Energy Conservation Plan

Energy Conservation Plan

Energy Conservation Plan
By Miranda Wills
Axia College
SCI/275 Environmental Science
April Neudenberger, Instructor

Energy conservation has become more than just a trend of the times. It has become a necessity. The fact is, the human race has become dependent on energy for everything, but few people understand what energy is and how it is produced. Those who know how it is produced should know the problems that stem from the production, including environmental problems and dwindling resources. There are solutions to these problems, however, some solutions have challenges of their own.

Energy
Energy, as defined by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), is “the ability to do work.” In other words, energy is the ability to light something, warm something, lift something, or move something. It takes energy to power automobiles, machinery, radios, light bulbs and many other conveniences of the human race (Berg, Nonrenewable resources, 2007). The EPA (1997) gives the following example of how different types of energy are transformed into power and heat: “Oil burns to make heat Heat boils water Water turns to steam Steam pressure turns a turbine Turbine turns an electric generator Generator produces electricity   Electricity powers light bulbs Light bulbs give off light and heat.”
In 2003, it is reported by that the world consumed 422 quads of energy (a quad being a quadrillion BTU’s, or the energy in 180 million barrels of oil). Schirber (2008) says, “The report, ‘Curbing Global Energy Demand Growth,’ predicts that global consumption will increase by 2.2 percent annually, reaching 613 quads in 2020.” He says that the world could slow its “growing appetite” by becoming more energy efficient, “so that only 478 quads are needed in 2020,” (Schirber, What Ever Happened to Energy Conservation?, 2008).
“World energy consumption has increased every year since 1982,” states Berg (2007). As the population of the world increases, the...