Introduction
Whenever the topic of climate change ever comes up in a conversation, people often jump to clean energy as the ultimate solution. They’ll say something like “Yeah, climate change sucks, but if we switch to clean energy, everything will be fine” or “Bro, idk why everybody is getting so worked up abt climate change. Like, it’s not even that big of a deal bc we already have clean energy. It’s gonna fix everything” because human beings definitely talk exactly like they’re texting (that’s supposed to be sarcasm btw, lol). Clean energy ends up being the end of a conversation with people placing all their faith in it to end climate change. However, they don’t actually understand what clean energy even is or how it works.
What they don’t know is how complicated the subject of clean energy actually is and the difficulties it entails. And, while clean energy will help tremendously in the fight against climate change, it’s not the only adaptation we need to make. The thing is, instead of serving as a dead-end, clean energy needs to start being a conversation starter so that people can learn more and bring their own ideas to the table.
What is clean energy?
Clean energy is simply any form of energy that is produced with little to no emissions of greenhouse gases. Things like solar, wind, and (in some cases) nuclear energy are all forms of clean energy since the process of making these forms of energy does not add to the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere which cause global warming and climate change.
In fact, if you can remember a few years back, the energy in the Monster’s Inc. series called “scare energy” is also a form of clean energy since it’s made and stored when the monsters scare little children. We should definitely adopt this solution, although there may be a few ethical barriers. But who cares 🤷♂️
Wait… so what’s renewable energy?
Ahhh… the ol’ clean vs. renewable energy question. These two terms are often confused (rightfully so), so let’s clear up the confusion right now.
As I said before, clean energy is energy that is made without emitting greenhouse gases. Meanwhile, renewable energy is energy that relies on resources that are virtually unlimited and, well, able to be renewed. So, things like the Sun and wind are constantly available and natural sources from which energy can be produced from, which makes solar and wind energy also considered to be renewable energy. Basically, clean energy can be either renewable or not, but renewable energy is always clean.
Why do we need clean energy?
This is a breakdown of the sources of global greenhouse gas emissions:
While the data varies from source to source and country to country, you can see in the chart above that there are 5 main sectors that produce greenhouse gas emissions that, therefore, should be the focus of the solution. These sectors are transportation, electricity, industry (which is basically manufacturing), commercial & residential (commonly referred to as “buildings”), and agriculture. To see why switching to clean energy is necessary, we need to take a look at how each sector will be affected by the transition.
Electricity
Electricity is traditionally made by burning coal and natural gas to heat water to a point that it turns into water vapor. This water vapor is then used to spin a turbine which turns a generator. Inside this generator are copper wire coils with magnets inside which move within the coils, causing electrons in the copper wire to move at a rapid pace, producing electricity. Now, the problematic part about this process is the burning of coal and natural gas since this action produces a lot of carbon dioxide, and, knowing how many people use electricity on a daily basis, you can only imagine how much greenhouse gas emissions are added to the atmosphere.
Instead, if all electricity is produced in a way that has little to no carbon footprint, a large sector of greenhouse gas emissions is turned carbon-free. This would be a major step in combating climate change and, as you’ll see, will have many positive side effects.
Transportation
Look, we all know it. Gas-powered vehicles are bad for the environment. I mean you can even see the smoke polluting the atmosphere. But this can change if we adopt clean energy sources for all of our electricity because, if this happens, electricity becomes accessible to more people. Then, people will start to switch to electric vehicles instead of gas-powered ones because, over the lifetime of the vehicle, the price of charging the car ends up being less than continually filling gas. Furthermore, people have the incentive to switch to EVs since their greenhouse gas emissions will be cut drastically.
Commercial & Residential
So, according to the epa.gov site that the chart from above was found, greenhouse gas emissions from the commercial & residential sector come in large part due to generating heat to warm buildings. This can also be turned green by using geothermal energy (explained below) for heating instead.
Industry
The industry sector is a bit tricky in the sense that a lot of wide-ranging operations fall under this category. The EPA defined it as the sector that “produces the goods and raw materials we use every day.” You can see how vague that definition sounds so it’s also hard to measure the exact effects of switching to clean energy on the industry sector. However, what I can say is that many of the direct emissions from this sector come from some sort of chemical reactions that involve burning fossil fuels to make a certain material, and this process can be turned electrical as well.
