Renewable Energy is one of the most common environmental words currently flying around.
You would probably hear renewable energy in the same sentence as climate change, pollution, carbon footprint and sustainability.
A number of millennials think that these terms started with our generation, but on the contrary, the world for a while has been making an effort to be more environmentally friendly.
So, what is renewable energy? Why is it so popular, and is it the solution to our problems? These are questions we will be answering today.
Renewable energy is an energy form that is collected by resources which are naturally regenerating in a human timescale. This means it can regenerate itself multiple times within the average human lifespan.
Examples of renewable energy resources are wind, rain, sunlight, tides, geothermal heat.
These resources do not just generate electricity, but with the right technology, we have found ways to convert these natural and environmentally friendly resources into electricity that lights our homes and power our appliances.
The reason for the recent popularity of renewable energy is attributed to climate change.
Every day more attention is drawn to the melting polar ice caps, flooding, tsunamis; all caused by weather extremities.
A lot of what is changing our climate is the depletion of the ozone layer caused by the emission of chlorofluorocarbon, also, over emission of greenhouse gases (CO2, CH4).
These gases cause the earth to retain heat, making the planet hotter.
So, why renewables?
Unlike most conventional electricity generation sources which have polluted the environment with about 40 per cent of global co2 emission comes through the combustion of fossil fuels like natural gas, oil and coal, renewable sources generate electricity with little to no carbon emission.
The most massive production of Co2 comes from the electricity sector. So, an excellent way to stop climate change is by reducing the carbon emission from electricity generation.
I think with all you have read this far, you can boldly say you know the basics of renwable energy. And I do encourage us to learn further because the more you know, the more you can get informed.