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Nuclear Power Energy - A Non Renewable Energy Resource

Nuclear Energy has been touted as an alternative to mainstream electricity production from fossil fuel sources.  But how does Nuclear compare to fossil fuels in the long run?

Undoubtedly fossil fuels have serious issues associated with them.  Peak Oil production is one such problem which will very soon make its presence felt at both the national and individual level.  Another even more serious concern is the possibility of serious and perhaps irreversible climate change brought about by pollution primarily in the form of Carbon Dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels.

So how does Nuclear energy stand up as an alternative to fossil fuels in terms of a sustainable source of electricity production?  There are several concerns about Nuclear energy that have given it a bad name.  Reactor problems such as those that caused the Three Mile Island and Chernobyl incidents, along with several others, are far fewer in number relative to the scale of electricity production than compared to casualties in the mining sector associated with oil and coal.

Storage of Nuclear waste is also largely an issue of the past with technology now available to store Nuclear waste in solid form, reducing virtually to zero the possibility of leakage, ground water contamination and so forth.

Use of fuel enrichment to produce weapons grade nuclear materials such as Plutonium-239 is an unfortunate but essential part of the economical use of nuclear fuel.  It is worth remembering that no aggressive nuclear strike has been carried out since the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War Two, and that many millions of casualties have occurred in conventional warfare since that same time.

The reality for us though is that nuclear power relies upon supplies of Uranium and Plutonium that are themselves limited.  While these resources may have only begun to be exploited, it is certain that if our current level of increase of energy consumption continues then Nuclear fuel will also face the prospect of its own peak production level.

It cannot be a responsible decision to replace fossil fuels with another energy source that is also doomed to run out in the foreseeable future.  While those proponents of Nuclear power proclaim it as the salvation of our current situation they are not looking far enough into the future.

To make correct, responsible decisions that take into account not only our own welfare but also that of our children and their children, we need to adopt wide scale renewable energy in the form of Solar and Wind power.  These proven technologies have the capacity to meet our energy demands TODAY with no adverse future effects, assuming they are implemented in an intelligent way.

It is time for Governments around the world to stop looking for excuses and start making moves that assure the coming generations a safe, energy rich and pollution free world.  We need to begin implementing massive scale renewable energy immediately.

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Alternative Energy Or Renewable Energy Sources

Solar Power as Renewable Energy Source

The sun has a surface temperature of about 27 million deg. C. and emits radiations covering a wide range of frequencies in all directions.

A part of the radiations fall on the earth as it goes round the sun. Allowing for the various losses of the radiation on way to the earth, on an average we receive about 800 W/m2 of solar power at the equator.

Solar radiations include infrared frequencies which provide heat and also visible radiations which provide light. The solar energy, therefore, can be used in a very versatile manner.

Photovoltaic cell-assemblies as arrays and panels are used in isolated homes and communities for providing electricity; they are also used in large power stations for utility supplies. Heat for industrial processes as well as for supplementing the large thermal power stations is provided by using the solar concentrators in large installations.

This is a truly versatile renewable energy source which is inexhaustible and also totally non-polluting.

Wind Power as Renewable Energy Source

One of the cheapest sources of renewable energy is the wind energy. Windmills have traditionally been used for pumping water (as exemplified by Holland) or for grinding grains.

These windmills have taken on the modern role of providing electricity superbly. The three bladed windmills use turbines connected to generators for producing electricity; they are installed in the form of large windmill farms over large areas.

Good wind sites are generally in remote locations often situated miles away from large load centers such as cities or industrial centers. In any case it would be difficult to install large banks of windmills within cities or near urban centers.

Rotation of Earth, unevenness in heating of the atmosphere by the sun, and irregular surface of the Earth are the basic causes of creation of winds. This is another manifestation renewable energy of the sun available in a different form.

Tidal Power as Renewable Energy Source

Tides take place due to relative motion of the earth, the sun and the moon, and the gravitational forces of these planetary bodies on the waters in the oceans.

A huge amount of water moves twice a day in and out of estuaries as tides and harnessing this amount of water could yield a great deal of energy. In the olden times tide mills had been in use in Europe as well as in USA.

Tides are more predictable than wind energy and solar energy, and energy supply from tides would be reliable and plentiful. Tidal power generation has to be tied up with other large power systems because tidal power is available only when the tides move in or out, say for a maximum of ten hours a day.

However there are large technological problems in converting the tidal flow into useful electrical power.

There are various countries actively involved in developing technologies for harnessing tidal power. It is generally widely acknowledged that tidal power has vast potential as renewable energy source for electricity generation in future.

Biomass as Renewable Energy Source
By photosynthesis chlorophyll in plants converts atmospheric carbon dioxide into carbohydrates. Biomass is like solar energy stored in the form of carbohydrates. You burn it and the solar heat is released.

Biomass has been used from ancient times for obtaining heat.

The modern technology can not only use biomass to produce electricity by burning it but can also convert it into biofuel which can be used in vehicles or convert it into combustible gases.

Whichever route we take in using biomass, it is an unavoidable truth that we shall finally face the problem of releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

There are many plants which are suited to being used for generating electricity or for being converted into bio fuels or for gasification.

There is, however, a lot of work that needs to be done to avoid fertile land being switched from production of food to production of crops as bio fuels or to avoid crops and their produce being used to produce bio fuel instead of being used for human consumption (as in case of corn, for instance).

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