Alexander Gibbs. Liberty Union High School

The U.S obtains more than 84% of its energy from fossil fuels including oil, coal and natural gas. This is because people rely on it to heat their homes, power industries, run vehicles, manufacturing, and provision of electricity. It is apparent that the country’s transportation industry highly depends on conventional petroleum oil, which is responsible for global warming, thus threatening economic opulence and national security. Apart from that, increasing consumption of fossil fuels have elevated health problems in the state, destroyed wild places, and polluted the environment. After conducting Environmental Impact Assessment, projections showed that the world energy consumption would increase by more than 56% between 2010 and 2040. However, fossil fuels will cater for more than 80% of the total energy used in 2040. Sadly, it will be a trajectory to alter the world’s climate, as well as, weaken the global security environment. Importantly, the rate at which the US relies on fossil fuels needs to reduce since it has adverse effects on the planet’s supplies. The society needs to realize that fossil fuels are nonrenewable, thus taking millions of years to form (Huebner, 2003). Notably, the country can reduce dependency on fossil fuels by practicing energy conservation and efficiency,

Thomas Edison once said, “I have not failed 10,000 times. I have succeeded in proving that those 10,000 ways will not work,” he said of his method of experimentation. “When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the ways that will work.” Up until the late 1830’s electricity was derived from many non-renewable sources such as coal, oil, and natural gases. These are also known as fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are the major energy sources that are being used in the world today. The production of fossil fuels account for more than one-third of U.S global emissions, which trap heat, steadily drive up the plant’s temperature, and create harmful impacts on our health, our environment, and our climate. Their sources are limited and depleting at a faster

The United States is the second largest producer of greenhouse gases in the world, and yet is doing very little to fix this startling statistic (Dennis). The US’ reliance upon outdated energy sources continues to harm both the environment and the economy by producing millions of tonnes of pollution every year and costing the government billions of dollars (“Fact Sheet: Clean Power Plan”). Fossil fuels have been the main energy sources in America since the industrial revolution, and it is time to make a change. Renewable energy is energy harnessed from sources like the sun, wind, or water, and has little to no negative effects on the environment (“Renewable Energy Technology Basics”). The United States needs to integrate and increase the use of these types of energy across the country, as well as implement positive environmental policies, to prevent further pollution of the earth and combat the effects of climate change.

America should pursue alternative energy sources because “With only 5 percent of the worlds population, the United States consumes almost one-quarter (22.5%) of global energy”. (((Josef Bram, 15))) With such a small percentage of the world’s population and still one of the largest consumers of energy the U.S should be looking for new and better ways to generate energy. Currently The U.S’s energy is supplied using traditional sources. According to Canadian scientist and policy analyst Vaclav Smil “Todays energy 29% from coal, 33% from oil and gas, and 33% from soft-energy (alternative sources)” (((Smil, 47))) Most of the energy we use on a daily basis is not produced using clean methods. Some alternative energy sources that are already in place within the United Stats are wind, solar, and hydraulic.

Fossil fuels have been used in the United States of America for hundreds of years as a source of energy to power machinery and to do a lot of work more efficiently. If they had not been easily monetized, they would not be so important to the United States’ economy as they are now, but does their effectiveness as an energy source outweigh the damaging effects that burning fossil fuels has on the world? Texas alone emits 641 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, which is not only a massive amount, but also doubles the amount produced by California, the second largest carbon producer in the country (Magill, “Texas, California Lead Nation in Carbon Emissions”). Carbon dioxide is the emission of humans breathing as well, so this may not seem so important at first, but the production of it not only by people, but by industrial factories, transportation, and electricity production, which all can use the combustion of fossil fuels, is poisonous to life on Earth and is slowly heating up the planet. The rising levels of heat due to fossil fuel emissions can have devastating effects on the environment and often leads to the kinds of extreme weather situations that were previously mentioned.

Scranton writes, “Many critics question whether renewable energy will ever be a feasible alternative to carbon fuels, pointing out that its cost-to-energy ratios are simply too high” (46). Renewable energy sources are expensive to set-up and maintain and their energy is not efficient or reliable enough for widespread use. CCS shares the problem of cost with renewable energy along with being underdeveloped. Scranton writes, “CCS is a new and expensive technology that stands little chance of being developed on a global scale quickly enough for it to make a real difference” (50). Scranton helps the reader understand, in practice, CCS is unlikely to solve global warming because it is too expensive to develop on a scale that might make a difference.

While this is great to the consumer, the renewable sector’s growth was more stagnant. Attention was diverted to use another greenhouse producing fossil fuel rather than a clean renewable. A trend in U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (2017) data showed renewable sector’s power production since 2008 grew only 5.7% as compared to natural gas production 18%. Another disadvantage to the diversion from renewables is the additional carbon dioxide generated from these additional plants operating. “About 24 percent of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions are related to natural gas in 2011” (Natural gas prices. (n.d.)). The replacement of coal-fired power plants with natural gas has let to a decrease of the green house gases, mainly particulate matter and sulfur dioxide emissions. “Sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions produced in the generation of electricity at power plants in the United States declined by 73% from 2006 to 2015, a much larger reduction than the 32% decrease in coal-fired electricity generation over that period.” U.S. Energy Information Administration (2017). This shows that more efficient control equipment can be used to almost eliminate the trace amounts of sulfur dioxide in natural gas.

