Fossil Fuel vs Wind Energy (Essay Sample)

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Fossil Fuel vs. Wind Energy
Energy is among most sought after resources as in the globe’s countries engage in production ventures aimed at fostering economic growth and development. There are a number of energy sources and different societies have the autonomy to decide on which to use depending on the costs involved as well as the nature of development activities being carried out. Fossil fuel is the most commonly used source of energy in both the developed and developing countries with petroleum being used as the main fuel for vehicles and natural gas being used for domestic activities such as cooking (Judkins et al, 331). However, a prevailing drive for world’s societies to embrace sustainable development through the use of green energy sources has brought solar and wind energy in the picture. Leaders are presently challenged to initiate green economies to ensure a safe and healthy environment since the increased global warming is putting the welfare of mankind in jeopardy. It is critical to establish which is better between fossil fuel and wind energy based on the advantages and disadvantages accrued through the use of either in the context of making the world sustainable.
Fossil fuels offer the most common energy sources in various parts across the globe. For instance, most countries use petroleum to generate electricity. As a result, the high demand for power for both industrial and domestic use means that people can hardly live without fossil fuels. Unlike wind energy, fossil fuels are portable and companies and individual consumers normally have the capacity to store them or transport them for use in their areas of operations. Most automobiles that include vehicles, aircrafts and ships use gasoline engines that cannot be operated with any other form of energy. The enhanced use of fossil fuels has been necessitated by the increased mobility of people and goods within territories or across the globe.
Accessibility of fossil fuels has made it preferred by developing nations. As fossil fuels remain the most accessible sources of energy for industry and domestic use, countries normally have to embrace them to steer economic performance.
On the other hand, wind energy is more sustainable compared to fossil fuels yet most countries have not bothered to promote its use instead of oil, coal or natural gas. The fact that wind energy involves tapping the natural process of wind movement to produce power with little ramifications makes it the most ideal for global use. The advantages exceed any disadvantages that may be involved in its use. To begin with, the use of power energy only requires individuals or governments to purchase wind mills that are normally positioned strategically in regions where there is strong and stable flow of wind which turns the turbines to produce energy (Williams Para. 2). It is clear that the reason why most countries especially the less developed have not embraced wind energy is because of its high initial costs where the high prices required to purchase the wind mills make them unaffordable. However, countries need to realize that wind energy is the cheapest in the long run despite its high short run costs that cannot be compared to fossil fuels whereby people have to continue paying for any services offered for the rest of their lives. Moreover, the use of wind energy promotes the UN’s quest for countries to ensure sustainable development (Leggett & Carter, 6).
There are a number of reasons why wind energy is better than fossil fuels. The use of oil and natural gas has more disadvantages than advantages. Firstly, the use of fossil fuels leads to the emission of hydrocarbons that produce greenhouse gases once they mix with the atmosphere. The effects of these gases exceed the threats posed by its role in air pollution and it is among the contributing factors towards global warming which has had immeasurable negative implications such as climate change. Furthermore, fossil fuels have proved to be environmentally hazardous. Cases of oil spills have been rampant in various countries with some of its effects being the loss of vegetation cover and human deaths (Mbamali et al, 242). Countries that have enhanced cases of oil spillage face droughts since the fires caused burn trees and any other plants grown for agricultural purposes thereby leaving the land bare and incapable for farming activities. Oil spills have also led to the death of living organisms such as fish through the effects of water pollution. In most of the countries situated in deserts, oil spillages make life difficult in the sense that getting clean water for domestic use becomes a problem once it has been polluted.
Fossil fuels are to blame for the world’s enhanced cases of environmental contamination. For instance, the burning of fossil fuels has resulted to acid rains as well as an increase in sea levels through the melting of icecaps. Acid rains result due to the deposition of the sulfur components contained in fossil fuels into the atmosphere whereby they undergo some chemical reactions in the atmosphere to form sulfuric acid which comes down in form of rains (Gaughan, Para. 5). Issues such as floods and unpredicted changes in climate have made the life quite unbearable and had undesirable effects on the environment. The limited nature of fossil fuels means that they will eventually run out. This is different with the case in wind energy which is always available in plenty meaning that embracing it will steer sustainability and make life manageable for both the current and future generations.
The globe’s high energy demands especially in the transportation sector make it hard for countries to combat the increasing effects of global warming. The current situation in China’s capital city where vision had been affected by persistent smog shows the negative effects of the continued use of gasoline engines. Unlike wind energy which is always renewable, the hectic processes that fossil fuels undergo before they are ready for use make them non-renewable. It means that the process required in the extraction of coal, natural gas and petroleum products from the environment are continuous and thereby promote its depletion as countries seek to ensure a consistent flow of energy for use in production processes. The fact that these resources take years before they may be replaced make them limited and their overexploitation may lead to the stagnation of economic activities provided that governments do not make sustainable efforts to ensure the use of wind energy instead of fossil fuels.
There are only a limited number of countries that have large reserves of oil and natural gas and this means that the rest of the globe’s societies have no capacity to determine fossil fuel prices and this is the reason for oil’s continued price fluctuations. While the wind energy o...