Response 1

There are many alternatives to fossil fuels out there.  I’m from the east coast and up until I got stationed in California wasn’t too familiar with solar cells or wind turbines.  Being in the desert and in a valley makes real good condition for these two and they are everywhere.  Plenty of sunlight and being in a valley causes surface wind which aids in the turbines.  “A solar cell, or photovoltaic cell, is a device capable of converting energy from the Sun into electricity.” (Rohland, 2016) Even though solar cells or panels work amazing out here with all this sunlight, doesn’t mean it will work this great where the sun doesn’t shine as much. Wonderful idea but not suitable for all areas.  Same reasoning goes for the wind turbines, again not suitable for all areas is a barrier.  Physical locations and weather could be potential barriers. 

Within the government there is the Department of energy.  “The Energy Department’s efforts to develop and deploy energy efficient solutions for buildings and manufacturing supply lines means large-scale energy and cost savings for all Americans.” (U.S Department of Energy, 2018) The government can greatly influence how buildings or houses for example will be built in the future.  Structures have to meet the builders code to be incompliance with guidelines and standards.  If the government changes the code to “X” material and “Y” as energy source, this will enhance the effect of saving fossil fuels. 

Reference

Rohland, L. (2016). Salem Press Encyclopedia of Science. Solar Cell. Retrieved from http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

U.S. Department of Energy. (2018) Department of Energy. Energy Efficiency. 

https://www.energy.gov/science-innovation/energy-efficienc

Response 2

There are many alternatives to fossil fuels that are currently available, and one is the solar energy. One form that I know many people is using, the photovoltaic PV panels. This type of solar energy is placed on the rooftops to generate electricity and it never runs out. So far people like this renewable solar energy, they save up money on their electricity bill and they are virtually pollution free. The textbook explains how it works “Active solar energy captures sunlight using mechanical devices and then converts it to useful heat or electric power. Solar photovoltaic or PV panels convert sunlight to electricity, which is the most common form of active solar energy.” (Turk & Bensel 2014).  I think this is an amazing source of energy because it can be used in different forms like some garden items such as outdoor lighting. Moreover, in traffic lights, swimming pools, creative edge solar cell phone charger, wireless keyboard, Bluetooth speaker, generators etc. The second form I chose is the wind-wave power, this is another essential form to form energy. According to “Hybrid wind-wave systems are a type of multipurpose platform where a single platform combines the exploitation of offshore wind and wave energy.” This form of energy has advantages, one is cheaper for people to afford. Scientists still study how they can improve this form or generate energy. In this textbook “The laboratory experiments in such long-fetch conditions would be helpful for modeling small-scale air-sea coupling” (Takaki2017) The solar energy is expensive for some people and they do not have enough information about the benefits of this source. Also, some people are afraid that source may not work as good as the companies said it works. The textbook states “While the economics are increasingly favorable for renewable energy, it is the lack of political will to implement these sources and strong lobbying of politicians by the fossil fuel industry that most impede their development.” (Turk & Bensel 2014).  The government has an important role to support this transition, they should analyze every energy source and see which one is affordable for people. They should create financial plans to help people in this transition.

Turk, J., & Bensel, T. (2014). Contemporary environmental issues (2nd ed.) [Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Perez-Collazo, C., Greaves, D., & Iglesias, G. (2018). A Novel HybridWind-Wave Energy Converter for Jacket-Frame Substructures. Energies (19961073), 11(3), 1-N.PAG. doi:10.3390/en11030637

http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=3&sid=8cd2fba0-1612-4c3a-9ebc-dc281a20af58%40sessionmgr101 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Takaki, N., Komori, S., Ishida, M., Iwano, K., Kurose, R., & Suzuki, N. (2017). Loop-Type Wave-Generation Method for Generating Wind Waves under Long-Fetch Conditions. Journal Of Atmospheric & Oceanic Technology, 34(10), 2129-2139. doi:10.1175/JTECH-D-17-0043.1

http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=cd6868b6-53e8-48ba-aba6-5eaadc4d391f%40sessionmgr120 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.