You might be wondering, what exactly is clean energy? And how can I use it? Clean energy that is produced in ways that does not pollute the atmosphere. This energy that is derived from renewable, zero-emissions sources as well as energy saved through energy efficiency. The most well-known sources being biomass, geothermal, hydro-power, solar and wind.
One of the most important actions in reducing your impact on the environment is using clean energy. It helps reduce harmful smog, toxic build ups in our air and water and all the impacts that coal mining and gas extraction create. Electricity production is the number one source of green house gases, it exceeds our driving and flying combined therefore I believe that we at IST should set an example and reduce out electricity consumption. Replacing fossil-fuel infrastructures will take some time and consistent support from the state and federal mandates to build new renewable energy infrastructures as well as a demand for clean energy from businesses and customers.
Step 1 of the process is to start reducing your impact on climate change. In your home every time you turn on a light, use your laptop, take a hot shower or turn your heater on, you’re using energy. In France the average home uses around 4760 kWh electricity per year and most of it is wasted. Now I’m not saying you cannot do your homework or you have to have only cold showers from now on; you can use less energy without having to scarify comfort (and even save money😉). Just follow these 5 simple steps to start saving energy:
1) Use energy efficient lighting eg compact florescent (CFL) or LED light bulbs
2) Turn down your water heater to the warm setting
3) Unplug your laptop chargers or phone chargers when you’re not using them
4) Use the energy saving settings on appliances you have
5) Replace filters in your furnace and air conditioner
You can do the same in school turn off lights in rooms that are not being used (ask for permission first!), tell your teacher to turn their monitor off when they aren’t using it, remind your teachers to turn their air-conditioner/heater off when they go to break or lunch so that they don’t waste energy.
To produce energy, you need the factories and facilities to do so, this process of producing energy is called electricity generation. Electricity generation is the second main cause of air pollution in France. Most of our energy in France comes from nuclear (71.6% in 2017), coal and other non-renewable power plants. By producing energy from these resources, it seriously affects our environment, polluting land, air and water.
Électricité de France (EDF) is the main electricity generation and distribution in France. It was founded in April 8, 1946 and is now a limited liability corporation under private law. It is one of the world’s largest producers of electricity. In 2003 it produced 22% of the EU's electricity primarily from nuclear power:
· nuclear: 74.5%
· hydro-electric: 16.3%
· thermal: 9.1%
· wind power and other renewable sources: 0.1%
This is why we should switch to renewable energy sources to produce electricity with fewer environmental impacts. You may be asking what counts as a renewable energy and what even is renewable energy? Renewable energy is derived from natural resources that replenish themselves over a period of time without depleting Earth’s resources. The resources are also abundant, available nearly everywhere and also cause little to no environmental damage. These resources include the sun, wind and thermal energy stored in the Earth’s crust. In contrast, fossil fuels e.g: coal, oil and natural gas have an expiry date so to speak. They are finite which means at some point they will run out.
Now I know that some of you reading this are thinking, how am I meant to help? I can’t build any renewable energy power plants? This is true you can’t, but what you can do is raise awareness. You can follow some of the steps I’ve listed above and tell your family and friends to do the same. All these little small changes will add up and reduce the energy wasted. So, start today and pay attention to the energy you use and try to reduce it!