The Earth’s surface receives enough energy in just one hour to meet all of the world’s energy requirements for a whole year. By using finite energy resources such as oil, coal, gas and other fossil fuels which are being depleted, we are currently emitting huge quantities of carbon dioxide (CO”) into the earth’s atmosphere. Switching to clean renewable energy sources such as solar panels for our energy will allow us to reduce our carbon emissions and protect our planet.
How we currently get our energy
Globally the world currently uses renewable energy for just ten per cent of its energy needs. In the UK we obtain just two per cent of all our energy from renewables.
The majority of our global energy usage comes from nuclear energy and from burning fossil fuels. There are two main problems with burning fossil fuels as an energy source. Firstly, fossil fuels are a finite resource. The oil and coal buried beneath the surface of the earth has taken millions of years to be made, from compacting plants and organisms, breaking them down with heat and pressure over time.
These fossil fuels are being consumed by us in huge quantities every day. We are using them at a rate that is much faster than they could ever be produced. Global energy demands are increasing each year as our reliance and consumption continues to rise. Fossil fuels are not renewable and our resources of them are fast depleting. They could run out within our lifetimes.
Our carbon footprints
The second reason that burning fossil fuels for energy is problematic is that they are harmful to our environment. When fossil fuels are burnt they release carbon dioxide which escapes into the atmosphere. Natural processes can only absorb half of what is currently being emitted which means that the surplus is damaging the environment and contributing to global warming.
We currently burn fossil fuels for the majority of our energy use which has resulted in dangerously large global carbon emissions and significant carbon footprints.
Your carbon footprint will include all of the carbon emissions associated with you and your lifestyle, such as the energy and electricity that you use in your home, place of work and transport arrangements. It also includes the carbon associated with everything you consume, such as food miles.
Our carbon emissions are larger than they have ever been and it is important for us all to recognise the impact that our lifestyles have on the world, as well as future generations. Utilising renewable forms of energy is a way not just to offset our carbon emissions, but also a way to avoid producing them at all. As we continue to deplete the Earth’s finite resources of fossil fuels, clean and renewable energy sources become even more important.
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