One of the most important ecological changes needed not only in this country, but globally would be the transition from fossil fuels and coal to renewable sources of energy like solar, wind, hydroelectric, and biofuels in an attempt to reduce carbon emissions, which in turn pollute the environment and contribute to adverse climate change. Even though renewable energy is able to regenerate, does not mean that it has no ecological footprint or that renewable energy is completely sustainable for our environment (Week 14 Energy Use & Transportation/Renewable Energy Sources). A renewable source of energy is usually one that does require us to mine away at the Earth to receive the source of energy (Week 14 Energy Use & Transportation/Renewable Energy Sources). Renewable energy is important for several different reasons. First, renewable energy has environmental benefits because it provides individuals with clean sources of energy and it reduces the impact that it will have on the environment (Why is renewable energy important?) Second, if we use renewable energy then we will have energy for future generations, such as our children and our grandchildren because renewable energy will never run out we will always have it, unlike other sources of energy that will eventually run out (Why is renewable energy important?). Third, renewable energy sources are important for the world’s economy and for jobs because the money that is spent on renewable energy in the United States will

A study done in 2015 by the Royal Society of Chemistry, a non-profit organization of chemical scientists in the UK, shows that, if the US were to switch to utilize solar and wind energy sources, the air pollution mortality will decrease by at least 62,000 premature deaths yearly. In addition, converting would eliminate up to 3.3 trillion dollars per year in “2050 global warming costs to the world due to US emissions,” and the average person would save $1500 in health costs and $8300 on climate costs yearly. (Jacobson). Opposition to cleaner energy sources comes mainly from the business world, which fears the EPA estimated $1.4 billion in factory modifications; however, “$2.9 billion to $5.9 billion will be saved each year due to fewer missed days of work and school, emergency room visits and premature deaths” (Adams). By changing the methods in which we acquire energy, we can change air and life quality in a positive

A shift towards wholesale AES usage would entail a significant reduction of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions. Currently, our use of fossil fuels and consequent greenhouse gas emissions are causing climate change, destroying natural habitats, and causing ill effects in terms of our population’s health, through pollution-related illness (Atabani et al., 2012). While AES is proposed to be the most viable solution to decreasing the ill effects of fossil fuels, some propose there are ways that California can and should utilize our current fuels in more environmentally safer ways for before shifting directly towards alternative fuel. With regards to CO2 emissions from coal, some propose that so-called “Clean Coal,” or “Carbon Capture and Storage” (CCS) represents an environmentally-viable energy production strategy whereby the United States and California can use their abundant coal reserves, and trap the CO2 emissions, thus burning the product without damaging the environment (Noorden,

Scientific American, in “Carbon dioxide: From nuisance to resource?” contends that in order to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide released in the atmosphere scientists should figure out a way to recycle it. Scientific American continues this discussion by stating that a prize should be offered in 2020 to award a science team that comes up with the best way to capture the carbon dioxide and turn in into the building blocks to create something else. This author proposes this plan in order to ensure that the effects of global warming can be reduced, and that carbon dioxide will not continue to hurt the Earth. These educators urge scientists to discover a way to stop the effects of carbon dioxide on the Earth.

Wind and Solar” in which they go in depth on why the disposing of toxic carbon fuels and replacing with any other form of energy is detrimental to society. In their own words, “Whatever we decide, we need to make up our minds and fast. Carbon fuels are killing us, and killing the planet as well. And good planets are hard to come by” (Conley and Maloney). The topic of carbon fuels is a rising concern for many people. The burning of these fossil fuels is causing irreversible impacts on many things from our environments to our health. Throughout the years there have been many studies that have shown how the carbon fuels have distorted our health, all the way from something simple like asthma to severe heart problems and possibly premature death. Amongst all this, it’s making global warming rise at an alarming rate causing organisms like mosquitoes that carry diseases be able to roam at a larger extent. If we were to reduce our carbon fuel with something else like nuclear power, it would save thousands of lives and slowly take us out of the risks we suffer from carbon

Coal and natural gas are the United States’ main fossil fuels used as energy sources. These fossil fuels both contain mixtures of hydrocarbons, which is a chemical compound of carbon and hydrogen (Olah, 2005). Currently, fossil fuels provide eighty-five percent of commercial energy, such as businesses, worldwide and this eighty-five percent does not even account for residential use. Imagine if the residential energy use was accounted for in that eighty-five percent (Davison, 2007). According to Goodell (2006), “Between 1950 and 2000, the world population increased by 140 percent and fossil fuel consumption increased by 400 percent. By 2030, the world’s demand for energy is expected to more than double,” with most of the electricity

The most of global energy production produces from fossil fuel such as coal, oil and natural gas. The vast fossil fuels generate energy which use for many purposes for instant residential, transportation and industrial sectors. While the rate consumption of fossil fuel higher than their formation leads to oil price crisis. Another concern of fossil fuel combustion is the impact on the environment. Global warming is a significant problem which results in increasing concentrations of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. These problems drive researchers and societies to search alternative energy such as switching to renewable energy or carbon-free energy to replace fossil fuels. For example Nakata et al., (2011:465) show ‘low-carbon society’

By shifting from coal and fossil fuels to green energy, we will save energy, and our coal