IndexHistorical ContextGreen Energy SourcesHydroelectricityWind EnergyBiomass EnergyDiscussionConclusionHistorical ContextIn recent decades, concerns have been raised about whether renewable energy is green and beneficial, especially during this time in which efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions have increased. Several bills have been sponsored to address the issue of sustainable energy sources; for example, former West Virginia House of Delegates member Marty Gearheart introduced House Bill 2001 which sought to repeal several sections of the Alternative and Renewable Energy Portfolio Act in West Virginia. West Virginia, for example, is known for its coal mining activities, which appears to be a non-renewable source. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Today, numerous countries are adopting renewable energy sources such as anaerobic energy, solar energy, wind energy, biofuels, and geothermal energy at the expense of traditional forms such as fossil fuels. The global race for “so-called” green energy is therefore questionable. Biomass, for example, is renewable energy but is its production sustainable? Can we therefore say that it is renewable? Therefore, this research paper seeks to expose the dark side of the much-hyped renewable sources and their environmental risks, contrary to the over-emphasized claim that renewable sources are green and beneficial. What are renewable sources? Renewable energy sources are those that can be replenished. Typically they are sources that can be used without the worry of running out. They are also said to be more environmentally friendly than non-renewable sources which release too much carbon dioxide into the environment, thus leading to depletion of the ozone layer. Natural renewable sources include wind, hydroelectric, solar, etc. Other renewable sources produced by the adoption of technology include solar thermal, biomass, ocean energy, etc. Although most of these energy sources are renewable, they are not green and therefore, are also harmful to the environment. Green Energy Sources In this section, we look at some of the renewable sources, whether they can be considered green energy sources or less, and their implicit environmental effects.Hydroelectric energyHydroelectric energy is one of the renewable energy sources that have been expected to expand its market base in the coming years. Hydroelectric power generation is by far not clean and is unsustainable. For example, efforts to develop hydroelectric power plants have led to massive flooding and deforestation in the Amazon rainforest, which is the largest tropical rainforest in the world. Rainforests are known as major sinks of carbon gases because trees need the gas to grow. According to the World Wildlife Fund, forests reduce more than 200 gigatons of carbon in the atmosphere. Activities involving cutting trees lead to the emission of up to 15% carbon into the atmosphere, making it the main contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Since hydroelectric power generation involves the massive felling of trees to build hydroelectric dam projects, this activity turns out to be more expensive than even the problem we are trying to solve. Additionally, mega dam projects in the rainforest produce organic matter that is very slow to putrefy. It takes several years for the matter to decompose leading to the acidity of the water. Matter consumeslarge amounts of oxygen in its long decomposition process, thus leading to the shortage of oxygen gas which is mainly used by humans and other living creatures within ecosystems. As a result, most animals and fish such as dolphins, especially those living in the water and near dam projects, have greatly reduced in numbers, driving them to extinction. Humans have not been left behind either, there have been numerous health effects associated with the development of these hydroelectric dam projects. Furthermore, there have been huge displacements of people living in these areas, especially in the South American Amazon region. This has led to growing complaints from civil society questioning the legality of dam projects. For example, the indigenous Kayapos clashed over the construction of the Belo Monte Dam in the heart of their ancestral land, displacing many of them. Ultimately, therefore, hydroelectric power generation proved to be unsustainable and not as clean as advertised. Wind Energy Wind energy is another source of energy that is recommended as an alternative source to non-renewable sources such as fossil fuels. Today there are nearly twenty million homes in the United States powered by wind energy. While this seems promising especially to renewables advocates, the adoption of wind energy has led to numerous challenges such as land grabbing. For example, to meet 2005 energy needs using wind energy, it was necessary to have an area the size of Texas fully equipped with wind farms operating nonstop. In 2017, Texas' population was slightly less than 23 million people. This, therefore, means that if the United States wanted to fully exploit wind energy, it would have to displace approximately 23 million people to meet its electricity needs. Just to meet New York's energy demands would require evacuating people in an area the size of Connecticut. It would be completely unsustainable and impractical to implement. Wind energy is only capable of producing up to 2 W/m2. This would be too insufficient to meet the needs of the large US population and the electricity needs of businesses. Therefore, wind energy cannot be said to be a green energy source as has been peddled by advocates of renewable sources. Biomass Energy This form of energy is obtained mainly from organic matter such as animal matter. Although most people are led to believe that this source is a clean source, much of its preparation raises many questions. In most cases, bioenergy is obtained from sawdust from wood. Since the raw material for biomass production comes from wood, it becomes an impure source as it requires extensive tree felling. Trees, as noted above, are major absorbers of CO2 which leads to depletion of the ozone layer, and therefore global warming. To produce large quantities of biomass, therefore, many trees will have to be cut down to fuel biomass production. plant. Furthermore, the burning of wood to produce biomass leads to a large emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Biomass power plants produce up to 65% carbon dioxide, a higher amount than coal. Its production leads to a further release of carcinogenic gases such as nitrogen oxides and lead which pollute the environment tremendously. Therefore, biomass, despite being considered a renewable source, is more harmful in terms of air pollution than energy.