Renewable Energy has a major effect on the environment, even though it may seem that it doesn’t. Renewable Energy helps keep the environment clean, safe and healthy. Imagine if all energy was created by using fossil fuels and other non renewable energy sources. The world would eventually run out of energy sources and the world would be very polluted. Even though fossil fuels are used today, the renewable sources that are used to make energy help balance out the pollutants that are released and using renewable energy helps reduce the use of non renewable energy sources. Also non-renewable energy sources, when burned release carbon dioxide, which makes the green house effect work too well, which eventually results in global warming. Therefore, renewable energy sources help the environment stay clean and in some cases reduces the release of toxic chemicals. However, it all depends whether we are willing to make a stand to help stop the use of non renewable energy sources, and to save ourselves from polluting our world. We need to stop taking the energy we are given for granted. We must learn to respect the Earth and its resources. With that, we will learn to respect ourselves.

There are many ways we can help to make the world a better place. Just a few are:

• Switch off electricity/energy supplies when we are not using them (eg.geyser during the day; lights during the day; applicanes not in use etc).
• Use energy sparingly (less used will therefore result in less energy being required to be made)
• Recycle(though no part is played in energy usage, recycling still will limit pollution and will surely have a positive effect. Anyway in which we can limit pollution in any form)
• Let others know about the problem, and share our findings with them, and hopefully have an impact on them (saving the world one person at a time)
• To respect our environment (think before acting)

The Last one, for the South African Government and Eskom:

• Make electricity expensive, so people will cherish it and no take it for granted. (Perhaps with enough power in South Africa, Eskom will be able to see the problem, as opposed to only seeing it in the dark.

“Don’t look back admiring your own footprints. It’s all washed away unless the next step is truly exceptional.”

• A movie which we highly recommend for a great insight into global warming and the effects of energy use in the wrong manner, is "An Inconvenient Truth: Global Warning". Directed by Davis Guggenheim, with and featuring Al Gore (2000 US President Runner-Up).It is a documentary on Al Gore's campaign to make the issue of global warming a recognized problem worldwide.