America First Energy Plan

This year we have seen more electric and hybrid vehicle startups than ever before.” (Morrison) Nearly everyone recognizes the benefits of the shift, both in terms of how it would help our environment in the long term, but also the economic impact it would have, (reduced gas costs, lower electric and other utilities bills... etc.) But still, many large companies work to impede the progress in favor of maintaining our dependence on fossil fuels. The American Petroleum institute has worked with many oil industry protection companies to stymie the renewable energy movement, even in some cases, “posing as environmentalist groups in order to attract the support of environmentalists while simultaneously pushing their anti-renewable agenda.” (Blankenhorn) Many of these companies striving against renewable energy also support the building of the Keystone pipeline, using the justification that the building of the pipeline would lower gas prices. But what they fail to acknowledge is the basic economic fallacy of this, “Fossil energy prices are not going to fall. The more you remove carbon-based resources from the ground, the more it costs to get more.”

In “Goodbye to the Climate,” Robert N. Stavins, expresses his worry about President Trump’s “America First Energy Plan”. This plan will have an effect on United States’ climate change programs, and remove the United States from the Paris agreement. This article will be used to explain content from the public goods chapter. This discussion will cover climate change, define what a public good is, the free rider problem, and tragedy of the commons and how it relates to this article.

The Bush Administration had success in his Environmental Record by installing a nine-kilowatt rooftop solar photovoltaic system,

Invest more in renewable energy equipment, (2010 Wind and Solar cells received a $151 billion private investment)

account for a very small percent of the energy used by the U.S. (nearly 2

Created in the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the 30% Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC) is the solar industry’s most important and only public policy that supports the deployment of solar energy in the United States to both the residential and commercial sectors. The 30% ITC has been successful in increasing deployment and lowering costs of solar energy. Since the eight-year extension created by the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, solar prices have consistently fallen year after year while installation rates and efficiencies have continued to rise, thus equaling the average cost of solar energy dropping by more than 73% and a 6500% annual growth rate since 2006, as reported by an independent analysis done by Bloomberg New Energy and Finance dated September 15, 2015, commissioned by the Solar Energy Industries Association. However, the ITC is set to expire December 31, 2016, and a failure to extend the ITC, according industry experts reported by PR Newswire July 22, 2015, would result in “90 percent of all solar companies going out of business and thousands of jobs lost”. In response to the looming expiration date, Ari Natter, Bloomberg Energy Reporter, reports “the solar industry is launching an all out push starting in 2015 to extend the investment tax credit”. At this point, there are 3

States citizens must realize this issue. Wind power can save the planet and it’s species. Reduces these harmful gases can save hundreds of eagles. Together people must unite if not for themselves, but for their children and the animals in our earth. Without a doubt in the United States, renewable energy should be the main way the country generates its electricity to help improve the U.S. economy making it an environmentally sound decision. According to Richard Perez, senior research associate at the Atmospheric Sciences Research Center at SUNY-Albany,“Solar is probably the only long-term supply-side energy solution that is both large enough and acceptable enough to sustain the planet’s long term requirements” (Lee Phillips). The American people have to understand that the planet is in trouble and if people keep filling it up with these harmful gases we’re not going to have a planet anymore. Solar is one of the best ways to fix this problem. If citizens do not take a step in the right direction future generations from now will suffer the consequences. The things people do today will depict what happens tomorrow. Therefore the United States must have renewable energy be the main way the country generates its electricity because it is sound for the environment.. Overall in the United States renewable resources in the form of wind power, solar power and hydrogen power are used to generate electricity because renewable energy helps the environment.

Renewable energy can help everyone in the United States of America. If the government helps fund more renewable energy projects it can give a major advantage to the United States and we can make a major profit off of being the first to truly invest. Not only that but renewable energy projects will create millions of jobs for americans employing the hard working americans who deserve it the most. Most importantly though renewable energy will help protect our environment and help keep our planet a healthy place for all plants and animals to live. The United States needs to start funding more renewable energy projects so we can create millions, help save our planet, and to be the first to truly start investing.

