Saturday, November 21, 2015

Water, Sun, Wind ... Power Sources

I live in North Dakota and have nothing in this world against the use of oil and coal for power. Except maybe that there are sources that are 'renewable', and healthier ... 

The following are basic definitions of water, sun, and wind power ... all of which have been around forever and not likely to completely evaporate, fade all the way out, or slow down much - certainly not any time soon.

*  Hydropower or water power (from the Greek: ύδρω, "water" ) is power derived from the energy of falling water or fast running water, which may be harnessed for useful purposes.

*  Solar power is the conversion of sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV), or indirectly using concentrated solar power (CSP). 

*  Wind energy or wind power is extracted from air flow using wind turbines or sails to produce mechanical or electrical energy. 

So here's my question, and it's neither sarcastic nor rhetorical. 

WHY exactly, given the above options, have we been using anything else for our power sources?

Everyplace on Earth has at least one of these resources - right? Using water for power doesn't eliminate the water. Using sunshine likewise, and there's always wind. And they're accessible, not to mention plentiful.

But the way things are now I would have to be a lot richer than I can ever hope to become in order to afford what it would take for me to put them to good use, when a person would think they'd be the best use of natural resources and readily available to everyone.

Ach.

Sometimes I have to wonder about us as a species, I really do.

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