Have you ever wondered why we continuously use energy sources despite knowing their negative impacts on the environment? That to say, energy sources are crucial for humans as they are used for daily activities and even in one’s profession. Different energy sources have different uses, as well as impacts on the world. With those energies, something can be positively obtained, but it may also have a bigger negative impact compared. That being said, there are different types of energy sources used in the world, many negative impacts of energy sources on the environment, along with the economy and cost of the non-environmental-damaging energy as two of the reasons behind the continuous use of environmental negative-impacting energy.
Energy sources are very necessary for living, especially in this developed and advanced world. Humans depend on energy sources to a great extent, regardless of its negative impacts on their surroundings. Energy sources are known to be divided into two, namely non-renewable energy and renewable energy. Non-renewable energy, or also known as fossil fuel, is created from the decomposition of plants and animals. Fossil fuels are made up of carbon and hydrogen, which are harmful materials that can be burnt, thus becoming energy easily. In comparison, renewable energy is can be obtained naturally. In particular, renewable energy is solar energy, wind, waves, ocean currents, plant materials, and heat within the earth, or commonly recognized as geothermal. These energies are widely used for electricity, and more so as a source needed to function something. Though it can be thought renewable energy may be more expensive to obtain and give off more positive impacts than non-renewable energy, both energies still have their pros and cons itself.
Almost every matter that’s crucial to the lives of humans has negative sides to it. Consequently, non-renewable and renewable energy helps people possess electricity and fuel sources, although it takes the risk of destroying the environment. The burning of fossil fuel materials to create energy comes off with the release of toxic chemicals into the air. Those toxic chemicals such as nitric oxide pollute the air. Once it rains, those chemicals would combine with rain and cause acidic rain, resulting in damage to the environment. It is stated that, "High levels of NOx can have a negative effect on vegetation, including leaf damage and reduced growth. It can make vegetation more susceptible to disease and frost damage.” Besides, granted that renewable energy does not cause any pollution in the atmosphere nor in water, the world pushes for the extensive use of renewable energy. Yet, the loss of habitat still occurs either way, as stated by Oxford University Press, “However, subterranean animals can be affected by utility-scale solar energy development operation, including species that hibernate underground. Included in Cowles' observations were flat-tailed horned lizards—a species of special concern in the Sonoran Desert because of solar energy development—and the federally protected Coachella Valley fringe-toed lizard.” Renewable energy requires an abundance of land because to obtain electricity, a big space is needed to construct energy-harnessing structures such as windmills, solar panels, etc. In that case, windmills are substantially generators utilized to produce energy from the wind, which due to their large size, they need to be far apart from one another. Let alone when a bigger amount of energy can only be obtained when more windmills are present, a considerable number of lands are needed, which equally applies to solar panels as well. The lands that are used to place those generators are typically occupied with many wildlife living there prior, hence the clearing of the area for those structures causes habitat loss, and can even lead to some natural disasters from deforestation. Anyhow, considering that the negative impacts of non-renewable and renewable energy are known, it is expected for the minimization of some of those activities, but in all honesty, it has a benefit in a certain angle.
Energy certainly plays a big role and is important in many aspects of humans’ lives such as lighting, heating, electronics, etc. As a matter of fact, a country as a whole can benefit from energy sources, such as in economy. The economy is related to the production and consumption of resources, in which goods and services are produced to be consumed. An article asserts, “Industrial energy use is predominantly used for production, as well as for lighting and other business uses in the manufacturing industries. Industrial production makes up just over half of all global energy use and is expected to grow by a similar 1.5% globally each year through 2035.” With this in mind, the production of goods is done with support mostly from the energy created by burning fossil fuels to function. Correspondingly, those fossil fuels would create ash containing chemicals, and the waste resulting from the production is usually thrown out to the river by factories. Hence, it negatively impacts the environment. However, the economy still has connections with energy sources because if production is stopped, those produced goods that are very essential to fulfill people’s needs would be gone too. Additionally, importing and exporting are economic activities that also involve energy sources, specifically in shipping. Shipping of goods from one place to another is typically done by ships if through water, and airplanes if through the air. All shipping transportations use non-renewable energy as their fuel source, although as apprehended, non-renewable energy gives off immense negative effects on the environment. However, shipping plays a vital role in carrying out an efficient import-export activity, thus, shipping cannot be put to an end. Furthermore, energy sources can benefit the country’s economy from running a business. The electricity company that provides electricity for the whole country are usually run by the respective government suchlike PLN, the Indonesian electricity company. Some of the revenue the company receives from the bills paid by the people would proceed to the country’s economy. That said, renewable energy can also contribute to the economy, and can be used as a replacement for fossil fuels to power those transportations, but it is yet to be used predominantly if looked at in the perspective of affordability.
In this case, using renewable energy may be the answer to the environmental problems caused by non-renewable energy. However, if the cost of renewable energy weren’t exceptionally expensive, it would be as easy as throwing trash into the trash bin. Quoted from an article by Green Matters, “Abandoning the use of all fossil fuels may seem like an ideal situation, but to many of the more pragmatic world leaders, it’s little more than an environmentalists’ Utopia.” Renewable energy generators are fundamentally the solution in bettering the environment, but the price can cost an arm and leg, to-which those costly generators are solar panels and windmills. Solar panels are expensive due to the high-quality silicon used in creating them; requiring a large space of land; requires professional solar panel installers; as well as inverters and electrical protection to obtain proper energy. Also, solar panels need very little maintenance and can even be installed as personal home generators, but owning one would cost around 14 million IDR to 19 million IDR per kilowatts. Therefore, if 7,700 kWh is needed to cover a 500-meter square home, the total cost of solar panel installation would be 107,8 billion IDR. Whilst for windmills, though they are effective wind generators, capable of generating 1.5 to 8 megawatts of energy depending on the turbine size and wind speed, and is competent to power about 1000 homes, they are remarkably expensive in respect to maintaining and funding. It’s due to the size and type of high-quality turbine used; high maintenance and installation cost specifically on land space, insurance, repair, and the need for some electricity to function; along with the turbine’s resistance to big waves when it’s placed offshore. The cost of one windmill is about 19 billion IDR, and its maintenance cost is around 600 million to 700 million IDR in a year. So, if a country decides to fully replace fossil fuels with wind power turbines as an energy source, the electricity tax bills would unquestionably increase, and an amount of the country’s money would divert to those generators just to maintain and build it. As that’s said, it would be the same if shipping transportations or even daily transportations were to use those generators as a source, its cost would be over the odds. From there on, it’s known that renewable energy generators wouldn’t be very affordable, with the exception of small houses and those incredibly rich.
To sum up, it is perceived that there are two kinds of energy sources in this world. Non-renewable energy and renewable energy are very distinctive, which each have defective effects, but renewable energy is still much preferable. Not to mention, the quantity of fossil fuel materials is running out, so the world needs to start focusing on renewable energy sources. People in this era are also undoubtedly able to figure out a solution to the negative impact initiated by renewable energy production, and one solution has even been found and done by some countries, that is the installation of solar panels on top of the sea. However, there are some reasons why the world still cannot easily let go of non-renewable energy utilization. Those reasons are its beneficial impacts on a country and the high cost of renewable energy generators that may cause inabilities for some to bear the expenses. Needless to say, as technology has advanced, the world is able to create renewable energy generators. By that means, more investments on renewable energy would be made, leading to the decrease of the price of generators, and becoming more affordable as time goes. In this sense, the use of renewable sources can start dominating to hopefully set off a better environment where humans’ crucial needs and activities can still be fulfilled and executed simultaneously.
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