ENVIROMENTAL SCIENCE ESSAY:

"Which Has A Larger Impact On Global Warming:

Renewable or Non-renewable Energy Resources?"

Global Warming. Almost every one of us has heard of this phrase- in school, news, newspaper, etc.

But what does it really mean?

According to environmentalists, scientists, and other fields that work on "Global Warming", global

warming basically means "..an increase in the average global temperature." (which is approximately +0.5º).

The increase is caused by the increase in atmospheric greenhouse gases. These gases are generally not bad;

we actually need it to warm our HOME SWEET HOME! But like we said, "too much of everything is bad".

Too much gas means more heat is trapped near the earth's surface. If this is so, then it generally means that

the average global temperature will rise. What causes this? Of course, it is the human, or rather our activities

plus many natural processes.

So what if there is an increase in the average global temperature? We have already experienced

"heat"/ El Niño during summer times, so why worry? No pal, that's not the point. The real point is that we

are talking about the global change in the average climate, not the usual change in the local climate. What's

more worrying is that there are a lot of drastic effects on the globe, both living and non-living. Some of them

are:

 First of all, it poses threats to human health. For example, since there are less trees due to

temperature rise, then there will be more Carbon Dioxide (CO2) that are not converted to Oxygen

(O2), which us humans need. Plus, more diseases are carried by warmer zones than the colder

zones, making us prone to many harmful diseases.

  The sea level will rise too, since water expands when heated and ice sheets and glaciers melt due

to heat. When a 0.3 meter (1 foot) rise on the sea level occur, it would cause flood on many low

areas as well as deltas where crops are grown.

So much for global warming. Let's go to the main topic- the impact of renewable/ non-renewable

energy resources on global warming. Which has a larger impact?..

Renewable resources basically mean that certain resources can be used over and over again, and

seem not to be run out in stock. Just like water- it never runs out, and are always readily available (in some

cases). Vice-versa goes for non-renewable, just like coal, since it takes millions of years before another set

of coals are produced. Let's take up first some known renewable resources and their corresponding impact

on global warming:

1. Solar Energy

We all know the sun can be a source of energy, right? Many things now are solar-powered,

thanks to the solar panels, just like houses, batteries, furnaces, calculators, even cars! The downfall? Why,

come to think of it, it's not twenty-four hours that the sun shines! Plus, solar stations are very expensive to

put up and you'll need an appropriate place to set it all up. But hey, it somehow lessens the threat of global

warming (although it not yet widely-used by many factories, 'coz that will mean less time to manufacture

stuff...) because it does not produce waste- just point the solar panels to the direction of the sun's rays, then

the panels will convert it into electrical energy and snap!- there's your electricity that you need.

2. Geothermal Energy

Using the power of technology, geothermal factories extract steam or very hot water from the

Earth's crust, and then use it for producing electricity. The advantage is that it is pollution-free, so it does not

contribute to global warming, plus the stations do not take up much space- a relief for the environment that
is. But the problem is that, to have a good supply of steam, you're going to need "..hot rocks of a suitable

type, at a depth where we can drill down to them. The type of rock above is also important, it must be of a

type that we can easily drill through". But who cares? At least it doesn't contribute to global warming! :D

(well, maybe I care a little…)

3. Hydropower

Water's all around us, la la hee hee what a-… ahem… Basically, we know that water has

many uses- drinking, cooking, swimming, and others. It also can be used for making energy- it's all free,

creates no pollution, inexpensive, and a lot of energy can be produced! But of course, there is the "bad" side:

it depends on the waves itself, and you're going to find a site where there is a consistent stream of waves.

This means that it also must withstand bad weather… But it still rocks… hahaha… : P

4. Biomass

What comes to your mind when you hear the word biomass? To make it clear, biomass

means (in the field of environmental science) plant materials and animal wastes that are used especially as a

source of fuel and energy. The good thing in here is that it makes less hassle to Mother Earth, since we just

don't dump the wastes and leave it there but we find other uses for it. Now, the thing is we burn the fuel, so

it contributes to the global warming..

Now let's take up some of the known non-renewable resources…:

1. Coal

It's one of the ever so-famous non-renewable resources: coal (one of the fossil fuels). What is

so special about it anyway? Well, let me tell it to you: Very large amounts of electricity can be produced

from one coal. Cool, isn't it? Now hear this: Whenever a coal is burnt, it produces not just steam to make
energy, but also CO2, which contributes mainly in the global warming. Yes, it may be a great source of

energy, but the coal source itself is depleting. It will take millions of years to make pal! Besides, it's

hazardous and dangerous too for the miners, plus the mining activity itself destroys the environment, by

means of digging here and there.

2. Uranium

Ever heard of it? Uranium basically is an element- a silvery heavy radioactive polyvalent

metallic element to be exact. Since it is radioactive, then it must be poisonous too, which it really is. Don't

worry; it does not produce smoke or CO2. It is even almost as inexpensive as coal! Here's the gate-crasher:

Even if it produces small amounts of waste (which is very, very dangerous), that waste must be sealed up

and buried deep for many, many years to allow the radioactivity to die away. Remember the Chernobyl

disaster? It can be like that if the factories don't spend much and pay much attention to the safety of the

factory itself. Accidents can be prevented; it's just that people put a lot of money for the safety alone, so it's

really expensive, too.

Now that we're finished with the two kinds of energy resources and their impact on global warming,

let's decide- what has a larger impact? Renewable or non-renewable? You can say renewable, since some of

them do produce wastes. You can also say non-renewable, since almost all of them produce wastes. But

keep it in mind that it is my opinion I'm about to say in here, and I'm to say that for me, non-renewable

resources makes a larger impact on global warming. Remember the fossil fuels? The coal, oil and gas? For

me, they have a larger impact on global warming since they produce much greenhouse gases. Burning coal

produces more CO2 than burning oil or gas. The same coal also produces sulfur dioxide, a gas that

contributes to acid rain. Acid rains are bad for the environment; it can even damage plants and aquatic

animals! Plus acid rains contaminate the water, making it unsafe to for us to drink.
 See what I mean? Basically for me, non-renewable energy resources have a larger impact. But does it

really matter if it has a larger impact? Well, maybe yes, but what matters the most is that we have to prevent

any sort of process that can add the percentage of the greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. I have already

discussed some of the things of what may happen if the amounts of greenhouse gases rise up, haven't I? So,

the thing is, we have to prevent the global warming, so we have to prevent the plants and factories that

release greenhouse gases.

So what now? Remember, if we don't act now, I don't think anyone will. We can't continue to be

blind- the evidences are clear. Let's save our Home Sweet Home, our Mother Earth. :>

Sources:

Environmental Science Book

http://www.darvill.clara.net/altenerg/index.htm

Recommendation:

The documentary DVD: An Inconvenient Truth (with Al Gore as the speaker!)

It talks about the global warming… Its causes and effects to our world in the past, present, and even future.