Geothermal Energy

Austin Crotts
ENC1101
Mrs. Scroggin
4/2/11
Geothermal Energy Powering the World
Imagine our entire world powered by environmentally friendly electricity plants for the rest of human existence. No longer would there be the fear of pollutants heating or cooling the earth. There would also be no pollutants causing cancers and other health conditions being blasted into the air we all breath each day. Is it fiction to believe that something like this could be accomplished? And if it is possible at what cost could this extraordinary and revolutionary goal be achieved? It in fact is not fiction to believe this is possible, because this technology is not only viable; it already exists and is in use in many countries. The type of electricity producing energy that could accomplish this is geothermal. Geothermal energy is produced by our planet on a continuing basis therefor will never deplete itself. If the east coast of the United States were lined with these plants, the U.S alone could produce enough energy to power the entire planet for the rest of our existence.
The first geothermal power plant was invented in 1904 in Larderello Italy. So this technology has been around for over one hundred years and is still not taken seriously by the United States. During the years 2007 – 2008 the Bush administration budgeted zero dollars towards geothermal energy. One tenth of the U.S. could be powered by geothermal energy for the same cost as building one coal powered plant. Along with being a cheaper way of producing energy, geothermal energy does not create deadly and destructive waist products like carbon dioxide and radioactive agents that coal and nuclear plants produce. On average at our current state, automobiles and plants contribute over six billion tons of carbon dioxide to our atmosphere. Since carbon dioxide traps heat, this is a very large contributer to the heating up of our planet.
Geothermal energy can be used not only to produce power via power plants, it...