Our world is in a period of great change. We are experiencing global warming at a rate never seen before. The change is in redirecting our energy sources that will hopefully reverse this trend. Our fossil fuel supplies are slowly being depleted and likewise gradually being augmented with pollution free energy sources that do not need replacement.
The technologies involved in renewable energy resources have advanced greatly in recent years and have now become part of individual nation energy policies.
Adoption and greater use of wind turbines has been much more prominent in recent years with the great advances in Wind turbine technology. Photovoltaics is also making great strides in their Solar Panel conversion efficiencies. Solar Thermal direct electricity generation seems to hold the greatest promise for the present. Combining these pollution free energy sources, it is hoped to make a big dent in our fossil fuel environmental pollution issues in the near future.
Even Now... We Are Beginning To See Some Of The Effects Of These Changes
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With manufacturing efficiencies rising in most sectors of our industry, energy costs are also rising, negating much of these gains, producing net gain adjustments in the final costs of producing a product. As our fossil fuels become less and less available, renewable energy sources will have to increase in order to replace them along with our increased needs. We are seeing greater investments in renewable energy projects as we enter 2006, mainly because of the Renewable Energy tax incentives passed in late 2005.
The transition to these new energy sources is not without some reactions...from those who live within ear shot of a windmill farm. Their "whirring" noise can sometimes be somewhat annoying. Some "avian"(bird) losses are attributed to their encounters with the rotating blades. Windmill farms require massive landscaped areas in their construction. Some land value is also lost...usually permanently in the process. Even some of our most prominent elected officials have voiced opposition to proposed Windmill Farms along our eastern seaboard shores because they would obscure some of our beautiful scenic views. It seems the only way to rebuke the naysayers and to convince them of the advantages of using Windmill Renewable energy...is for one to respond..."maybe when you turn away from the less than beautiful scenery produced by the offshore Windfarm, your lights will still be on as you enter your home."
There will always be some who oppose change, but it is not as though the U.S. and the rest of the world has a choice in the matter. The prime reason is not because Fossil Fuel sources will run out tomorrow, but because...as they become less available because of dwindling reserves or supplier disruption(for whatever reason), market prices will rise, causing a ripple effect and promote a negative industry growth.
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I am a longtime searcher of possible solutions to the problems of the day.