Alternative Enegry

The world today is seeing a new international crisis. We hear so much in the media about the pending energy crisis and reducing our dependence on sources that cannot be renewed. These resources of oil and gas will soon run out. We rely so much on these resources for power and especially electricity. In my opinion, alternative energy use is the best solution to curb energy crisis that we face today because it is renewable resource, environmentally friendly and cheaper than fossil fuel. There are three of famous alternative energy that are widely being used to generate electricity which is wind energy, solar energy and tidal energy.

Firstly, wind energy is one of the alternative sources. This kind of alternative energy is suitable for locations that have wide open areas and strong winds. The setback in using wind turbines is unpredictability of wind (Isabel, 2007). However, according to Isabel (2007), when there is no wind, the turbines do not rotate; thus, electricity is not generated. Besides that, "huge investments are needed to improve the current technology and develop new ones", (Baryan, 2007).

Secondly, the sun has always been a source of heat and light for our planet. Solar energy is probably one of the most abundant energy available in the planet. Almost anyone can make use of the suns free energy. So, according to Bryan (2007), in the long run, it will be cheaper because we will be able to use this energy without harming the environment. That is also the reason why it is the most popular alternative energy being used today. "Although it is a huge source energy, it has several weaknesses in terms of technology", (Isabel, 2007).

Lastly, tidal power or also called tidal energy is a form of hydropower that converts the energy of tides into useful forms of power - mainly electricity. Tidal energy is use of the oldest forms of energy used by humans. Tidal power is non-polluting, reliable and predictable. "Although it is an effective energy source, it is geographically limited", (Isabel, 2007). According Bryan (2007), these sources of energy are clean and safe as they do not produce any harmful gases.

In a nut shell, firstly we can minimize the usage of these scarce resources and we can create more awareness about this crisis. However, we can even make a bigger impact by using alternative energy. Alternative energy is not a new term for us. Alternative energy sources produce clean and reliable energy without the threat of pollution, and best of all, it's free and would never run out. So, "the use of alternative energy sources is a very important area of research that needs further attention", (Isabel, 2007).