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Sustainable energy can be maintained without harming future generations. Renewable energy and energy efficiency are key factors, but environmental impact and independence are also important.
Sustainable energy is energy that can potentially be maintained in the future without causing harmful repercussions for future generations. Different types of energy can be considered sustainable and many governments promote their use and the development of new technologies that fit this model. Increasing rates of energy use around the world have led to a corresponding increase in concerns about where energy will come from and whether it will become more scarce.
Several factors contribute to making energy sustainable. The first is whether current energy use is something that could potentially persist into the future, which leads many forms of renewable energy to qualify as sustainable. People can generate energy from windmills, ocean waves, and the sun without depleting energy and resources, making these methods sustainable for use by future generations. Conversely, fossil fuels are not treated as sustainable because the Earth’s supply of crude oil will eventually run out.
Another consideration is energy efficiency. Some forms of renewable energy, for example, require considerable effort to actually generate, which means that almost as much energy goes into their production as the sources themselves generate. Energy efficiency can also be used to describe technologies that use energy, such as homes, cars, and businesses. Increasing efficiency in how energy is used makes sustainable energy extend even further.
Many people also believe that the environmental impact of an energy source is another aspect of whether or not it is considered sustainable, which is why sources such as nuclear power are often not treated as such. While it meets the needs for renewables and energy efficiency, nuclear power can have a negative impact on the environment. Similarly, some of the methods used to produce solar panels, wind turbines and other technologies to convert renewable sources into energy are polluting, leading to concerns that such technology simply moves the pollution to a different place, making it unsustainable.
Another important factor for some people in the energy field is independence. Some critics argue that energy is not sustainable if a nation is forced to rely on another country to meet its energy needs, even if that energy is renewable, non-polluting and efficient. For example, if the United States relied heavily on Canadian wind farms, it would violate the criterion of energy independence. Being able to meet your energy needs as a nation is an important part of sustainable energy in the eyes of some people who are concerned about the intersection of energy and politics.
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