How Can The United States Lessen Its Dependence On Fossil Fuels?

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 The US’ reliance upon outdated energy sources continues to harm both the environment and the economy by producing millions of tonnes of pollution every year and costing the government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.

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.

As we continue to consume fossil fuels on a scale never seen in human history, we are faced with the nagging but not imminent question: what is going to happen when we run out? It’s the same question any addict asks themselves, and the way they respond can affect the rest of their life. It is impossible to forget 2008: gasoline rose to nearly $4 a gallon, the stock market plummeted, millions lost their jobs, and Americans and foreigners alike responded in a way that only the fear of spending more money can motivate.

Indeed, if we are to combat global warming, of course we need to stop the rampant use of fossil fuels. In its place, the grand vision and hope is to transition our economy from relying on fossil fuels to using renewable energy sources. (This becomes an additionally pressing issue for those who are concerned with the U.S.’s “soft power” as China vies to become the world leader in clean energy.)

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 and imported from overseas. Our country has the capability of greatly reducing our dependence on foreign oil, perhaps to the point where we would not have any need to import oil from overseas. With the use of our own crude oil, natural gas, and other alternative fuels, the United States can become nearly completely self-sustainable in terms of fuels. Moreover, becoming self-sustainable can have an effect of reducing geopolitical tensions particularly with regard to relations in the Middle East, the world’s largest producer and exporter of oil.

Being such a necessary and overused resource makes it a hotly contested subject and global issue. The United States is one of the biggest importers and users of oil in the world, which makes our need of it a major influence on several global markets. Our heavy reliance on dirty fuels, as well as every other industrialized country in the world, will lead to massive effects on the climate of our Earth. This in addition, has led to violence and war, particularly in the Middle East, over the ownership and distribution of oil and other energy resources, which in the end only serves to profit big oil industries. This problem will not stop or slow down, as the demand for energy will only increase as the world’s population and global economy continues to expand. For mainly these reasons, which will be handled more in-depth throughout this paper, the need for clean alternative energy is paramount and must be addressed within the foreseeable future should we otherwise suffer the consequences.

In this regard, California is no different. In 2010, almost the entirety of American energy usage, and approximately 90 percent of global energy usage was made up of fossil fuels (Turk, 2011). This is problematic because fossil fuels, notably oil, natural gas, and coal are finite and non-renewable resources that do not self-replenish as do plants and animal life (Turk, 2011). This has brought many people and scientists to believe that the world may be approaching “peak oil,” the moment at which the world has consumed more than half of its oil reserves, and is thus on the backend of that which is available (Giles, 2008). While difference of opinions do exist as to when “peak oil” will be due, it is nevertheless the case that oil cannot be created sui generis (Atabani et al., 2012). As such, policy-makers and climate industry insiders must take into account the fact that, sooner rather than later, the world will run out of fossil

Global warming will in a foreseeable future increase the prevalence of climate-sensitive diseases, reduce agricultural productivity in developing countries, raising sea levels and alter ecosystems, forests, and biodiversity worldwide. Additionally, the indifference of the politicians in acknowledging the validity of global warming is alarming and detrimental on a global scale. As a result, the first oil shock took effect due to the dependability on imported fossil fuels, as well as lack of alternative energy sources. Surprisingly, in the early 21st century, Americans continue to rely heavily on foreign oil instead of transitioning to sustainable renewable energy sources. Furthermore, the economic and social progression must factor in the environmental

that are bringing the world closer and closer to global warming. As of right now, America’s economy is mostly dependent on destructive fossil fuels for its energy supply. Our country is producing a quarter of the world’s pollution. Usage of fossil fuels has increasingly contributed to the CO2 emissions, which is polluting our environment. It is destroying natural habitats and causing an increase in health problems. If our harmful methods continue, our planet will eventually become uninhabitable. Fossil fuels are considered a nonrenewable resource, which means we are required to find a new and clean renewable energy source. These new energy sources must be readily available for the world’s energy demands. Our vision should focus on environmentally friendly and efficient energies such as wind and solar power. Becoming more dependent on wind and solar power would mean having an infinite amount of energy and create more job opportunities, which would help the world’s economy as well.

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 we know it. As we continue to pour pollutants back into our skies, waters and lands each year our planet feels the effect each day.

Fossil fuel consumption in the United States is colossal. In Colorado, the average household uses 70 million Btu of energy from natural gas and 150 million Btu from gasoline in 2000. (Energy Information Administration) That’s around 1,320 gallons of gas per household, per year. (US EPA) In that same year, multiply that by Colorado’s 1,658,238 households (US Census Bureau) and find that the state’s residential sector consumed around 2,188,874,160 gallons of gas at the turn of the century. Per capita, Colorado ranks just 36th amongst the states in energy consumption. (Energy Information Administration)

Because of the fast paced world we live in, we tend to go with what works and sometimes fail to see the negative side of those actions. The use of fossil fuels to produce energy is one example. Although it doesn’t seem like it, the ways in which we are currently producing our energy create many negative effects for us, one of which is economically. Looking at oil or petroleum, which produces about 35.5 percent of the U.S. energy (Annual Energy Review), it is estimated that the U.S. spends 1.5 to 1.75 billion dollars a day (Lynch). As time goes on and oil sources become less and less this cost will only grow. These numbers are not including other hidden costs that make the price of oil and or petroleum, or any other nonrenewable energy higher. Such things include keeping foreign relations with fossil fuel providing countries, money used in healthcare to treat illness, injury or death from using these methods. Many people in favor of fossil fuels argue that the number of people with health

On the other hand, many of the environmental problems the world faces today – including climate change, air pollution, oil spills, and acid rain – result from our dependence on fossil fuels. The burning of fossil fuels produces heat-trapping gases that are the main cause of the ongoing rise in global atmospheric temperatures. Therefore, as a result of the "shale revolution" Americans seem to have a hard time to say “goodbye” to the stereotypes of the past century. Barack Obama declared "comprehensive" energy strategy increasingly takes on the character of selective policy, concentrating not on a wide range of energy, but only on shale gas and oil. America is increasingly dependent on oil and gas consumption. This situation does not seem to cause any rejections. Scientists call this phenomenon a "cognitive dissonance"; which White House initiatives inherently possess. It is the inability to reach a consensus between the populist slogans and theoretical developments, while there is a need for pragmatic economic decision-making. We have to admit that for Obama’s two-parent term, the Democrats couldn’t precisely highlight key points, and build a hierarchy of integrated energy policy. US hegemony is almost not valid in renewable energy. On a number of key areas of alternative energy, China and some EU countries are ahead of the United States and the Americans have to compete to maintain leadership or even to catch up with countries that have been recently perceived as developing

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (2015) reports that the United States consumed approximately 19.4 million barrels of petroleum products daily, which calculated to an overall total of 7.08 billion barrels by the end of 2015 (para. 2). The United States population consumes a huge quantity of oil alone, in addition to all of the other fossil fuels that it also greatly depends on. Fossil fuels are a natural resource that is in limited supply, and they provide an efficient and consistent supply of power to communities all over the planet. Many people are pleased with the short-term advantages these

Nearly all of the United States ' production of energy comes from non-renewable sources, also known as fossil fuels. However, the problem with using fossil fuels to satisfy the United States ' ever-growing demand for power is that they are a limited resource and their production and usage cause a myriad of harmful environmental effects. There are other sources of energy available that do not run out and are much more environmentally friendly such as wind, solar and hydro power. The government should take further action into transitioning from environmentally damaging non-renewable fossil fuels to cleaner and more permanent alternative