Energy and Environmental Security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Energy and Environmental Security - Essay Example Over the years there have been rising concerns with regard to the ability of fossil fuels, which constitute the main source of energy, in ensuring energy security. In Australia for instance, high reliance on fossil fuels as the core source of energy has been noted to be increasingly unviable since it is more economically marginal. This is because of the high dependence on foreign regimes which control supply and pricing of oil and gas (Jones, 2009, pp.3). Such rising concerns have resulted to increased attention on other potential alternative energy sources. This paper argues that renewable energy sources, to a large extent, are viable alternative sources of energy, and play a critical role in ensuring energy security. The world consumes about 13 trillion watts (terawatts, TW) of energy, with 85% of this representing energy from fossil fuel such as coal, gas and oil, while 2% of this representing renewable energy forms such as wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, and hydro energy (Lewis , 2007, pp.808-809; Valentine, 2011:4573). Indeed, fossil fuels still remain the king pins in energy supply due to various advantages such as availability and high energy content that it possesses. However, fossil fuels have core disadvantages that make it a threat to both current and future energy security. Not only is it exhaustible, but it is also detrimental to the environment, and is undependable since countries have to depend on a few controlling regimes which regulate the supply of oil and gas (DiPeso, 2011, pp.97; Valentine, 2011). From historical evidence, oil and gas which currently form the major part of fossil fuel have had the tendency to fluctuate in prices with most countries’ ability to control such prices limited. This makes it in the long term unreliable, unaffordable and inadequate (Riesz and Tourneboeuf, 2011). The high dependency on fossil fuels, and the fact that such fossil fuels do not guarantee energy security to most of the world’s countries, has necessitated a look at various alternative sources that would ensure energy security. For most of the world’s countries, the response to energy risks posed by fossil fuels has been diversification of energy sources. Renewable sources of energy have been widely recognised as potential sources of energy and expected to comprise a bigger part in future energy generation portfolio to ensure energy security (Valentine, 2011). Renewable sources of energy are often indigenous to a country hence tends to reduce high dependency on energy imports (Olz, Sims, and Kircher, 2007, pp.23). Hence, can be exploited locally where by the variations in availability and capacity of such energy sources in various regions, ensures that energy security is site specific, with regions increasingly becoming self sufficient. Although renewable energy sources incur higher capital costs in terms of development , installation and per unit capacity, this high cost, to some extent, can be offset by the l ow to zero cost of fuel over the life of the installed system which make renewable more competitive (Olz, Sims, and Kircher, 2007, pp.16). Furthermore, the long cited constraints of renewable energy sources such as intermittency and availability can be resolved through energy storage technologies which make energy available when needed and stores energy when it is available (Evans, Strezov, & Evans, 2012). There are six main

Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

Reflection - Essay Example Studies conducted in the past have elucidated the fact that human behavior is learned. Therefore, to acquire a strong personality and as well acquire skills and knowledge that would help me in achieving my goal of managing a school as a principal requires a lot of practice. This paper is a personal reflection on my leadership development. Transformational leadership theory application To manage a school successfully and effectively, I will be required to have strong leadership skills. Therefore adopting a transformational leadership style will be necessary. As a principal in a school, adopting a transformational leadership style means that I will have the ability to effectively control state of affairs and various circumstances that avail themselves within the school. According to Marshall (2010): Transformational leadership is a style in which the leader identifies the needed change, creates a vision to guide the change through inspiration, and executes the change with the commitmen t of other. Transformational leadership taps into the emotional and spiritual resources of an organization. It is a process of developing the leadership capacity of an entire team. Transformational leaders inspire others to achieve what might be considered extraordinary results. (3) Leadership qualities may be acquired through learning. This is the reason why I chose a course that is associated with leadership development. ... In my trips, I have been able to associate myself face to face with principals in a number of schools and subsequently I have built a social network with them. Many of these principles act as my mentors. Through their mentoring and advice, I have been able to acquaint myself with practical knowledge and first hand experiences in managing a school. This is a clear indication that my course in human development and leadership has been offering a platform that I will use as a springboard to accomplish my goals in life. There are various hurdles faced my many principals in schools today. As an aspiring school principal, I will have to identify my outstanding qualities and attributes and direct them towards management and leadership practices as transformational leadership requires. How a school principle will manage a school will highly depend on his/her individual attributes. For instance, my ability to communicate clearly will ensure that both the learners and teachers grasp and compre hend any information and facts I will be relaying to them. This will necessitate me, as the principal of that particular school to adapt an appropriate leadership method or technique. A good and effective leadership technique such as a transformational leadership style puts into consideration the needs and requirements or each and every stakeholder involved in the learning process. In this case, it will be important for me to familiarize myself with each and every teacher within the school as this would be helpful in planning and implementing strategies. Through successfully and effectively completing this course, I will have gained the necessary skills and knowledge that will enable me to adapt a transformational leadership style.