Roughly 81% of the energy consumed in the United States in 2015 was produced by fossil fuels including coal, natural gas, and petroleum oil (EIA, “U.S. Energy Facts Explained”). A study on the consequences of coal revealed that the burning of coal produced over 100 million tons of solid waste, and the readying of coal to be burned creates nearly 90 million gallons of slurry, a muddy waste product, in the United States every year (Sierra Club 2011). In 2015, 2,413 petroleum oil spills were reported
In the United States, major fossil-fuel-burning energy-producing industries dominate: they are more widely used, they produce more energy, and they severely harm the environment. I believe that the United States should move towards alternative energies that don’t burn fossil fuels to produce energy, such as solar, wind, geothermal, and hydroelectric power, because they, despite their currently high price point, provide large amounts of pollution free-energy, which will increase energy independence
Energy is the capacity of a physical system to perform work. If there is no energy, then all systems as we know will not work. Americans rely on energy to heat their homes, charge their phone, and cook their food. The United States of America is highly dependable on a source of energy that has the ability to become depleted. Coal, oil, and natural gas are the prime resources used in creating energy, all of which are fossil fuels. Not only can fossil fuels deplete but when burned they leave a harmful
wondered how many sources for energy you use during your day? We use energy to drive our cars, heat and light our homes, and provide efficiency at our jobs. We live hectic and demanding lives and little thought is given about the types of energy resources we have used from the time we wake up to our alarm clocks to the time we lay our head down in our warm cozy bed at night. According to the Energy Information Agency, in 2012, the primary energy consumption in the United States was about 95 quadrillion
Introduction Introduction Energy is more than a utility that keeps the lights on in our homes or the gas in our cars; it’s a foundational resource that plays a key role in a nation’s ability to provided economic opportunity and basic services and security to its people. As such, it is imperative to a nation’s overall security that it develops/acquires access to energy, ensures energy needs are properly met and supplies are readily available, and disruptions minimized. Policy directs that the U
The United States is in an energy crisis. We rely almost solely on crude oil for most of our “gasoline” needs, meaning our fuels. The issue with our current reliance on crude oil is, plainly, that it is running out. We don’t currently have enough crude oil production in the US to support our current demand, so we are forced to import oil from overseas. And, we import a lot of it. With a gas demand of roughly 134 billion gallons per year, there exists a large risk relying on a fuel that is unsustainable
With fossil fuels powering 85% of energy in the United States and the ignorance towards the negative impacts of burning them, dependency on these harmful resources have skyrocketed and will continue to. In 2006, around 7% of America’s gross domestic product was spent on fossil fuels which is greater than what was spent on education and the military (1). The fight to teach the public to be less dependent on fossil fuels begins with decreasing usage. Decreasing energy consumption can be as simple as
Energy Alternatives Everyday 85.8% of Americans drive to work, (McKenzie) whether it be carpooling or driving alone. Everybody knows that coal and gas won't last forever, but what will we use when they run out? The answer is all around us, it could be wind power, nuclear power, or even new biofuels. Whatever we decide on using, we are going to need to choose it quickly. In the USA coal and natural gas produce 70% of our energy. “During the 2011 State of the Union Address, President Obama announced
Here in the US alone we consume nearly 6.844 Quadrillion Btu’s of energy, however most alarmingly less than 7% of our toll energy usage comes from Alternative energy resources. This leads to the edge of a dangerous presuppose as our current resources continue to dwindle and our future grows darker each day. It is estimated that there is less than 200 years of oil left in the reserves we currently have and with the population and the demand for oil increasing each year it could be here faster then
Energy is what gets everything going; it powers our cars boats, building, and trains. It is becoming harder every day to obtain energy for the United States and this why t is so important for the country to achieve its energy independence. But there’s always problems along the way when we try to accomplish great things like this. Many plans and ideas have already been proposed to resolve this issue that will damage this country’s future if not addressed. In the first place, our need to obtain