The Real Deal

The thing about sustainable energy is that it arouses debates from politicians, NGO’s, advocates and opponents all have certain grounds for saying that sustainable works or is a bad thing after all. Perhaps we should begin by defining what sustainable power is. When we say sustain it means to support, uphold, to keep from falling. So when we say sustainable power it means energy with unending resources. In the case of today sustainable energy means endless resources fro power supply without the harmful effects on the environment.

Its Not Sustainable It’s the Alternate

In all reality it is not sustainable energy that precipitates the conflict. It is the “alternate source” of energy that is the root of all things that create conflict. A lot of people argue that alternate energy resources are simply too new a resource fuelled by technology for it to be really said that it is indeed safe.

What is more, some authorized people on the matter of energy say that alternate energy resources are simply not powerful enough to cope with the demands of the world. No matter which way we argue alternate energy resources are part of sustainable power and sustainable power means we live the humans live on as a species; were not supposed to die or else it is useless for use to look for ways to improve ourselves. After all isn’t future the reason for our continued quest to be better and more environmentally aware?

Its Here, There, Everywhere

Alternate energy resources derived naturally have been employed as early as the time of the pharaohs.  Today alternate energy resources are scattered all around the world. From the richest countries to the third world nations. In northwester Europe wind farms are abundant. The Philippines, New Zealand, Kenya, Iceland, Germany, Canada, Turkey, Mexico, and even the states make use of geothermal plants to supply a portion of their electricity. Hydropower so popular in the US and in china are used to generate enough electricity to power small towns and help power the enormous electrical consumption of a city like Las Vegas.

Its Now and It Can’t Be Denied

If you think that earth is already polluted and in peril, then imagine what if thousands of years ago our ancestors all used fossil fuels and burned coals for every energy need they have? History says that with every development and discovery man makes, the earth gets polluted every day. So there must have been that one thing that slowed it down a bit.

Remember the great smog of London where over 8,000 people died? Well that happened because they were experiencing unusually cold weather so they in turn consumed and lit up more coals, thereby fogging the air with smog. If alternate energy resources were never used we wouldn’t even be here today. So be thankful and be a supporter not only in words but in action as well.

Because teaching your kids to be energy efficient requires some effort, here are easy to follow suggestions you can do:

Education

Teaching your kids the importance of saving energy should be your first goal. Take note that making them understand the value of being energy efficient is more effective than enumerating the ways to save energy and leaving it at that. Teach them how conserving energy helps the environment. Tell them stories or read educational books about the importance of energy.

Lead by example

You know very well that kids tend to follow what elders do. Practice what you preach. You may have listed and posted a litany of things-to-do to conserve energy but if you don’t follow them yourself, you cannot expect your kids to follow it too. Do not just tell them to turn the lights off before leaving their room; show them by always turning the lights off every time you leave a room in your house. Education and leading by example are a good combination if you want to make good habits stick.

Make it fun

Find educational materials where your kids will learn the value of conserving energy as well as the ways on how to save it. Computer software, educational websites, books and television shows that educate and entertain kids would really make a difference on how well they will respond. This is especially applicable to kids from 5 to 10 years old.

Get your kids involved

Family activities should not limit to eating, playing and entertainment. Chores can also be a good way to bond with your kids. Manually wash the car, water the plants, clean the table, wash the dishes, clean the house etc. These are some of the things you can do with your kids while conserving energy.

Teach your kids according to their age.

Kids of different ages have different attitude on things around them. If your 5-year son doesn’t know how to turn off the lights before leaving the room, all you need to do is to talk to him well about its importance and showing him that you practice what you teach.

Your 10-year old daughter may require different approach like showing her your electric bill and explaining to her that it will greatly help if she will change her bad habits. You are teaching your 5-year old good habits while you are teaching and emphasizing your 10-year old good habits and responsibility.

Same thing applies to kids of different ages. The point is, make sure that you teach your kids proper ways to conserve energy using an approach suited to their ages.

*Energy saving tips for kids.

1-Turn off the water while brushing your teeth.

2-Always turn the lights off before leaving the room.

3-Turn the computer off after use.

4-Do not hold the refrigerator open.

5-Unplug unnecessary appliance.

6-Use natural light if possible.

Saving energy is not so hard if your kids are involved. And just like any family activities you do, energy conservation should be fun, educational and driven by good motivation.

