ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Most of the energy we use today comes from coal, oil and gas. But these will not last forever, and burning them is slowly harming the atmosphere. We need to look for other ways of supplying energy:

a. Solar Power

We can use it directly. Many modern buildings have big windows which face south. These collect solar power directly. In fact some buildings in North America and Scandinavia get 100% of their energy from the sun. We can collect it on Earth. Another way to collect the sun's power is with solar panels. These absorb and store energy on sunny days. But there are two problems with solar panels on Earth. They're expensive. They don't work very well on cloudy days. We can collect it in space. One answer to the problems of clouds is to collect solar power in space. The idea is expensive, but simple. Satellites with huge solar panels collect the sun's energy. Then they send it back to Earth. A series of satellites like this will be able to work for 24 hours a day.

b. Wave Power

25% of the world's electricity already comes from dams and rivers. Now, scientists are learning how to use the sea's power, too. What they're doing is collecting the energy contained in waves. At the moment wave machines are small and expensive They don't produce much electricity, either. But in the future they will be bigger and cheaper. One day scientists think they will produce between 25% and 30% of our electricity.

c. Wind Power

Several 'wind farms' already exist in Britain and other European countries. Each farm is a group of machines which turn wind power into electricity.

The problem at the moment is money. It's very expensive to develop and build wind farms. That's because they have to be in high places near the coast or on islands. This makes their electricity expensive, too. But in the future, electricity from fossil fuels and nuclear power will begin to cost more and more. Perhaps then wind farms won't look so expensive after all.

So, will energy from the sun, the wind, the sea, under the ground take the place of fossil fuels and nuclear energy completely? The answer is probably no, but natural energy will become more and more important. That's because: It will become cheaper, it will be better for the environment, It will make it possible to conserve fossil fuels, It will be safer than nuclear power.

d. Geo-Thermal Power

As well as solar, wind and wave power, there are other kinds of natural energy, too. One is from the hot rocks and water at the Centre of the Earth. This kind of 'geo-thermal' energy already heats thousands of buildings in Iceland, Hungary, Japan and New Zealand. (In fact, 60% of Iceland's energy comes from under the ground.)

RECYCLING

Recycling is the processing of used objects and materials so that they can be used again. About 50% of rubbish from homes and factories contain materials that could be recycled. Recycling saves energy and raw materials, and also reduces damage to the countryside.

Glass paper and aluminum cans can all be recycled very easily. Many towns have bottle banks and can banks where people can leave their empty bottles and cans for recycling. A lot of paper bags, writing paper and greetings cards are now produced using recycled paper.

Recycling saves trees, saves energy and money, cuts pollution.

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