Change to Renewable Energy for a Better Life

Change to Renewable Energy for a Better Life

Do you know when will oil reserves run out? Do you know about the dangerous nuclear energy? According to the calculation, the world’s oil will be out within 44 years. Moreover, nuclear energy is very dangerous. You can look at accident in Chernobyl. Now, Chernobyl is like a dead city. Looking at the amount of oil and the danger from nuclear, we must save our oil with minimum using. We must use renewable energy. Now, using renewable energy is important because it can reduce oil consumption, unlimited and eco-friendly.

Oil reserve is unlimited but the consumption increase as much as increase of human on our earth.  According to data from CIA website, sum of oil reserve in the earth is 1,349,417,153,000 barrels. In addition, country that has biggest oil reserve is Arab Saudi with 262,700,000,000 barrels. According to data from the same source, world oil consumption is 82,769,370.4 bbl/day. When we calculate the data, we know that our oil will be out about 44 years again. It will happen if the consumption is same with now. However, we know that every year the demand of oil is increasing. Therefore, the oil will be out before 44 years if we do not do something. “First, organic matter has to be synthesized by living organisms and thereafter it must be deposited and preserved in sediments. Depending on further geological events, part of sedimentary organic matter may be transformed in to petroleum-like compounds” (Tissot & Welte, 1984, p. 3).What is organic matter? The body of animal or plant lived before us. From the organic matter to be petroleum, it needs hundreds of thousand years. That is why, petroleum quickly used up, petroleum is quick in consuming while forming process need much time.

Source of renewable energy is unlimited because the source can continuously use or the sources are unlimited as the sunlight .Kind of renewable energy is hydro-energy (hydropower), wind power, geothermal energy, solar energy, and biofuel. Hydropower is the first renewable energy we use for power plants. Geothermal energy is used in power plants. The heat from the magma in our earth boils the water, which injected and made the water become air that turns the turbine to produce electricity. ”Every kilowatt of geothermal base load power, is capable of saving about two tons of oil fuel per annum” (Christopher & Armstead, 1983, p. xxxiii) .Because the difference of sun light that the earth receive, there are winds. “If all the potential sites for mills were exploited, wind might supply as much as one-third of the current energy demand in the world” (Katzman, 1984, p. 12). Solar energy systems use radiation from the sun to produce heat and electricity. There are three basic categories of solar energy systems: Solar Thermal Systems, Solar Thermal-Electric Power Plants  and Photovoltaic Systems. Solar thermal systems and solar thermal-electric power plants use to heat the water. Then the hot water can use in house or heat again until became air to turn the generator in power plan. However, in photovoltaic systems, the radiation from the sun directly converts to electric with the cells in the PV panel. Biofuel is made from corn or crude palm oil. Therefore, if we have corn or CPO we can make bio fuel. Biofuel is better than oil, because when we burn biofuel, it produce less of carbon dioxide. Now, just 18% from world energy that using renewable energy, (Renewables Global Status Report 2011, p. 79) is not enough. We must increase the ratio energy quickly before our oil run out.

Renewable energy is more eco-friendly than alternative energy like nuclear. Nuclear energy can be used to substitute oil and gas in power plants to decrease their consumption. Price of electricity with nuclear is cheapest than other source energy. We just need a little plutonium to electricity a town in a day. Technology in nuclear power plant is more advanced than others. It is the advantages of nuclear energy. However, we have a big problem with nuclear. Nuclear is like knife. It is useful when we use it as power plants but nuclear is very dangerous when it is used as weapon. It is more dangerous than “little boy” and “fat man“in the world war II. When we use nuclear as power plants, there are also danger. Although we have high-technology security, there are also risks. If the reactor leaks, the radiation will blow up and spread out, following the wind. The radiation nuclear can make evolution, cancer and other disease. We can also in risk when disaster like earthquake or mountain eruption makes damage to reactor. Both of them are risk in accidents risk, but there is another risk. It is sabotage and blackmailing. The terrorist may sabotage the nuclear facility to terror the people. They can release the radioactive material, destruction of facilities and explosive device. Example of dangerous of nuclear is in Chernobyl and in Three Miles Island. In Chernobyl, there is a nuclear reactor, because there is a problem, the reactor burst. It has broken the shield, so the nuclear radiation spread out around the city. Radiation in Chernobyl spread out until Scandinavia. All of the people evacuated to another city. Now, Chernobyl like dead city. There are no live, even a plant. In Three Miles Island, 1979 there was accident that made the reactor broken. Fortunately, the shield in reactor was not broken. Therefore, just little radiation spread out to the air. (Rinaldy, 1999, p. 13).

“Throughout 1950s-1960s engineers sought to improve efficiency simply by making power station units lager” (Patterson, 1990, p. 119). Now, we cannot do like that again. Because the petroleum, the source of our energy is limited and it is not eco-friendly. Therefore, we must substitute the source of our energy. Currently we have to use renewable energy because it is more eco-friendly than other energy and help us to have a better life.

 Bibliography                             

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Central Intelligence Agency. The World Factbook. Retrieved  December 16, 2011, from http://www.cia.gov

Cristopher H., & Armstead H. (1983). Geothermal Energy. London : E. & F.N. Spon Ltd

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Energy Intelegence Agency. Energy Explained. Retrieved  December 16, 2011, from http://www.eia.gov

Katsman, Martin T. (1984). Solar and Wind Energy. New Jersey : A division of Litlefield, Adams & Company.

National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Applying Technology . Retrieved  December 16, 2011, from http://www.nrel.gov

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Renewable Energy policy network for the 21^st Century. (2011). Renewables Global Status Report. p.79. Retrieved  December 18, 2011, from  http://www.ren21.net

Tissot, B. P., & Welte, D.H. (1984). Petroleum Formation and Occurrence.(2^nd ed.). Germany: Sringer-Verlag.