Every day, fossil fuels release millions of metric tons of pollutants that poison our atmosphere and environment. Alternative energies are a possible solution to this growing problem. Many people disagree on whether they should completely replace fossil fuels or if we should continue to use fossil fuels as our main source of power. Fossil fuels have some negative effects on the environment. The fuels release a toxic mixture of pollutants into the air which causes a greenhouse effect on the Earth ("Alternative Energy"). Alternative energies could be good alternatives to the fossil fuel crisis. They are clean for the environment, help promote economic jobs and development, and are, most importantly, renewable ("Alternative Energy"). But alternative energy also has drawbacks. Alternative energy is reliant on the weather conditions. ("Renewable vs Nonrenewable Energy Pros and Cons"). It can also be expensive. Fossil fuels are cheaper than alternative energies and are also our major source of energy and power ("Alternative Energy"). Alternative energy can be both helpful and harmful to the environment and the economy.

One way that alternative energy can be helpful is that it is clean for the environment. A good example of renewable energy is solar energy, in which solar panels use the sun's light to turn into clean energy. This process releases little to no pollutants into the air ("Here's Why the World Is Spending Less on Renewable Energy”). This clean energy has saved billions of tons of pollutants from going into the atmosphere. “BNEF estimated that renewables saved 1.2 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, equal to keeping 252.6 million cars off the road” (“Alternative Energy”).Many studies have proven that fossil fuels are the main culprit for climate change, while alternative energies harness natural energies, such as running water, sunlight, and wind ("Here's Why the World Is Spending Less on Renewable Energy"). Alternative energy can help the world become a cleaner, healthier place.

Another reason why alternative energy could replace fossil fuels would be because renewables can help economic jobs and development ("Renewable vs Nonrenewable Energy Pros and Cons"). Much of the world’s oil and fossil fuels come from the Middle East. The US spends billions of dollars importing these fuels from other countries; renewable energy could boost our energy independence. With renewable energy, we could reduce our dependency on other countries ("Alternative Energy"). Right here in America, millions of job opportunities and renewable energy sources could be built in the ocean, next to rivers, in sunlit fields, and many more places. Many of these energy sources are being built and have had a positive impact on the economy. “Of the renewable energy sources that generate electricity, hydropower is the most often used. It accounted for 3% of total U.S. electricity generation and 35% of generation from renewables in 2011" (“Renewable Energy”). Installment cost for these energy sources are relatively cheap. “Even last year, renewables accounted for more than 40 percent of all the new power installations (including coal plants, nuke plants, etc.) built in 2013.” (”Here's Why the World Is Spending Less on Renewable Energy”). Renewable energy can help economic jobs and development.

The final reason that alternative energy can be a good alternative to fossil fuels is because they are renewable. As long as the sun is shining, solar energy will never run out. As long as the wind is blowing, wind power will go on forever. Fossil fuels, however, are burned and are depleted quickly ("Renewable vs Nonrenewable Energy Pros and Cons"). In the future, there will be no fossil fuels left. Renewable energy can also be harnessed throughout the world. From the Equator to Iceland, from Australia to Canada, renewable energy can bring power to everyone. Many people also say that the new installments of these power sources will cleanly increase the amount of power produced.” Still, Liebreich told the clean-energy CEOs and investors gathered here this morning that Bloomberg's proprietary data about future investments suggest annual clean tech installations worldwide are likely to jump 37 percent to 112 gigawatts—a record level—by 2015.” ("Here's Why the World Is Spending Less on Renewable Energy"). Alternative energies are renewable and are available almost everywhere in the world.

On the other hand, alternative energies do have their downsides. One example of this is the little power that they supply to the world at this point in time. Fossil fuels are the major power source for the U.S ("Alternative Energy"). Almost 70% of US energy comes from fossil fuels ("Renewable vs Nonrenewable Energy Pros and Cons”). “Opponents contend that many technological hurdles have to be overcome before alternative energy can replace even a small portion of the power provided by fossil fuels” ("Alternative Energy"). Renewables accounted for only 8.5% of the world’s energy total, just a fraction of what is needed for human cities and towns. ("Here's Why the World Is Spending Less on Renewable Energy"). It would take trillions of dollars to completely replace fossil fuels with alternative energy.

In addition, fossil fuels are also becoming cheaper and more efficient ("Alternative Energy"). WIth this new efficiency, fossil fuels are producing more and more energy, leaving alternative energy fuels in the dust. “Cost of producing nonrenewable energy is low since they are naturally available. Furthermore they are cheap to transform from one form of energy to another.” ("Renewable vs Nonrenewable Energy Pros and Cons"). Alternative energy can be very expensive, such as large dams. These dams do bring some money back, but the initial construction can cost millions of dollars. These dams are also expensive to maintain (“Renewable vs Nonrenewable Energy Pros and Cons”). “The United Nations climate folks think global investment in renewable energy needs to hit $1 trillion a year by 2030 to keep global warming to an acceptable level” ("Here's Why the World Is Spending Less on Renewable Energy"). In addition, renewable energy faces technological hurdles. Alternative energy can be expensive to maintain and produce.

A final reason why alternative energy can be harmful is that it is affected by the weather. If there was a cloudy day with no wind, solar and wind energy would not function ("Renewable vs Nonrenewable Energy Pros and Cons"). This could put a whole town in darkness for as long as this went on. If a drought were to occur near a hydroelectric dam, there would be very little power coming out of the expensive machine. “Solar panels can not generate electricity at night and the wind is not always blowing hard enough, or at all, to produce adequate levels of power” (The Negative Side of Green Energy"). If a town was reliant on these energies, they could be without energy very often. But there are some energies that do not rely on the weather. One example is geothermal energy, or energy from the Earth’s heat. Even so, many of these energy sources rely on weather patterns and other uncontrollable processes to function.

In conclusion, alternative energies can be both helpful and harmful. They are cleaner to the environment than fossil fuels ("Alternative Energy"), are renewable ("Alternative Energy"), and can help economic jobs and development ("Renewable vs Nonrenewable Energy Pros and Cons."). However, alternative energies do have their drawbacks. They are difficult to develop into a major power source ("Alternative Energy"), getting outmatched by the efficiency and cost of fossil fuels ("Alternative Energy"), and affected by the weather ("Renewable vs Nonrenewable Energy Pros and Cons."). So are alternative energies worth it?

Works Cited

Renewable Energy." Renewable Energy. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2015. .       
     "Alternative Energy - ProCon.org." ProCon.org Headlines. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2015. .
"Here's Why the World Is Spending Less on Renewable Energy." Mother Jones. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2015. .
"The Negative Side of Green Energy." Electricity Delivery Forum RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2015. .
  "Renewable vs Nonrenewable Energy Pros and Cons." Renewable Green Energy RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2015. .