Solar Power Home

Fossil fuels are predominant in today’s energy system and account for more than 85% of the world’s energy consumption. Today, the need for energy is enormous, plus it’s constantly growing and will continue to do so. How can we meet the energy demands, if we predominantly depend on fossil fuels? We can’t, and sooner or later we will have to find alternatives.

There are two reasons why - energy supply and environmental issues. Fossil fuels are limited resources and cannot be replaced. They were formed, as their name suggests, from the fossilized remains of plants and animals over hundreds of millions of years. In other words - they are non-renewable. When the supplies run out, and they will run out, that’s it.

One of the biggest problems with fossil fuels is pollution. Coal fueled power plants are the largest source of air pollution in the U.S. Burning fossil fuels produces many pollutants - carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and many other harmful compounds. This causes many health and environmental problems - acid rain, smog, ozone hole, and global climate change just to name a few.

Fossil fuels definitely don’t have a bright future. We know that the future belongs to renewable energy sources that do not pollute the environment. Not to mention they come in unlimited supplies. Solar, wind, and hydro are the main forms of renewable energy today.

Our overly dependence on non-renewable energy sources is, as we know, not sustainable. We should put in serious efforts to reduce it. There are renewable eco-friendly alternatives all around us.

The main drawback of renewable energy is the cost. It’s true, low fossil fuel prices made it difficult for alternative sources to compete. But this is changing. Technologies are improving and the cost of green energy has fallen dramatically over the last few years.

Green and renewable energy should be our main focus in the coming decades. The sooner we become free of our fossil fuel addiction, the better.

You can start using renewable energy today and greatly reduce or even eliminate your power bill. Creating your own electricity is easier and cheaper than you think. See earth4energy book for more details.