If you’re aware of the pollution that we intentionally and unintentionally bring to our planet, then it’s safe to say that you know about climate change. Apart from the pollution that fossil fuels bring to the atmosphere, the dependence to fossil fuel also makes the political and economic landscape unstable.
Thus, governments worldwide are working hard to find a viable and cheap energy source for their citizens. As responsible citizens, we should also do the same and reduce our carbon footprint for ourselves and the future generation. That said, what is clean energy, and how does it work?
What is Clean Energy and How Does It Work?
If you’ve heard about clean energy, then the chances are that you’ve also heard about green and renewable energy. Although they are mostly spoken of as the same thing, they have clear-cut differences.
Renewable energy is generated from infinite resources that won’t run out like the wind or solar and unlike fossil fuels.
On the other hand, most green energy is renewable energy. Most, because some green energy is seen as not clean energy. A good example of this is hydropower. Hydropower is renewable, but some experts argue that it is not clean because deforestation and industrialization like building dams are needed to generate hydropower.
Deforestation is a huge blow to our environment. Hence, many people are against hydropower and don’t consider it to be clean. And lastly, clean energy is the perfect balance between being renewable and green. The perfect examples of this are air and solar.
Here’s an easy way to remember their differences:
- Clean energy means clean air.
- Green energy means power derived from natural sources.
- Renewable energy means power derived from recyclable sources.
Then, why should we use clean energy? Clean energy provides power without harming the environment, like releasing pollutants in the air or destroying natural habitats. Not only that, but some clean energy sources are also renewables like wind and solar power.
The most important aspect of clean energy is the environmental benefits of its prolonged use for the future. While clean energy provides power without harming the environment, they also reduce the risks of natural disasters since using them reduces the damage to our natural resources brought by oil spills and natural gas leaks.
But can clean energy replace fossil fuels entirely? As of now, not yet. As we all know, humans have been using fossil fuels for a long time already, and the talk about replacing our energy sources with clean ones has just begun recently.
Clean energy is still seen as being unpredictable and is not yet viable for global demand. Not only that, but clean energy sources are still topped up by carbon-based energy sources.
However, the world government is working hard to create a more efficient way of storing clean energy that can be used when the demand is present. With the advancements in our technology, experts say that clean energy will completely make fossil fuel obsolete by the year 2050. With all this talk about clean energy, what are the benefits of switching to it?
It Saves Us Money
Not only does clean energy help our environment, but it also helps our wallets stay filled. Firstly, renewable energy sources require little maintenance. And since they use natural resources like wind or solar, you don’t need to refuel them regularly.
And with its uses, the country doesn’t need to rely on oil-producing countries anymore for fossil fuel. Not only does it save us money, we can actually earn more through it. Recently, a survey from 2020 states that we can increase the value of our house by more or less $15,000 through switching to clean energy.
It Never Runs Out
The best thing about clean energy is that it’s replenishable, which means it’s infinite. Unlike fossil fuels that are predicted to be completely wiped in 40-60 years in the future, the sun will always be there, the wind will always blow, and the Earth will always release geothermal energy. I mean, if these natural resources run out, we will have bigger problems than the current issue of energy sources we are facing right now.
It Protects the Environment
And last but not least, clean energy helps up maintain and protect our environment. We only have one plane that we could live in currently, and without, we are all going to die. So protecting it and helping it recover should be our main priority. But how can we do that? Of course, by switching to clean energy.
Unlike fossil fuels that increase humanity’s carbon footprint by releasing pollutants into the atmosphere, clean energy doesn’t have a harmful byproduct like the smoke that fossil fuels produce. Not to mention that not only does this harmful smoke cause damage to the environment, but it also gives us health problems. Lung and cardiovascular issues are just some of the health problems that fossil fuels can bring to our bodies.
Final Thoughts
Our planet is being harmed by fossil fuels at a faster rate each year. Sure, it might not pose a huge problem for us currently but think about the next generation or our kids and grandchildren. It is a problem for the whole world, and these concerns should be addressed to big companies, but you can also contribute to this cause by switching to clean energy.
