However, there certainly is one positive side effect. Comparable to the gas crunch of the 1980s, the substantial price of fuel has turned the Public's eyes back toward renewable power and sustainable energy. In other words, the agony of fuel price levels has exceeded the complacency. There is now a heightened fascination with fossil fuel alternatives.
Alternative energy is most often defined as the capability to generate energy in the present without compromising that ability of our children and grandchildren to produce power. It generally describes using natural sources of energy which replenish themselves. Unlike oil, that is certain to finally be consumed entirely, other sources, like sunlight, wind, rain, and tides will last for as long as our world will.
Solar power involves harnessing sunlight to either produce electrical power or heat water. The effectiveness of solar power can vary subject to weather conditions and location. Having said that, that issue can be overcome by contributing to the national electric utility grid from areas with appropriate qualities. Pertaining to individual home owners, the primary drawback to solar power certainly is the up front, installation costs that can be high, although the long-term savings and tax breaks can certainly cancel out the upfront expenditure of money during the life of the a solar panel system.
Considering the recent arrival of electric cars and trucks and vehicles with gas backup generators, solar technology now carries the possibility to replace virtually all gas use in non-commercial motor vehicles. The latest generation of these vehicles will run eighty to 100 miles per charge. The general American drives under 40 miles each day with work commuting.
Employing wind turbines to produce electric power is a further advancement of a thousand year old technology that makes use of windmills to pump water. It has different but similar geographical limitations to solar technology. Nevertheless, windmill farms in mountain traverses can generate energy for the nation's grid just like desert solar farms.
As far as water goes, technologies have evolved quite a bit since the hydro-electric dam. Which is still a highly viable technology that's been around for quite some time. Presently, studies are under way to use the tidal motion in the ocean in order to create electricity with a buoy system.
The clear theme here is that renewable energy technology has been in use for countless years. All the same, only the current pain of high gas costs have inspired consumers to move away from the much more convenient fossil fuels. Practically all progress comes with some distress.
