Professor Ellen Ramsey December 11, 2012 While researching texts written about renewable energy, I found many authors who published their works on the advantages and perspectives of renewable energy sources, particularly books, newspapers, and magazines. The problem that I faced while researching this paper is a too big variety of sources on this issue; many authors discuss different aspects of renewable energy: its disadvantages, benefits, expenses, and government policies on this issue, including the climate changes due to the burning of fossil fuels and many other things.
This fact points to the actuality of this matter – the future of renewable energy is a very important question nowadays. My goal in this paper is to prove that renewable energy has far more advantages then fossil fuels and deserves to be called the “energy of the future”. To achieve this goal, I have organized my paper into three sections. In the first section, I provide a background on the current issue – economical and environmental consequences caused by the burning of fossil fuels. In the second section, I contrast the advantages of renewable energy with the disadvantages of fossil fuels, relying on he opinion of many scientists.
I end my paper with a third section that concludes my research and points to the importance of governmental support with this new, but very beneficial, opportunity. Imagine energy sources that use no oil, produce no pollution, create no radioactive waste, and cannot be affected by political events and cartels, but yet are economical. Even though this sounds impossible, experts claim that technological advances could make wide use of renewable energy sources within a few decades. They may become substantially better energy sources than fossil fuels and nuclear power.
As the United States and the rest of the world continue to expand their energy needs, by putting a strain on the environment and nonrenewable resources, alternative sources of energy continue to be explored. To meet the energy demands of its steadily growing population, the United States has to keep increasing its energy capacity. For the most part, the country generates electricity needed to power American homes and businesses by burning fossil fuels such as: coal, oil and natural gases. Fossil fuels, which currently account for 85% of the total United States energy supply, have been the nation’s main energy source for any decades.
They are relatively inexpensive and readily available from many sources. But despite their positive attributes, fossil fuels have become increasingly controversial because their use NAS allegedly worsened global atmospheric pollution. According to many climate experts, the burning of fossil fuels elevates atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide and other “greenhouse gases,” which exacerbate problems with global warming. Also, they are being consumed 100,000 times faster than they are being formed, and many people are concerned that they will run out in the not- too-distant future (Cooper).
Scientists argue that the United States and other nations should meet more of their energy demand from renewable sources. Renewable energy sources will not only help create a more stable energy supply, but can also reduce pollution and environmental degradation, reduce the need to import oil and other fossil fuels from foreign countries, and possibly prevent global warming by stopping the release of greenhouse gases that are a byproduct of burning fossil fuels (Clammiest). However, calls to increase reliance on “renewable” have proven controversial.
Some people question the environmental benefits of such power resources, and claim that there is nothing wrong with the United State’s current dependence on fossil fuels. Indeed, in the view of many energy-industry insiders, the country’s future energy needs can be satisfied easily through the continued use of oil and coal, as well as the use of non-fossil fuel sources, such as nuclear power. One of renewable energy ‘s major liabilities, they say, is that they are an unsteady source of energy; the sun does not always shine, nor does the wind always blow.
Despite debates over the future of renewable energy, its benefits are obvious. Renewable energy can supply a significant proportion of the United State ‘s energy needs, creating many public benefits for the nation and for states and regions, including environmental improvement and regional economic development benefits. First of all, the use of renewable energy reduces pollution, unlike fossil fuels, that consume and pollute water, which hurts plant and animal life, create toxic wastes, and causes global warming.
In 1996, an analysis by the Natural Resources Defense Council of studies by the American Cancer Society and Harvard Medical School suggests that mall particles in the air may be responsible for as many as 64,000 deaths each year from heart and lung disease (Clammiest). According to his report, air pollution is responsible for more deaths than motor vehicle accidents, and ranks higher than many other serious health threats.
Famous environmentalist, David Coronado, in his book, mentioned the consequences of using fossil fuels: Samples from air bubbles trapped deep in ice from Antarctica show that carbon dioxide and global temperature have been closely linked for 160,000 years. Over the last 150 years, burning fossil fuels has resulted in the highest levels of carbon oxide ever recorded. In 1995, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate concluded that “the balance of evidence suggests that there is a discernible human influence on global climate. All 10 of the warmest years on record have occurred in the last 15 years. The asses have already been warmer than the asses – the warmest previous decade on record. (Coronado 1 5) On the other hand, renewable energy resources can provide many immediate environmental benefits by avoiding these impacts and risks and can help conserve fossil resources for future generations. Of course, using renewable energy also has TTS environmental impacts. For example, biomass plants produce emissions. W farms change the landscape, and some have even harmed birds.