The author of this article is Daniel Kammen, a distinguished professor of energy at the University of California, Berkeley. He is also the climate advisor to the Obama administration. In this article, the author’s major arguments were, one: greenhouse gas emissions can succeed through an increase in energy efficiency sources alone, two: the world should invest in solar cells, which is also known as photovoltaics, three, the commercialization of renewable energy sources accelerated, since 2000; four, wind power has been growing at the same pace of the solar energy industry, five, researchers are pressing hard for the development of

The energy people use today drastically affects not only the United States economy, but the global economy as well. Gas prices have jumped up dramatically in the past few years with no sign of dropping, this is because the world is too dependent on gas for their cars, and there isn’t enough supply to reach the demand. “Saudi Arabia’s oil is vital to meeting world demand, explains Klare, yet Saudi Arabia will soon experience a sharp decline in output. Klare believes this will lead to a worldwide oil shortage” (1) He warns that in order to prevent a crisis; steps must be taken now to limit oil consumption and develop energy alternatives. The automotive industry has produced some hybrid cars, but the problem is that too many people already have cars that just run on traditional gas. In general Oil prices have grown in two years, this is a reason to switch to renewable energy. Up and coming foreign countries such as India and China have also expressed interest in renewable resources because they are concerned for their economies as well, fossil fuels negatively effect them as well as us, so the economy is a worldwide motive to search for cleaner, less expensive energies that would not harm their economies.

When discussing renewable or alternative energy policies, common ideas such as more solar and wind come to mind foremost without or with little thought when you hear renewable or alternative energies. However, policies for these can be quite alarming to someone who does not work or study the field. With Pennsylvania deregulating their the electricity sector in late 1996, alternative energies were certainly not the first thing when it came to their minds when trying to reduce their ever increasing electricity bills. Deregulation brought many ways for Pennsylvania to reduce costs, with still many more questions to be answered and in 2004, when the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act was passed, it was not just up to the Pennsylvania

The United States must realize the trend, and act accordingly to maintain soft power. With the “Go Green” campaign, many corporations actively try shifting towards renewable technologies with enhanced innovation. Kearns, a current director of Domestic Energy Policy at the Center for American Progress, cites how “technological progress often helps create opportunities for emissions reductions and economic growth”, which “have created opportunities for customers to reduce energy use while saving money”. Reducing energy leads to better allocation of energy, to increase energy efficiency. Energy efficiency is key to the success of the program, because the system provides safe economic landing for a radical change from oil-market to the renewables-market. As time progresses in the next five to ten years, the shift of fossil fuel based economy to renewables will in many ways damage the international oil market, but the plan provides gradual develop to act as safe cushion for next future generations to come. Combination of privatization of renewable companies like Exxon and BP through the public voluntary programs, the United States can better produce affordable, and effective distribution for citizens to access.

The production and cost to sell conventional energy are far greater than the cost to obtain and maintain renewable energy plants. Renewable energy plants such as windmills, and dams require the cost to produce the plant, then small maintenance fees throughout the plant 's lifetime. Whereas conventional energy requires multiple costs, the cost for drilling, shipping, and refining the material, with the cost of transportation, The use of renewable energy in towns to make them green, “can save thousands of dollars and boost property value”(Jasmin Chua The true cost of renewable energy). Clearly the money invested in developing renewable energy infrastructure is a wise investment and will pay off because, the cost spent will be reimbursed by the savings not spent on energy.

Nowadays, environmental and health scientists are concerned largely because of the damages caused by conventional energy. In most cases, these damages are happening because people are more likely to use fossil energy instead of renewable energy. In 1991, the worst disaster happened in the Arabian Gulf, and it was closed to my hometown. It was an oil spill into the gulf sea. It’s estimated more than 250,000 seabirds died by oil spill (Laura Moss, 2010). This happened because the war beteween some Arabic Gulf countries. As well as this, more than 85% of the consumed around the world comes from fossil fuel. Unlike renewable energy, fossil energy notably pollutes our countries. Additionally, conventional energy leads to

As renewable technologies continue to improve in functionality, availability, efficiency, affordability, and practicality, so does interest in the technology. People are starting to have practical access to new green technologies that were simply not viable in the past. This reality resonates with the mainstream populace not because they can now save the world, but because they can also save themselves money at the same time. For example, solar panels are especially desirable because they can save the consumer money on their electricity bill. Washers that use recycled water from previous loads are increasingly desirable because they can save lots of water. Electric cars that can go over 250 miles on a charge--such as the Tesla--can save the consumer thousands of dollars in gas costs and offer practical, convenient, and cheap transportation. Convenience and viability have a huge role in turning sustainable renewable energy into a reality. Society has noticed the new reality of convenient sustainable technology and is willing to act.