Zero Emissions

This post should help tell people of renewable, emissions-free alternatives to coal as a source of power, which is the environment. Coal is the resource most power plants use as fuel to create electricity as more than fifty percent of all generated electricity come from coal-based power plants. The result of the coal burning from these power plants is the contribution of 40% of all carbon dioxide emissions in the United States in addition to many other greenhouse gases, pollutants and toxins. The use of coal for power plants is unreal for today as it has the highest carbon output of any fossil fuel and because of the heated debate on greenhouse gases and global warming. If coal burning is not stopped or stymied, greenhouse gases will only go up. This could result in a temperature increase and dirtier air, unless there is a change from coal to some other resource as a source of energy (http://www.sierraclub.org/cleanair/factsheets/power.asp).

Wind power uses the the wind to turn big turbines that turn gears to create electricity. The cost of wind power is competitive with that of coal and turbines can be used to power one's house as an alternative to buying electricity from the power companies. There are over 11,000 megawatts of power available to the United States through wind and that number will keep on rising as more wind turbines are built ((http://www1.eere.energy.gov/windandhydro/).

Hydropower or hydroelectric power comes from the turning of turbines by water to create energy. This source of energy is the largest in the United States with over 80,000 megawatts of energy capacity. There are three types of hydroelectric plants of which the most common one involves using a dam and letting water through from one side to another to create energy. Most hydropower plants are created after the dam is made, and only 2,400 out of 80,000 dams in the US have hydropower plants (http://www1.eere.energy.gov/windandhydro/).

Solar energy provided by the sun is a key energy resource people can use now and even more widely in the future. This type of energy uses photovoltaic(PV) energy systems to capture the energy from sunlight and convert it into electricity. There are many PV systems in the country and they are mostly in area that get a considerable amount of sunlight. The problem with PVs, however, is that they do not operate during night as the sun is not out. Solar energy is a major benefit to the economy, the environment, to our energy grid and to people. Even though PVs are not cost competitive with fossil fuels, the pay for themselves over time as the cost of fuel is nothing and the energy gotten from the PV goes to the energy grid, cutting down on utility costs. Also, the environmental is saved of 217,000 pounds of carbon dioxide and thousands of pounds of other gases for every kilowatt of energy produced by the PV, making solar energy very environmentally friendly (http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/).

Geothermal energy is gotten by taking heat from the Earth to create steam, which then turn a turbine to create energy. Geothermal energy is a constant source as heat radiates from the center of the Earth constantly. Many geothermal plats are on geysers or hot springs because the water is already steamy. This results in more energy produced than by taking heat to boil the water to turn the turbine. Geothermal energy is always on and it produces energy at five cents per kilowatt hour, which is the same rate as coal, making this economically efficient as well. Geothermal energy can also be used on a smaller scale as the heat from the ground can be used to heat one's home by installing pipes below ground. Geothermal energy can also be obtained through getting heat from magma, which is something to look forward to in the future. Geothermal energy involved digging into the Earth, but it is not a process that is dangerous to the environment as it gains back more in return with emission-free energy (http://www1.eere.energy.gov/geothermal/geothermal_basics.html).

With fossil fuels likely to run out in the future (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/warming/beyond/) and the potential effects of increased greenhouse gases in the air, these methods for obtaining energy are the solution. These methods will help out the Earth immensely as the air quality will get better and the threat of global warming due to increased greenhouse gases will fade away.