However, these impacts are generally much smaller and more localized than those of fossil fuel (Clammiest). Another advantage of “renewable” is that they do not depend on fuel markets, they are not subject to price fluctuations resulting from increased demand, decreased supply, or manipulation of the market. And since fuel supplies are local, renewable resources are not subject to control or supply interruptions from outside the region or country. Certain industrial customer trade groups have supported new renewable energy development primarily for their diversity benefits.
For example, Associated Industries of Massachusetts testified in support of a renewable fund, stating: “Fuel diversity is important to the Commonwealth’s future. It would not be advisable to place all our eggs in the natural gas basket. ” Reliance on foreign oil also makes the United States vulnerable to fuel price shocks or shortages if supply is disrupted. Conventional energy sources are vulnerable to political instabilities, trade disputes, embargoes, and wars. In 1973, the United States imported 34% of its oil.
Today, the United States imports more than 53%. In 1997, about a third of US oil came from the Middle East. By 2030, if energy policies do not change, the country may be relying on Middle Eastern, and possibly Central Asian, oil for two-thirds of its supply (Weeks). Some analysts believe that oil discovery peaked in the early asses, and that a decline in global oil production, and the beginning of increasingly high prices, will occur within ten to twelve years (Clammiest). “Promoting renewable energy is the most patriotic act we can commit.
It makes our country less dependent on foreign oil and less likely to go to war,”- Bonnie Rarity. Renewable energy technologies can not only keep dollars in this country, but also create significant regional benefits through economic development. These investments stay in the community, creating Jobs and strengthening local economies. A Union of Concerned Scientists analysis for Wisconsin found that, over a 30-year period, an 800-megawatt mix of new renewable would create about 22,000 more Job-years than new natural gas and coal plants would (Cavendish).
A study of energy efficiency and renewable energy as an economic development strategy in Colorado by Economic Research Associates found an energy bill savings of $1. 2 billion for Colorado ratepayers by 2010 with a net gain of 8,400 Jobs (Cooper). In addition to creating Jobs, renewable can improve the economic competitiveness of a region by stabilizing long-term energy prices. Renewable energy can help insulate consumers from price spikes due to unpredictable natural gas costs. Natural gas prices are likely to rise in the future while some kinds of renewable energy, for example wind energy, prices will decline.
A study in Iowa found that installing 1,200 megawatts of new wind generation over 15 ears would yield a net savings of $300 million to consumers over 30 years (Weeks). The concept of value is changing the perception of renewable, as is consumer choice. Many surveys have shown that customers value the environmental benefits of renewable more than conventional polluting energy sources and prefer electricity companies that supply at least part of their power from renewable energy technologies (Cavendish).
According to a number of opinion polls, Americans say that the United States government should increase reliance on renewable in order to make the nation’s energy supply “cleaner” for future generations. The public has warmed to the idea tot using alternative energy sources in part because oil, a major United States fuel source, is expected to become much more scarce over the course of the 21st century (Cooper). Unlike in previous decades, renewable energy is no longer prohibitively expensive.
Advancements in technology have allowed engineers to devise new and cost-efficient ways to harness the power of the wind, sun, water and other renewable energy sources. Consequently, if the United States allowed renewable energy to account for a larger percentage of the total American energy apply, there would be no major disruption to the national economy. Other industrial countries are leaping ahead of the United States in renewable energy production because they value the environmental benefits more highly and because they recognize the opportunity to supply export markets.
In fact, Japan, and other various European nations, are encouraging the development of renewable by providing greater subsidies than does the United States (Clammiest). Further investment in research and development is needed in order to continue to bring costs down and streamline renewable energy technologies to reduce their impact on the environment. Renewable energy resources hold great potential for reducing the threat of climate change through decreased greenhouse gas emissions and, due to the fact that they can be replenished, could help alleviate the risk of exhausting the world’s fossil fuel supply.
