Alternative Energy Sources For Fossil Fuels - 2676 Words

Alternative Energy Sources Emily Lazovich Gwynedd Mercy University Abstract Fossil fuels can be easily found around the globe and the production of these fuels may be cost-effective. Although fossil fuel is harmful to the environment, the United States is continuing to use fossil fuel as a source of energy. In addition to this, once the fossil fuels have all been used up, there is no chance of obtaining more. There are many types of alternative energy sources in the world that a renewable and may not be harmful to the environment. In addition to this, alternative energy sources have to ability to power large corporations as well as small businesses around the globe. Alternative energy†¦show more content†¦Unlike these sources of energy, Wind, Solar, and Hydroelectric are known as renewable sources because they can be replenished over time from the Earth’s natural processes. This means that these sources would never run out, as long as the Earth’s environmental cycle was still intact. Although nuclear energy is considered as a non-renewable source, it may still produce an enormous amount of energy. This form of energy is the energy inside of the nucleus of an atom. This strong source of energy can be used to conduct electricity after it is set free from the atom. In the process of nuclear fission, the atoms are separated in order for the energy to be released. A sequence of machined, called a nuclear reactor, can create electricity by controlling nuclear fission. (National Geographic) Nuclear energy is considered as non-renewable because it is created from Uranium. Uranium cannot be recreated by humans because it is obtaine d by removing it from the earth though chemical leaching, which is a classic mining technique. After the uranium is taken out of the Earth, it is transported to processing plants so that it can be condensed into a supplementary fuel, such as uranium oxide pellets. This supplementary fuel is then moved to the nuclear reactors (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2013). In the nuclear reactor, uranium atoms are disintegrated. As this occurs, the atoms release small fragments called