Why Does Australia Use Non Renewable Energy

In Australia, carbon emissions contribute to the problem of global warming and climate change worsening. Therefore, people want to move to a more sustainable energy future, because renewable energy is the only valid method to reduce emissions. But it is very difficult to widely use renewable energy since this transition have to face numerous barriers. This essay will argue that adopting renewable energy cannot be overcome due to lack of financial and political barriers.

Most of the energy that we use comes from fossil fuels like petroleum and coal that provide electricity and gas to power our growing energy needs. These fossil fuels, currently providing most of our home energy needs are finite resources, which mean that, they will eventually run out. Furthermore, the world’s population is growing rapidly. Countries are becoming more industrialised and are using notable amount of energy. Individuals are consuming nearly twice as much as energy as they were using 30 years ago. In Australia itself, the total amount of energy consumed by households has increased over the past two decades and is forecast to increase. This could be due to the dependence of our standard of living on easily available energy. Between

Energy is an important part of life producing the power of movement, heat, and production of electricity in many different ways. Therefore, choosing the correct source of energy is important for the environment and humans. Renewable energy that produces electricity never runs out, causing a lower environmental impact. Solar, Biomass, Wind, Geothermal, and Hydropower energy should be used globally to produce electricity. On the other hand, producing electricity from nonrenewable energy sources can be very harmful to humans and the environment. Humans can easily be dependent on it, which may not be the best option when it comes to finance, efficiency, sustainability and more. Approximately 52% of the US electricity comes from polluting sources like natural gas, oil, nuclear, and hydropower that have a lot of disadvantages effecting the environment in a negative way.

Of course if you want solar panels or wind turbines you can have them if the city allows it, but the upfront costs can be prohibitive. You can however, sell back any surplus power to the power company, but again it has to be done the right way, and doing things the right way can be costly in many cases.

With the increasing Australia’s population the demand for reliable energy to support our power needs now and into the future is escalating, with majority of the Australia’s energy depending solely on coal power with concerns arising on whether this is the best option for Australia’s future or focus more on harnessing green renewable energy. This essay will argue that green energy is the best option over coal power, for the world and Australia’s future, such as solar and wind. The biggest challenge though will be finding a way in being able to harness the resources nature provides to support the growing demand.

Everyone uses a lot of power for lighting, heating, machines, movements, and so much more. All of that energy has to come from an energy supply. Some energy resources are renewable, while others are non-renewable. Energy has various forms and is a very essential part of our everyday lives.

An important role of them is to generate energy from natural resources, for instance solar thermal. It is a solar water heater that uses the power of the sun to heat water thus reducing the amount of gas or electricity required. In fact, according to Education Scotland, solar power plants in Spain have generated 3 gigawatts of power which represents 2.8% of Spain’s energy needs (Solar – Renewable Energy, 2016). There are many renewable energy technologies that can prevent acid rain, urban smog, pollution and the burning of coal. Canada has improve on its uses of fossil fuel, the uses of renewable energy grew from 2% to 11% (Healing, 2016). Therefore, if using renewable energy sources will give us the luxurious of being able to have electricity, heat our homes, transport, and protect the environment, then why not use it.

Australia is self-sufficient in energy resources for electricity generation. The black coal is used to supply electricity in New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia, while the brown coal is used in Victoria. Australia also has hydro centrals, used to produce hydro-electric energy for Tasmania. States such as South Australia and Northern Territory

In times of drought, a common occurrence in Australia, water supplies can be reduced drastically thereby reducing the amount of electricity that can be generated.

