(1) Earth, the Energy Consumption Planet
Today, we cannot live without using energy like petroleum and natural gas. Petroleum is perhaps the natural resource in the most demand today. As we depend on a thermal power generation for more than 60% of an electric generation, petroleum is most important resources for our comfortable present life. But it is never inexhaustible resource. If we keep on using it at a present pace, it is said that it will ran out in 30 years. Now, it is a serious problem in the world.
Japan is a 4th-rank energy consumption country next to America, Russia, and China. It is a 2nd-rank petroleum consumption country and is also an importation country. However, a self-support rate of energy are only 7%. Although oil shock decreased the dependence rate of petroleum, we still depend on 56% of energy for it today. I think that Japan must develop new energy instead of petroleum immediately.
(2) Some Problems about the Current Energy Consumption
We will face the another big problem for the use of the current energy resource. Burning petroleum cause a lot of CO2. It causes a serious damage to the environment, like global warming and acid rain. Global warming which we call greenhouse effect is the most serious problem in the world today.
The greenhouse effect works like this: For energy, people burn fossil fuels (coal, petroleum). The gases (mostly carbon dioxide, or CO2) go into the atmosphere, blanket of air around Earth. The amount of CO2 is increasing quickly, and it is holding the heat of the sun close to the surface of the earth.
New Energy Resources
(1)
Earth, the Energy Consumption Planet
Today, we cannot live without using energy like petroleum and natural gas. Petroleum is perhaps the natural resource in the most demand today. As we depend on a thermal power generation for more than 60% of an electric generation, petroleum is most important resources for our comfortable present life. But it is never inexhaustible resource. If we keep on using it at a present pace, it is said that it will ran ou...