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ROLE OF ENERGY IN BIOLOGY Introduction For a long time now, people have been curious about living things and how they live and relate to each other. Scientists form concepts and principles about these living things so that people will understand their environment better (The Living Environment). To start with, living organisms are made of the same kind of materials as all other matter, using the same kinds of energy. The different types of individual organisms have been present on earth for a long time and biologists have managed to classify them according to their kind. Living things possess a variety of body plans with different structures and functions in making and finding foods. Molecules of these living things have similarities and differences (The Living Environment).
Man knows the importance of preserving a diversity of species. People depend on food webs to get the energy and materials necessary for life. Maintaining these diversities assures that some varieties will have features that are suitable for survival under changed conditions. Energy Consumption During the 1970 s, energy conservation was a popular ideate energy crisis forced governments to encourage the public to use energy wisely, to become less wasteful and to think about energy consumption. Government programs sprang up, research into alternative energy sources was financed and individuals tried to make a difference. Somehow though, with the immediate crisis over, (even though longer term crises, such as global warming, were becoming more apparent) all that changed in the 1980 s.
Government spending on alternative energy was slowly eroded, conservation programs started to drop out of sight and, at the same time, spending on massive oil development projects continued to grow. As the 1970 s crisis showed, energy consumption is directly related to perceived energy availability and relatively low costs. As long as people believe that they have an endless supply, and as long as they ignore the environment when counting the cost of that energy supply, people are living (albeit comfortably) under a delusion delusion that is the direct cause of major environment degradation. Energy Options There are three energy options available to slow down and eventually stop the environmental catastrophes that go along with the current energy consumption: energy efficiency; energy conservation alternative energy sources Using energy efficiently means getting the greatest possible use out of each energy unit. For example, some brands and models of appliances are more energy efficient than others. Using less to begin with, and using it more efficiently can conserve energy.
However, what is ultimately needed is a massive shift from non-renewable and polluting sources of energy (such as oil and coal) to renewable and environmentally benign energy sources. This shift has to occur at an institutional and political level. In other words, governments have to make a commitment to alternative energy. They have to fund research and institute policies that ensure alternative energy use. Renewable energy Renewable energy is any source of energy that doesn't consume the finite resources of the Earth and can be easily and quickly replenished.
At present, only a small proportion of the world's energy needs come from alternative and renewable energy sources. These exist in many forms including Solar Thermal, Photovoltaics, Wind, Hydro, Tidal/Wave and Bioenergy (including Biomass, Biogas and Biofuels). As with fossil fuels the sun's energy is the ultimate source of these energies. The dominant presence of non-renewable forms of energy generation, production, and promotion are very disappointing. With the increasing depletion of our non-renewable resources, as well as the growing human population, our levels of consumption, and the pollution that accompanies our increased industrialization, the continuing expansion of our fossil-fuel based economy will ultimately lead us to self destruction (Brown).
Utilities and independent power producers are researching ways to expand the use of renewable resources. The two most important benefits of renewable resources are their long-term availability and non-association with global climate change and minimal atmospheric impact (PSC, n. p. ). Energy from the weather is free from nature. If we are able to harness it in increasing quantities to help contribute to the world's energy needs we can help the environment.
One major advantage with the use of renewable energy is that as it is renewable it is therefore sustainable and so will never run out. Renewable energy facilities generally require less maintenance than traditional generators. Their fuel being derived from natural and available resources reduces the costs of operation. Even more importantly, renewable energy produces little or no waste products such as carbon dioxide or other chemical pollutants.
Renewable energy projects can also bring economic benefits to many regional areas, as most projects are located away from large urban centers and suburbs of the capital cities. These economic benefits may be from the increased use of local services as well as tourism (Solarschools. net, n. p. ). The advantages of renewable resources include: Low or no fuel cost (except for some biomass); short lead-times for planning and construction; small, modular plant sizes; reduced environmental effects compared to fossil fuels; non-deplorable resource base; potentially more job intensive; favorable public opinion; and distributed generation potential. The implementation of technology to utilize these renewable resources efficiently and their consumption will accomplish three goals critical to human societies achieving sustainability.
