Energy of the future

Some countries use fossil fuels such as coal, gas, ... Other countries encourage the use of alternative sourses of energy such as wind and solar power.

What might be positive and negative development of each?
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Current energy sources will not be able to sustain our growing society. We must look to alternate energy sources for the answer.

For further readings on alternative energy (hydro, solar, wind, biomass, nuclear) pls read this (20 pages)
https://www.wellsfargo.com/downloads/pdf/about/csr/alt_energy.pdf
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Alternate energy sources must replace our traditional energy sources because they are sustainable for our lifestyles. Since the age of industrialization, we have relied heavily upon traditional energy resources (mostly the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas). These traditional resources have shaped our culture as well as our development. However, when these resources are used to produce energy, they negatively impact our delicate environment. They are also nonrenewable and will one day run out. However, we may solve the problem of our depleting resources through current technology, which promise new alternative methods to produce energy. Using these alternative resources will greatly increase our sustainability.

Alternative sources must replace traditional sources because they are renewable (the resource will never deplete). One example of an alternate resource is hydroelectricity which generates power via moving water. Due to the hydrologic cycle, the fast-moving water will never deplete. Hydroelectricity is therefore a renewable energy resource. Another example of renewable energy is solar power, which generates energy by collecting heat or light from the sun. Since the sun will not stop emitting heat and light (at least not for the next 4,000,000,000 years) it is considered a renewable resource. Wind can also be used to generate large amounts of electricity. As long as the sun’s heat creates wind currents, we will be able to produce power from the wind. Coal will be gone in 200 years, whereas natural gas will have disappeared in less than 100 years. However, these three resources mentioned above, hydro, solar, and wind power, cannot be depleted.
Another advantage alternative power sources have over traditional sources is that they have little to no impact on the environment. Hydroelectricity relies solely on fast-flowing water to generate power. Once a hydroelectric dam is operating it does not emit any pollutants into the atmosphere. Geothermal energy is considered to be the cleanest energy resource yet explored. A geothermal plant does not burn any fossil fuels and requires minimal land space to operate. Its environmental impact is nearly zero. Hydrogen energy promises to be an excellent substitute to gasoline products currently used in cars and trucks. The element hydrogen is much more powerful per liter than gasoline. Unlike gasoline, the exhaust products of hydrogen do not pollute the atmosphere with CO2 or CO1 (carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide respectively) but release clean H­2O (water). Since alternative energy sources have minimal effects on the environment, the must be used as substitutes for traditional energy sources which are currently trashing our earth.

The only disadvantages of alternative energy are that they are often unreliable and have high start-up costs. For example, solar energy requires a great number of solar cells to produce any significant amount of electricity. The cells are expensive and may not be affordable for family households or small companies. They also only produce electricity on sunny days. Because the sun is not always shining, the source is not reliable. Another example of an energy resource that is expensive to start up is hydroelectric dams. Though running costs are cheap the building of a hydroelectric dam far exceeds that of a fossil-fuel-burning plant. Many governments and companies may stay away from alternative energy sources such as these because the resource is unreliable or they cannot afford the initial start-up costs.
Alternative energy has more benefits than drawbacks. Unlike traditional resources, it is renewable and has little to no impact on the environment. The only drawbacks to these sources are that they are often unreliable and command high startup costs. Our current technologies employed to produce energy are not sustainable. The resources will not last for future generations. We therefore need to move to alternate energy resources to ensure that our lifestyles are sustainable, both for us and for future generations.