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Most scientists believe that our climate is changing because
of an over accumulation of carbon dioxide gas in the atmosphere. Most of the
over accumulation of carbon dioxide is caused by the burning of fossil
fuels. (Oil, natural gas and coal)
Do you know that most of these fuels are burned to make our
electricity? Not only do they pollute our atmosphere, but fossil fuels are
beginning to get more scarce, this means that they will become gradually
more expensive and we will become more reliant to the countries that control
their supply.
Well... there is an alternative way of making the energy! Hurrah!
Its called... renewable energy. Renewable energy is a tremendous way
of making electricity, because it won't run out. And it doesn't
cause nearly as much pollution.
Renewable energy sources work in a variety of ways. They get
their power from;
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The sun - this makes wind, biomass,
hydro and solar energies possible |
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The moon - which influences tidal
power |
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And the earth - which makes geothermal
power possible |
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At
the moment there are 8 main types of renewable energy:
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The heat from biomass and geothermal is also used to
directly heat houses, greenhouses etc. and passive solar heating uses
the heat from the sun to keep a house at a good temperature.
There are other means for making power - like fuel cells
that run on hydrogen, that are in development at the moment, but the
ones above are the main, large scale ones.
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There are of course disadvantages to all the forms of
renewable energy- solar panels only create electricity when it is day
time and wind turbines only turn when the wind blows. But renewable energies have the potential of saving
our future!!
You can help! Your family and
school can ring up their electricity supplier and ask to be switched
over to their green tariff. |
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This will mean that the company you buy your electricity from
will ensure that the amount of electricity that you use is generated from a
renewable energy source. All of our electricity suppliers are required to
ensure that 3% of their electricity comes from renewable energy sources so
they shouldn't ask you to pay more for the privilege. If they do then you
can change supplier to one that uses renewable energy sources to make the
electricity!
Some companies that supply it are; Good Energy, Juice, EDF,
Green Energy UK, Ecotricity.
We have some more information about some of these
companies in our Green Shop, just pop in and ask.
But that is not all you can do! The most exciting thing
about the upsurge in renewable energy development is that anyone can
install renewable energy systems! It's not just for the big boys.. |
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Microgeneration is the way forward!
You and your family and your school and your community can buy
and install your own renewable energy system.. There are grants available to
help you do this!
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Your home could have solar
water heaters fitted onto the roof.. |

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You could have your very
own solar panels generating electricity during the daytime.. |

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Your school could fit a
biomass boiler instead of an oil fired one to heat the school.. |

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Your community could club
together and have its own micro hydro power station or even a wind
turbine.. |
To help you install your
own renewable energy system in your home or school, explore the DECC website on Feed-In-Tariffs and the Renewable Heat Incentive, and you could be earning money for the energy you produce!
If you want more information about
Then come on further into our web site...
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