What is the difference between the law of conservation of energy and conserving energy help prevent energy shortages?

Answer 1

The Law of Conservation of Energy says that energy is never created or destroyed, or in other words, it always comes from someplace and goes someplace.

For example: with a car, plants (scientists think algae) long ago stored solar energy by converting it to chemical energy in their carbon chains, which we pump out and make into gasoline. Then the engine converts the chemical energy into kinetic (motion) energy. Finally, the brakes convert the kinetic energy into heat. All of the original solar energy that fell on the original plants, long ago, is eventually converted into heat (except for what stays locked up as chemical energy).

Energy Conservation is the practice of consuming energy as efficiently as possible (so no more than necessary is used). For example, using a car that goes a long way on a gallon of gasoline (or diesel, or a KWh of electricity or cubic foot of natural gas). Likewise, insulating your home and using a high-efficiency furnace and air conditioner.

So, you may wonder, if according to the Law of Conservation, all energy just goes around and around, why is Energy Conservation important?

The problem is that, sight now, most of the energy that we use causes a significant amount of pollution as a by-product of putting it into a usable form. The pollution is a big problem. Also, much of the energy that the U.S. uses comes from countries in the "Middle East" that the U.S. wants to have more independence from.

Answer 2

The law of conservation of energy states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed from one form to another. Conserving energy, on the other hand, involves using energy resources efficiently to reduce waste and consumption, ultimately helping to prevent energy shortages by extending the availability of resources.