The need for green energy is at an all time high as the world grapples with global warming, worldwide flooding, and a nasty global haze surrounding the planet. There are some environmentally safe energy production alternatives that anyone can take advantage of that can help reduce the amount of greenhouse gases produced and even help create cheap electricity bills to ease your budget.

Electricity as a raw material has been around since the mid-19th century. Coal has played a vital role in their production since the 1880s and is also one of the biggest contributors to pollution in the world today. As greenhouse gases continue to deteriorate Earth’s atmosphere, we need to step back and see what’s really happening here.

Green energy is defined as a type of energy that is produced with little or no environmentally harmful by-products. It is known as alternative energy because it provides a safe alternative to methods used today, such as burning coal, using nuclear materials, and burning other petroleum products.

Green energy production has 3 advantages over traditional forms of energy. Weigh the pros against the cons of standard power production and decide for yourself the best path to a greener planet.

Advantage No. 1: No environmentally harmful by-products.

When coal is burned, it produces high emissions of carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide. The latter of the two produces acid rain that damages metals and pollutes the world’s oceans. Burning coal also releases mercury that enters the natural food chain primarily through absorption, as seen in some species of fish.

Alternative energy solves this by not producing such by-products. In fact, the types of green energy sources that will be discussed later do not produce polluting by-products.

Advantage No. 2: Offers a low production cost solution for power generation.

The cost of producing electricity using coal, nuclear materials, oil and water is very high. Even with hydroelectric power production, it costs a lot of money to operate and maintain the facility. Nuclear materials regulations are extremely costly and a constant flow of fresh coal to burn comes at a very high price.

We all pay these high costs through our energy bill from our electric company. And prices keep rising higher and higher as traditional power plants continually try to improve the process of breaking down harmful chemicals that are emitted during production.

Green energy offers a very low cost solution for energy production. Whether on a large scale or for home use, the cost is significantly less because you or a company only pays for the materials used to build the power source. No fuel is required other than natural sources such as wind, sunlight and magnetic field.

Advantage No. 3: Offers a low-cost advantage to consumers.

Society is highly dependent on energy production throughout the world. This energy monopoly makes people pay a lot of money every year just to maintain a comfortable lifestyle. During this financial depression and extremely hot conditions during the summer months, you can’t afford to mess around with high energy costs.

To produce your own energy using green energy sources, it can cost anywhere from $50 to less than $1,000 for all the materials. With these sources, you can supplement your current electricity received from the power company to help lower your electric bill.

Here are some of the green energy sources you can build yourself and start saving the environment and your hard-earned money today:

1. Windmill. A windmill uses natural wind to spin a conductor through the windings of a generator. This energy is then used to charge batteries and monitoring equipment, such as an inverter that converts DC to AC, which can be used in the home.

2. Solar energy. This green energy source can be very effective during the day. And with batteries, you can charge them for use while it’s dark. Solar cells convert photons that are absorbed by semiconductor silicon cells and release electrons from their atoms into electrical energy.

3. Magnetic generator. Very similar to a normal generator, it uses magnets to continuously rotate a conductor through the windings inside the generator. This mechanical magnetic force allows the generator to run virtually forever without outside influence.

4. Water turbine. Just like a hydroelectric dam, you can use a stream that runs past your house as a fuel source for your own water turbine system.