Topic: Many countries use fossil fuel such as coal and oil as the main sources of energy. However, in some countries, the use of alternative sources of energy is encouraged.
To what extent is this positive or negative development?
Sources of energy have been playing a vital role in economic development in industrialized countries. However, in recent years, the world has witnessed a switch in the use of energy sources, particularly from fossil fuel into alternative sources. Given immeasurable benefits of new sources of energy, I strongly believe that this change is an inevitable trend.
One of the greatest advantages is that alternative energy is renewable and sustainable. Conventional sources like coal and oil may take millions of years to be generated from plants and trees buried deeply underground. However, with the overuse at an alarming rate, many countries are running out of fossil energy, leading to global energy crisis. As a result, governments have taken significant actions to develop modern technology in order to exploit alternative sources such as solar power, wind, water, and geothermal power, which are regarded to be endless. For example, making use of the huge source of water coming from mountains, river, and rain, people have built hydroelectric power plants instead of electro-thermal plants consuming an enormous supply of coal.
In addition, taking environmental impacts into consideration, alternative sources are the best option. Severe air pollution is mainly attributed to harmful emissions including carbon dioxide, smoke, and dirt from factories and vehicles using fossil fuel, which causes green effects and poorly affects human health. Consequently, the number of people suffering from respiratory diseases such as lung cancer and asthma is on the increase. On the other hand, renewable energy is considered to be environmentally friendly and generates less pollution. For instance, in some countries, vehicles using bio-fuel are gradually replacing diesel and gas engine as one of the effective ways to keep living environment fresh and clean.
In conclusion, in terms of economic and social benefits, alternative sources outweigh fossil fuel to a large extent. Therefore, exploitation and consumption of renewable energy should be fostered not only to resolve currents energy shortage but also provide a great reserve of power sources to meet ever-increasing demands on energy.
