A problem we have in the US is what kind of energy we are going to use. Many scientists have asked: “Should we use Fossil Fuels or should we use Renewable Energy? There are many pros and cons for both sides.” The world needs power, but no one really knows which is better, fossil fuels or renewable energy, and there might not be a better kind of energy. The true answer is hiding in plain sight. We should use a combination of both fuel sources for these reasons: Renewable Energies, like Solar and Wind energies, have both pros and cons,  and so do Fossil Fuels.

One of the most common sources of Renewable energy is Solar Energy. First of all, a renewable energy is an energy that will never run out, like wind, water, or the sun. Solar Energy and Wind Energy are not the only types of Renewable Energy, but those are the ones I chose to use as examples. Solar energy is one of the most popular kinds of energy, yet it has both its pros and cons. The best way to express pros of this information is a little clip of evidence from the website http://energyinformative.org/. The organization claims,  “We will have access to the sun as long as it is alive - another 6.5 billion years according to NASA. We have worse things to worry about; in fact, scientists have estimated that the sun itself will swallow Earth 5 billion years from now.” Energy Informative is one that has researched the types of energy for provides detailed information to help viewers. This quote is saying that even if the sun will eventually die in 6.5 billion (6,500,000,000) years, the world would be 1 billion (1,000,000,000) years destroyed by the sun, so we will have a virtually infinite source of energy until the world is believed to end. Energy Informative also listed the cons of Solar Energy. They claim, “Solar energy is an intermittent energy source. Access to sunlight is limited at certain times (day/night hours). Predicting an overcast day can be difficult.” This is stating that solar energy is an energy we can only get during the day and the sun won’t always be shining to actually supply energy. So, while solar energy may be a popular source of energy, we can’t fully rely on it to fill all of our energy needs. 

Another common type of Renewable Energy is Wind Energy. There are thousands of wind turbines across the globe, and just like Solar Energy, Wind Energy has its pros and cons. Great evidence of the pro side of Wind Energy is from the Web Site http://energy.gov/. The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is at the center of creating the clean energy economy today. The EERE claims “Wind energy doesn't pollute the air like power plants that rely on combustion of fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas. Wind turbines don't produce atmospheric emissions that cause acid rain or greenhouse gasses.” This means wind turbines are helping stop the pollution of the air and are a clean source of energy. The EERE also supplies the con side of Wind Energy. They state  “Although wind power plants have relatively little impact on the environment compared to other conventional power plants, there is some concern over the noise produced by the rotor blades, and aesthetic (visual) impacts.” This is just saying that wind turbines do almost no damage to the environment, but they do make lots of noise and disturb communities. Wind Energy is a commonly used source of power, but is it really the best at fueling society?

The third, and final reason why the world should use a combination of both Renewable Energies and Fossil Fuels is because the Fossil Fuels have their pros and cons. Fossil Fuels are natural fuels like coal or gas, formed from the remains of buried living organisms like trees. The pro side of Fossil Fuels comes from The IER(Institute for Energy Research) on the Web Site: http://instituteforenergyresearch.org/topics/encyclopedia/fossil-fuels/. The IER is a non-profit organization founded in 1989 that conducts intensive research and analysis on the global energy market. They claim “Each 42-gallon barrel of oil typically yields these refined products (percent of the barrel): 45.0% gasoline for use in automobiles, 29.5% heating oil and diesel fuels, 20.9% other products, including those derived from petroleum for the manufacturing of chemicals, synthetic rubber, and plastics, 9.5% jet fuel, and 2.0% asphalt.” These percents are showing what a 42 gallon oil-can fuels. This means that we use 45% of all the oil we have for gasoline for cars, 29.5% of our oil for heat and diesels, etc. The con side of Fossil Fuels is a claim from Energy Informative on the Web Site: http://energyinformative.org/fossil-fuels-pros-and-cons/. Energy Informative claims “We are spending our fossil fuel reserves in a non-sustainable manner. Luckily, this forces us to think differently when it comes to energy. Which results in the growth of renewable and green sources of energy.” What Energy Informative is saying is we will eventually run out of Fossil Fuels, and by the amounts we use today, they aren’t going to last that much longer. If you look back at the percentages we got from The IER, we can see that most of the Fossil Fuels we use go towards things we need, so what we need to do is cut back on the use of oil and preserve it for the things that are essential to us.

As we look back at this oil-can of information, we can see why we need to use a combination of both types of fuel sources. We can use more Fossil Fuels where we can’t get a lot Renewable Energy, and Vice-Versa, because there are some places where Renewable Energy generators would be useless. This way mostly everyone has enough energy to use for heat/cooling or for transportation. How would you like things if you didn’t have the things you take for granted like oil and fuel? There are some places where people would do anything to get fuel for their house or car. What we need to do as a community is to stop taking fuel for granted and to simple thing to save energy.