Renewable energy: now more than ever

By: Josh Leach

Fossil fuels are not a sustainable source of energy.  They produce pollution and release greenhouse gases into the air, contributing to Global Warming.  Furthermore, these reserves are limited and will run out eventually.  Changing over to renewable energy sources is inevitable.

Biofuels are the simplest alternative to gasoline.  Biofuels are certainly not new.  Josh Kurosz, a senior at Seckman High School, said, “If we’ve had biofuels for so long, why haven’t they been used?” Well, actually, according to National Geographic, “Biofuels have been around as long as cars have. At the start of the 20th century, Henry Ford planned to fuel his Model Ts with ethanol, and early diesel engines were shown to run on peanut oil.  But discoveries of huge petroleum deposits kept gasoline and diesel cheap for decades, and biofuels were largely forgotten.  Much of the gasoline in the United States is blended with a biofuel—ethanol. This is the same stuff as in alcoholic drinks, except that it's made from corn that has been heavily processed.”  The down side to using biofuels is that even though they are renewable they produce many of the same greenhouse gases as gasoline.  Also, since many biofuels require large fields of corn or soybeans, they cut into food production.

Many scientists and engineers believe hydrogen is the ultimate energy source.  Hydrogen is combustible and can be used as a fuel, but can also be used to generate electricity.  It is also a completely clean source of energy.  After hydrogen combusts, water vapor is produced.  No pollution comes from using hydrogen. Renewableenergyworld.com says, “Hydrogen is high in energy, yet an engine that burns pure hydrogen produces almost no pollution. NASA has used liquid hydrogen since the 1970s to propel the space shuttle and other rockets into orbit. Hydrogen fuel cells power the shuttle's electrical systems, producing a clean byproduct, pure water, which the crew drinks.”  Renewableenergyworld.com goes on to explain the various production methods of hydrogen fuel.  “Hydrogen can be separated from hydrocarbons through the application of heat, a process known as reforming.  Currently, most hydrogen is made this way from natural gas.  An electrical current can also be used to separate water into its components of oxygen and hydrogen.  This process is known as electrolysis. Some algae and bacteria, using sunlight as their energy source, even give off hydrogen under certain conditions.”  Abby Aldridge, a senior, says, “Hydrogen sounds great.  Why don’t we convert everything over to hydrogen power?”  The only downside to hydrogen fuel is that its production has not yet been perfected.  Production techniques are inefficient and costly.

The search for alternative energy sources has been going on for a century.  Oil reserves are being depleted, and the extraction of these reserves leaves the environment scared.  Solar power, thermal energy, biofuels, and hydrogen power are just a few possibilities.  The need for sustainability has never been more pressing.