Alternative energy sources to replace United States fossil fuel dependency

Alternative Energy Source

Alternative energy

Alternative energy refers to the energy sources that have no undesired impact and they are renewable since they are generated by fuel sources and they restore themselves over a short period of time and do not diminish and are not derived from fossil fuels. They include solar energy, wind energy, geothermal, biomass, biogas and hydro electric power. These types of energy have a significant potential to reduce emission of carbon dioxide which raises the amount of warmth in the atmosphere hence leading to global warming (Alternative Energy, 2011).

The demand that America as a whole has is quite large and consequently the consumption is proportionate to the demand, making it an environmental concern for the people of America as a whole. There is need therefore to find an alternative to the commonly used fossil fuel, one that can effectively keep the economy moving.

One alternative that if invested upon significantly then can solve the issue of dependence on the fossil fuel is the Biofuel. Among other companies and organizations involved in research on biofuels is Joule biotechnologies. Joule indicated in 2009 that it is able to produce a substantial 20,000 gallons of the biofuels per acre per year (Kevin Bullis, 2009). It also indicated that this biofuel could be sold at prices that were equally competitive with the fossil fuels. If this is invested on, then it can effectively replace all the fossil fuels that are used in the transportation in the American transport industry.

Joule Biotechnologies is noted to grow microorganisms that are genetically engineered in some specially designed photobioreactors, these microorganisms utilize the solar energy to convert the carbon dioxide and water into ethanol or hydrocarbon fuels like the gasoline components or diesel. The organism will then excrete the fuel which is then harvested by the use of the usual technologies utilized in chemical-separation. If this is seen to reality, it is one of the ways that can significantly help America to move away from the reliance on the fossil fuels as well as save the environment from rampant pollution.

This new technology for production of biofuels will go hand-in-hand with the corn-grain biofuels which have also proved to be a viable source of biofuel. Even though this technology requires a relatively larger tracks of land and maybe more water so as to keep the production throughout the year, it is a more sustainable source of fuel that the fossil fuels.

Yet another source of biofuels is the cellulose-based biofuels which are derived from cellulosic materials like grass and wood chippings which have been observed to be able to yield more fuel per acre than corn. This source has been observed to be able to replace one-third of the fuel requirement currently used in the transport system in America.