Band 7+: Fossil fuels are essential for producing electricity, powering industry and fueling transportation. However, one day we will reach a point when all the world's fossil fuels have been depleted. How can we conserve these resources? What are some alternatives to fossil fuels?

The world is currently reliant on oil, coal and natural gas for the majority of its energy requirements but there will come a time when these run out. This essay will discuss how we can help to prevent our non-renewable resources from becoming depleted by using our cars less frequently and it will name some natural forces that can be harnessed to generate power.

Conserving energy is a responsibility of every individual, and an important way in which we can all do our bit is to use more energy-efficient means of transport. The easiest way to do this is to leave the car at home and walk or cycle to the destination if it is not too far away, or take public transport for longer journeys. Another way to reduce our fuel consumption is to car share. Big things start small, thus, for instance, whenever one needs to meet with his friends or other acquaintances in a cafe, they could encourage each other not to drive, but cycle instead, as a part of a friendly challenge. Such things might be harder to do for people who are not used to this lifestyle, but again, everything needs to start small.

The most sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels are the generation of power from natural forces such as the sun, wind and oceans. Solar and wind power are already widely used across the world but it is wave power and tidal energy that have the greatest untapped potential to provide for our energy needs in the future. A report recently commissioned in the United Kingdom estimates that tidal energy could meet as much as 20% of the UK’s current electricity demands once the technology being developed is operational. Wave energy converters are expected to prove equally successful in the long-term.

In conclusion, our earth’s reserves of fossil fuels will not last forever and we need to be continually developing new technologies to enable us to produce energy from renewable sources such as the sun, wind and water. In the meantime, we can help to slow the rate of depletion by leaving the car at home and using more energy-efficient forms of transport whenever possible.