Nowadays, there are two fastest growing sources of renewable energy which are wind and solar that produce intermittent supplies of energy. People tend to demand from energy more than before. Renewable energy in Australia deals with efforts being made in Australia to quantify and expand renewable energy, which includes electricity, transport fuels and thermal energy. Total renewable energy consumption in Australia in 2015 was 346 Joules(PJ), representing 5.9% of Australia's total energy consumption.(2015 Australian Energy Statistics) This is an increase of 1.6% from 2011–12 levels (265 PJ), representing 4.3% of Australia's total energy consumption.(2013 Australian Energy Update) The energy consumption increases is not only due to the rate

One resource that is essential to produce electricity is renewable energy. Providing one’s own energy consists of utilizing solar panels, wind turbines and micro hydroelectricity. Solar panels absorb energy from the Sun to produce solar energy. A great number of people who live off the grid use solar power. Wind turbines generate electrical power from the wind and functions in the reverse manner as a fan does. Micro hydroelectricity is another source of energy, which fascinatingly “uses a source of running water, like a stream, to generate electricity” (Dunn 3). Between all three sources of renewable energy, micro hydroelectricity is the most efficient, reliable and commonly used form.

Global warming is a phenomenon leading to climate change. Human being, particularly the burning of fossil fuels releases large amounts of polluted gases. These gases absorb infrared radiation and cover the atmosphere. Increasingly infrared radiation is inside the Earth, which becomes warmer. This process is called global warming (Houghton, 2005). Australia is one of the countries, which is suffering from climate change. The average temperature of Australia has increased by 0.7°C since the past century. Average precipitation northwest regions will increase, while average precipitation in the southwest and southeast in Australia will decline in future decades. Moreover, Australia’s coastlines will suffer from corrosion and flood because it is predictable that there will be an 8–88cm growing global sea level (Preston and Jones, 2006). Owing to climate change, Australia’s biodiversity, ecosystems, and natural habitats are damaged. For example, the habitat of the coral communities and Great Barrier Reefs are disappearing (Preston and Jones, 2006). Owing to the effects and it is an energy crisis in the future, exploring renewable energy source feasible and sustainable development is necessary. Therefore, in the long-term, the potential of wind energy and solar energy could be the answer to global warming in Australia and determine the current barriers to renewable energy in terms of the energy industry and the locations in Australia.

Global warming is a phenomenon leading to climate change. Human activities, especially the burning of fossil fuels releases large amounts of greenhouse gases. These gases absorb infrared radiation and cover the atmosphere. More and more infrared radiation is inside the Earth, which becomes warmer. This process is called global warming (Houghton, 2005). Australia is one of the countries, which is suffering from climate change. The average temperature of Australia has increased by 0.7°C since the past century. Average precipitation in the southwest and southeast in Australia will decrease in future decades, while northwest regions will increase in precipitation. Moreover, Australia’s coastlines will suffer from erosion and inundation because it is estimated that there will be an 8–88 cm increasing global sea level (Preston and Jones, 2006). Owing to climate change, Australia’s biodiversity, ecosystems, and natural habitats are destroyed. For example, the habitat of the Great Barrier Reef and coral communities are disappearing (Preston and Jones, 2006). Owing to the effects and it is energy crisis in the future, exploring the renewable energy source feasibility and sustainable development is necessary. Therefore, in the long term, the potential of wind energy and solar energy could be the answer to global warming in Australia and determine the current barriers to renewable energy in terms of the energy industry and the locations in Australia.

There are a few major advantages with non-renewable energy. There are plenty of fossil fuels, such as coal, oil and gas in Australia so this means they are a relatively cheap fuel and readily available. Australia has enough fossil fuel resources to last for years. Also very large amounts of electricity can be generated from fossil fuels. Non-renewable energy is cost effective and easier to product and use. According to National Geographic, there are reservoirs of non-renewable energy sources throughout the world. However, there are some disadvantages to non-renewable energy. Fossil fuels are non-renewable and will eventually run out because

Renewable energy can be more affordable to people in the U.S. There are many possible ways it can be more affordable. For example, a renewable energy such as electricity can power automobiles with a be less expensive cost than to power it on fuel. Since fuel is related with international market, the price on fuel often result to inflation and deflation (Leistikow n. pag.). According to the chart on Gasoline vs. eGallon prices, Dan Leistikow compares, “Fueling your car with gasoline costs roughly 3 times more than fueling with electricity” (n.