The recent tsunami in Japan has caused a lot of damage to the nuclear reactors there. The damage has been incredible causing it to be the second largest nuclear disaster of all time. This tragedy has refocused everyone’s attention on the dangers of nuclear energy. Nuclear energy is harmful to humans, animals, and the environment. In order to replace the need for nuclear energy, here are a few alternative forms of energy that are a lot safer.

Solar power

Solar power is making a comeback. Solar power was popular during the late 70’s with President Jimmy Carter. The use of solar power lost steam over the next few decades as the United States increased its oil consumption. Now, solar energy research and development spending is increasing. The United States and Canadian governments are even offering tax credits for individuals that use solar panels and other forms of renewable energy to make their homes more energy efficient.

Wind power

T Boone Pickens is a big believer in wind energy. His energy company has made substantial investments in wind turbines. Wind power use is increasing in the North America, Europe and Asia. Wind energy is great because it has a very limited impact on the environment and can be harnessed to power homes and buildings. Wind energy is still a really small segment of the energy market but it has a great deal of potential.

Natural gas

Natural gas is not the cleanest form of energy in the world but it’s a whole lot cleaner than the petroleum based products that we currently use. The advantage of natural gas is that it’s incredibly light and a lot easier to clean up in the event of an accident. Natural gas could be used to help ease the transition from oil. Compressed natural gas has become a favorite in Canada and is used to power automobiles.

Tidal power

Tidal energy takes the tidal waves from oceans and converts this force into electricity. The use of tidal power is still in its early infancy. Tidal energy is a much more predictable form of energy than many other alternatives and can be used to power just about anything. The main drawback to using tidal power has been the high cost.  In recent years it has become a little less cost prohibitive to develop this form of energy. Investments in tidal power are increasing across the globe.

Biomass energy

Biomass energy is similar to solar power in that it used the power of the sun as an energy source. Biomass differs in that it uses plants to capture the sun’s power. Plants can either be grown and burned to generate significant biomass energy or certain forms of trash and waste can be used for energy.

As you can see there are quite a few types of alternative energy that can be used to break our country’s dependence on foreign oil. Using different types of renewable energy sources, we could avoid disasters like the BP oil spill and the troubles with nuclear reactors in Japan.

So are you going to try something new?