There are three basic approaches how we can use this form of green energy source namely passive, active and by using photovoltaic cells.

When we refer to passive solar energy, nothing is converted. What happens is the building’s design helps avoid heat loss and gets the most out of day lighting.

Such a technique can also be used in homes because studies have shown that this can reduce the heating requirements by as much as 80% with minimal cost. This means you don’t have to turn on the air condition or heater that often and if everyone does that, we don’t consume that much electricity which we get from non-renewable resources.

The second approach which is active solar energy is the first way of converting sunlight into heat. You should know that there are certain limits to this one and all it can do is make sure you have hot water.

The third approach is the big scale version and it can power an office or an entire home. This is done with the help of solar cells that convert sunlight into electricity. The smallest ones around can be seen in calculators and watches with large ones planted over huge acres of land.

The only limitation to this green energy source is the fact that it can only generate power when the weather is good and the sun is out. Should it rain, then nothing is collected and converted. When this happens, the auxiliary system is turned on until the weather improves.

Despite that, scientists and students themselves have made solar powered cars. NASA or the National Aeronautical Space Administration has sent satellites into space that are powered by solar panels. A fully functional airport can function on its own thanks to solar power even if it is situated in the middle of the frozen desert.

So people can see the awesome power of solar energy, did you know a kilowatt of solar energy can produce 5.5 hours of electricity per day. If you have more solar cells in place, naturally you will be able to produce enough power to last several days.

Solar energy is just one form of green energy source around. Through the years, we have learned to tap other resources and these examples include wind power, geothermal energy, hydroelectricity and biogas. These are all safe and by using these more often, we don’t need to depend on oil which is a nonrenewable resource.

To make this happen, we have to persuade our law makers to promote the use of such resources. Although you hear speeches left and right about their concern for the environment, it is all talk and not that much action. It is something that has to change.

Two countries that have increased solar usage happen to be Germany and Japan. Spain, France, Italy and South Korea are next in the list and where is the United States? Well, one thing is for certain and that it is not in the top 10 despite the fact that it is an industrialized nation.

Today, we are now aware of the effects of global warming. Fortunately, it’s not too late and we can still change which is why many are pushing for green energy sources.

The advantage of using green energy sources is that it is clean so it does not emit anything harmful into the air which has an impact on the environment. It is also renewable which means we will never run out of it unlike oil which is expected to dry up in a decade or so.

Although green energy facilities are expensive to build, it requires less maintenance so you don’t have to shell out a lot of money to operate it.

It can also bring economic benefits to certain areas even boost tourism.

While these sound good, there are some who say that there are advantages to using such technology.

While green energy sources can produce electricity, how much it can generate is not consistent. This is because we have no control of the weather so if a certain area relies on solar energy and there is a weather disturbance, it will not be able to convert sunlight into electricity.

Building these facilities also requires a lot of land so we may have to cut on farmland which is what many are concerned about if more wind turbines are to be put up.

Another disadvantage is the fact that some of the green energy sources cannot be installed in certain areas of the planet. For instance, wave energy can only be utilized if the waves coming from the ocean reach at least 16 feet. The use geothermal energy can only be done in geologically unstable parts of the planet.

But if you look at such arguments, places that cannot use one form of green energy source can be substituted for another. If wind turbines need more space, they can be installed near the coast instead of putting these on land. A study shows that you can generate more electricity while these are in the ocean.

While the weather is something we cannot control, it is not everyday that there is a weather disturbance so this too shall pass. If solar energy is being used and the sun is covered, the emergency generators will be activated and use up the energy that was stored.

The point is that there are ways around the arguments put by certain individuals which discourage the use of green energy sources. In fact, research is ongoing to try and harness other means to generate the power we need.

A very good example of this is called ocean thermal energy. Power is generated by harnessing the different temperatures in the water. It is currently being used on a small scale both in Japan and Hawaii.

In the US, only 7% of green energy sources are used nationally. This was much higher 11 years ago and if we don’t have to worry about the cost of oil or even reduce our dependency on it, we have to invest more in this clean energy.

We can get it from green energy sources such as biomass, biodiesel, geothermal, solar, water and the wind. These are things we have all around us and all it takes is for someone to harness it instead of relying on traditional non-renewable means to produce energy.