Every household in Maryland stands to profit from the environmental benefits of solar energy. Solar panel installers are contributing daily to the large savings the average householder can make by using Solar energy to bring down their monthly electricity and fuel bills. The advantage of sourcing one’s energy needs from a renewable energy corporation rather than from the national grid, is massive. Green energy companies are constantly providing the environmental benefits of solar energy, at an economically viable price to the average local household. Coupled with this is the additional bonus of Maryland Solar Tax credit savings under the Maryland solar energy grant program
As new technologies become part of our every day living, the amount of energy the average household consumes today is higher than ever before, and this seems set to continue increasing at an unprecedented rate.
The Depletion of Tradition Energy Sources and the Increase in Energy Costs
Energy costs just keep going up…and the big issue that confronts us now is that our traditional energy sources are starting to run down. The result will be that either we’ll run out of them completely, or they will become so scarce that the cost of supply will become too expensive for the normal household to afford. We have already seen how the world has been virtually held to ransom by the unscrupulous countries possessing most of the Fossil Fuel reserves.
The Solution – Switch from Fossil Fuels to Renewable Energy Sources
As can be seen from the above image, only around 20% of our energy comes from renewable sources, with the other 80% coming almost entirely from Fossil Fuels: Coal, Petroleum and Natural Gas. These Fossil fuel resources are constantly being depleted and are not renewable.
The U.S Energy Information Administration predicts that the current world energy consumption will increase by 56% between 2010 and 2040 which means that it is imperative for us to find and employ energy sources which will not be depleted over this time. This is the reason for the emphasis which is being placed world-wide today, on increasing the use of Renewable Energy resources. These are energy sources which can be efficiently and economically constantly renewed and replaced, unlike the limited and non-replaceable Fossil fuels. These are “The Green Energy Sources”.
A Short History of the Energy Sources Used in American
The typical American family of a few hundred years ago, cooked their food, and heated their homes with wood. As long as new trees were responsibly planted to replace the ones chopped down, the supply of wood was obviously a renewable energy source. Historically wood was the main energy source in private homes well into the 19th century world-wide.
Early industry which saw an enormous growth in the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries, was powered largely by the more efficient power generated by water mills, until finally Coal took over as the premier energy source towards the end of the 19th century. The era of Fossil fuels now supplanted renewable wood sources as the main energy supply, and this has continued until today.
By the middle of the 20th century petroleum had taken over from coal as the main source, accompanied by natural gas and these remain the main non-renewable energy sources in today’s “Fossil Fuel Age”.
The use of coal to generate electric power, still continues in large quantities with Nuclear power a much smaller source.
These three main, non-renewable fossil fuels, coal, petroleum derivatives, and natural gas, have dominated as the source of American fuel for well over 100 years and this seems likely to continue into the future.
Are Renewable Fuels Making Inroads as Energy Sources?
The good news is that renewable energy sources are increasing fast, with Solar panel installation becoming a widely used and commonly seen feature in the American suburban landscape. On the other hand, the amount of Fossil fuels used has not really decreased. It seems that all that has happened is that the world is using more energy! The gloomier side of the picture is that the EIA predicts that by 2040, 75 percent of U.S. energy will still come Fossil fuels, oil, coal, and natural gas.
It is interesting to note that Renewable fuel sources such as wind and solar power in the 21st century produced more energy than was used by the entire American population of the mid-19th century. What this doesn’t take into account, though, is that the population and amount of energy used 150 years ago was very much smaller than it is today. So, a real effort has to be made to promote the use of renewable energy if we hope to keep up and get ahead.
So What is the Anwer?
What is termed “Green Energy” holds the answer! Enormous Solar and Wind Farms are being built across the globe, with countries joining together in the effort to increase the use of these energy sources to generate large amounts of power for their populations. As modern technology develops ever more sophisticated methods of harnessing the energy of our sun, wind and water, the economic viability of renewable energy sources for the average man in the street, becomes more and more of a reality.
Together with the environmental benefits of solar energy, If the production of all the Green Energy sources can keep pace with the world’s needs, it should, hopefully, provide the long-term solution we are all looking for.
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