Towards Sustainable Conservation of Energy Expository Essay
The concept of energy conservation is not new within the realms of human civilization. Man, within the course of history, has warned and has been warned about efficient use of energy for the express purpose of conserving the environment.
But what mesmerizes many is that the idea doesnt seem to sink in, and generations continue to take issues in energy conservation for granted (Justice, 2010). The reality, however, is the fact that conserving energy is of fundamental significance for the future of this planet. Not so long ago, in Copenhagen, Denmark, to discuss issues related to environment. One of the key issues discussed during the meeting was Global Warming, a phenomenon that can be avoided if we conserve and use cleaner sources of energy.
Energy also needs to be conserved for future generations since some sources such as oil can be easily depleted. Efficient use of some sources of energy such as fossil energy reduces instances of pollution, translating to the fact that people will enjoy healthy lifestyles. This . Lastly Energy conservation is also cost-effective as it helps to bring prices down (USEPA, 1997).
There exist two main sources of energy renewable and nonrenewable. Renewable sources cannot be depleted. With proper conservation of the environment, these resources are naturally renewed or restored (USEPA, 1997). Some of the most common sources of renewable energy include wind, water, sun, geothermal and biomass.
These sources minimally pollute the environment. However, rampant degradation of environment is threatening to deplete some of these renewable sources of energy. On the other hand, nonrenewable sources of energy are natural resources that no one, not even technology savvy countries, can be able to replenish once depleted. These sources, which are mostly used by many countries to produce energy, such as petroleum products and coal (USEPA, 1997). They are major pollutants of the environment.
As a community, it should be the duty of every member to contribute towards conserving available energy sources. This can be achieved by switching off all the lights and other electrical appliances when they are not in use.
It is a simple method but it goes a long way to conserve the environment since less power usage means that less coal will be used to produce electricity. Coal is a major pollutant of environment (Justice, 2010). Second, community members must be encouraged to walk or ride a bicycle to cover small distances, and use mass transit system instead of private cars to cover bigger distances.
Not only will this save them money used to fuel their cars, but it will also significantly reduce automobile emissions which inarguably account for of air pollution in major cities around the world (USEPA, 1997). Third, community members should be encouraged to plant trees within the vicinity of their homes, not only to conserve the environment, but also to reduce the need to use air conditioning systems that end up consuming a lot of energy (USEPA, 1997).
The government is a major stakeholder if any conservation work is to bear fruit. In the respect of this, the government should involve itself through conducting sensitization campaigns on the efficient use of energy and environmental conservation. Ignorance on the part of the masses on efficient use of energy has been an issue for decades.
The government should seize such an opportunity to educate the masses on efficient use of energy sources. It is the function of the government to spearhead and fund exercises that are meant to conserve the environment such as tree planting and cleaning activities. In short, the government must pursue the objective of sustainable development (Harris, 2005).
The government must encourage citizens to use renewable sources of energy and operation modes that do not pollute the environment. For example, the government can encourage people to transit on bicycles by reducing or to their importation. In the same vein, it can encourage citizens to use solar panels instead of electricity by subsidizing the equipments.
In conclusion, it is evident that energy, being an expensive and valuable product, must be used sparingly and efficiently in all our endeavors (Harris, 2005). Its importance can never be underestimated as it must be preserved for future generations.
Concerted efforts must be made to conserve the environment so that communities can avoid depleting even the renewable sources of energy such as water, a trend that is fast entrenching itself due to wanton destruction of forest cover. In this perspective, community members must be taught how to conserve energy by using simple yet effective strategies such as switching lights when they are not in use.
