Turn Off The Lights for Wildlife

Many animals are going extinct because of humans.  Many terrible things are happening to the planet that we live on. Wildlife habitats are being destroyed everyday to benefit humans. One of the worst ways we are benefiting ourselves at the expense of nature is by burning fossil fuels and releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. It may seem like (this industrial energy production) it doesn’t do much to the planet, but the results are shocking. The burning of fossil fuels and greenhouse gases contributes to the heating of the planet, ruining homes of many wildlife. We do this by burning coal and gas to create energy and electricity in our homes. It is never too late to change this, we can all work together to make planet Earth a safer place for our animals. 

Some may say, why don’t we just use nuclear energy instead? Nuclear energy  does have its benefits. Nuclear energy releases less greenhouse emissions and burns less fossil fuels. Nuclear energy represents 55% of America’s carbon emissions free energy source. This avoids 470 million metric tons of carbon. For a reference, that is equivalent to 100 million cars off the road! (energy.gov, 2020).  It is also reliable and cheap to run. It runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. However, it could be argued that   the disadvantages of nuclear energy outnumbers the advantages. Uranium is an element on the periodic table, which Nuclear energy runs on. If handled incorrectly, the atoms from the uranium get exposed.  The atoms can cause radiation poisoning, So, if uranium is not handled properly, it can make using nuclear energy extremely dangerous.  One example is the Chernobyl accident. There was a steam explosion causing radioactive material to be released into the environment. Many people were diagnosed with the Acute Radioactive Syndrome. Not only that but , animals were also hurt with the radioactive material in the atmosphere (WNA,2020). One might say that Chernobyl happened in 1986, and technology has advanced since then. But, less than 10 years ago, an incident happened in Fukushima.  Radioactive isotope was released into the environment in order to release pressure(Wikipedia, 2020). Scientists state that they have found radioactive material all over the world even though this incident happened in Japan. The leftover radioactive material can be extremely harmful to animals. It creates a great amount  of radioactive  waste which takes years to break down and degrade. So, uranium isn’t as environmentally friendly as we think. Radioactive material can actually cause erosion and pollution. 

Well, what about renewables as an energy source? Renewables include windmills and solar panels. Solar panels use sunlight and convert it into energy. Windmills use wind and convert it into energy. Both of these appear to be safe for the environment. For example, Coal burns between 1.4 to 3.6 pounds of carbon dioxide in a kilowatt hour. On the other hand, wind only burns 0.02  to 0.004 pounds. And solar, from 0.07 to 0.2 pounds. Renewable energy sources allow us to burn less carbon dioxide for energy (UCSUSA, 2017 ). On the other hand, they do have disadvantages and risks. They may produce little to no greenhouse gases. But, there will be days when it is undercast. Renewables are  intermittent.  It runs on something that you cannot control. If it is undercast one day, we would have minimal energy.They also pose a big threat to wildlife. Evidence shows that many birds and bats have died from the pressure that the windmills have been producing(UCSUSA, 2013). There is a PV thin film that is used in manufacturing which is toxic and dangerous when disposed incorrectly. It can be a big threat to wildlife environments. To make solar panels, factories go through processes that include silicon, ingots(melted rocks), and boron. All of these can be dangerous, and often these materials are disposed of incorrectly. This can also lead to danger for wildlife. 

Another common solution many people may prefer is hydroelectric power. Hydroelectric power refers to dams. Dams are built on rivers. The constant flowing of the water moves the turbines, which then rotates the magnets inside the generator and generates power. This method produces lower amounts of  greenhouse emissions than burning coal. Dams are typically designed for long term use. So, they are in fact very reliable. Evidence has shown that there are little greenhouse emissions released when using hydroelectric power (Byjus) .  Engineers have also made them reliable, and useful for decades. Sounds very green, right? Wrong. Dams are built in the middle of rivers, where there are tons of marine life. Many fish migrate to find food and other species to mate with. Dams are built in the middle of their search. Fish are unable to find food, they are also unable to be mating. This causes starvation and the lack of reproduction, which can lead to death, then possible extinction. Statistics showed that the population of salmon at the Columbia River has dropped by 85 percent when a dam was constructed(SA, 2012 ). There is also a risk of flooding, the strong current of the water could lead to overflowing, causing the environment around the dam to be affected. Also, when areas are in drought, there could be no water flowing, causing a shortage of energy. 

