Hydropower Daily Activities Carbon Atmosphere

Name
Professor
Course
02 November 2018
Hydropower
As people go about their daily activities, they produce tons of carbon and add it to the atmosphere. The use of fossil fuels is at an all-time high since the industrial revolution leading to significant damage to the atmosphere; with the carbon footprints expected to last in the atmosphere for at least another hundred years. Fossils fuels took millions of years to form and cannot be regenerated at the same rate as their use. Therefore, sooner or later they will run out as suggested by the exponential increase in their prices in the last two decades (Covert et al., 120). Recent global campaigns encourage people to move away from the use of fossils fuels and hydropower must be part of this plan.
The use of fossil fuels as a source of energy has devastating consequences. Scientists associate global warming to the emission of gases, both of which lead to more severe problems such as changes in vegetation and habitat, extinction of wild animals, melting of polar ice caps, rising of sea levels and depletion of natural resources (Covert et al., 120). Advancement of science and technology has led to the realization that there are alternative sources of energy which are sustainable and renewable. They include hydropower, solar power, wind, power from tides, geothermal and human power (Ketsetzi, Antonia & Mary, 147).
Hydroelectric power (hydropower) is produced from the natural flow of water. “Falling water turns blades of a turbine connected to a generator that converts the energy into electricity” (Ellabban et al., 750). The volume of water flow and the head (height from which the water falls) determines the amount of electricity produced by a system with greater flow and head generating more electricity. Hydropower is a renewable, domestic and clean source of energy generating cheap electricity without polluting the environment. There are no changes in the water during the production of electricity. Among renewable sources of energy, hydropower is the only one that can replace fossil fuels in electricity production while meeting the growing demand.
There is a variation in size and application of hydroelectric systems. The smallest are micro-hydroelectric plants with their generation ranging from 1kW to 1MW and are ideal for ideal for powering small farm...