Part 1: Graphical Representation
Part 2: Summary of argument
In the article “Fossil Fuels Improve the Planet” (Epstein, 2013), Alex Epstein’s main claim was that fossil fuels should be used without restriction as they provide reliable and affordable energy that improves the lives of mankind. Aiming to convince the reader fossil fuels should be freely used, he first argued that the energy provided by fossil fuels is vital to the health and well-being of mankind. He supported this by stating that processes such as purifying water, mass production of medicine and fresh food,
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References
Anderson, D. United Nations Development Programme, United Nations. & World Energy Council. (2000). World Energy Assessment: Energy and the challenge of sustainability. New York, NY: United Nations Development Programme
In: Chapter 11 Energy and Economic Prosperity. (P.394-411)
Retrieved from http://www.undp.org/ International Energy Agency & Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2013). World energy outlook 2013. Paris: OECD/IEA.
Retrieved from http://www.worldenergyoutlook.org/ Epstein’s second argument is that alternative sources of energy to fossil fuels are not as effective. The argument uses inductive reasoning as Epstein focuses on 2 alternative sources of energy and attempts to convince the reader of his argument based on their observed limitations. The premises offered are that renewable energy such as solar and wind is unreliable, not cost effective and also unable to be mass-produced. He is able to support this with his claim that even after years of investments from many countries renewable energy only accounts for less than 0.5% of the planets energy. He also supports this by quoting examples of some richer countries that have been unsuccessful in making renewable energies usable on a larger scale even after spending large sums of money, resulting in rising youth unemployment rates as high as 50% in Spain and
Cravens shows that fossil-fuels cannot be considered as a future energy source because of its baleful impact on environment and people in society. Those people who read this article would definitely disagree of using fossil -fuels for power generation. She creates a bond between herself and the audience by finding something in common. Also, despite listing several frightening facts about fossil-fuels, she conveys that America’s electricity demand is going to rise by almost 50 percent in next two decades (583). Furthermore, she adds that all energy sources, such as the wind and sun are not going to save our planet. According to Cravens, these sources of energy are either impractical or will years to make a consequential impact, and therefore cannot be found as efficient and will be unable for supply the energy demands of United States. Carvens’s sentiment greatly affects her audience to see that nuclear energy is the only environmentally considerable energy source. Also, she gets in touch with her readers through their outlook, which helps them link with what she is trying to persuade them to see. This helps strengthen her argument and makes the audience to eventually support her case about nuclear energy.
On the same note, the energy revolution spoken of above brings forth another advance in the ongoing global climate situation. The nature of the Kyoto Protocol calls for nations to increase research and eventually semi-convert their energy usage to accommodate for cleaner energy. Products such as solar power, wind power, biomass, geothermal power, and hydropower are now widely being studying to create processes that use less coal, oil, and natural gas in production. Altogether the results have
Sustainable development in the energy sector continues to be a focal point on the international agenda. Goal 7 aims to bring universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services as well as increase the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix (United Nations, 2017). Energy is currently the dominant contributor to climate change, accounting for around 60 percent of total global greenhouse gas emissions. Over the past century, New Zealand’s energy needs has doubled every 22 years, increasing by over 2 percent each year (Energy Efficiency and Conservation
U.S. Department of Energy. 2017a. “September 2017 Monthly Energy Review.” Washington, DC: U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2017. Accessed Oct. 17.
World Health Organization (2004): Energy, sustainable development and health. Background document for the Fourth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health, 23-25 June 2004, Geneva.
Global economy is driven by energy markets. Energy does not only play a significant role in consumer products but also an important input in nearly all the industries. (Efimova O. and
The main problems when it comes to energy sustainability can be found in three main components scale, production and storage of the energy. Each poses multiple problems intercut with the cost of each as production can be done and energy can be stored at high cost but neither would be favored over the current system. Scale is harder to define as more then cost stops scaling up systems, some can’t be scaled up under
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s International Energy Outlook (IEO) 2011 Reference case (EIA, 2011), the world’s total energy consumption is projected to increase by 53 percent from 2008 to 2030. In recent years, energy security is becoming a major concern in many jurisdictions with the increasing energy demand, rising
Securing a sustainable future for electricity can be ensured by introducing renewable energy sources to develop a sustainable weighting of the three Economic, Environmental and Social pillars of sustainability. It is known today that the world needs sustainable electricity sources to produce energy, as our natural recourses such as coal are running out. The burning of coal for energy produces an output of carbon dioxide, which is the leading cause to global warming the detrimental effects on the future of the environment. The world has access to many sources of renewable energy such as, wind power, solar power, and hydro power. Although, renewable energy does not produce the majority of the worlds electricity as the conversion to renewable energy sources has been difficult due to lack of funding the governments are willing to pay across the world.
As globalization is spreading around the world, demand for energy has increased in recent years. There are different types of energy sources to meet this demand, such as solar power, wind power and fossil fuels. However, they are contributing to environmental problems, particularly global warming and air pollution.
Globalization integrates world economy through capital, investment, and labor markets [1]. It allows for the economic growth of developing countries. Development requires the utilization of resources for energy production. Nations like China recently have commenced heavy globalization. China adopted non renewable sources to keep up with their heavy demand for energy. Around sixty seven percent of China’s energy came from coal in 2003 [2]. India and Indonesia will follow a similar economy uprising. They will need a plethora of energy to reach their economic goals [3]. Rather than having them adopt fossil fuels for energy, the world should shift towards adopting more renewable energy. This will ensure a competitive cost for renewable sources in comparison to non renewable sources. It’s unrealistic to believe that renewable sources will completely replace fossil fuels. Moving towards renewable sources will slow down the adverse effects of greenhouse gases and give developing nations a competitive alternative to fossil fuels.
Sustainable energy development must be developed on a local level using technologies that have little impact on its receiving environment in the immediate future and for future generations (Botkin & Keller, 2012). The ultimate aim would be a change in lifestyle to ensure that energy sources on a local level are independent from the current infrastructure setup (Evenson, Zarske & Carlson, 2005). The energy use on a local level can be used as a gauge for national policy to steer countries in the direction of sustainable energy development (Ziramba, 2008).
The International Energy Outlook 2013 predicts that the biggest future increase in world energy use will be caused by Non-OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries, while the energy use within the OECD countries will stay generally stable as it has for the past decades which can be observed in figure 1 (EIA 2015). The OECD countries are experiencing a growth rate of about 0.5% which roughly equates their population growth (EIA 2015). The energy use in non-OECD countries is estimated to increases with an annual rate of 2.2% which would mean they make up for 65% of the world’s primary energy demand in 2040 (EIA 2015).
Governments would rather build on and improve on the infrastructures already in place than deal with the hassle of building brand new ones. Disagreements often cause energy problems. Conflicts that arise between governments and transnational organisations (TNCs) can cause delays in energy solutions and causes separation in tasks that require both parts working together for full efficiency in the task. Energy prices are never guaranteed due to factors such as scarcity of fossil fuel resources and the lack of education on how to cause as least harm to the environment as possible. This makes the job of those in power of energy much tougher. On the other hand, use of energy deriving from renewable sources is on the rise. This shows that advantages of renewables are noticed and that it is recognised that they are a possible solution to the energy problem.
As the global population grows, economies expand, and standards of living increase, energy will continue to be an essential enabler of opportunity. We are executing a wide-ranging strategy to ensure that we are at the forefront of providing the needed energy — today and tomorrow.