First, their use will result in the reduction of polluting emissions into the atmosphere, thus improving air quality and limiting the greenhouse effect. Furthermore, the increased use of renewable resources will lessen the overall amount of environmental degradation attributed to the use of nonrenewable resources. Lastly, the use of potential energy sources aids in achieving a sustainable lifestyle because of their long-term usability. Their use adopts a philosophy of utilizing the resources sustained within natural systems rather than consuming those that take thousands of lifetimes to regenerate (Armstrong). The primary long-term benefit of renewable technologies is that once a renewable project has been constructed, and fully deprecated, it becomes a permanent and low cost component of a countrys energy system. In effect, the construction of a renewable energy project provides future generations a low cost, energy facility that produces power with little or no environmental degradation (Armstrong).
With proper management, renewable resources can last indefinitely. With their increased use, state and government incentives transition from non-renewables to renewable have become economically comparable price wise to our current conventional energy sources. According to the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the United States will bury or burn the following materials in the following years: 11. 4 million tons of newsprint, 16. 2 million tons of corrugated cardboard, 10. 8 million tons of glass packaging, 8. 2 million tons of plastic packaging, and 1. 5 million tons of aluminum packaging. If those 48. 1 million tons were recycled instead, the equivalent of 10. 1 billion gallons of gasoline would be saved.
That is enough gasoline to power 15. 4 million cars for one year (at 18 mpg and 12, 000 miles driven per year). Additionally, the use of recycled materials results in the reduction of water use, water pollution, air pollution, and energy consumption. The federal and state governments can have significant influence on the attractiveness of renewable resources by providing tax advantages for owners of renewable systems. National and state pollution standards, which increase the costs of conventional generation, are other factors influencing the economics of systems powered by renewable resources. Research and development funded by the federal government and private enterprise can also improve the cost effectiveness of renewable systems (Armstrong).
By beginning to move away from non-renewable resources to renewable resources we are thereby helping to create a sustainable environment that will benefit us now and in the future. Renewable resources must be pursued and given a chance. It is time to think about the future ahead of us and not merely to think of the present. It is time to see the bigger picture the need for a sustainable environment. Effects on the environment of not recycling The real problem is that we are releasing heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere, including many other forms of air pollutants in sufficient concentrations to change the composition of the atmosphere. Now we are concerned with constituents present in concentrations of a few parts per million.
The future, and part of the present, generation must worry about the removal of pollutants present in quantities smaller by a factor of many powers of ten. The volume of waste by-products from industrial processes presents both a challenge and an opportunity to manufacturers. The challenge is to reduce the amount of waste produced and to recycle materials within the company; the opportunity is to exchange waste products with potential users. Waste materials are collected and used in the manufacture of new products. Over 70 % of all residential waste can be recycled, reducing the amount of garbage we throw away, conserving resources and saving energy. Along with the many advantages of recycling, there is one very positive but intangible benefit: while separating recyclables from non-recyclables, we are forced to think about the garbage we produce.
Conclusion Energy efficiency, using renewable resources and finding alternative fuels should be the prime agenda in the government, and not the destruction of wilderness for short-term economic gain. This project would provide the long-term solution for the nations oil dependence and its economic deficit from oil imports. This would also mitigate countless other environmental problems brought about by the countrys excessive oil use. Money to be spent on extracting a few months worth of oil would be much more beneficial in funding the development of using renewable resources such as hydrogen and biomass.
Taking legal actions to promote energy efficiency would also be much more favorable. Economic development does not mean that it will promote long-term benefits for the country and its people. Oftentimes, we have to look beyond the promise of gain in the present and see the future effects of the unhealthy compromises we have made. The wilderness flora and fauna and the natives who consider ANWR their home is the unwilling cost.
The snow goose, porcupine caribous, and numbers of artic mammals and migratory birds are to be the innocent sacrifice. When the industry, infrastructure, and the pollution come, there is no telling what adverse consequences would accompany it. We need to remember that these wildlife animals themselves, like oil, when they vanish are completely un renewable. REFERENCES Armstrong, J. Renewable Energy. The Renewable Energy Policy Manual.
OAS. Accessed 10 July 2006 at: < web > Brown, T. Renewable Resources for the 21 st Century. Accessed 10 July 2006 at: web Renewable Energy Resources.
Public Service Commission of Wisconsin. Accessed 10 July 2006 at: < web 'advantages% 20 renewable% 20 resources'> Solarschools. net. Advantages and Disadvantages of Renewable Energy. Grassroots Marketing Alliance. 2003. Accessed 10 July 2006 at: web The Living Environment.
Accessed 10 July 2006 at: web Walsh, L. (2004). A New Oil Crisis. Socialist World. web U. S.
Environmental Protection Agency. Renewable Resources. Accessed 10 July 2006 at: web 'advantages% 20 renewable% 20 resources'
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