ENERGY RESOURCES AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Where does our energy come from?

Primary energy sources take many forms, including nuclear energy, fossil
energy like oil, coal and natural gas and renewable sources
like wind, solar, geothermal and hydropower. All these different sources of energy
are used primarily to produce electricity, a secondary energy source, which flows
through power lines and other transmission infrastructure to your home and
business. The different sources of energy add to the store of electrical power
that is then sent out to different locations via high powered lines.

Renewable Energy Sources

A renewable energy source is any natural resource that can replace it quickly and
dependably. These energy sources are plentiful, sustainable, naturally replenished
and good to the environment.

The major types or sources of renewable energy are:

 Solar energy from the sun

 Wind energy
 Geothermal energy from the heat inside the earth
 Hydropower from flowing water
 Ocean energy in the form of wave, tidal, current energy and ocean thermal
energy.
 Biomass from plants

Non-renewable Energy Source

A non-renewable energy source is a source with a limited supply that we can mine
or extract from the earth, and it’ll eventually run out. These are formed over
thousands of years from the buried remains of ancient sea plants and animals that
lived millions of years ago. Most of these energy sources are “dirty” fossil fuels,
which are generally bad for the environment.
The major types or sources of non-renewable energy are:

 Petroleum
 Hydrocarbon gas liquids
 Natural gas
 Coal
 Nuclear energy

You can get an overview of each of the different sources of energy that are in use
and what’s the potential issue for each of them in the link given below.

https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/different-energy-sources.php

Understanding Energy Conservation

Energy conservation is not about making limited resources last as long as they can,
that would mean that you are doing nothing more than prolong a crisis until you
finally run out of energy resources altogether. Conservation is the process of
reducing demand on a limited supply and enabling that supply to begin to rebuild
itself. Many times, the best way of doing this is to replace the energy used with an
alternate source.

In the case of fossil fuels, conservation also can include finding new ways to tap
into the Earth’s supply so that the commonly used oil fields are not drained
completely. This allows for those fields to replenish themselves more. This is not a
process that happens overnight; when you are talking about replenishing natural
resources, you are talking about alleviating excess demand on the supply in 100’s of
years’ time to allow nature to recover.

Without energy conservation, the world will deplete its natural resources. While
some people don’t see that as an issue because it will take many decades to happen
and they foresee that by the time the natural resource is gone there will be an
alternative; the depletion also comes at the cost of creating an enormous
destructive waste product that then impacts the rest of life.

Click the link below for 15 practical ways in which we can conserve energy on a daily
basis.
https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/energy-conservation-techniques.php

Climate Change

Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. Such
shifts can be natural, due to changes in the sun’s activity or large volcanic eruptions.
But since the 1800s, human activities have been the main driver of climate change,
primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas.

Burning fossil fuels generates greenhouse gas emissions that act like a blanket
wrapped around the Earth, trapping the sun’s heat and raising temperatures, also
known as Greenhouse effect.

The main greenhouse gases that are causing climate change include carbon dioxide and
methane. Deforestation is one of the major reasons for increased emission of Carbon-
Dioxide. Also, Industrialization, fuel-based transportation and rampant construction are
other major contributors for increased CO2 emissions. Agriculture, oil and gas
operations and garbage landfills are primary source for methane emissions.

Greenhouse gas concentrations are at their highest levels in 2 million years. Emissions
are continuing to rise. As a result, the Earth is presently around 1.1 degrees Celsius
warmer than it was in the late 1800s. The most recent decade (2011-2020) has been the
warmest on record.
It is perceived that climate change mainly entails higher temperatures. However, the
temperature rise is merely the beginning of the narrative, as everything is
interconnected in the ecosystem. Thus, shifts in one aspect will equally impact others.
Research has shown that, If the global average surface temperatures rise between 1.5-
2 degrees, then world’s wealthiest countries will experience fewer changes in their local
climate as well as crop yields due to well-built information systems in place whereas low
income or less developed countries will suffer more in terms of food security and food
safety due to climate change and lesser resilient crop infrastructure. According to some
projections, in the absence of successful adaptation, worldwide yields could fall by up to
30% by 2050.
Countries already dealing with violence, pollution, deforestation, and other issues are
likely to bear the brunt of these consequences. The 2 billion people who already lack
adequate food, particularly smallholder farmers and other individuals living in poverty,
will be struck the hardest. Despite decades of global commitment, hunger and food
insecurity continue at alarming rates. The number of undernourished people or food
insecurity is increasing, with climate shocks playing a significant role. Climate change will
raise food prices, reduce food supply, and promote instability and conflict due to
competition for water and arable land unless immediate action is taken.
The link below gives informative facts and statistics related to climate change.
https://climate.peopleinneed.net/climate-change?gclid=Cj0KCQjw84anBhCtARIsAISI-
xeCSioUCY8LLMRccptoYVjKweGJyBenMWFR-ST61zdY6E_UoKCVRtYaAp5DEALw_wcB

Combatting Climate Change

Four key climate change indicators – greenhouse gas concentrations, sea level rise,
ocean heat and ocean acidification – set new records in 2021. This is yet another clear
sign that human activities are causing planetary-scale changes on land, in the ocean,
and in the atmosphere, with dramatic and long-lasting ramifications. The key to
tackling this crisis is to end our reliance on energy generated from fossil fuels - the
main cause of climate change.

“The good news is that the lifeline is right in front of us,” says UN Secretary-General
António Guterres, stressing that renewable energy technologies like wind and solar
already exist today, and in most cases, are cheaper than coal and other fossil fuels.
We now need to put them to work, urgently, at scale and speed.
The Secretary-General outlines five critical actions the world needs to prioritize now
to transform our energy systems and speed up the shift to renewable energy -
“because without renewables, there can be no future.”

1. Make renewable energy technology globally available at an affordable price

2. Improve global access to components and raw materials
3. Level the playing field for renewable energy technologies by reforming domestic
policy frameworks to streamline and fast-track renewable energy projects and
catalyze private sector investments.
4. Shift energy subsidies from fossil fuels to renewable energy
5. Triple investment in renewables

https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/raising-ambition/renewable-energy-
transition (Read detailed information here)