Fossil fuels are the main source of energy around the world today. In some countries, the use of alternative sources of energy is replacing fossil fuels. Is this a positive or negative development?
Adverse effects
Economic ramifications: alternative fuel driven technology is in infant stage and thus expensive, so it is bound to result in financial hardships for the impoverished countries
Many industries depend on cheap fuel and substitution can cause them hugely
The countries dependent on extraction and selling fossil fuel are likely to be hit badly
The amount of resources required to produce energy at par with what is produced using conventional fuels is huge
Positive
Environmental concerns are of paramount importance and this step is the first in the direction of circumventing or evading an imminent (inevitable / unavoidable) ecological catastrophe - global warming.
Further progress in this technology will afford a long term for energy requirements
Minimizing use of fossil fuels will also help preserve them for future use
Unconventional fuels are being favored increasingly, and fast superseding fossil fuels, for they promise buttressing the environment and help retain its vitality and robustness though those skeptics exhibit unfounded pessimism.
A great deal of cynicism is being expressed, despite lacking substance, about the unwarranted impact of this paradigm shift on the economies of several nations though this is expected to endure only for a short tenure. It is feared that this might cost numerous industries and even countries several arms and legs, causing them to buckle under economic pressures and become vulnerable to steep crises. Similarly, the countries completely dependent on extraction and export of this oil and coal are likely to be hit since their only source of revenues will diminish, leaving them high and dry.
However, there is hardly any concern more prominent than sustaining the habitable planet, and use of fossil fuels is the primary hindrance in ensuring that. The current generation, in its striving for rapid progress has led to the abuse of this naturally occurring mineral, causing immense pollution through its industrial, transportation and household application, and leading to the jeopardizing phenomenon of global warming. Such a move will act as bulwark against further deterioration and ensure hospitable surroundings.
Similarly, the progress made in this realm has brought forth a promise of infinite availability of energy producing mediums such as solar power, wind power, tidal power, and hydrogen fuel cells, that will afford mankind enough resources to lodge unabated progress without needing to explore and forage through new territories for locating natural resources.
Overall, the derision should be outrightly overlooked in favor of this trend. It can easily be asserted that renewable resources hold great promises of ushering in an era of sustainable development, proving this evolution to be favorable.
