Wednesday, October 8, 2008
A great renewable energy source is geothermal, which provides energy for residential properties, commercial properties, and industries. Geothermal energy is energy harvested from the Earth. Steam is pumped from deep within the Earth, this steam is then used to rotate turbines that are connected to a generator. The generator creates the electricity. This source of energy is sustainable because the steam taken from the Earth can be reinserted. This source of energy is popular in Alaska, Hawaii, and western states because the ground near the surface of the Earth is between 50-60 degrees F. The major problem with geothermal energy is that it can only used in the aforementioned areas. Geothermal energy is environmentally beneficial because it uses the least amount of land of other energy sources, it is virtually free of pollutants (releases almost pure H2O vapor), has no waste disposal, and it is cheap and reliable. The above information was taken from this website. This source of energy only accounts for about 1% of the world's energy. I believe that more funding should be given to advance this source of energy because it is clean and it will help us deviate from our dependence on foreign oil and will bring us closer to environmental security.
I agree that geothermal energy should be used in areas that are capable of producing electricity in this fashion. However I find it hard to accept that we should pour tons of money into funding this type of energy when only so few areas have access to it. I believe that funding for geothermal energy should probably come from the state level rather than the national level, where funding should go to find new energy sources that are widely spread across the country.