Significance of Alternative Energy sources on Global Warming Global warming is posing a deadly threat for human life today

while being one of the major environmental issues that the world is experiencing. Global Warming is the rising of the worlds temperatures causing significant changes to our climate, and the reason for this rise in temperature is due to an increase of greenhouse gas emissions such as CO2 caused by burning fossil fuels. As of now, there are several energy sources that dont emit harmful CO2 gases, called Alternative energy sources. Global Warming caused by greenhouse gases can be reduced with alternative energy, because Solar, Wind and Geothermal are significant renewable alternative energy sources that dont emit any greenhouse when used.

Solar energy is a really well-known type of alternative energy, and one of the most used around the world. Solar energy, which is radiant light and heat from the sun, has been harnessed by humans since ancient times using a range of ever-evolving technologies. Even though there are many technologies that utilize solar energy such as Solar Panels, only a small fraction of the available solar energy is actually used1. There are many good things about using Solar as a source of energy because of its abundance and availability. By being renewable, solar energy does not emit harmful greenhouse gases as burning fossil fuels does, and its received positively by many governments, by giving citizens tax credits or some type of incentive. Using solar power also has the potential to save money because the person owning it doesnt have to pay for the use, unlike natural gas or nuclear energy which is supplied by private companies. As for the
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Kopp, Greg and Lean, Judith L. A new, lower value of total solar irradiance: Evidence and climate significance. GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS. University of Toronto. 14 Jan. 2011. PDF. 19 Nov. 2011

major use of solar panels, Germany installed 3,806 megawatts (MW) of PV solar energy capacity, which is more than Spains total capacity and almost eight times more than the U.S. installed last year. Germany is expected to remain the top purchaser of solar panels throughout 20102. So, if the use of solar energy is increased every year by more countries adopting and purchasing it will definitely help in solving the problem of global warming to some extent, by offsetting the use of fossil fuels to do supply people with electricity. Solar energy is also good for the economy because of the declining cost, while being more advanced and proving more energy as compared to using fossil fuels like oil that is really unstable in the financial market. In Canada, the Green Energy Act in Ontario is allowing residents with solar panels the opportunity to sell some the energy they make, providing power to people without emitting harmful greenhouse gases from nuclear energy plants. As more solar energy is being used, the price of installation decreases, while as the demand for oil increases, price also increase because it is not a renewable source of energy. Once oil finishes it is not renewable, unlike Solar energy which is available everywhere and will never finish as the Sun continues to shine, helping in reducing the use of greenhouse gases causing global warming.

Another major alternative and even renewable source of energy just like Solar is Wind Power. It is the conversion of wind energy into energy that can be used to generate electricity such as: windmills for mechanical power, wind pumps for water pumping or drainage, or sails to propel ships. The total amount of extractable power available from the wind is considerably more than present human power used from all sources combined. A study in 2005 shows that potential of wind power on land and near-shore to be 72 TW, equivalent to 54,000 MToE
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Zachary. Ten Countries with the Most Installed Solar Energy. 1bog. 27 July, 2011. Web. 19 Nov 2011

(million tons of oil equivalent) per year, or over five times the world's current energy use in all forms3. This means that if people are increasingly investing in wind power and reduce our dependence on other non-renewable sources of energy, the energy supplied to the world will be significantly more than what the current output is from using fossil fuels, while being renewable. Many farmers have invested in wind farms on their land to produce electricity because of the incentive they receive from the government. Windfarms are meant to be large and consist of hundreds of wind turbines placed close to each other. As for total wind power installations worldwide, in 2010, the Chinese wind market became a class of its own, representing more than half of the world market for new wind turbines adding 18.9 GW from 2009, which equals a market share of 50.3%: Country China United States Germany Spain India Italy France United Kingdom Canada Denmark Windpower capacity (in MW) 44,733 40,180 27,215 20,676 13,066 5,797 5,660 5,204 4,008 3,734

Archer, Cristina L. & Jacobson, Mark Z. Evaluation of global wind power . Journal of Geophysical Research, 2005. Web. 19 Nov, 2011

Unlike power stations, wind generation can be built piecemeal as needs change and technology improves. Innovations include flexible blades which bend to spill very strong winds and special composite materials which are strong and light, meaning wind turbines can be repaired or improved quickly as wind energy technology becomes more advanced over time. Manufacturing wind turbines is a great opportunity to help the economy while being environmentally safe. Single blades can be more than 250 feet long, offering opportunities for local manufacture instead of manufacturing it overseas. Small turbine production also offers huge opportunities for medium sized business because installation and maintenance are great business opportunities for medium and large companies, as governments can offer rebates and incentives for those who legally own wind turbines on their property. This can help businesses who rely on non-renewable sources of energy such as fossil fuels, to use alternative and renewable sources of energy, which again reduces the use of fossil fuels and unnecessary carbon dioxide emission from factories that produce electricity from coal. The use of wind power should be increased because as population grows, demand for more resources increase and so does power consumption. If more people use non-renewable sources of energy for power, greenhouse gases will only increase, which is why renewable sources of energy are sustainable and help reduce greenhouse gas emission causing global warming.

One of the least known, but powerful alternative source of energy is Geothermal. Geothermal energy is thermal energy (heat) that is stored in the Earth. The word geothermal

WWEA. World Wind Energy Report 2010 . World Wind Energy Association WWEA 2011, Apr 2011. PDF. 19 Nov 2011

originates from the Greek roots geo, meaning earth, and thermos, meaning heat. The principle of this form of energy is quite simple. The ground beneath our feet gets heated by the sun on a daily basis. However, it is also a great insulator, and so retains a vast amount of this heat as stored energy. The idea is that pipes are run through a fairly large area of ground several feet down, where the temperature is more constant. Then, water is passed through the pipes, heating it. The primary use for this type of energy is heating, as a regulated temperature can be achieved constantly with little variation dependent on time of year. It can also be used over larger areas to provide hot water, but this needs more time in the ground so more pipe work and a greater area. Since this is a very clean form of energy, the use of it is increasing similarly to other alternative sources of energy. According to the International Geothermal Association (IGA) 10,715 megawatts (MW) of geothermal power in 24 countries is online, which is expected to generate 67,246 GWh of electricity in 2010. This represents a 20% increase in geothermal power online capacity since 2005. IGA projects this will grow to 18,500 MW by 2015, due to the large number of projects presently under consideration, often in areas previously assumed to have little exploitable resource.5 Geothermal energy can be used for a wide array of different purposes. Below is an overview of the most common ones:

Geothermal Energy Association. Geothermal Energy: International Market Update . International Geothermal Association, May 2010. PDF 8 Dec 2011.

This increase is an obvious sign that many governments and investors are looking to renewable, alternative sources of energy that will help with reducing the use of greenhouse gases causing global warming.

In conclusion, alternative energy is what will save life on earth from global warming, because of the fact that it is clean, sustainable and provides many more pros than cons when put into perspective. Global Warming caused by greenhouse gases can be reduced with
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Energy Informative. Geothermal Energy Pros and Cons . Energy Informative, 28 Aug 2011. Web. 8 Dec. 2011

alternative energy, because Solar, Wind and Geothermal are significant renewable alternative energy sources that dont emit any greenhouse when used, while providing incentives to businesses and home owners that use them. Global Warming is the rising of the worlds temperatures causing significant changes to our climate, and the reason for this rise in temperature is because of our addiction to fossil fuels which are the leading causes of the increase of greenhouse gas emissions. So, if the use of alternative energy is increased, the increase of greenhouse gas emissions will be immensely reduced.