Alternative energy is any energy source that is an alternative to fossil fuel.
The term "alternative" presupposes a set of undesirable energy technologies against which "alternative energies" are contrasted. As such, the list of energy technologies excluded is an indicator of which problems the alternative technologies are intended to address. Controversies regarding dominant sources of energy and their alternatives have a long history. The nature of what was regarded alternative energy sources has changed considerably over time, and today, because of the variety of energy choices and differing goals of their advocates, defining some energy types as "alternative" is highly controversial.
In a general sense in contemporary society, alternative energy is that which is produced without the undesirable consequences of the burning of fossil fuels, such as high carbon dioxide emissions, which is considered to be the major contributing factor of global warming according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Sometimes, this less comprehensive meaning of "alternative energy" excludes nuclear energy (e.g. as defined in the Michigan Next Energy Authority Act of 2002).
Read more about Alternative Energy: Definitions, History, Common Types of Alternative Energy, Renewable Energy Vs Non-renewable Energy, Investing in Alternative Energy, Making Alternative Energy Mainstream, Alternative Energy Research, Disadvantages
Famous quotes containing the words alternative and/or energy:
“It is a secret from nobody that the famous random event is most likely to arise from those parts of the world where the old adage “There is no alternative to victory” retains a high degree of plausibility.”
—Hannah Arendt (1906–1975)
“His eloquence was of every kind, and he excelled in the argumentative as well as in the declamatory way. But his invectives were terrible, and uttered with such energy of diction, and stern dignity of action and countenance, that he intimidated those who were the most willing and the best able to encounter him. Their arms fell out of their hands, and they shrunk under the ascendant which his genius gained over theirs.”
—Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl Chesterfield (1694–1773)