1. Excerpt from Benefits of Renewable Energy Use
"Electricity production accounts for more than one-third of U.S. global warming emissions, with the majority generated by coal-fired power plants, which produce approximately 25 percent of total U.S. global warming emissions; natural gas-fired power plants produce 6 percent of total emissions [1, 2]. In contrast, most renewable energy sources produce little to no global warming emissions."
More than ever, the need for renewable energy sources is real. The global population continues to rise, leading to increased pollution in our atmosphere. As the excerpt from the article states above, renewable energy sources produce little to no global warming emissions. Renewable energy is what the world needs, whether it is willing or not.
Source: http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/our-energy-choices/renewable-energy/public-benefits-of-renewable.html#.VwTELRIrKRs
2. Illustration of the first "Solar Power Collector"
The illustration above shows Augustine Mouchot, a businessman, creating the first ever "solar power collector". He was worried that fossil fuels would soon run out, so in 1860, he began experimenting with mirrors. This experimentation led to the first ever sun motor, converting heat from the sunlight into steam to drive machinery.
3. Picture of the first electricity-producing windmill
In Cleveland in 1888, an engineer named Charles Brush built a 60-foot tall windmill able to supply his house and laboratory with electricity for twenty years. This was an amazing achievement for the time and paved the way for improvement upon renewable technology.
4. A picture of the site of the first commercial hydroelectric plant
In 1882, the world's first commercial hydroelectric plant was constructed. This was done in Appleton, Wisconsin and managed to power the plant, the owners house, and a nearby building. Through
the years, hydroelectric power has advanced, resulting in much larger areas to be powered by it.
5. Picture of the World's First Geothermal Power Plant
This photo shows workers at the world's first geothermal power station in Tuscany, Italy. Although it was only used for hot water and bathing for the time, it led to many other innovations in renewable energy sources to follow suit. Later, however, it was discovered that geothermal rocks beneath earth's surface would eventually cool, becoming useless.
6. Excerpt from World's First Solar Powered Village; Tohono O'odham Reservation, Arizona
"NASA's Lewis Research Center (now NASA Glenn) dedicated a solar power system that it installed on the Papago [Tonono O'odham] Indian Reservation in Schuchuli, Ariz. It was the world's first solar-powered village. The system provided power for water pumping and residential electricity to 15 homes until 1983, when grid power reached the village. At that time, engineers hooked up the homes to the grid, and the solar system began pumping water from a community well."
In 1983, it was shown that a whole village could be powered from solar sources. This gave inspiration to many scientists around the world of the potential of renewable sources. Although it was only a small village, the whole world was in their view.
7. An excerpt from A Wind Turbine is the "Full Expression of Fossil Fuels"
"The age of steam was not possible without human and animal work to mine the coal and build the machines. Even now, the wind turbines we look to to help us escape fossil fuels are steel towers (you make steel in coal-fired blast furnaces) topped by plastic blades (which comes from petroleum), installed by (gasoline-powered) construction equipment. A wind turbine is a pure expression of fossil fuels.”
This article brings up an important point about wind turbines and their actual impact on the environment. Although they produce electricity to power the world, the question is: does it outweigh the environmental impact of creating them? Scientists are still asking this question today.
Source: http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/11/a-brief-history-of-human-energy-use/415749/
8. Photo of a Large Wind Farm
In 1980, the first large-scale wind farm was created, resulting in a lot learned in making these farms. One thing included the placement of these turbines, which had to be in an area where there was significant amount of wind.(duh)
9. Excerpt from the International Energy Agency's 2040 Prediction
The scenario shows that world demand for two out of the three fossil fuels – coal and oil – essentially reaches a plateau by 2040, although, for both fuels, this global outcome is a result of very different trends across countries. At the same time, renewable energy technologies gain ground rapidly, helped by falling costs and subsidies (estimated at $120 billion in 2013). By 2040, world energy supply is divided into four almost equal parts: low-carbon sources (nuclear and renewables), oil, natural gas and coal.
Even as renewable energy sources become more popular and common among countries, the International Energy Agency still predicts that the world energy supply will still be in four equal parts, three-fourths of which nonrenewable. This is a sad story for the planet if things go as predicted.
10. Energy Consumption throughout history in the United States
This graph shows the rise and fall of various resources throughout history. Some key points of this graph is how wood was the predominant source of energy in the 1800's and had since been taken over by petroleum, coal, nuclear, and natural gas energy.
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