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What Is Renewable Green Energy?

A. Leverkuhn
A. Leverkuhn

Renewable green energy is energy that comes from renewable sources, and lowers overall air pollution or negative environmental effects. Renewable energy is defined as energy coming from infinite sources rather than finite physical or commodity sources. Green energy is commonly defined as energy that lowers a negative impact by decreasing outgoing emissions of toxins like carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases. The collective term “renewable green energy” puts these two criteria together. Since the multiple criteria are in many ways complementary, renewable green energy represents the ideal choice for a range of government and business uses, as well as mass residential usage.

Some of the main examples of renewable green energy include solar energy, wind energy, and hydropower or water generated energy. Other more obscure forms of energy that some call renewable and green are biomass energies, although experts could argue that these are actually finite sources, due to the necessary fertile land for production of the products that are used. Some common examples of non-renewable energies are fossil fuels. Coal and oil are the two main non-renewable energies that power much of the world’s energy use. Governments and businesses all over the world are trying to find renewable green energy solutions that will replace non-renewable or unsustainable polluting energy sources.

Solar panels create renewable green energy by harnessing the energy of the sun and converting it into electricity.
Solar panels create renewable green energy by harnessing the energy of the sun and converting it into electricity.

In very basic terms, the appeal of renewable green energy is that the sources of this energy are not depleted. Solar power does not deplete the force of the sun, and wind or water power do not deplete the force of moving air or water. Likewise, these various forms of energy production do not result in the output of various volatile gases and particles that are hazardous to human and environmental health. Considering renewable green energy sources has become more important as the world’s population grows rapidly, and the total energy use of various nations increases on a seemingly exponential plane.

A wind farm that's used to make renewable energy.
A wind farm that's used to make renewable energy.

Another consideration with renewable green energy is different methods for different uses. Renewable energy sources might be used to provide electricity for a grid, which is possible with solar and wind power. Renewable energies could also be used to heat a home or other building, where methods for generating these energies might be different, since such a high amount of energy is typically needed for heating and cooling. One innovative solution for renewable green heating is geothermal application. In these types of setups, the temperature of an interior space is controlled by water or other materials run through various conduits underneath the building at specific temperatures.

Discussion Comments

anon326050

This is a cool site. I think that it helped me learn about going green and it inspired me to do something at my school.

profess

I am still skeptical about green energy. It seems like a lot of wishful thinking and a lot of selective blindness.

I am not naive. I know that coal and oil are running out and that they have a negative effect on the environment. But the replacements we are developing are decades away from meeting all of our energy needs.

It also needs to be mentioned that global energy use is growing every year and shows no signs of slowing down, especially as India and China come online. We are going to need a lot more energy and we don't have a good way to supply it. This will be a huge problem moving forward.

Ivan83

I am really excited about the potential of tidal power. The sea is a remarkable source of energy. If we can develop innovate technologies that take advantage of the sea's constant motion while also protecting it from ecological and aesthetic harm we might have a viable source for energy.

ZsaZsa56

Lots of people like to point to the faults with wind or solar or other renewable green energies but I think this misses the mark. The future of energy will come from a constellation of sources. One new technology will not provide 100% of our future power. We will get it from multiple sources working in concert.

We have been mistaken to think that energy comes from one source because we have been so dependent on coal and oil since the dawn of industrial society. But we have seen where this single minded focus gets us. Running out of resources and fouling up the planet. It makes much more sense to get energy from multiple sources, maximizing the advantages and minimizing the costs.

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    • Solar panels create renewable green energy by harnessing the energy of the sun and converting it into electricity.
      Solar panels create renewable green energy by harnessing the energy of the sun and converting it into electricity.
    • A wind farm that's used to make renewable energy.
      A wind farm that's used to make renewable energy.
    • A hydropower dam.
      By: blackcurrent
      A hydropower dam.