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Earth is composed mainly of bodies of water---about 71 percent of the earth's surface is water. Ninety-seven percent of that is found in the oceans. Because the earth's surface is curved, the sun heats it unevenly. This causes winds to blow across the water and generate waves. The sun and moon also exert their gravitational pull on the earth, triggering wave-producing tides. Wave motion energy can be harnessed and generated into electricity.

"Worldwide, approximately 3000 gigawatts (1 gigawatt = 1 GW = 1 billion watts) of energy is continuously available from the action of tides.

The best areas are on the eastern sides of the oceans (western side of the continents) between the 40 and 60 latitudes in both the northern and southern hemispheres.

While the "wave power at deep ocean sites is three to eight times the wave power at adjacent coastal sites," constructing and mooring the site and transmitting the electricity to shore would be prohibitively costly.

"But if we could harness 0.1 percent of the energy in the ocean, we could support the energy needs of 15 billion people.

Tidal energy has been used since about the 11th Century, when small dams were built along ocean estuaries and small streams. the tidal water behind these dams was used to turn water wheels to mill grains.

Tidal power, often referred to as tidal energy, is a type of hydropower that harnesses the energy of our ocean’s tides or other flowing waterways to produce power, usually in the form of electricity.  As sea levels rise and fall or the currents flow underwater a potential energy is created.  By using equipment such as tidal energy generators and underwater turbines in areas of high tidal movements, the kinetic motion of the ocean can be used to turn the turbines, thus producing electricity. 

Burning fossil fuels creates carbon dioxide, the number one greenhouse gas contributing to global warming. Combustion of these fossil fuels is considered to be the largest contributing factor to the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. In the 20th century, the average temperature of Earth rose 1 degree Fahrenheit (1°F). This was a period that saw the most prolific population growth and industrial development

Some estimates say our fossil fuel reserves will be depleted within 50 years, while others say it will be 100-120 years.