Agriculture
Now, the agriculture sector is a bit of an outlier since the emissions from here are not really related to the creation of energy. Addressing the agriculture sector is a big part of climate change solutions but that’s a whole separate field and it doesn’t really make sense to go into that in this article. But, if you do want to explore this area further, you can start out by going to this EPA link where they break down the agriculture sector emissions.
Types of Clean Energy
There are many forms of clean energy, but the 5 best-known forms of clean energy are:
- Solar
- Wind
- Hydro
- Geothermal
- Nuclear
Solar Energy
Solar energy is the transformation of heat from the sun into electricity. We are able to harness the sun’s heat through solar panels. Solar panels are becoming more and more common all over the world and have proven not only very profitable, but very efficient in gathering the sun’s energy and turning it into electricity. Many homes are adopting solar panels to reduce their carbon footprint and save money in the long run. Governments are also starting to use solar panels as huge electricity hubs, providing electricity to whole towns. Solar panels are now being put everywhere the sun shines: on top of parking lots, rooftops, and open fields.
Wind Energy
Wind energy is the use of wind to create rotational kinetic energy which results in electricity. Wind energy is harnessed in wind turbines. When wind blows, these turbines start to spin. The friction created by the spinning turbine creates energy which is then turned into electricity. Similarly to solar panels, wind turbines are also gaining popularity, especially with national governments. Unlike solar panels, wind turbines can’t just be put in your backyard so governments are instead finding ways to put thousands of these turbines in open fields and through the countryside. Wind turbines are not common in urban areas, but the electricity they produce are often used in cities.
Hydro Energy
Hydro energy works in a similar way as wind energy as it also uses rotational kinetic energy. The only difference is that instead of using wind to push turbines, hydro energy uses, you guessed it, WATER! We often see hydro energy being created in man made dams. These dams are not only used to block out water and prevent flooding, but the large amounts of water that build up behind them are perfect for creating heavy streams of water that can easily push turbines. When the water behind a dam has to get redirected through the dam, the small amounts that can go through have incredible force behind them. Electricity producing dams are also not something you find in your backyard, but governments are creating these huge dams along many major rivers.
Geothermal Energy
Geothermal energy is formed from natural heat within the Earth. Heat is always being created inside the Earth, creating huge lakes filled with boiling water within Earth’s crust. Geothermal energy plants drill into these hot lakes and bring the water up to the Earth’s surface. The pressure created from the hot water being drawn up turns the boiling water into steam. This steam is then used to spin a turbine which creates energy in the same way wind and hydro energy are created. The steam is then turned back into liquid and put back below the surface to be reheated.
Nuclear Energy
Nuclear energy is created by the splitting of uranium atoms, a process most notably known in the creation of the atomic bomb called fission. When these atoms are safely split, they release a lot of steam, which is used in the same way as it is used in geothermal energy plants. Nuclear energy plants have been criticized for being extremely dangerous, but with new technology they are much safer. Nuclear energy is not a form of renewable energy because it is not infinite. Unlike all these other forms of clean energy, nuclear energy has a short lifetime because there is not infinite uranium on Earth.
Problems with Clean Energy
Though good for the environment and Earth as a whole, clean energy does have some disadvantages.
Intermittent
There may not always be clean energy sources accessible depending on where you live. Some parts of the world may not get as much sunlight at times of the year or they may not get much wind. Some countries have no major water sources to build dams in or any underwater lakes to get geothermal energy plants. All these factors have to be taken into account if clean energy sources are created.
Storage
An effect of clean energy sources being intermittent is need for proper storage. If electricity cannot be created year round, there has to be a way to store this energy for times when there is no electricity. These storage systems can be very expensive and may not be viable for individuals trying to get clean energy.
Expensive
At the moment, almost all clean energy options are expensive at first. Though most save money in the long run, the cost of initially building clean energy technology is still very expensive. In many impoverished countries or countries with large populations, the price of clean energy is not worth it.
Future Outlook
There will always be proponents and critics to clean energy, but the truth is, without clean energy, we may not see humanity around for much longer. We know this sounds incredibly pessimistic, but that shows just how important clean energy is. There may be some disadvantages, but with the right technology and worldwide support, every country can make clean energy a normal part of their lives.