Biomass Energy

For those who don't know what Biomass is, it is energy that is generated using organic minerals from the earth that can be either renewable or nonrenewable. Wood was once our main fuel. We burned it to heat our homes and cook our food. Wood still provides a small percentage of the energy we use, but its importance as an energy source is growing thin. Wastes such as animal manure, wood chips, seaweed, corn stalks, and even trash can even be broken down into usable energy. "Bioconversion" uses plant and animal wastes to produce "Biofuel" such as methanol, natural gas, and oil.

Advantages: It makes sense to use waste materials where we can. The fuel tends to be cheap, and there is less demand on the fossil fuels. 

Disadvantages: Collecting or growing the fuel in sufficient quantities can be difficult. We burn the biofuel, so it makes greenhouse gases just like fossil fuels do, and some waste materials are not available all year round. 

http://www.darvill.clara.net/altenerg/biomass.htm#intro

Hydro Power

Hydro energy is simply energy that is taken from water and converted to electricity. Hydro energy can be obtained by using many methods of capture. The most common method of using energy from water is a hydroelectric dam, where water coming down through an area causes turbines to rotate and the energy is captured to run a generator. Power can also be generated from the energy of tidal forces or wave power, which uses the energy created by waves.

One downside to using hydro energy is that it can sometimes change the natural flow of the water which can make it possible to harm plants and animals in the water. It can also damage areas and wildlife, as when creating a hydro electric dam, areas must be flooded. 

Other reasons that many want to use hydro energy is that it is cheaper than using other methods to convert energy to electricity. It is also reliable and can be used almost immediately when turned on to meet the demand for electricity. Therefore, you must weigh the pros and cons before deciding to use hydro energy to supply their demand for electricity.

Solar Energy

Solar energy has been used by humans for thousands of years.  For example, ancient cultures used energy from the sun to keep warm by starting fires with it.  They also kept their homes warm through passive solar energy designs. But isn't solar energy expensive to maintain? In fact, An economic breakthrough occurred in the 1970's when Dr. Elliot Berman was able to design a less expensive solar cell bringing the price down from $100 per watt to $20 per watt.  This huge cost savings opened up a large number of applications that were not considered before because of high costs.  These applications included railroads, lighthouses, off-shore oil rigs, buoys, and remote homes.  For some countries and many applications, solar energy is now considered a primary energy source, not an alternative.

Solar energy is one of the only sources known to man to be able to last all day and all night. Because although the sun only stays out for a portion of the day, the panels absorb the sun's energy and stores it so that it may used when the panel itself isn't. Researchers have developed cells with more than 20% efficiencies.  20% efficient means that out of the total energy that hits the surface of a solar cell, about 20% is converted into usable electricity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsiFzFDI54Q
http://www.makeitsolar.com/solar-energy-information/01-solar-history.htm

Wind Energy

Oil, natural gas, uranium, water - as power sources, all have the potential to run out during the course of human development, possibly in the next couple of hundred years. Renewable sources can sidestep this problem by using energy sources that either will last longer than the human race or can be regenerated through agriculture. Most renewable energy sources are also environmentally friendly.

Wind energy is the most established of the renewables, constituting 1% of global energy production, or about $51.4 billion in 2008, and accounting for more than 50% of global investment in renewable energy in 2009. It can also be the most cost-efficient, especially when large installations using large turbines can take advantage of economies of scale.

 Wind energy isn't cheap to build, but it is cheap to manage. renewable energy grew from $75.8 billion to $115.9 billion, or about 53%, indicating that these energy sources are getting more and more popular. Out of all the renewable energy, Wind is also the most effective because wind is everywhere, night and day.

Oil is not cheap. And it is only going up in price. Renewable energy for the most part is not that cheap either, but it isn't so expensive that it isn't affordable on the average person's salary. And making this step to use Oil only when needed, we wont need to worry about running out so quickly.

http://www.wikinvest.com/industry/Renewable_Energy

Alternative Power Sources

Nonrenewable fossil fuels like coal, petroleum, and natural gas provide more then 85% of the energy used in the world. in the United States, fossil fuels make up about 81.6% of the energy supply. Nuclear power provides 7.7% and renewable energy sources like wind, solar, hydro, geothermal, and biomass make up only 7.3%. That is a lot of fossil fuels put in the air everyday that we can never renew. Nuclear energy is good but the material it produces is bad for the environment. But it can help by using renewable resources to generate it's energy.
 Sure, it is near impossible to just stop using electricity completely but replacing it with renewable energy during times of the day when it is possible should be used. Like during the day time when it is nice and sunny out or if it is raining and the wind is blowing, you can turn your electricity off and used solar or wind power to generate energy to use all day long.