Since renewables do a lot of damage to animal habitats, people have tried to find solutions through advancing technology. But, there wasn’t one that could fully eliminate dangers. We can start helping wildlife by doing something as simple as turning off the lights. Then, it wouldn’t matter as much where the energy comes from. Those are the only energy sources that are available to us. And, all of them have more disadvantages than advantages. So, the only way we can protect our wildlife and the planet is by reducing the usage of energy and electricity. That way, less fossil fuels are burnt, the risk of nuclear plants exploding are lower. How do we reduce that amount of energy we are burning? The most efficient and easy way to do this is by turning off the lights when you leave a room. This is quick and easy and can be so helpful to the wildlife on this planet. For example, during the day, you don’t need lights! You can simply open curtains and let that sunlight shine into your home. When you are not currently in a room, turn off those lights! You don’t gain anything from leaving the lights turned on when you are not in a room. But, by you doing this, animals are being harmed. Turning off the lights can be so simple but so effective and powerful if all of us pay attention to our actions just a little bit. 

After learning that there are no safe energy sources, we have to take action. Many people think  that alternative and advancing technology is going to fix everything. But, there isn't. If we really want to see change in how our wildlife is being affected, we have to start taking actions. Starting with small and simple things, such as turning the lights off, picking up garbage, and being conscious of what we are doing and how it may affect the wildlife living there. Carbon emissions are not the only things hurting our wildlife. If we want things to change, we can start by doing small things. 

MLA citations:

Unknown. “Advantages and Challenges of Nuclear Energy.” Energy.gov, 4 Feb. 2020, www.energy.gov/ne/articles/advantages-and-challenges-nuclear-energy. 

Unknown. “Chernobyl Accident 1986.” World Nuclear Association, April. 2020, world-nuclear.org/information-library/safety-and-security/safety-of-plants/chernobyl-accident.aspx

Unknown. “Radiation effects from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.” Wikipedia, 23 July. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiation_effects_from_the_Fukushima_Daiichi_nuclear_disaster 

Richard Gray. “ The true toll of the Chernobyl disaster.” BBC Future Planet, 25 July. 2019, bbc.com/future/article/20190725-will-we-ever-know-chernobyls-true-death-toll 

Story Hinckley. “ Chernobyl will be inhabitable for  at least 3,000 years, say nuclear experts.” The Christian Science Monitor, 24 April. 2016, csmonitor.com/World/Global-News/2016/0424/Chernobyl-will-be-unhabitable-for-at-least-3-000-years-say-nuclear-experts 

Unknown. “ Benefits of Renewable Energy Source.” Union of Concerned Scientists”, 14 July. 2008, ucsusa.org/resources/benefits-renewable-energy-use 

Rebecca Beitcsh. “What Trump got right and wrong about windmills.” The Hill, 23 December. 2020, thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/475757-what-trump-got-right-and-wrong-about-windmills 

Unknown. “How are bats affected by wind turbines?” USGS, Unknown publication date, usgs.gov/faqs/how-are-bats-affected-wind-turbines?qt-news_science_products=0# 

Emma Bryce. “Will Wind Turbines Ever Be Safe For Birds?” Audubon, 16 March. 2016, usgs.gov/faqs/how-are-bats-affected-wind-turbines?qt-news_science_products=0# 

Unknown Author. “Advantages of Dams.” Byjus,  UNknown publication date, 

byjus.com/biology/advantages-of-dams/ 

Unknown Author. “ The Downside of Dams: Is the Environmental Price of Hydroelectric Power Too High?” Scientific American, 18 September. 2012, scientificamerican.com/article/how-do-dams-hurt-rivers/  

Unknown Author. “What is radiation dose?” Radiologyinfo.org, 15 May. 2020, radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=safety-hiw_09 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_equivalent_dose 

Unkown Author. “How are Solar Panels Made? Greenmatch.co.uk, 25 July. 2019,   

greenmatch.co.uk/blog/2014/12/how-are-solar-panels-made