Renewable Energy – Lesson 1 – Introduction to Renewable Energy

With just a little bit of research, one can quickly determine that there is a strong and growing groundswell of interest in renewable energy. Leaving politics out of it, many people are simply interested in making their homes more energy efficient and thereby saving money on heating and cooling bills.

Renewable energy generally includes solar power, wind power, and biofuels. For all categories, there are ways to integrate them into your daily life and into your home to make yourself more energy efficient. These changes will certainly save you money over the long run–and in some case in the short term—but they will also help reduce the massive strain that is being placed on the planet in general.

There are a large number of companies, both large and small, that advertise their specific product or service that fits into the renewable energy industry. There are a great number of businesses that manufacture, install and repair all types of solar panels. Likewise, there are a corresponding number of businesses that sell, service and install systems designed to capture wind power. Still more companies are out there manufacturing and selling various forms of biofuels. Biofuels include bio diesel and ethanol. There are also a very few companies engaged in research and development of hydrogen furnaces which run on biomass, often barnyard waste. While all these companies are in business to make money, the combined effect of what they are selling and producing is a positive one for the environment. Renewable energy is an undeniable fact of life for us now, and we all have a form of social responsibility to do our part to advance it into the mainstream. Regardless if the motivation is purely financial—to either make or save money—the end result is the same; a reduction in the emissions and pollution produced by traditional fossil fuels, and a cleaner, more sustainable environment and economy.

Trends toward renewable energy are taking hold on a more widespread basis every day. One will hear more frequent mention of terms like “green construction” or “green companies”. These terms refer to building houses in an environmentally friendly manner, making as much use of renewable energy technology as possible and to businesses that have adopted an organized and serious policy to reducing their environmental impact through use of renewable energy.

Renewable energy has become such a popular subject, that it is seen as a constant theme in contemporary media, including major movies, TV programs and in music. The growing awareness and concern with environmental issues is fueling the fundamental shift toward being more environmentally conscious and toward using renewable energy whenever possible. There is still much pollution and waste in the world today, but there has never been such a high and growing level of awareness and motivation to change our fundamental lifestyles in order to save and cure our climate. Renewable energy is a fundamental piece of the puzzle for not only a healthy planet, but a healthy life as well.

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