Layla Mostari
None of planet Earth, its biosphere, or ecosystems at any scale are self-sustaining with respect to energy. In fact, without continuous access to an external source of energy, all of these entities would quickly deplete their quantities stored energy and would rapidly cool, and in the case of the biosphere and ecosystems, would cease to function in ways that support life. Green energy is any energy type that is generated from natural resources, such as sunlight, wind or water. Green energy is at the heart of all ecological strategies because it affects companies in three vital areas: environmental, economic and social. The idea of green energy is introduced in November 2006 as renewable energy standard offer program. The Ontario Green Economy Act 2009 was introduced in the Ontario Legislature on February 23, 2009 to expand renewable energy production and encourage energy conversation. The word “Green” make our mind to think about world without pollution and ecofriendly. So that the green energy reflects the idea about generation of energy from natural resources like sunlight, wind, rain, tides, plant, algae, geothermal heat, etc. These energy sources are renewable, that means they are naturally replenished.
There are two types of sources of energy in the world: renewable energy sources and non-renewable energy sources. Renewable sources are directly generated from nature for example, from the sun, rain, wind, tides and it is possible to generate it over and over whenever it is needed. Renewable energy sources are abundant and are definitely the cleanest energy sources in the Earth. The most of the types are solar energy, hydro energy, wind energy, biomass energy, geothermal energy. And another is non-renewable energy. They are not environment friendly and can have serious affect on our health. These energy sources are regenerated over a short period of time. The advantage of non-renewable energy sources is it is ready, cheap, and easy to use. And the major disadvantage is they are finite and will expire sometime in the future. For Green energy, these energy sources are often renewable. When we mainly discuss about green energy it is mandatory to explain all the things related to green green energy like sources, uses, advantages and also some disadvantages. As green energy is similar to renewable energy, we must briefly describe this energy also. Like renewable energy sources green energy have a much smaller impact on the environment than fossil fuels, which produce greenhouse gases as by a product, contributing to climate change. Green energy, however, utilize energy sources that are rapidly available all over the world, including in rural and remote areas. Research into renewable, non-polluting energy sources is advancing at such a fact pace, it’s hard to keep track of many types of the green energy that are now in development.
Here are six of the most common types of green energy.
Solar power: Solar energy is the most prevalent type of green and renewable energy. Sun is the huge source of solar energy which provide energy to all living creatures on the earth. It is the clean and renewable sources of energy. We can use it as a green energy because it has less impact on the environment as it is not taking part in increasing CO2 and does not lead to global warming in any way.
Hydro energy: hydro energy is considered green and renewable energy because the energy because the energy from the sun powers the global hydrologic cycle. Hydroelectric power is an established form of renewable energy that provides major source of electricity, approximately 19% of the world electricity.
Geothermal energy: The term ‘geo’ means ‘the earth’ and ‘thermal’ means ‘the heat’ so geothermal means the energy which is generated in the form of heat which is generates from the radioactive decay of materials inside the earth. Now this energy is being used to generate electricity.
Wind energy: Air flow on the earth’s surface can be used to push turbines, with stronger winds producing more energy. It is a clean energy which does not create pollution o releasing any harmful gases to the environment. That’s why it is considered as one of the sources of green energy.
Biomass energy: Biomass is biological materials mainly derived from living organisms, such as plants and animals and used as fuel to produce electricity or heat. The use of biomass releases fewer greenhouse gas than petroleum-based fuels sources. That’s why it is obviously considered as green energy.
Biofuels: Biofuel is fuel that is produced through contemporary processes from biomass. It can be produced from agricultural, domestic and industrial wastes. That’s why it can make the environment pollution free.
Advantages of Green energy: The most common green energy sources are solar, wind, wind, geothermal, hydro energy, biomass and biofuels. Now I mentioned some advantages of these energy sources below:
Solar energy
It is clean sources of energy which does not produce harmful gases as a co products so have no effects on human health and environment. So, they are environment friendly energy sources.
It is better source of energy for future generation as it last long forever.
Hydro energy
It is also one of the clean sources of energy because does not cause any harm to environment by producing any harmful by-product.
It is reliable, affordable and vast source of energy.
Wind energy
It is clean fuel source that does not pollute air.
Wind turbines does not produce atmospheric emissions that cause acid rain or green house. So, they are safe for environment.
Geothermal energy
It is a cheaper and affordable source of energy that meet the current need and also for future generation.
Due to low emissions geothermal energy is considered to have excellent potential for mitigation of global warming.
Green Energy for Green Environment
Green energy is important for the environment as it replaces the negative impacts of fossil fuels with more environmentally friendly alternatives. Derived from natural resources, green energy is often renewable and clean, meaning that they emit no or less greenhouse of harmful gases. Even when the full life cycle of a green energy source is taken into consideration, they release far less greenhouse gases than fossil fuel, as well as few or low levels of other air pollutant to the environment. This is not just good for the planet but is also better for the health of people and animals that have to breathe the air. Due to the local nature of energy production through sources like solar and wind energy, the energy infrastructure is more flexible and less dependent that can lead to disruption as well as less resilient to weather related climate change.
From the above explanation it is clear that green energy sources are renewable that means naturally replenished. Green energy is environment friendly because they emit low gaseous pollutants. Green energy provides real benefits for the environment through supplying constant resources, because these resources are opposite to carbon emitting fossil fuels directly. Green energy with zero carbon footprint has more environment friendly future. If we can properly utilize these resources to meet our needs like industry, transport, domestic fields we will be able to reduce the impact on the environment. And also, able to make the environment green. That’s why, proper utilization of green energy sources is necessary to make green environment. So, we should take necessary steps for this issue to make eco-friendly environment.
Author is a student of Department of Environmental Science & Engineering, Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University Trishal, Mymensingh-2220
Email: laylamostarimishu@gmail.com
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