Implementing A Sustainable Society Out Of Our Own Country

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,

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 The US’ reliance upon outdated energy sources continues to harm both the environment and the economy by producing millions of tonnes of pollution every year and costing the government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

Natural gases are the most important source of energy in the modern world of technology and electricity production, which makes the skyrocketing gas production in the U.S. due to hydraulic fracturing incredibly valuable in terms of global trade and economy. The United States has always been reliant on the Middle East and other European and Asian countries for energy, but is very quickly becoming energy independent. "By 2020, the Energy Information Administration predicts that the USA will become a net exporter of natural gas", reaching energy independence from other countries and starting to export gas to provide revenue and pay off debts (Hassett and Mathur). Even

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.

The Alternative energy industry in the United States has been at a steady rate of growth for the past decade, however there is still controversy over the use of renewable energies, their impact on the economy, and their impact on the environment. As controversial as the topic is, the argument boils down to a moral need to support environmental regulations, and an economical need to sustain domestic growth in the Energy industry of the United States. Mainly, the question is can alternative energy effective replace fossil fuels? There are of course arguments for both sides of this question.

Carbon emissions are changing the planet for the worse. Energy production (mostly coal) is producing a one third of the US 's global warming emissions. Renewable sources produce little to zero percent. The balance of coal and renewable energy in the U.S. needs to be evened out with renewable techniques. Statistics from the Union of Concerned Scientist’s “Benefits of Renewable Energy Use” show that most renewable resources emit less than one pound of CO2E/kWh. These have significantly less of a carbon footprint than coal, which emits 1.4 to 3.6 lbs. CO2E/kWh or natural gas, which emits .6 to 2 lbs. CO2E/kWh. This impressive difference of carbon emissions between renewable and fossil fuel is the key to caring for our environment. A 2009 USC study found that if 25 percent of the US 's

This method has been used multiple industries that were placed under scrutiny for environmental damages caused including the coal and oil industry. However renewable energy sources actually employ more people than the natural gas industry in the United Sates. It is important to remember that even tough natural gas is abundant in the United States, it will run out after a certain point. Meanwhile, renewable energy sources will stay here forever and will provide the capacity to provide hundreds of thousands of more jobs. According to Renewable Energy World Director Laura Small (2015): “IRENA did a separate estimate of jobs in the renewable energy industry in the United States, finding a total of 625,000 direct and indirect jobs in the solar, biofuel, wind, biomass, hydropower and geothermal industries” (par. 17). The fracking industry does support many jobs but so does the tobacco companies. There shouldn’t be an expansion to dangerous fracking when new and renewable energy sources can provide a more efficient way to create

Natural gas is not a clean nor renewable source of energy. A transition to wind, solar, geothermic, and hydroelectric energy along with other natural resources that do not produce the harmful environmental concerns are needed. The cleanliness of our air and the reduction of our dependence on fossil fuels is something that needs to take priority. There is a responsibility to do as much as we can to take care of the resources around us and not to destroy them without knowing the consequences that will be

The United States thrives or declines based in large part on its access to energy. It is also important for the American people to remember that many of the lifestyle changes that would need to be implemented in order to reduce fossil fuel use could have been undertaken many generations ago and simply were not. Therefore, we have a responsibility to our children to consider what American energy policy should be concerning exploration for oil in the Arctic, to ensure that failure to make energy use changes in the past does not simply become a can that we kicked down the road to our children. The ability to change the way cities use energy as they light streets and currently supply power to business for private advertising signs from a central grid source, over to a system of local solar panel power generation will take a lot of social education and political will. Absent major changes in the way the public thinks and political

Have you ever imagine the earth run out of resources, especially gasoline? The most significant energy we use to take for granted may be in tight supply. It would be a major inconvenience for us. That’s why I am here to discuss about it, that’s why I am here to save the earth, and that’s why I want all of you to join with me today. With fossil fuels nearing extinction, the United States has very limited options for providing the country’s millions of energy consumers with an energy source that is affordable and cost effective ; therefore, the solution is hydraulic fracking, also known as “fracking,” Natural Gas has the capabilities of fueling American cars and homes for the next hundred years, and the best part is the United States is the largest supplier of natural gas. Let’s broke it down to 3 major parts: first, how fracking natural gas affects our environment, second how it is going to boost up the economy, and third how it makes the United States becomes energy independent.

Development of infrastructure and market for natural gas, a product of hydraulic fracking, has blossomed in recent years. Interestingly though, hydraulic fracturing, a process that’s been around since the early 1900s, has recently become a topic of significant controversy, especially through the expansion of large reservoirs throughout the United States, including the Barnett Shale, the Marcellus, and the Bakken. However, the unsustainable nature of hydraulic fracking demands that US attention be focused on expanding renewable infrastructure and bolstering actual sustainable development; hydraulic fracking is an economic distraction fueled by big business, and the benefits are grossly temporary. Simply stated, investment and expansion of the natural gas industry in the United States is a short-term solution to a long-term problem. First, the paper will provide an outline of exactly why investment and development of hydraulic fracturing in the US is not sustainable. This will be accomplished by looking at the economics of natural gas fracturing, as well as the environmental effects and the public health impacts. Then further evaluation will provide insight on the practicality and necessity of national investment in renewable infrastructure to catalyze the nation into a global future.

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

As the world population rises, we are using more and more energy and it is depleting faster than ever. Our fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas) will not last forever and at some point we will have to switch over completely to renewable energy sources. While most of the world still uses non-renewable energy sources, the future will rely on renewable energy and its applications. Right now, over 90% of the world still uses fossil fuels and developing countries even burn wood to generate energy. At the rate we are using our fossil fuels, they will not last us far into the 22nd century. Additionally, big consumers of fossil fuels like China, U.S., Russia, and India are creating large amounts of pollution and it is only increasing. For instance, India has major issues with pollution because of heavy traffic (which releases more fuel emissions into the air), the burning of biomass (wood and other organic matter), and runoff into lakes and rivers. Right now, our biggest goal should be to figure out how to implement more forms of renewable energy in our own society. We should start using renewable energy in America because: it is more environmentally friendly, opens up the job market, and improves the health of the public.

With American population expected to increase by approximately fifty percent over the next fifty years, some sort of energy reform is needed (Lehrman 2). The most commonly proposed idea is for America to stop relying so heavily on fossil fuels, and to turn its focus onto renewable sources of energy, such as solar power and hydroelectricity (Energy Information Administration). If the United States could realize the benefits of renewable energy, then much of the world’s energy problems could be solved.

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