Electricity, the lifeblood of our well-being.

In this article we would like to underline how fundamental electric current is in our society, realize how it is produced, what its impact is and finally how much and how we consume it for our well-being and comfort.

Some simple considerations: almost all production processes, in practically every sector, from food to objects, are automated by machinery that consume electricity, the same applies to household appliances and devices for common use. Even the water that reaches our tap may need a system that allows it to be collected from underground aquifers and pushed to our glass, obviously if we consider that in the bottle the energy consumption is much greater. P >

The advantages of this energy source are many and obvious: there are no waste or pollutants that are released into the air when using electronic devices, it is not noisy and is easily transportable.

What's the problem then? It is a source of energy defined as secondary, that is, which, except for natural phenomena, is not present in nature, therefore it must be "created" and here various problems arise. To produce electricity, three machines are currently fundamental: the turbine, the alternator and the transformer; These, simplifying, work like a bicycle dynamo, the turbine produces mechanical energy while turning, the alternator converts mechanical energy into alternating current and the transformer makes it electrical current that is fed into the network of our homes. This process, with considerable variations, is the principle on which every production method used up to now is based except for photovoltaic systems which instead work thanks to a physical phenomenon in which materials, generally semiconductors, exposed to the sun are able to produce energy.

So the main problems are:

• Space required for plants, with probable side effects on the ecosystem due to the production of waste substances (ashes, radioactive waste ...), pollutants in the air (CO ₂ , micro-dust ... ), boiling water poured into natural basins from which it was previously taken which has a disastrous impact on the flora and fauna sensitive to such high temperature changes.
• In the transformation process, mechanical energy is not converted 100% into electrical energy;
• Raw materials for the creation of implants, batteries and chips that are difficult to recycle and cause serious social and environmental problems in the supply areas.

Currently most of the electricity production relies on oil, followed by coal, still widely used in the poorest countries, by natural gas, which in the European area are in first place, by renewable sources, which fortunately are having a great push and continuous updates to make it increasingly efficient and eco-sustainable, and finally nuclear plants. This is a very general overview, but it gives an idea of ​​how much pollution is still produced for an essential good today.

As far as consumption is concerned, most of the electricity is consumed by citizens, retailers and commercial enterprises, then we find the means of transport and public infrastructures.

In conclusion, this is a general framework to try to better understand how the whole system of production and consumption of electricity works, certainly it is not perfect and pollution is produced to be able to use it, but it is also up to us, in the small daily gestures, to reduce waste and try to lower more and more the level of pollution produced for a good that in the last century has become indispensable for our lives.

We live and are part of an ecosystem, and every action we take has an impact on it, nowadays we can't help but pollute, even without wanting to, but with awareness and paying attention to the little things of every day, we can try to reduce our emissions with minimal effort, starting with the little things like turning off the light when it's not needed or using low-energy devices.

We can no longer live without electricity, but we can reduce consumption, waste and emissions that derive from it.