The Importance of Renewable Energy

From the beginning human energy demands were covered only by renewable energy sources – sun, biomass, hydro and wind power. But, it was only until the start of industrial revolution and the ability to transform heat into motion, when energy consumption and industrial development accelerated rapidly. The industrial revolution was a revolution of energy technology based on fossil fuels. This occurred in stages, from the exploitation of coal deposits to oil and natural gas fields on a global scale. It has been only half a century since nuclear power began being used as an energy source. After this fossil-based era world nears the beginning of another major transition, away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy sources once again. Fundamental shift in the energy picture can be found in the enormous increase of energy demand since the middle of the last century. That increase is the result not only of industrial development but also of population growth. World population grew 3.2 times between 1850 and 1970, per-capita use of industrial energy increased about 20-fold, and total world use of industrial and traditional energy forms combined increased more than 12-fold.

In recent years, there has been a greater interest in the issue of energy, especially renewable energy. This interest has not been the result of rapidly increasing energy prices — non-renewable energy, including oil, is abundant and relatively inexpensive. Rather, the renewed interest has been because of environmental concerns, especially the burning of fossil fuels, which many believe contributes significantly to acid rain and global warming. Public policy issues involving energy have tremendous economic implications. To ensure wise public policy, citizens and decision makers must not only understand basic facts about energy sources, but also must know how to apply basic economic concepts in their analysis of energy issues.

General problem isn’t that we use energy, but how we produce and consume energy resources. As long as we continue to cover our energy needs primarily by combustion of fossil fuels or nuclear reactions, we are going to have the problems, the environmental impacts, social, and sustainability problems. What we really need are energy sources that will last forever and can be used without pollution of the environment.