Renewable energy has been in use for long. But, it has been more of local usage. And, there have always been some form of misuse. Their misuse are majorly due to how their sources are harnessed.
For clarity, let me give you a summary of what renewable energy and renewable energy source is about.
Renewable energy is the sort of energy that exist in abundant supply and can easily be replenished as it is used. Examples are solar, wind, biomass, hydro (water), and geothermal. They are majorly used for electricity generation, cooking, heating, lighting homes, solar cooling etc.
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Renewable energy source is simply the source of renewable energy. For example, the sun is the source of solar energy, wind is the source of wind energy, biomass is the source of biomass energy and so on
Ways renewable energy is misused, and the implications:
There are quite few ways renewable energy is being misused. And the renewable energy type that is mostly misused is the biomass (specifically woods)
Now, take a look at how biomass is misused.
Inefficient use of energy from woods
Wood is one of the materials for biomass. Locally, it is used for cooking. On a larger scale, it can be used for heating or even generating electricity.
For wood to release it energy, it must be burnt. Unfortunately, the burning of woods isn’t efficient enough and leads to emission of carbon. This is one of the reasons why scientists are divided on whether to classify biomass (like wood) as renewable or not.
According to a research, the initial burning, processing and transporting of woods tends to emit more carbon dioxide than fossil fuels. However, the emission reduces when more trees are planted to replace the ones that have been harvested.
The implication of the inefficient use of woods is that it could lead to increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Thereby, increasing global warming.
More efficient mechanisms are being researched and developed to help with the harnessing of woods.
Non-replacement of used trees
Wood are gotten from trees. As humans harvest trees, they are, sometimes, not regrown. This could pose as a negative effect on the environment.
The implications of not replacing harvested trees is that it could increase soil erosion, increase the carbon in our atmosphere, reduce food or shelter for wildlife and so on.
So, it is important to replace trees that has been exploited or used. This would help reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere, provide more habitats for animals, reduce erosion an so on.
Ways renewable energy (Biomass) is misused:
Energy are extracted from wood inefficiently. And this inefficient extraction leads to emission of carbon monoxide into the atmosphere.
Trees are one of the sources of biomass material (wood). Most times, trees are not replanted after being harvested.
This post will be updated as more ways or ideas about the subject matter comes to life.