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"The World Energy Crisis"How do we define an energy crisis? Well it could be defined as either a large drop in the supply of energy available or a large rise in the price of energy. More often that not it refers to a shortage of crude oil and electricity, as well as other natural sources of non-renewable energy. Our present oil reserves will last 40 years at most and will decline significantly well before then, so it's time to investigate new sources of energy. Globally, experts are working hard to find out how renewable sources of energy can be used to better fulfill our energy needs. This process is difficult and time consuming but significant changes are already occurring. Today, when we talk about renewable energy sources we usually mean solar energy, wind power and water (hydroelectric or watermill) power. Atomic energy has been proved to be useful and reliable too, concerns aside. Renewable energy sources by their very nature will never be exhausted. The great thing about solar energy is that there is an unlimited supply and it is relatively easy and straightforward to implement. It doesn't pollute the environment and produces so much energy that the total amount of light and heat energy that hits the earth every hour is enough to meet the entire energy needs of the planet for a whole year. At present, solar energy is under-utilized, but the situation is starting to change for the better. Hydro-electric power is a renewable energy source that is also successful and is implemented widely. Electrical generators convert running water into electricity through the use of turbines. More and more dams are being constructed to generate hydroelectric power particularly in places like China. Nearly 90% of today's renewable energy supply comes from water power. There is one major problem with hydroelectric power which is the problem of location which is limited for various obvious and not so obvious reasons. Huge amounts of electricity can be generated from hydroelectric power. However, even if geographical and physical conditions favour the building of a dam, social, human and economic factors may not always allow it to happen. Wind power is the final major source of clean, renewable energy. This has been a traditional source of renewable energy for literally thousands of years, but only recently have scientists looked at it as a major source of clean electrical energy. Some people oppose the idea of creating wind farms to generate electrical energy. Most of the people who belong to this group have either a problem with the way the windmills look (particularly as they are generally situated on the tops of hills) or have objections to the droning noise they can produce creating excessive environmental noise pollution. They may have a genuine point, but since we are not exactly spoilt for choice in the matter of renewable energy sources, we have to use all the options that are available to us. The world's energy crisis will hit us hard. It is time to act. World governments and business leaders should come together and implement changes to the energy landscape while there is still time to repair the damage.
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