Alternative Energy Questions - Jessica Smart1. Why are alternative energy sources becoming more and more important in today's world? In today's world, we are starting to see how valuable alternative energy sources truly are and the benefits they offer us. We have noticed that they not only help our economy but also the environment, this is because renewable sources have a low impact on the environment, are clean, abundant and allow accessibility to more jobs (this includes the production of plants, processes and repairs). 2. Why haven't alternative energy sources like wind or solar become a larger part of our country's energy needs? What needs to change for these energy sources to become more important? For our country, alternative energy sources are not part of our total energy reserve because we have an abundant supply of other energy sources such as oil and natural gas. Most Canadians do not turn to alternative sources such as wind or solar because we have a large amount of reliable non-renewable sources that we are familiar and comfortable with. To reduce the overall amount of non-renewable energy sources we consume, we must realize that changing the habits of our daily lives will benefit ourselves and our environment. To do this, we must not depend on oil or natural gas and must start relying on other sources such as solar or wind energy.3. What are the effects of using non-renewable energy sources, such as burning coal to produce electricity, on the local environment? What are the effects of coal burning globally? Burning coal to produce electricity for a local environment can have negative consequences for the surrounding environment that can be unpleasant; this could include a ground loss due to… paper halves… different cables, power source (potatoes), and even what I was actually powering (LEDs) and nothing seemed to work.7 . How could your model have been improved? If you could do it again what would you change? To improve my model the amperage should be present. The potatoes were able to create enough voltage to light an LED (about 0.6 volts/potato), and when you connected more potatoes, this generated even more power. But one thing that was missing to power the LED and the other appliances I used (like a clock, watch, and mp3 player) was amperage. The reason I chose to upgrade an item using potatoes is because it has been said that it can be done, there are various videos and methods to do it. So if I were to repeat this experiment, I would probably use information from more people and try different techniques and methods to see if it's really possible.