“Electricity is really just organized lightning.”
~ George Carlin
Energy powers the world, but sources of energy differ in how long they last, if they need to be converted, if they are renewable, and if they are sustainable. “Renewable” and “sustainable” or often used interchangeably, but they don’t actually mean the same thing. Choosing a resource option often means balancing renewability, sustainability, while considering impacts on the local environment and global climate.
Renewable energy
“Renewable” means “to make new again”; a renewable resource is one that is naturally replenished with time. Renewable energy does not have a fixed quantity since more can always be generated. Generally, renewable energy is taken to mean any of the following:
Resources are considered non-renewable if they take a very long time to replenish (e.g. fossil fuels), or if their creation happened so long ago it is not likely to happen again (e.g. uranium).
Sustainable energy
“Sustainable” means “maintained for a definable period of time”; a sustainable resource is one that can last for the foreseeable future. Sustainable energy practices must rely on resources which can continue to supply our needs. These sources must be used cautiously so that they will not be used up, run out, or otherwise become unusable.
Even renewable resources can become unsustainable. If a resource is used up faster than it can regenerate, it will eventually be entirely depleted despite its renewability. Conversely, a non-renewable resource can be sustainable if it’s used in moderation. Again, if used without caution, these too may become be depleted in a short time.
For most people sustainable energy use means that the environment is not significantly damaged due to accumulated effects of an energy practice. While coal, oil and natural gas are sustainable because the reserves for these resources are large, this discounts their influence on the climate.
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