Scientific experts agree that our planet is in quite a bit of trouble. Rampant pollution combined with the ever-increasing need to generate energy have stretched the resources of Earth to the breaking point. Even worse, the processes of extracting that energy are putting the health of the world that our children will inherit in peril. Thankfully, when it comes to environmental issues, the solutions are as plentiful as the problems. Human ingenuity in the field of renewable power is at the forefront of safeguarding and improving the future for everyone. Here are three major ways that renewable energy helps to preserve the environment.

1. It Cuts Carbon Emissions

Possibly the most pressing issue facing the environment today is anthropogenic (human-caused) climate change. This is caused mostly by the burning of so-called "fossil fuels" such as coal, oil or natural gas. When these fuels are burned, they release plentiful energy, but the combustion process creates carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases which are extremely efficient at absorbing heat energy from the sun, thus raising the temperature of our planet. The effects of this warm-up also include an increase in the severity of natural disasters such as storms and flooding. Thankfully, we have at our fingertips multiple sources of clean and renewable energy generation. One of the most effective sources of renewable energy is a solar power system. Solar energy is almost endlessly abundant, produces zero pollution to make and is becoming cheaper all the time.

2. It Keeps Our Land and Water Clean

The problems caused by burning fuels for energy aren't just limited to the air. The world is a self-sustaining network; anything that affects one part of it is probably going to affect another and pollution is no exception. One of the most visible and harmful problems for our water caused by the use of non-renewable energy is the oil spill. Fish die-off, reduced biodiversity and ruined days at the beach are only a few of the calamities caused by oil containment failure. Another big problem is acid rain formed by sulfur impurities in coal turning into sulfuric acid in the atmosphere once the coal is burned. That can poison both farmland and drinking water. These problems can be reduced by more efficient burning processes, but that costs money and is impossible to make foolproof. Switching to renewable energy erases the issue entirely.

3. It Enables Future Growth

Renewable energy isn't just good for the natural environment. It's necessary to the future of civilization. Renewable energy is called renewable for a reason. Fossil fuels have a built-in end date. When they're used up, they're used up. If we expect to keep our technology, our science and our economies growing, we need a source of energy that won't be here today and gone tomorrow. The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that by 2050, global energy demand will increase by almost 50 percent. We simply can't rely on sources of energy that are inherently decreasing at a time in history when the march of progress is continuing apace. We owe it to the future to make sure that our descendants have the abundant power they need to create the technological miracles which will define the world of tomorrow.

In the coming years, the fight to save the natural world that we hold so dear will not be easy. It's going to take all of us doing our part to make a better world, both collectively and individually. One of the best ways to make this change is by changing the source of the energy you use. It's all about acting locally but thinking globally.