www.TalkingClimateChange.com

Living in a modern economy in a modern world, we are all too used to using energy for doing almost everything in life. Our homes are heated up, our food cooked, our water drawn and our cars run on energy that has been obtained through burning fossil fuels. However, as most of us know, most of the fossil fuels that we use—coal, gas and oil are non renewable and limited. While this is the most important reason for people turning to other alternative sources of energy, there are a number of other reasons why we need alternative sources of energy.

For one, the burning of fossil fuels is turning out to be dangerous for the human race day by day. While it is impossible for the earth to sustain the presently high rate of extraction of fossil fuels, it can also not stand the consequences that result from using these fuels. The negative environmental and ecological effects of burning fossil fuels has today led to the development of a planet that is not at all safe either for plants and animals , let alone human beings.

Most of us who live in cities are regularly smothered in smog caused because of the extensive and uncontrolled use of cars and other personal vehicles running on diesel and petrol that keep on polluting the environment all the time.  This is turning out to be a major cause of asthma, allergies and many other respiratory diseases in city dwellers.

On the other hand, a large number of places in the world are experiencing acid rain, which is disastrous for crops and other produce. These rains are a result of excessive emissions of sulphur and nitrous oxide created due to burning of fossil fuels.

However, the worst consequence of using fossil fuels is global warming. The burning of too much fossil fuels , leading to the emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere has intensified the greenhouse effect to such an extent that the whole of planet earth and its living beings are in danger of becoming extinct very soon. The massive destabilization of the climate caused due to global warming has already led to melting snow caps and rising sea levels already resulting in natural disasters. If the warming continues at this pace, very soon, the whole world will be submerged by water. 

It is because of these reasons that it is high time for us to turn to alternative sources of energy that do not produce harmful emissions or by-products and are renewable- both in order to sustain life on earth as well as its energy needs. Most countries are turning to using renewable and non polluting sources of energy like solar, wind, water and geothermal power. At the same time, since most of the world’s energy is still coming from fossil fuels, it is important that we cut down on our usage of energy wherever possible in order to create a healthier planet.