The Need For Energy

As humans have grown and developed over the years, our need for reliable and renewable energy has become a huge issue in the world we live in today. As we use more and more of the worlds limited fossil fuels, which happens to be our main source of energy, we drain what little non renewable energy resource we have left. Many people and organizations have dedicated themselves to searching for, creating, or harvesting new forms of renewable energy.

The way scientists track the amount of oil we have, and when we are expected to run, is by calculating a term called “Peak Oil.” Peak Oil is a term used to describe the quickest rate the world produces petroleum oil. We have already reached our Peak Oil point back in 2005, with a 74 mb/d of production a day. Although some recent research has shown that as of 2011 we seem to be in a rebound of the amount of petroleum oil we produce.

A very popular alternate source of renewable energy that people have been developing for a while is solar technology. Solar technology harvests and uses solar energy (energy from the sun) to power devices. Typically solar energy is gathered by solar panels, which absorb solar energy when the sun rotates over it during hours in the day. The panel then absorbs and translates the suns energy into usable energy for people and our devices. Tons of money and time have been poured into developing more advanced solar technology, as it is an unlimited renewable energy resource. As long as we have a sun and solar technology, we will have energy.

Another alternate energy source, is wind power. Wind power is harnessed by constructing different structures, such as wind turbines for electrical energy harnessing. Windmills are constructed to harness mechanical energy as well. Wind energy is a clean and renewable resource that does not harm the environment. Although wind energy is very reliable over the long run, sometimes shortages of winds can cause a shortage of energy for short periods of times.

As our fossil fuels and non-renewable resources grow thinner and thinner, the demand for cleaner and renewable energy sources has skyrocketed. Many energy sources are at our fingertips, but need more money and research devoted to the field.