Energy conservation Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Energy conservation - Term Paper Example The other thing is that the fossil fuels could yield large amounts of energy and happen to be easily combustible (Borowitz, 2004). Fossil fuels are portable and have been in use since centuries. Fossil fuels happen to have a high calorific value and do yield large amounts of energy on combustion (Borowitz, 2004). That is why they are the most preferred source of energy on earth. The other good thing about fossil fuels is that being primarily composed of carbon and hydrogen atoms; they are very stable and easy to handle unlike other sources of energy like the nuclear energy (Borowitz, 2004). Fossil fuels are thereby hassle free and risk free. In the contemporary context the fossil fuels happen to be the most affordable and cost effective source of energy (Borowitz, 2004). However, the one big lacuna with fossil fuels is that they cause pollution and global warming. The burning and combustion of the fossil fuels produces gases like carbon-dioxide, carbon-monoxide and methane that not o nly pollute earth’s atmosphere, but also cause global warming. ... This global warming caused by the burning of fossil fuels gets further augmented by the other polluting human activities like deforestation, which not only denude the earth but also hamper the natural processes that lead to absorption and assimilation of carbon-dioxide and other green house gases produced by human activities like industrialization, transportation, thermal energy generation, etc (Posner, 2004). Thereby fossil fuels are one major cause of global warming. To understand the threat posed by global warming to earth’s environment and ecosystems, the thing that needs to be kept in mind is that the life that evolved on the planet earth over millions of years could only thrive and sustain itself in a specific climate and temperature. Till now the earth’s natural greenhouse effect had kept the temperature on earth ideally suitable for the survival of the dependent flora and fauna and ecosystems (Posner, 2004). However, with the accelerated greenhouse effect caused by pollution unleashed by the rampant and sustained usage of fossil fuels, the temperatures on earth are gradually augmenting. This is giving way to climate change, which simply means that owing to the rising pollution, around the earth the temperatures are raising, sea levels are rising and seasons are shifting (Posner, 2004). The survival of life on earth requires resources like food and water. However, with the augmenting global warming a day may come when the phenomena like droughts, storms and hurricanes, threatened ecosystems, and changing landscapes caused by global warming may threaten the existence of life on earth. To restrain and slow down the negative