Posted: August 1st, 2023

SC200-2: Compare and contrast discipline

SC200-2: Compare and contrast discipline-specific scientific concepts.

The Future of Energy: Guiding Decisions with Evidence
To reduce the negative environmental impacts of an ever-growing human population and increasing demands for energy as technological advances continue, individual countries, states, cities and even households could shift their energy sources to those that are renewable. However, not all locations are equally amenable to any form of renewable energy. For this Assignment, you will assess your own location, existing energy use, the advantages and disadvantages of different energy sources, and ways to reduce energy demand through conservation.

Be sure to explore the following resources to begin your research and to support your ideas with accurate facts. While the provided resources focus on the United States, you are welcome to explore the energy situation within your own state of residence, one that you would like to live in or have visited in the past, or an international location. Use only one region for your entire argument.

Your Assignment should be written in an essay format, with an introduction and conclusion. The paper will require you to include details from research including the course materials and sources you locate on your own. Use Help write my thesis – APA format to cite your sources of information, both within parenthetical citations and also within a reference page at the end of the Assignment.

Your paper should include all the following parts:
• Assess your own energy use: Provide five different examples of how you use energy throughout your day. Identify each energy source and whether it is renewable or nonrenewable.
• Using the provided materials, determine, and discuss the renewable source of energy that would be the most and the renewable source of energy that would be the least appropriate for use in your chosen location. Explain how you arrived at your decisions so it is clear why one is the most appropriate and why one is the least appropriate.
• Assignment help – Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the energy sources you currently rely on as well as the two renewable energy sources you identified above. Include both the economic (costs/benefits) and ecological impacts of each.
• In addition to using alternative forms of energy, energy conservation is also a significant way in which ecological impacts can be reduced on the environment. Identify three new ways in which you can reduce your energy use at home, work, or in other areas you engage in on a regular basis and explain how the changes would reduce your impact on the environment.

Minimum Submission Requirements
• This Assessment should be a Microsoft Word (minimum 1000 words) document, not including the title and reference pages.
• Include a title page, double space, Times New Roman size 12.
• Reviewed for grammar and spelling errors.
• No evidence of plagiarism.
• Respond to the questions in a thorough manner, providing specific examples of concepts, topics, definitions, and other elements asked for in the questions. Your paper should be highly organized, logical, and focused.
• Your paper must be written in Standard English and demonstrate exceptional content, organization, style, and grammar and mechanics.
• Your paper should provide a clearly established and sustained viewpoint and purpose.
• Your writing should be well ordered, logical and unified, as well as original and insightful.
• A separate page at the end of your research paper containing a list of references, in Help write my thesis – APA format must be included. Use your textbook, the Library, and peer reviewed academic sources.
• Be sure to cite both in-text and reference list citations where appropriate and reference all sources. Your sources and content should follow proper Help write my thesis – APA citation style. Review the Help write my thesis – APA formatting and citation style found in the Writing Center. To access the Writing Center, select this link.
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The future of Energy
Name
Institution

