by Catherine Perez

Created on: March 25, 2009

You only need to look at the NASDAQ to understand that renewable energy is the way forward. Many companies have profited of this new emerging trend.
President Osama himself, has promised to invest large amounts of the government budget into this sector of the industry; in a bid to free America from their foreign oil dependency. For "green activists" it is very good news. What better way to promote their cause but by highlighting its financial benefits?

Renewable energy makes sense on an economic point of view but even more so environmentally. Everybody seems to know those days a great deal about solar power and the likes, but how will renewable energy benefit our environment in practical terms?
Before going any further, we need to define what is renewable energy, understands how it works. Then, we can explore how it will affect our environment.
Renewable energy, is energy produced by natural resources that is replenished naturally, such as wind, sunlight, tide, biofuel and geothermal heat.

Wind:
The airflow produce by the wind is turned into electricity via wind turbines. Since wind varies in frequency and power scientists have looked at ways to guaranteeing a certain consistency in input power. As winds are much stronger offshore and in high altitude sites, it is therefore the preferred emplacement for Wind Farms.
Wind power is a 100% clean, and does not produce harmless greenhouse gases. However it has been argued that the development and proliferation of Wind Farm will disfigure our shores and/or force population to move into other areas.

Sunlight:
The energy coming from the sun is turn into electricity via sun cells. It is probably of all renewable energy the most commonly known.
The commercialization of this particular clean energy has seen a surge over the last few years. Many new houses are equipped with solar system panels, providing free electricity for its owners.

Tide:
It consists in using the power of the tide to create power. hydroelectric power can be far less expensive than electricity generated from fossil fuels or nuclear energy, therefore many coastal regions prefer this option.
But many are not in favour of using this source of energy due to the ecological repercussions it has on the surrounding fauna and flora.

Biofuel:
Plants use photosynthesis to grow and in doing so, they produce what is called biomass. A typical example of biomass fuel would be wood. We burn wood in order to create heat and light. But we can as well grow plant matter to generate electricity.

Geothermal

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