ELECTRICITY CONSERVATION
Why save electricity?
We all have to save electricity because we are fast running out of fossil fuels. Even though we have other methods to produce electricity besides fossil fuels, the rate where electricity is produced by these methods cannot be compared to the rate where we use up electricity. So, if we were to save electricity, our fossil fuels would not run out so soon.
Electricity is produced at the cost of innocent lives. As seen above, we know that lives of both animals and plants are lost just because land is needed to build hydroelectric dams for electricity to be produced. If more and more land is needed to build these dams, more and more lives will be lost and none of us would want this to happen.
This problem cannot go on. We humans are wasting electricity, which ultimately leads to innocent lives, environmental problems, and drainage of natural resources. We have to stop this from going on and so let us start saving electricity today.
Uses of Electricity
The reason why electricity is so important is because of its uses. We use electricity almost all the time, especially in home appliances. Think of the moment when you wake up in an extremely ordinary morning. When you feel hungry, you take out a slice of bread and place it in a toaster to toast. We also use it in air-conditioning, computers and refrigerators. Most importantly, we use it in lights. Without electricity, the whole Earth would be in darkness at the night!
Production of electricity
a) Burning of coal
For every kilowatt of electricity produced by burning coal, about 2.095 pounds of carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere, thus, harming the ozone layer. This way of producing electricity is the most polluting way of producing electricity. It also reaps greater amounts of electricity. Not only does this way of producing electricity harm the environment, it also causes lung cancer to human.
b) Burning of natural gas
About 1.32 pounds of carbon dioxide is emitted into the atmosphere for every kilowatt of electricity produced. It is estimated that half of the natural gases on/in Earth have not been discovered or used yet. However, the gases remained is in much smaller portion than what had been left years ago.
c) Hydroelectricity
This type of electricity is rather common and popular in the western countries like USA. However, effects of buildings dams have often been underestimated. Huge amounts of lands, which are homes of living being plants and animals alike, are also destroyed. The population of fish is also affected when their habitat is destroyed. This could cause an unbalanced food chain due to the sudden decrease of fishes, causing species to go extinct.
Ways to conserve electricity
1) Switch of the lights in the room when not in use. This is a good habit that should be practiced. By switching off the lights, we save electricity and also learn a good habit.
2) Close the refrigerator completely to prevent cool air from escaping. The refrigerator is one of the appliances that require a lot of electricity for cooling the food products. If cool air escapes from the refrigerators continuously, a lot of electricity would be wasted.
3) Use the fan instead of air-conditioner whenever possible. The air-conditioner uses much more electricity than the fan. During cloudy and rainy weathers, it is really not necessary to switch on the air-conditioner. Furthermore, the air we breathe from the fan is cleaner compared to the air from the fan is cleaner compared to the air from the air-conditioner.
4) Use energy-saving bulbs instead of normal bulbs. As the name suggests, energy-saving bulbs require less electricity. So, next time choose energy-saving bulbs.
5) Switch off any electrical appliance when not in use. A good example would be the television.