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Through the use of hydrogen together with fuel cell technology it is possible to achieve a radical decrease in local pollution of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and particles from the transportation sector. Although the production of hydrogen from fossil fuels affects the environment it is an advantage that the carbon dioxide emissions can be separated already on the production site. This becomes evident when hydrogen is used as vehicle fuel, avoiding pollution from every individual vehicle.The only emission from a fuel cell reacting with hydrogen is pure water. The environmental gains are high, provided that pollution in the hydrogen production process is kept low. A fuel cell is approximately twice as energy efficient as a combustion engine if used in a regular car. The effect is that, using the same amount of energy, a fuel cell car can drive twice as far as a car with a combustion engine can.

Fuel Cost & Availability. Hydrogen is currently expensive to produce and is only available at a handful of locations, mostly in California. Vehicle Cost & Availability. Fuel cell vehicles are currently far too expensive for most consumers to afford, and they are only available to a few demonstration fleets.

Hazardous chemicals are used in the manufacture of solar cells, creating environmental considerations in their manufacture and, in some cases, in their eventual disposal. Solar cell manufacturers minimize their use of these chemicals, recycle them when possible, and release a minimum of pollutants to the environment.

Geothermal energy supplies less than 10 % of the world's energy.

Geothermal energy is clean and safe for the surrounding environment.

Geothermal energy is sustainable because hot water can be re-injected into the ground.

Wind turbine installations impact vast amounts of land, far more than traditional power plants.

Raptors, bats and other beautiful flying creatures continue to be sliced and diced by wind turbines.

Principal health issues are associated with noise – not just annoying audible noise, but inaudible, low-frequency “infrasound” that causes headache, dizziness, “deep nervous fatigue” and symptoms akin to seasickness. “Wind turbine syndrome” also includes irritability, depression, and concentration and sleep problems. Others include “shadow flicker” or “strobe effect” from whirling blades, which can trigger seizures in epileptics, “vibroacoustic” effects on the heart and lungs, and non-lethal harm to animals. Serious lung, heart, cancer and other problems have been documented from rare earth mining, smelting and manufacturing in China, under its less rigorous health, workplace and environmental regulations.

But, on shore ocean wave energy generators will occupy extended lengths of coastline. And most of the coastlines of the world that have significant wave activity are either highly desired residential areas, or they are pristine wilderness.

Ocean wave energy is still in the development stages but it is already apparent that its impact on the environment could be relatively high compared to other renewable energies.

It is noteworthy that even these environmental impacts are far less than those of most fossil fuel plants.

Advantages: Geothermal energy cost is extremely low compared to many other energy sources. It has low pollution compared to fossil fuels and nuclear energy. Geothermal energy is a renewable energy source. Almost no environmental impact when using geothermal heat from nuclear decay. Geothermal heat pump systems can reduce your energy use storing heat from the summer/sun and makes use of it in the night and winter. Low maintenance systems.

Disadvantages: The most important disadvantage is absolutely the geological problem.  The heat source is mostly close to volcanic activity of some sort. Chemicals are byproducts of the production electricity with hot ground water. Some geothermal plants use a lot of water and it needs to go somewhere its after use. Some of the poluting chemicals in that water and steam are sulfur, mercury, hydrogen sulfide, arsenic, ammonia. Earth is a changing creature.  A drilled hole in the ground could supply thousands of homes heat and one earthquake could change that in a second.  It can also change gradually over time. Location, location, location.  That is certainly true of geothermal energy.  It cannot be transported over vast distances.  If used to heat up houses or for hot tap water it is only the quality of the pipe that delivers the water that determines how far it can go and if it will be of any use when it arrives. If the heat is used for electrical production it helps to have plants close so the energy loss is not too great. 

Corrosion is a big problem.  Composition of the chemicals can vary but it is always a problem.  It is among other the reason they need to heat up clean water to use and do not use it directly in to heating of houses.  In cases it has been used directly it causes pipes to corrode. In nuclear heating rock the rock cools down over few decades and hundreds of years are needed to get initial heating back.  Power stations of that sort are therefore not considered as profitable. Geothermal Heat pump systems do have high installation cost. Some areas run out of water or run low on ground water during seasonal dry spells. Less water means less heat and less energy to produce. Some drilling sites are too hot to handle.  Yea. Drillers have actually tried and tried some holes and they just can’t get the needed equipment in because the holes shoot it out like guns.   With workers running to stay alive while steel rains down on them. 

