Australia is trying to come up with a plan to deliver an affordable and environmental friendly energy system as we have one of the highest solar radiation than any other country. As the world is becoming more populated and damaged over time, it is constantly changing and creating more environmental impacts. Non-renewable energy is especially one of them, and also costs more, when we could be using a much simpler and reliable supply of energy such as renewable energy which comes from natural sources and will last almost a life time. Statistics show that 85% of Australia rely on fossil fuels for our electricity generation (energy.gov, 2017), which is damaging our land, wildlife, water and air in our atmosphere and will most likely run out in approximately 200 years (electricity.com, 2015).
Non-renewable energy sources, known as fossil fuels are also known as oil, coal, nuclear, wood, and gas and is used in Australia has come at an inexpensive cost, and they can be shipped around the world. These energy sources do not renew themselves. It is used quite a lot in our everyday lives. These energy sources have limited supplies and we fear they will eventually run out in the near future.
There are numerous downsides to non-renewable energy including environmental impacts, whether that’s from processing, the way they are extracted, and also the terms of how they are disposed. Pollution is an issue in a lot of locations, not just air pollution but also pollutes our water cycle and land as the chemicals have being released into earth’s atmosphere that affect people’s health and also the environment, especially when coal and oil burn. Most businesses use non-renewable energy to generate their electricity. When fossil fuels are heated, they get released into the atmosphere creating carbon dioxide, which keeps the earth warm. This process is called the greenhouse effect.
One of the energy sources that don’t renew themselves is gas, which is used to heat and cool rooms, and for cooking. Nuclear can be used for scientific purposes such as medication. Nuclear coal for steel production and cement manufacturing, and oil can be used for transportation fuels which is fuels to power vehicles, and that can be produced from petrol, biomass and synthetic fuels. According to the Central Intelligence Agency, the world together uses more than 66% of its electrify from non-renewable energy (National Geographic, 2017). That’s more than half the world which is a worry since it is predicted to run out in the future.
Renewable energy uses 90-99% less greenhouse gases compared to non-renewable energy, which causes 70-90% less pollution. (adec-innovations, 2018). Focusing on renewable energy might help avoid environmental impacts, especially from air pollution and greenhouse gases, but they still have their impacts. Renewable energy comes from natural sources such as wind energy, solar energy, biomass energy, geothermal energy, and hydroelectric energy. Since they are natural sources, they last almost a lifetime, but need materials to be able to create and install to have renewable energy. The environmental impact depends on the location, climate and other factors.
A wind turbine lasts about 20-25 years, but requires construction which can annoy residents as they are noisy and people can get headaches and people think they spoil the effect of the country side. Solar panels are built on large area, which has impacts on wildlife and habitats. The generation of solar panels isn’t harmful but the construction is as it requires hazardous materials. Geothermal plants are located near geothermal active spots. Some require deep drilling as they need to be located near heated resources, and the drilling requires more land. Some excess stuff can get dumped back into rivers which is a huge risk for wildlife. Hydroelectric energy is produced in dams and is produced when a large turbine moves water, the movement is then converted to hydroelectricity. The downsides of this is that significant amounts of land end up underwater, wildlife is forced to move away. Although the environmental impacts aren’t that bad, they still have a small proportion.
Since Australia is trying to come up with a plan for energy transformation, it will change the way the energy is distributed and processed which will have a large cost to it, but it just means future costs won’t be as much if the government decides to use more of renewable energy. Since fossil fuels are being used so much around the world, it is predicted that they will run out in the future. If the government stopped using renewable energy, it means that fossil fuels will increase even more, destroying the earth even more and will probably run out faster, and we won’t have any renewable energy to back us up. We will also have to spend a heap of unnecessary money.
Both renewable and non-renewable energy have their disadvantages, non-renewable being air, land and water pollution, the fact that its increasingly getting used more, and that it will run out eventually. Renewable being global warming as fossil fuels are heated, they let off carbon dioxide warming up the earth. But non-renewable energy (fossil fuels) are much worse to the earth and humans than renewable.