A Common Misconception Of Fossil Fuels - 1317 Words

Intro Although there is a common misconception that fossil fuels will cause pollution, mankind should rely on fossil fuels for energy not only because they are cheap and plentiful, but also because alternative energy is very unreliable. Coal $0.10 Natural Gas $0.07 Nuclear $0.095 Wind $0.20 Solar PV $0.125 Solar Thermal $0.24 Fossil Fuels are cheap and plentiful. Coal costs 10 cents per kilowatt hour compared to the 12 cents to 24 cents of solar panels. Natural gas costs 7 cents per kilowatt hour while nuclear costs 10 cents and wind costs 20 cents. Also, it is estimated that the Earth s reserves of fossil fuels will last for another 300 years. As the fossil fuels become harder to find, they†¦show more content†¦As it is not possible to produce energy in such conditions, we might have to reduce our energy consumption. In fact, even if many of them are adopted, in some areas the predicted ongoing climate change could make them inoperable within 50 years. Unable to produce large quantities Unlike coal powered electric plants that produce abundant supply of power, renewable sources can’t produce that much of energy in short span of time. The technology that is used in producing energy is new and major other factors like weather play spoilsport that hamper the production of energy on large scale. This simply means that either we have to reduce our energy consumption or set up new facilities that could produce energy at a faster rate. Not available in all places One of the major cons of many of the renewable energy plans is that the raw material – solar intensity, wind or water, is not available in all locations. That mean you will still have to create an infrastructure for transporting the energy that may not be better than what is already in place. Takes a lot of space Another cons of renewable energy is that to produce large amount of energy, large amount of solar panels and wind farms have to be set up. For this, large areas of land is needed to produce such massive amount of energy on large scale. There are many misconceptions about fossil fuels. One misconception is pollution Fossil fuels supply 85% of our energy—the energy that makes theShow MoreRelatedNuclear Power And Nuclear Energy1637 Words   |  7 Pagesotherwise. Nuclear energy is often treated as a taboo subject due to misconceptions throughout history by the public, but in actuality, nuclear energy is relatively safe, when practiced correctly. Nuclear energy is a process in which atoms are split, producing heat, which boils water. The steam then turns a turbine to produce electricity. While fission is involved in nuclear bombs, the process in each are both different. The ‘fuel’ used for this process is Uranium-235, an isotope of uranium. 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