Wind power is safe, clean and increasingly affordable – with the potential for production on a much larger scale.Government support is crucial in ensuring the expansion of wind power. We believe such support should be transitional and limited. In the US, there is continuing uncertainty over the renewal of the production tax credit, which provides incentives to invest in wind energy. We are working with other wind energy suppliers to make an effective case for wind energy generation and the renewal of the production tax credit.Wind farms can provide large volumes of electricity (sometimes at a lower cost than conventional power generation)

Wind power is safe, clean and increasingly affordable – with the potential for production on a much larger scale.Government support is crucial in ensuring the expansion of wind power. We believe such support should be transitional and limited. In the US, there is continuing uncertainty over the renewal of the production tax credit, which provides incentives to invest in wind energy. We are working with other wind energy suppliers to make an effective case for wind energy generation and the renewal of the production tax credit.Wind farms can provide large volumes of electricity (sometimes at a lower cost than conventional power generation) Wind energy and the environment While wind farms can be an attractive alternative energy offering, they can also stir debate. During the planning stage for each new wind farm we assess the potential social and environmental impacts.The impact on wildlife and habitat The impact of wind farms on local residentsNoise from wind turbinesShadow flicker Interference with communications signalsWe then take steps to manage any negative impacts through engineering design changes, technology and other elements.

Wind power is safe, clean and increasingly affordable – with the potential for production on a much larger scale.Government support is crucial in ensuring the expansion of wind power. We believe such support should be transitional and limited. In the US, there is continuing uncertainty over the renewal of the production tax credit, which provides incentives to invest in wind energy. We are working with other wind energy suppliers to make an effective case for wind energy generation and the renewal of the production tax credit.

Tidal energy is produced through the use of tidal energy generators. These large underwater turbines are placed in areas with high tidal movements, and are designed to capture the kinetic motion of the ebbing and surging of ocean tides in order to produce electricity. Tidal power has great potential for future power and electricity generation because of the massive size of the oceans. These articles explore the potential energy of tidal power technologies.

It will generate one of the most environmentally-friendly forms of energy - it makes no noise

Dry steam plants. Hot steam is piped directly from geothermal reservoirs into generators in the power plant. The steam spins turbines, which generate electricity.

Tidal stream generators look and work like underwater wind turbines. As opposed to using the rising and falling movement of the tides, tidal stream generators take advantage of the fast moving sea currents (tidal streams), which flow when tides are moving in and out. These tidal streams cause the turbines to rotate, turning the generators which generate electricity. Tidal stream generators have the advantage of being much cheaper to build, and do not have as much of an environmental impact as a tidal barrage. The turbines turn relatively slowly, hence do not affect sea life. This is different to tidal barrages which can disrupt fish migrating up rivers from the sea.

The theory of global warming is nothing new. The Nobel Prize-winning chemist Svante Arrhenius first proposed the idea of global warming in 1896. Carbon dioxide, he knew, traps heat in the Earth's atmosphere. He also knew that burning coal and oil releases carbon dioxide (CO2).

A benefit is very little pollution. However, there is a very serious potential draw back. It can be very hard of fish populations. The proposal for tidal power is to put turbines on the bottom of a bay and let the water rushing in and out with the tide turn them and generate electricity. However, along with the water will come fish and other marine animals. What do you think will happen when these critters get sucked into the turbines. Can you say sushi, boys and girls? Putting some kind of screen in front of the turbine to prevent this would just mean that the animals would be sucked up against the screens, obstructing the flow of water through the turbines.

Bio fuels are a viable alternative to fossil fuels.

Some examples are that of biodiesel, which entails growing crops that contain high amounts of natural oil then through a process of hydrogenation or refining a more compatible bio diesel, substitute is created.

These are examples of first generation biofuels and due to their nature they may or may not be long-term economically or environmentally viable.

At 250 kilowatts, the fuel cell produces 40-50% of the electricity for the Environmental Science Center. Its electricity production alone is 47% effective, and the addition of heat recovery allows for up to 60% efficiency

While designed to run on pure hydrogen, Yale’s fuel cell is actually powered by natural gas, 80% of which is usable hydrogen. The fuel cell takes in natural gas and water and produces water, electricity, and hot air.