Now that the flaws of over-consumption have been found, and the amount of oil in the world is always decreasing, the demand to find alternative sources of energy has increased. The alternative source that has the best chance of replacing or reducing the demand for oil is solar energy.
Solar energy has a great chance due to its resourcefulness. The sun produces 35,000 times more energy than that used by man, and only around one-third of that total energy is taken away in “albedo,” which is the absorption/reflection of energy from the Earth’s atmosphere.
The simple mass availability of unused energy is a reason why solar energy has the best chance of replacing the oil demands. There are examples of solar energy being transferred to cars, and spaceships, although in these cases the sun is usually not the only source of energy. Yet, the fact that items can receive even partial energy from the sun is enough to state that solar energy has already become the best source for reducing the demand for oil.
There are several main problems that environmentalists use to argue against the use of oil.
The main argument is that the burning of fossil fuels is the major contributor in air pollution. According to the EIA, “81.2 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States in 2000 came from carbon dioxide directly attributable to the combustion of fossil fuels.” This problem of air pollution is not present in the use of solar energy, due to the fact that the energy is already present; we are just not harnessing it. A second argument against the burning of fossil fuels is that we are destroying natural habitats and environments through the world’s desperate attempt to find oil. The proposed drilling for oil in Alaska will have several negative effects on the environment. First, the native Alaskan’s who live there have beliefs that one should never cross a man-made road. Through the presentation of drilling plantations and transportation of crude oil, roads will be built destroying the natural migration patterns of such tribes. Second, drilling in such environments will affect the animals that live there. It will be necessary to cut down trees, build houses, and create factories that will contribute to the extinction of native birds. Again, the idea of harnessing solar power completely extinguishes all environmental, tribal, and animal concerns.
It becomes obvious through the observation of the burning of fossil fuels that it is necessary for there to be a change in the source of energy. By comparison, solar energy will get rid of many of the concerns that revolve around using oil as a source of energy and communications. Solar energy surpasses the demand of energy made by mankind at the present moment and the use of solar energy does not constitute a problem of over-consumption. It is therefore the contention of this essay to make the claim that solar energy has the best chance of replacing or at least reducing the demand for oil.
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