The world is heating up, sea levels are rising, the amount of fossil fuels is decreasing and animal species are being threatened.
With greenhouse gases continuing to change the global climate and other energy sources running out and becoming more expensive, it is imperative to increase the use of wind turbines throughout the world.
Human activities have produced dangerous levels of greenhouse gases. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the main gas that has contributed to the global climate change. Too much of this gas has been released as a result of human activities, such as burning coal to generate electricity. In early December 2012, scientists reported that global CO2 emissions reached a record high in 2011 and were likely to take a similar jump in 2012, according to The New York Times.
The global concentration of CO2 has increased from 180 parts per million by volume (ppmv) over the past 650,000 years to 300 ppmv today, according to the national Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Climate Data Center (NCDC). The largest amount of CO2 is produced by the combustion of coal, oil and gas, which are all sources of energy. By the end of the 21st century, CO2 concentrations are expected to be 75 to 350 percent above the pre-industrial concentration, according to the NCDC.
Dangerous Consequences
This rise in CO2 emissions is predicted to have very dangerous consequences. CO2 traps heat, meaning that the more CO2 there is in earth’s atmosphere, the warmer the earth will be. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the average global temperature has risen about 0.74 degrees Celsius (1.33 degrees Fahrenheit) over the last century. In the next century, even bigger changes in temperature are predicted because of the increasing amount of greenhouse gas emissions.
The rise in global temperature is almost certain to result in “calamitous, long-lasting disruptions of ecosystems and economies,” according to The New York Times. Some of these tragedies could include rising sea levels, flooded coastal cities, dried up rivers and lakes, the extinction of plant and animal species, and an increased number of hurricanes, tornadoes and other storms caused by changes in heat and water evaporation, according to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). An alarming 2004 study estimated that climate change could cause up to one quarter of all bird species to become extinct by 2054, according to the Canadian Wind Energy Association. This destruction to birds is just one detrimental example of the potential effect the global climate change could have on life.
Fortunately, humans have found an answer to the distressing problem of CO2 emissions: clean and renewable energy technologies. The cheapest of these options is wind energy. Although the initial installation and creation of the turbine does produce greenhouse gases, the turbine more than makes up for them by producing clean energy for up to 20 years without leaving any waste. Adding one modern wind turbine to a piece of land will save over 4,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions every year, according to the Canadian Wind Energy Association. Installing clean energy sources such as wind turbines is necessary to stop or lessen global climate change and potentially save thousands of species.
Fossil Fuels Decreasing
Wind energy is also essential because the number of fossil fuels is steadily decreasing. Coal, oil and gas are finite, unlike renewable power sources. These fossil fuels were created from prehistoric plants and bacteria that decomposed from 100 to 400 million years ago, according to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Thus, vast amounts cannot be readily created again and renewable resources must replace fossil fuels completely at some point.
As the amount of fossil fuels continue to decline, prices will soar. Because wind energy is dependent on wind, an infinite resource, prices have been getting cheaper as a result of new technology and can only continue to do.
Wind energy is necessary to keep our earth full of life and keep energy affordable and everlasting. Click here to see how you can work with Boythorpe to invest in the energy of the future.
Sources:
- http://www.canwea.ca/wind-energy/myths_e.php
- http://www.cereplast.com/wildlife-preservation-5-critically-endangered-animals-according-to-the-iucn-red-list-of-threatened-species/
- http://www.dnr.mo.gov/education/energy/fossilfuelpower.pdf
- http://www.fossil.energy.gov/education/energylessons/coal/gen_howformed.html
- http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/jun/02/george-osborne-cuts-windfarm-subsidies
- http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cmb-faq/globalwarming.html
- http://www.renewableuk.com/en/renewable-energy/
- http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/science/topics/globalwarming/index.html
- https://www2.ucar.edu/climate/faq/how-much-has-global-temperature-risen-last-100-years