CC BY
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Section 11. Physics
Sandhya Kattayat, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Higher Colleges of Technology, UAE
Smitha Josey, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Higher Colleges of Technology, UAE
Asha J. V, Asst. Professor (Education), University of Kerala, India E-mail: [email protected],
Renewable energy and environment - a future perspective
Abstract: Today's adolescent students are part of the population heading towards the energy crisis. An awareness about alternate energy resources especially renewable energy resources is required among today's youngsters. If the younger generation is part of today's innovation programs in the field of renewable energy, their future advancement in this field will be high and their progress will be in a rapid pace. Thus the inevitable energy crisis awaiting us can be avoided. Along with that, the problem of environmental safety and pollution free energy production can be ensured.
Keywords: Renewable energy, environment, adolescent children.
Introduction
New alternative energy resources are on high demand worldwide as fossil fuels are depleting at a fast rate. Use of energy resources needs careful handling without damaging the environment. Energy efficiency and conservation of energy are the two areas that we have to concentrate as these twos are the deciding factors for the benefit of society. As our demand for energy is increasing due to the increasing living standards people are in need of more energy supply and are exploring more and more options for energy. Renewable energy resource is the only option for overcoming the energy demand. This includes solar, wind, biomass, tidal, ocean and geo-thermal energies. These resources are highly recommended for the future as this can be replenished and will last for millions of years. The environmental aspects are to be considered while harnessing this energy as this should be without damaging the environment.
Research problem
The world is heading towards energy crisis. How the adolescent students are approaching this issue, are they aware of the importance of renewable energy resources, are they aware of the negative impact of usage of nonrenewable energy resources in the surrounding environment and how to overcome their negative impacts by the usage of renewable energy resources are the key points focused in this study.
Key issues
The population is one of the major factors which decides the demand for fossil fuels. Along with this, the increase in the standard of living and the increased use of transportation and industries increases the demand for energy. These demands are met by the fossil fuels now. The major issue coming due to the use of this fuel is emission of greenhouse gases and subsequent pollution caused to the environment. This indirectly affecting the average temperature of the earth. It is found that the emission of these gases increases the average atmospheric temperature which indirectly causes the melting of ice in polar regions. This causes the increase in sea levels, and conditions like heat waves, droughts, and changing weather conditions. Global warming is one key issue due to the emission of the gaseous product, carbon dioxide. How much the young generation is aware of the importance of protection of environment? Are they aware of the importance of the nonrenewable energy resource and their role in protection of environment? These are some of the key issues discussed in this study.
Solar energy
This is renewable energy which is practically inexpensive. But this a weather dependent energy. The storage of this energy is expensive and needs lots of space for harnessing the energy.
Wind energy
This is a clean source which does not cause atmospheric pollution. This is a sustainable source of energy which exists everywhere in the universe. This is created by the rotation and revolution
Section 11. Physics
of earth and this depends on the heating on earth. This is energy harnessing is hard as the availability of the land is at remote locations and the installation cost is high. The environmental impact is less in the form of pollution but can create a noise pollution.
Tidal energy
The gravity of moon plays a maj or role in creating tides on earth. The continuous movement of tides can be used to produce electrical energy. This is an inexhaustible form of energy which depends on the cyclic pattern of tidal movements. The efficiency of this power is high compared to solar or wind energy. But this energy generation has certain disadvantages also as it may cause disturbance to aquatic life and its migration at least in the construction time.
Geothrmal energy
The heat energy that we are getting from earth can be used to produce energy. We are tapping the energy of the hot rocks which are present in the interior ofthe earth. The areas hot areas inside the earth where these hot regions are present are the areas known as hot spots. These areas are normally the areas where we can see these hot springs. Through the installation of power plants, we are tapping geothermal energy. However, this is feasible in some areas where hot spots are present. This can cause a disturbance to the earth since we are digging the earth to lay pipes and this, in turn, can create seismic waves. This energy is independent of weather conditions but can cause environmental hazards. There is always a danger of the eruption of the volcano in these sites. It may release harmful poisonous gases through the drilled holes and can create atmospheric pollution.
Biomass
This energy is contained in plants and animals. This is not creating environmental threat by any type of harmful emission. This is a clean energy carbon dioxide emission is negligible in its production. Since the source of energy is living source the sources are never run out as the waste products are present in abundantly on earth. But in some facts this is at least, harmful to the environment. The one of the products that we are obtaining from biomass is biogas which is not environment-friendly.
Tidal energy
The gravity of moon plays a maj or role in creating tides on earth. The continuous movement of tides can be used to produce electrical energy. This is an inexhaustible form of energy which depends on the cyclic pattern of tidal movements. The efficiency of this power is high compared to solar or wind energy. But this energy generation has certain disadvantages also as it may cause disturbance to aquatic life and its migration at least in the construction time.
