Another fossil fuel is coal. It is the most abundant fossil fuel in the world. Worldwide, there is about 3,100 billion BOE of coal. We are consuming about 71 million BOE every day and so coal will last the longest at 120 years left.
Of the total energy the world is consuming presently, 240 million BOE per day, oil, natural gas and coal make up 88% of the total. Just 12% comes from nuclear, hydro-electric and renewables like solar, wind, geothermal and other sources.
The picture above shows the amount of oil reserves left in the world as off 2009. As you can see, the Middle East has the most oil and this drives their economy greatly and that is why many of the countries in the Middle East are quite rich. Many oil companies have offices in the Middle East as the oil industry is the major industry in its economy. However when the oil runs out, they will have to switch to another industry to make money. Currently, Saudi Arabia is the world’s top oil producing country followed by Russia.
However, oil reserves around the world are diminishing and will soon run out within the next 50 years. The reason why humans still depend on oil so much even though it is running out is because of the amount of energy it produces. Since we are running out on our most dependent resource for energy, we need to switch to alternate sources of energy that are renewable.
Some might wonder why we still use fossil fuels instead of renewable sources even though fossil fuels harm the environment. It is because they produce more energy compared to the renewable sources. Below is a picture of the comparison.
The renewable sources of energy which the world uses to produce electricity are hydro-electricity, solar power, geothermal energy and wind power. Each of these has their advantages and disadvantages.
Hydro-electricity is the most used renewable source of energy. It has low economic costs but high start-up costs. A drawback is the destruction of farmlands and dislocation of people at the area where the dam is being built.
Solar power is a clean, unlimited and renewable power source. It does not pollute the environment in any way and is simple enough to be used at homes for heating water. The only problem is that solar cells are expensive and you would need a large area of solar cells to produce large amounts of electricity. Due to this reason, a company would require large areas of flat land where there is lots of sunshine available.
Geo-thermal is used in many countries for heating homes especially in Europe but a geo-thermal station is expensive to build and you can only build it where the earth’s heat is accessible from the surface.
Wind power is harnessed through windmills. It costs a lot of money to build a windmill and if you want to build many, you need a lot of clear land in a windy place. The land used up in the windmill farm could be used for other things such as agriculture or housing.
What should we base our energy needs on for the next 50 years?
I believe that we should shift our energy needs from fossil fuels such as oil and natural gas to a renewable source of energy such as solar power. The technology for making solar cells has advanced greatly and will advance greatly in the future and so we can make solar cells that take in sunlight more efficiently.
Since it is a renewable source, it does not pollute the environment in any way. It is a clean and unlimited supply of energy as long as the sun is there. The only problem is the space required to build a solar station big enough to produce electricity on a large scale. Innovators and scientists have solved this by placing solar cells on the sides or roof of tall buildings so that they can be eco-friendly and supply their own energy needs. A drawback is how expensive it is to purchase solar cells to cover a side of a building but in the long-term run, the money it saves by not paying for electricity will make up for it.
Role of Individual
Individuals such as us can help in saving energy. We can turn off electrical devices when we are not using them and we can walk to a nearby place instead of using our car. We can also carpool and reduce the amount of pollution that harms the environment. We should buy cars that are efficient in terms of kilometers per liter so that we can conserve as much oil as possible. Another option is to buy a car that is eco-friendly or just use public transport.
It is our daily decisions that determine how much energy we consume. We can teach other people on how to conserve energy and how the energy sources of the world are being depleted at an alarming rate. If lots of people start conserving energy, it will make a huge difference.
Role of Industry
Industries should make sure that the waste coming from their plants should not harm anyone or the environment, especially nuclear reactors. Nuclear waste is radioactive and can have a really long half-life and it can stay up to hundreds of years. Plants should find a proper way of storing this nuclear waste somewhere where it does not affect people or the environment by its radioactivity.
Plants that burn fossil fuels to produce electricity should try to minimize the amount of pollutants coming out. They should develop ways of burning the fossil fuels as cleanly as possible because then the amount of pollutants will decrease. They should also filter out the ash particles coming out in the smoke as they can be hazardous. They should also have a catalytic converter to convert the harmful gases to gases that are not harmful.
Factors
Environmental
The pollution that is produced by producing electricity through non-renewable sources affects the environment in a great way. The smoke that comes from burning fossil fuels is hazardous to human health such as carbon monoxide. The greenhouse gases present in the smoke contribute to global warming which raises the sea level. Some chemicals also affect the environment such as sulfur dioxide which mixes with the water droplets to become acid rain and this is harmful to plants and animals. If the waste coming from nuclear reactors are not discarded or stored properly, they can remain for a very long time and their radioactivity can affect us humans and animals. If we are exposed to radioactivity for so long, it will alter our DNA and genes and our descendants might have some deformation.
Economical
The energy industry is one of the biggest industries in the world. Oil companies have offices and employees all over the world. Most oil companies are multinational companies and are worth billions of dollar in market value. When oil runs out, some of these companies will go bankrupt and this will affect the market in a huge way unless they switch to renewable sources. Many countries such as the ones in Middle East depend on the energy industry to drive their economy and that is why they are so rich. Without the abundance of oil that they have, the countries will be in an economic crisis and lots of people will be poor with no jobs.
Conclusion
Energy is extremely vital to us as it allows us to do our daily task. Without electricity, the world would be in chaos and almost no one can live normally. It affects us in every way, economically, socially and also environmentally. Soon the non-renewable sources will run out and we will have to use renewable sources to produce electricity and that is why renewable sources are extremely important for our future and environment. We must learn to appreciate the amount of fossil fuels left and use them wisely as possible so that we can keep them as long as possible. We should also start shifting our energy needs to renewable sources.
