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ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Before you read think over the following questions

- Why do a lot of think tanks today are in search of alternative kinds of energy?

- What resourses are considered by the scientists as such kinds of energy?

- Is it possible that these alternative sourses of energy will appear to be threatening to the enveronment?

Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons, primarily coal, petroleum or natural gas, formed from the remains of dead plants and animals. The theory that hydrocarbons were formed from these remains was first introduced by Mikhail Lomonosov in 1757. The utilization of fossil fuels has enabled large-scale industrial development and largely supplanted water-driven mills, as well as the combustion of wood or peat for heat. When generating electricity, energy from the combustion of fossil fuels is often used to power a turbine.

Yet the burning of fossil fuels by humans is the largest source of emissionsof carbon dioxide, which is one of the greenhouse gasesthat contribute to global warming. With global modernization in the 20th and 21st centuries, the thirst for energy from fossil fuels, especially gasoline derived from oil, has become one of the causes of major regional and global conflicts. A global movement toward the generation of renewable energy is therefore underway to help meet the increased global energy needs.

For many decades humanity has been striving to find various renewable power sourcesso thatto use them in place of fossil fuels and uranium. Nuclear fusion devices are believed by some to be the best long-term option, because their primary energy source would be deuterium, abundant in ordinary water. Other technologies include solar energy, wind power, tidal power, wave power, hydroelectric power, and geothermal energy. The amount of energy in such renewable and virtually pollution-free sources is large in relation to world energy needs, yet at present only a small portion of it can be converted to electric power at reasonable cost.

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