You may have heard a lot about green energy the past year or so. Whether you’ve jumped on the green energy bandwagon or not, it is definitely not a trend. Green energy is the way of the future. Let’s take a look at exactly what green energy is, why it’s important and how you can use it to improve your life and your environment.
What is Green Energy?
Green energy is energy that produces little if no by products that harm the environment. For example, fossil fuels like oil are expensive to mine, destructive to the environment during the actual drilling process and produce many toxic by-products. These very same by products have been directly contributing to greenhouse gases and global warming not to mention polluting our waterways and air.
Green energy, like solar, wind, and geothermal do not cause destruction to the environment either during their harvesting stage or as a by-product. When you use solar cells for example to store and create energy, you’re using energy directly from the sun. There’s no by product create and no waste.
Benefits of Green Energy
The benefits of green energy are vast. Initially you may think about two primary environmental benefits. They include no waste or pollution from the energy sources or emissions. Eliminating harmful emissions would drastically improve our planet’s outlook and virtually eliminate global warming caused by greenhouse gasses.
Additionally, green energy means no more destruction of the earth as we harvest fossil fuels. No more oil spills, digging in the midst of our pristine wilderness and destroying our natural resources.
However, beyond the immediate and apparent environmental benefits, in the long run green energy is significantly more cost effective. Imagine if your entire home ran on energy from the sun? How much a month would that save you in heating your home and in your electric bill?
Over the course of a year you’d save a thousand dollars or more, right? What about over the course of ten years? Yes, initially it will cost to transfer your energy source from fossil fuels to green energy sources, but that initial expense is usually paid for within a few years.
Green energy is infinitely sustainable and economically sound. That’s why it is the wave of the future.
How to Use Green Energy
The good news is that green energy can be utilized in smaller increments. You don’t have to change your entire home over to sustainable fuel sources in one fell swoop. You can add a few solar panels, use passive solar, and support sustainable practices. Some energy companies even offer a membership where you can specify a certain amount of your energy come from wind or solar. This depends on where you live but check it out. Finally, you can support businesses that use green energy.
It may take a while to spread throughout the world, however green energy is more than a passing phase, it is the wave of the future.
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