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Alternative energy
is an umbrella term that refers to any source of usable energy
intended to replace fuel sources without the undesired consequences
of the replaced fuels. Typically, official uses of the term, such as
qualification for governmental incentives, exclude fossil fuels and
nuclear energy whose undesired consequences are climate change and
difficulties of radioactive waste disposal. Over the years, the
nature of what was regarded alternative energy sources has changed
considerably, and today because of the variety of energy choices and
differing goals of their advocates, defining some energy types as
"alternative" is highly controversial.
The term "alternative"
presupposes a set of undesirable energy technologies against which
"alternative energies" are opposed. As such, the list of energy
technologies excluded is an indicator of what problems that the
alternative technologies are intended to address. Controversies
regarding dominant forms of energy and their alternatives have a
long history. |
