment that the alternative source was meant to benefit, and when using large portions of
land to grow these crops, ecosystems are destroyed which greatly reduces biodiversity of areas
near the biopower production facility. Biomass may be a step in the right direction, but there is
much room for improvement (Williams).
Geothermal energy plants provide power to areas that are in the vicinity of areas that
have molten rock that is near the Earth's crust, also known as 'hot spots'. Hot water is brought up
from deep within the crust, and it is used to produce power. This creates a problem because it
releases many toxic gases into the atmosphere such as hydrogen sulfide which can become sulfur
dioxide and create acid rain (UCS). The acid rain that is formed by these dangerous gases greatly
damages neighboring ecosystems by killing plants and poisons many animals. There is also a
phenomenon that is associated with large amounts of ground water being removed at once
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(USGS). When this occurs, it causes the land to sink from where the water was taken from. This
leads to sinkholes that can destroy habitats and cause structural damage to nearby buildings.
Geothermal energy has some of the most room for improvement in my eyes because of all the
damage it can cause to surrounding areas.
Hydroelectric power is one of the largest sources of renewable energy that is being used.
The process that is used to generate hydroelectric power involves building a dam that makes
water flow through a tunnel at the bottom of the dam, called the penstock, due to a large drop in
gravity or immense pressure applied by a reservoir. There is a turbine at the end of the penstock
that is turned by the flowing water to generate electricity (Hydroelectric Power). This source of
power allows for electricity to be produced without the release of pollutants or greenhouse gases,
but this does not mean that it is free of negative effects. Dams that are used in the production of
electricity can lead to flooding which kills local animals and destroys their habitats. When plant
life becomes submerged by the reservoir that is created by the dam, they decay anaerobically,
and this leads to the release of greenhouse gases. It has been recorded that this causes
hydroelectric power plants to produce approximately 3.5 times the amount of greenhouse gases
that thermal plants which burn fossil fuels are capable of during this period (Sanguri). Overall,
there has been nearly 400,000 km submerged by the dams as well as water build up as a result.
There are numerous other negative effects that would make you think twice about depending on
a hydroelectric power plant for electricity. Many different actions could be taken to reduce the
negative effects that are brought about by the dam, but few basic measures that could have been
taken such as ensuring that all plant life is cleared away prior to the construction of the dam to
prevent the emission of various gases or perhaps even finding a way to create a dam that
produces smaller reservoirs or none at all. have not been taken into consideration.
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There areIf a few of these basic procedures were adopted, that can be taken to reduce the
impact of alternative energy sources on the environment could be reduced to nothing to make
them truly clean. Many of the cons of these renewable energy sources can be solved with the
addition of more money invested into the facility in which the energy is being generated. For
example, large amounts of pollution and green house gas emissions could be prevented from
being emitted from hydroelectric plants by removing plants on the site of the future reservoir and
encircling it in a wall to keep the water from destroying the surrounding ecosystems. Another
simple solution to improve existing energy sources would be to allow water that is used in
cooling like in biopower and geothermal energy to return to its original temperature so that it
does not bring harm to the ecosystem when it is returned. This would not cost money to maintain
because it would simply require a large tank to hold the water to allow it to drop in temperature
over a certain amount of time.
The changes mentioned would be relatively easy to implement during the installment of
the different types of renewable energy sources. The one major way to push for change would be
to make many of these issues more widely known. Were you surprised when you read this and
found out the numerous destructive side effects of using these new sources of energy? Many
people are completely unaware of these not so small details. If more people know about these
problems, then they will be more likely to be solved. If a movement can be set in motion, the
human race will be on its way to completely erasing its impact on the environment. It all depends
on what you will do about it because knowing is only half the battle.

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Works Cited
"CO2." European Renewable Energy Council. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.
Eveleth, Rose. "How Many Birds Do Wind Turbines Really Kill?" Smithsonian. N.p., 13 Dec.
2013. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.
"Environmental Impacts of Renewable Energy Technologies." Union of Concerned Scientists.
N.p., 05 Mar. 2013. Web. 12 Mar. 2014.
"How Do Wind Turbines Work?" Energy.gov. Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable
Energy, n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2014.
"Hydroelectric Power: How It Works." USGS Water-Science School. United States Geological
Survey, n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.
"Land Subsidence." USGS Water Science School. United States Geological Survey, n.d. Web. 27
Mar. 2014.
Sanguri, Mohit. "What Are the Negative Effects of Building Large Hydroelectric Dams?"
Brighthub Engineering. Ed. Lamar Stonecypher. N.p., 5 Apr. 2013. Web. 12 Mar. 2014.
"U.S. Energy Information Administration - EIA - Independent Statistics and Analysis." How
Much of World Energy Consumption and Electricity Generation Is from Renewable
Energy? United States Department of Energy, 18 Jan. 2013. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.
Williams, Carol. "Ecological and Environmental Impacts of Bioenergy." Wisconsin Grassland
Bioenergy Network. Agricultural Ecosystems Research Group, n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.

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