Alternative Energy Technologies and Possible Problems (to include new developments and possible unintended consequences) In everyday life, the world produces carbon dioxide which is released into the Earth's atmosphere and will still be in the atmosphere for centuries to come. It is this carbon dioxide that causes the “global warming effect” because it increases the heat of the Earth. One way to reduce global warming is to replace current energy technologies with alternative technologies that are more efficient and do not emit carbon dioxide. Alternative energy is renewable and is considered environmentally clean due to its low carbon emissions, unlike alternative energy. conventional energy sources, and will be explained in more detail below. These alternatives are wind energy, solar energy, hydroelectric energy, geothermal energy and biomass energy. Another reason why alternative energy is imperative for the Earth is that BP and Shell, two of the world's largest oil companies, have stated that "by 2050, a third of the world's energy will need to come from solar, wind and other renewable resources. » Wind Energy Many cultures have taken advantage of wind energy for hundreds of years. It was used when sails were incorporated to navigate the Nile in 5000 BC and the Persians used windmills in 500 AD to be able to pump water and grind grain. Nowadays, wind energy is considered one of the “most promising new energy sources” and will be an important alternative in the coming years. With current technology, wind power could provide about 1/5th of wind power output. electricity to America, which is roughly equivalent to what nuclear power provides. This would also be the case if wind turbines were planted on less than half of the paper......this can lead to the spread of bacteria and therefore disease.7DisastersDespite the fact that these alternative energy sources are very useful, there are There are still defects in the functions that can have catastrophic effects: Fire of a Rhosgoch wind turbineFigure 13 Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric accident in 2009Figure 14 Figure 15This is a photo of a hydroelectric dam in Russia which suffered a loss of electricity production of 6 G watts. This resulted in 75 deaths due to turbine failure.9 These are just two fairly recent examples of failures in the various forms of alternative energy and show that there is still much work to be done to make them as safe as possible . However, despite these disasters, research into these energy sources continues and it is very likely that they will play a crucial role in the future..