Climate Change and Energy in the 21st Century - Assignment Example

Answer Global warming is an environmental phenomenon that is not only controversial, but requires immediate attention, because of the degree of damages and probable future destructions it can afford to inflict on the humanity, as far as it would take its toll on the humanity is concerned. Global warming is said to cause by green house gases like carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, flourocarbons, aerosols and black carbon (Burton 24). Unfortunately, these green house gases are in abundant supply in the US, as advanced industrial economy in the world. On the other hand, there are varying scientific point of views that are prevailing today concerning the issue of global warming. There are global warming alarmists and global warming agnostics. Both these groups have scientific bases on what they believe. This is the reason why many business persons are trying to take their sides and even are justifying their stand as to what to believe about the global warming issue. In this regard, there are at least 23 percent to 40 percent of Americans who do not believe in global warming issues, because they have scientific bases as to how they would try address the issue pertaining to the emission of greenhouse gases. It is therefore evident that the Americans are trying to look the case of global warming in socio-economic, political and scientific point of view. These people are not only confined in understanding one perspective, but they are trying to look at other relevant point of view in order to finally take their stand. Answer 2 Nuclear fission and nuclear fusion have varying differences. The former is about splitting of atom into two or smaller units, while the latter is about fusing two or more lighter atoms to make a remarkable size of them. One thing that is common to these energy sources is the production of energy. However, the nuclear fission is man-made, while the nuclear fusion occurs in nature. One important product of nuclear fission is the nuclear fission. Hydrogen bomb is the product of nuclear fusion. In this regard, there are prevailing advantages and disadvantages linked to these two processes of creating energy source. The common advantage of these energy sources is the production of remarkable energy. This means that the produced energy might be compensated and should cover much of the costs required. Thus, these energy sources will lead to cheap electricity bills and so on. However, one disadvantage of nuclear fusion, aside from the fact that it must occur in nature is that the energy required in producing energy in this process should take place in the natural setting. “All of the natural energy is not really accessible” (Burton 66). On the other hand, the nuclear fission is dangerous at some point, because nuclear energy is said to be million times more than chemical reactions. This means that the nuclear fission can be more hazardous or dangerous comparing it with the other prevailing processes of obtaining energy sources. Employing nuclear energy sources is therefore a matter of choice. It is also a matter of weighing the remarkable benefits and the risks involved. Answer 3 Geothermal energy is perhaps the most commonly observed way that electricity is generated from heat. Geothermal power plants through the presence of natural heat coming from the ground allows to generator to produce electricity for commercial consumption. This is a cheap source of energy; however, it cannot be available in all places, because it is best to install this technology somewhere where there are either dormant or active volcanoes. Coal-energy plant on the other hand requires heat in order to produce electricity. In the presence of heat, coals will have to be burned to boil the liquid that will allow generators to generate electricity for public consumption. While this alternative technology for the production of electricity is cheaper, the burning of coals on the other hand leads to a massive production of greenhouse gases. The emission of these gases is said to harm the environment particularly in the advent of the prevailing climate change. The other energy source is wind energy, which can be used as a way to produce electricity that can be said to be generated from heat. In the absence of heat coming from the sun, wind can hardly be produced. Wind has to be produced when warm and cold temperature react each other. Wind energy is one of the safest ways to preserve the environment, because it does not emit greenhouse gases. However, the amount of energy it can produce is dependent on the level of prevailing wind. In addition, not in all places there is a considerable speed of wind that is capable of electricity production. Thus, this energy source cannot guarantee to provide the prevailing commercial requirement of electricity by the public. Answer 4 There are many ways to conserve energy and for the society to wean itself from using fossil fuels. Higher demand of energy means higher input production, which therefore means that the need to produce a massive supply of energy is a necessity. In order to prevent this, even in simple ways, every household should learn to conserve the use of energy. If it is not necessary to use electricity for instance, then other appliances that are not in used should be turned off. Air-conditioning system should be program in such a way that it does not require using more energy. Perhaps, it is best way to put a timer on it. In various offices, they have to set time when to turn it on and turn it off. This is not just to conserve electricity bill, but to conserve energy. People should learn to conserve fuel and minimize fuel ignition. It would be practical to use public utility vehicles if it is not necessary to use a private owned vehicle. In this way, the use of fossil fuel will be minimized. The government should be able to implement policies that will encourage people to conserve energy, and even minimize the use of fossil fuels. For instance, it would be important to approve production of vehicles that will consider less consumption or no consumption at all for fossil fuels. The above are just some of the possible options that will minimize and eventually put the use of fossil fuels to a halt in the long run. Work Cited Burton, Richter. Beyod Smoke and Mirrors: Climate Change and Enrgy in the 21st Century. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. Print. Read More