Review of literature
All energy sources share the feature of being distributed over the territory and of being measurable only at specific sites [1]. Renewable energy resources and their utilization are intimately related to sustainable development [2]. A review of the current state of the art in computational optimization methods applied to renewable
and sustainable energy, offering a clear vision of the latest research advances in this field [3]. A thorough literature survey of major renewable energy gadgets for domestic and industrial applications such as solar water heaters, solar cookers, dryers, wind energy, biogas technology, biomass gasifies, improved cook stoves and biodiesel was made in to improve its scope [4]. Reports by experts on a ofrenewable technologies is development and widespread use of renewable energy technologies that can lead ultimately to a world that meets critical socioeconomic, developmental and environmental advancements [5].
Method
The method used is the analytical survey. This survey was conducted among the adolescent students of age group 13-16 years of
age group. The data was selected based on stratified random technique method. This study was conducted in the secondary and higher secondary students of the Asian region. The major strata's considered were rural an urban population. The sample size was 11 750.
Sample and data collection
The sample selected was adolescent students of age group 13 to 16 years. Different methods of data collection was implemented in data collection procedure. The data collection were done using telephonic interviewing, using mail surveys, emailing and face to face contact sessions. The major and most important method was face to face sessions.
Tools used for the study
The main tool used for the study was the survey questioners in different energy resources. This study was conducted to understand the awareness of adolescent students about the environmental protection aspects of renewable energy resources. The questionnaire was prepared was mainly focusing this aspect. These questioners were prepared based on expert's opinion. This questionnaire consists of different sections. The section with questions related to general awareness was primarily dealing with environmental impacts and issues. The section which was focusing specific questions about renewable energy was related to the efficiency and the technologies involved in renewable energy resources and the depth of knowledge students have in this section. The last section was focusing on the level of support young people are willing to extent in implementing these technologies in their day to day life so as to protect the environment. Answers were taken in a5 point scale. Incomplete answer scripts were rejected and thus, there was a reduction in answer scripts to 11 336. The percentage calculation was done to estimate the awareness in each energy resource. This was tabulated and interpreted.
Mathematical methods
The data collected was consolidated, the incomplete answer scripts were rejected and the remaining sample size was 11 336. The data collected was quantitatively studied using the percentage calculation with respect to the sample size.
Result
The results of this survey can be interpreted by taking the percentages of each response with respect to the total sample (table 1).
Analysis
In general, the result shows the lack of awareness of importance renewable energy resource and its uses and advantage. The percentage calculation in each renewable energy resource was done in a 5 point scale. The percentage calculation was done with respect to the total sample. The results show a general trend of lack of awareness of advantages of renewable energy resources. Adolescent pupil is less aware of the role the renewable energy is having in environmental protection. For both positive and negative statements the responses were showing the same trend. It was evident that there are energy resources which are less familiar to the common people. The use of nonrenewable energy resources was promoted by majority due to the immediate production of energy and the initial cost factors. This is clearly ignoring the environmental factors.
Recommendations and conclusion
This study is significant as it focuses adolescent folk who decides the future energy requirements and consumption. If adolescent students of today are aware of the environmental impact of non- renewable energy consumption they will be careful about this aspect and will give more attention to the development of alternative energy resource and implantation of ideas which will protect the environment and will make it pollution free. This study reveals that
at present students have little awareness of the advantage of using renewable energy resources and its advantages over non-renewable resources. As the designing of energy efficient projects and their implementation is a requirement for the future, more awareness at this level is required. More advertisements highlighting the advantages of the use of renewable energy resources is required. Invoking public
awareness is one of the factors which decides the success rate of use ofrenewable energy projects. Designing ofbuildings which are completely depending on renewable energy resources of energy such as solar energy and designing of gadgets and vehicles on the same concept will decide the future of the earth. Contributions of different organizations are highly valuable in this regard.
Table 1.
Questions Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree Total
Renewable energy resource like solar energy is better energy resource in as it causes less environmental pollution. 14 % 16 % 22 % 28 % 20 % 11 336
Solar water heaters are us less expensive in long run compared to normal water heaters. 6 % 8 % 12 % 30 % 44 % 11 336
The wind that gives us more comfort is equally capable of producing electrical energy. 8 % 10 % 8 % 28 % 46 % 11 336
From earth we are receiving energy and this can be used to make electrical energy. 6 % 6 % 30 % 40 % 18 % 11 336
Tides can be used to generate electricity. 10 % 14 % 30 % 22 % 24 % 11 336
Solar energy sources are most important to Earth's energy future. 12 % 20 % 34 % 18 % 16 % 11 336
I never consider the environmental Impact of items/projects that are using Nonrenewable sources of energy when making purchasing decisions? 36 % 20 % 18 % 8 % 18 % 11 336
Natural gas and nuclear power are better for the protection of environment compared of biogas. 28 % 26 % 10 % 16 % 20 % 11 336
I would prefer normal cooker than solar cooker they are easy to use. 40 % 30 % 16 % 8 % 6 % 11 336
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