StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Soft Path Energy vs. Hard Path Energy - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
The soft path energy versus the hard path energy debate is largely based on the provision of quality energy instead of focusing on the quantity of energy produced and provided. Proponents of soft path energy argue that hard path energy policies are focused on the quantity of…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER95% of users find it useful
Soft Path Energy vs. Hard Path Energy
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Soft Path Energy vs. Hard Path Energy"

Soft Path Energy versus Hard Path Energy Lecturer Soft Path Energy versus Hard Path Energy The soft path energy versus the hard path energy debate is largely based on the provision of quality energy instead of focusing on the quantity of energy produced and provided. Proponents of soft path energy argue that hard path energy policies are focused on the quantity of energy delivered without considering the negative impacts of hard energy on the environment, as well as the sustainability of hard energy (Botkin and Keller, 2010).

Accordingly, policies supporting hard energy aim at increasing energy production, such as building of larger power plants and investing in massive nuclear power plants. On the contrary, champions of soft path argue that soft path energy ensures quality energy in that the energy is environmentally friendly (Botkin and Keller, 2010). More so, soft path policy leads to production and delivery of flexible and sustainable energy (Parkins, 2001). Such sources of energy, therefore, include, wind, sunlight and biomass.

Unfortunately, many nations, including developed nations, such as the United States, have energy policies that are more oriented to hard path than the soft path. Therefore, an understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of soft path energy, as compared to the hard path energy, is crucial in deciding whether to exploit soft path energy.Soft path energy alternatives are more environmentally friendly than their hard path counterparts. In particular, they have less harm to their environs than hard path energy (Parkins, 2001).

For example, the electricity used to light houses and drive air conditioning systems can be produced from hydroelectric power plants comprised of large dams, which pose a risk to people living around them. Electricity can also be produced from nuclear power plants, which are health hazards and consume large amounts of water for cooling purposes. Sunlight can be used for lighting purposes, in its raw form through opening windows or using transparent iron sheets, or electrically using solar panels that convert sunlight to electric energy.

Wind turbines can also be used to harness wind energy and convert it to electric energy for lighting purposes. These lighting methods do not pose as much harm to the environment or risk animal, plant and human life as is the case with hard energy. Moreover, they contribute less to global warming because they emit fewer gases and carbon (if any) to the atmosphere. Soft path energy alternatives are also renewable in that their sources cannot be exhausted, which is not the case with hard path energy sources.

For example, oil wells used to produce fossil fuels are expected to be exhausted sometimes in the future. Soft path energy sources, such as biomass, are replaced after use. Moreover, soft energy path reduces reliance on some few countries for energy source. For example, Middle East seems to be the main source of oil for use in many parts of the country (Parkins, 2001). Soft path energy sources are readily available in all parts of the world, which not only reduces over dependence on a few regions, but also reduces transportation needs to deliver energy to place of use.

Such transport leads to energy waste, which means that soft energy is associated with high energy efficiency. However, it is not possible to use soft energy throughout, which makes them unreliable. For example, lack of sunlight or wind makes these systems unusable. Moreover, utilizing soft energy alternatives sometimes requires changes, which might are expensive. For example, in order to harness and store electric solar energy for later use, I need to purchase solar panels and batteries or capacitors.

These require high initial costs, which prevents people from utilizing soft energy path. Similarly, harnessing wind energy and converting it for house lighting requires building a wind turbine and a dynamo, which might be uneconomical considering the amount of energy I require. ReferencesBotkin, D. B. & Keller, E. A. (2010). Environmental Science: Earth as a Living Planet, 7th Edition. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.Parkins, K. (2001). Soft Energy Paths. Accessed March 1, 2013 from http://www.heureka.clara.net/gaia/energy.htm

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Soft Path Energy vs. Hard Path Energy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words”, n.d.)
Soft Path Energy vs. Hard Path Energy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1616545-soft-path-energy-vs-hard-path-energy
(Soft Path Energy Vs. Hard Path Energy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words)
Soft Path Energy Vs. Hard Path Energy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1616545-soft-path-energy-vs-hard-path-energy.
“Soft Path Energy Vs. Hard Path Energy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1616545-soft-path-energy-vs-hard-path-energy.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Soft Path Energy vs. Hard Path Energy

The role of education in a juveniles life

Education is not only the path of attaining knowledge about various subjects; but is also a mode of inducting discipline and an organised way of living into the lives of students.... By doing so, delinquency rates can experience a dip, while also facilitating the rehabilitation of juveniles who have been led on to the wrong path.... School education helps a child understand the world, learn to adapt to demands of situations and to acquire not only subject matter, but also soft skills, like working in a team, acquiring leadership qualities, etc....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Blood Splatter Analysis

We may also stop into a book store and purchase several documentary books detailing famous crime cases and the blood spatters that solve them.... It is the difference… Indeed on the television shows we see the crime scene being analyzed and we also see crime scene photos being taken.... Ultimately we see these photos being introduced as evidence at criminal trials, and the blood Blood spatter analysis was sensationalized during the O....
4 Pages (1000 words) Research Paper

To design, conduct and report on a marketing research project of your choice

This new product was marketed strategically and withstood initial concerns about its safety and composition to become the world's largest energy drink by sales.... In 2011, more… However, dominant as Red Bull has been, it shares the energy drink market with other competitors, among them, Euroshopper.... Despite its small market share in comparison with Red Bull, Euro shopper has adopted its Red Bull Vs Euro shopper The energy drink market was largely dominated by Gatorade before the arrival of Red Bull, in 1997....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Hard-Path versus Soft-Path Energy Development

In the essay “Hard-Path versus Soft-path energy Development” the author explains hard energy, which refers to current conventional energy sources available today like power plants, oil, and nuclear power.... Soft energy on the other hand deals with renewable and sustainable energy sources.... hellip; The author of the paper states that the current structure of hard energy production will be greatly affected by a shift to soft energy....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Are energy drinks safe'

Attention Getting Device (Narrative): in Maryland a middle aged woman went to court to sue Monster Beverage which is one of the companies producing energy drinks.... Credibility (Speaker's qualifications/expertise): after researching about this subject I have come to agree with the view that energy drinks are not safe because it contains too much caffeine, very expensive, and it has side effects.... Thesis (Transitional Preview): from the discussion with the audience many of you oppose the information I tried to provide, but I am requesting that you listen with open mind while we discuss the problems associated with energy drinks and how the drinks affects the human body....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Energy Transfer and Thermodynamics

This paper ''energy Transfer and Thermodynamics'' tells that if all the thermal motion of molecules (kinetic energy) could be removed, a state called absolute zero would occur—total zero results in a temperature of 0 Kelvins or -273....  … Entropy is the measure of the disorder or randomness of energy and matter in a system....   On the other hand, a grey surface does not fully emit heat energy and has an emissivity value less than 1....
10 Pages (2500 words) Report

The Definitions

Similarly, due to this effect, an object traveling in a straight line close to the Earth will be moving in a curved path relative to any particular surface on the Earth.... This paper ''The Definitions'' tells about High mountains present resistance to rain clouds and prevent their movement by standing like a wall....
6 Pages (1500 words) Article

Telecommunication Principles

An effective bandwidth has been described as one in which the most of signal energy is concentrated.... From this paper, it is clear that continuous distortions affect the performance of a system; particularly the data rate.... It is interesting to know that this means when the noise generate rate in the transmission system is higher, the bit rate per second is reduced....
13 Pages (3250 words) Assignment
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us