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Renewable energy is any form of energy that is either regenerated at the same rate as it is depleted or that diminishes at a rate that is not significant on a practical level. Examples include solar radiation from the Sun, energy from the motion of the wind, and energy from the motion of water in rivers, waterfalls, waves, and tides, from biofuels, and from geothermal heat.

The big contrast here is between these forms of energy and depletable resources such as hydrocarbon based fossil fuels. These include coal and petrol which are made from dead plants and animals subject to heat and pressure in the Earth's crust over hundreds of millions of years.

The rate at which we burn these products is of a far greater magnitude than they could ever be replaced at. Even worse, the burning of these fuels amounts to the largest source of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere, one of the so-called greenhouse gases responsible for global warming.

The use of renewable forms of energy means that not only will energy be available indefinitely far into the future but also we won't destroy the planet in our use of energy.

Learn more about this author, Darian Peters.
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