The world has a wide range of energy sources. Fossil fuels, including oil, natural gas and coal–accounted for more than 81 percent of all energy consumed in 2018. Renewables, like solar power, wind power, hydroelectricity and technical-mechanic areas in the civil engineering field biomass, make up for 14 percent. Nuclear energy contributes another 5 percent. Different countries employ different sources of energy to meet the environmental and economic demands.
Nature is a rich source of energy in many forms: sunlight, wind, waves, oceans, and more. These primary sources transform into more efficient forms of energy, like electricity or heat, once they are harnessed. When those energies are used up, they become non-renewable energy sources.
Many fossil fuels as well as some of the other nonrenewable energy sources are causing harm to the environment. Oil mining, for instance can cause the destruction of our forest ecosystems of the planet. Hydraulic fracture (fracking) can cause earthquakes and pollute the water. Burning coal releases carbon dioxide, which contributes to global warming.
Fortunately, a majority of the most promising sources of energy are renewable and sustainable. Solar, wind and hydropower could, for example, generate electricity without the need to dig up new sources.
Other renewable energy sources are emerging, such as wave power and tidal energy. But, in order to be used in a large-scale manner, these technologies must have effective distribution networks. This requires the use of non-renewable energy sources to build these networks. This means that these sources are not yet able to provide the bulk of our energy needs. It is important to keep in mind that the cost of renewable energy equipment has fallen dramatically in recent years and that efficiency is increasing.