Using energy is inevitable in the human life form. Everything is energy and human beings depend on energy in their daily activities such as powering and heating their homes to fueling their vehicles. However, the energy that people depends on to manage these activities releases harmful carbon dioxide into the environment. The demand for energy continues to increase as population grows. Research done shows that the energy demand will increase by 40 percent in 2050 hence the need for transformation on energy generation. Using renewable sources of energy is also a cheaper means which has received over $2 trillion investment globally (Edward et al.2008). Low carbon energy generating systems need to be integrated faster in the world. Research done by the international Energy Agency (IEA) shows that here are twenty six low carbon innovation ideas and only three of them have been used to curb energy saving. The mature low carbon innovations include energy storage, electric vehicles, onshore wind and solar PV. The paper presented will focus on Iceland and its energy situations as well as its existing energy use. The paper will also break down the advantages and disadvantages of the different energy sources and how energy can be conserved to reduce demand.
Iceland presents a unique renewable energy situation because almost 100 percent of the electricity consumed by the population originates from renewable energy. Most of the people in Iceland depend on geothermal energy to heat up their houses. The country has made significant progress in a short period of time. Study shows that Iceland gets its renewable resources due its location in the Mid Atlantic Ridge where there is a very active volcanic zone that enable the powering of geothermal systems.Also,11 percent of the country is covered by glaciers which seasonally melts running from mountains into rivers and oceans contributing to the hydropower resources (Logadóttir,2013). Therefore, most of the Iceland economy is powered by the hydro and geothermal sources. The green energy powered economy sustains the provision of heat and electricity by meeting the need of families as well as intensive industry activities. The geothermal energy also provides the heat for melting snow off sidewalks, food processing, green house cultivation, power fish farming as well as heating swimming pools.
Iceland is a role model of move from fossil energy to embracing renewable energy resources. However, the adoption has been a process that began in the early twentieth century led by the global instability of oil prices fluctuations. Iceland could not sustain the fluctuations and they resolved to adopt economically feasible and stable energy resource especially for its isolated location (Logadóttir,2013). After a farmer found a way to primitively use hot water seeping out of the ground to create a geothermal heating system, local entrepreneurs took up the idea alongside the municipalities that built up on the framer’s success by exploring the resources. Larger projects were then developed via drilling for hotter water that could provide energy for more homes. More heating systems became commercialized hence creating independent power systems around the country. When hydropower production started in Iceland, it started with a few Mega Watts (MW) of power generation which has grown to be a 300MW geothermal power station. The hydropower powers up their geothermal power plant hence making Iceland a world leader in the use of green energy. The process is achieved by drilling the ground thousands of meters deep to penetrate the pressurized water (Logadóttir,2013). The pressurized water can be over 300C hence releasing steam that is separated from the water to power up some of the plants. The remaining water creates more steam after it has been further depress Geothermal energy source is the most appropriate for Iceland due its location at active volcanic zones that heats up water hence producing steam that runs the geothermal power plants. Their source of energy is the most sustainable and cost efficient because it has continuous supply hence easy replenishing. The renewable energy source that is less appropriate for Iceland is wood because using wood as a source of power will pollute the environment as well as deplete the environment (Logadóttir,2013). Also, using wood as a source of power is not the best option because the country will be required to plant more trees in replacement of the ones cut which may end up being a costly activity in the long run.
In my daily life I mostly use nonrenewable sources of energy because I use gas for cooking, oil for my car and coal to heat up my house .Most of the source I use are non-renewable resources since they are harmful to the environment Fossil fuels such as natural gas, coal and oil are composed of carbon and they take millions of years to form and even longer to replenish (Groth and Schou,2017). Oil is liquid in substance and is found between rock layers which are dug out to pump the oil to the surface. Natural gas is composed of methane which is originally odorless until it is mixed with a special additive to emit odor for easy detection. Natural gas is retrieved via a pump like oil and is pumped to the surface. I use gas to heat up my home as well as cooking. Coal is formed from million years of plant filled swamps sediments. I use coal to heat up my house during cold days which is costly especially during winter.
Using the non-renewable energy is advantageous because it is easily available in my location compare to non-renewable resources. Creating a nonrenewable source may take time to establish hence using nonrenewable energy in my location is convenient. However, the resources I use end up polluting the environment through the release of carbon dioxide. Also, the non-renewable source of energy is costly and unstable fuel to the fluctuation of prices which creates unmanageable situations from time to time. In future I intend to switch to natural use of energy such as geothermal sources to heat up my home and cook. However, I may have to relocate to ares hat already have the green energy resources established. Adopting this lifestyle will dramatically reduce my monthly costs on energy because I can use the geothermal source of power to heat my home, cook and for my car as well hence conserving the environment while mitigating costs.
Reducing the energy use at home is a way of conserving the environment through proper energy use hence mitigation of costs as well. Choosing the right electric appliances is one of the ways to reduce energy use (Groth and Schou,2017). Also, unplugging the appliances when they are not in use is a great way to prevent wastage of energy. Using appropriate insulation for heat conservation at home is also a way to manage energy. Insulating the roof with draughts and sealing the chimney will prevent a lot of heat from escaping during the cold seasons. To conserve energy, one can choose to walk to work or use the public means whenever possible hence conserving fuel.

References
Edwards, P. P., Kuznetsov, V. L., David, W. I., & Brandon, N. P. (2008). Hydrogen and fuel cells: towards a sustainable energy future. Energy policy, 36(12), 4356-4362.
Logadóttir, H. H. (2013). Iceland’s sustainable energy story: A model for the world?. UN Chronicle, 52(3), 40-45.
Groth, C., & Schou, P. (2017). Growth and non-renewable resources: The different roles of capital and resource taxes. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 53(1), 80-98.
Brandon, G., & Lewis, A. (2014). Reducing household energy consumption: a qualitative and quantitative field study. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 19(1), 75-85.

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