Renewable energy has been a controversial topic for many people. People are either for it or against. Renewable energy seems to be the new energy for the future. WWS should help reduce fossil fuel, thus helping reduce global warming and creating a better future for tomorrow. However, there are major challenges to this such as cost, scarcity of materials, and other lack of other resources. We should use WWS because its benefits outweigh the negatives.
“Stanford Researcher maps out alternative energy future for New York” by Rob Jordan is about if New York will soon switch to hydraulic fracturing for natural gas. A study finds that it is technically and economically feasible to convert New York’s all-purpose energy infrastructure to one
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The switch has many benefits like creating more jobs and reducing pollution related health issues and cost. However, the author fails to mention any downside or opinions of people who are against the switch, besides having a great initial cost. “Germany’s energy poverty: how electricity became a luxury good” by SPIEGEL Staff is about how electricity in Germany has become more expensive than the consumer can afford. Germany expansion of wind and solar power has come with a hefty price tag for consumers and it’s negatively impacting the poor. German consumers are paying the highest electricity prices in Europe. The government is failing to get the costs of its energy policies under control, thus leading to increases in prices. After the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan two and a half years ago, Chancellor Merkel quickly decided to begin phasing out nuclear power and lead the country into the age of wind and solar (SPIEGEL Staff, 1). The Germans are now realizing that this policy is not working and it is affecting the relationship between the public and the government. In the near future, an average three person will spend about 90 euro a month for electricity that is twice as much as in 2000. Two-third of the prices increase due to new government fees. The reason why most people are very upset with the policies and the rising prices is mainly because the government pensions and social welfare payments have not been adjusted. This is making it hard for them to
In recent years there has been great concern over the growing demand for energy, and the lack of non-renewable energy resources to meet the demand in the future. In addition, the question of “sustainability”—the ability to balance social, economic, and environmental needs in energy production to meet both current and long-term requirements—has come to the fore. It is clear that America must expand energy production quickly, and that we must develop renewable, sustainable energy sources to meet long-term demand and protect our future. There are many proposed solutions, such as wind and solar power. But the technology for these resources is not yet fully developed, making them, at best, low-output alternatives. Because renewable sources are
New York State has no direct taxation on the production of gas, which means that the state would receive absolutely no direct revenue from the extraction of natural gas via hydraulic fracturing. Consequently, the state would lose out on valuable revenue they could use to regulate hydraulic fracturing including but not limited to inspections, necessary cleanups and rebuilding of roads, wastewater disposal and recycling.
As the Law of Conservation states, energy can be neither created nor destroyed (The Secret Lives of Energy). That means that an energy source has to be use in order to generate the energy needed. It is common knowledge that the pollution caused by the use of fossil fuels over time is making society live in a contaminated world. In addition, the cost of the use of fossil fuels is increasing and becoming too expensive, forcing people to find alternate ways in which they can pay less for the use of energy. The use of fossil fuels over time has increased to a point where the remaining reservoirs have decreased by a large margin. On the other hand, renewable energy is
Renewable energy is obtaining energy from natural resources that can be used over and over again, such as sunlight or wind. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, it will provide us with substantial benefits, such as “little to no global warming emissions” and “improved public health and environmental quality (Benefits of Renewable Energy Use, 2013).” Water removal will no longer be an issue, which will benefit California in its drought. Because no toxins are emitted from this method, the air and water will not be polluted, keeping the workers and the public safe from contamination. It is inevitable that oil, a finite resource, will run out. Since the US is heavily reliant on oil, using renewable energy source has not been a very common practice. To fix this, we should further expand our research to avoid an energy crisis. Therefore, renewable energy must be further developed to reduce our dependency and abundance concerns on oil.
The ensuing implementation of hydraulic fracturing in Broome County, New York will undoubtedly engender tension amongst the corporate, local, and state interest groups involved. While concerns vary amongst the stakeholders, the general issues lie in the economic, social, and environmental implications of fracking in the area. Since the balance in consideration for all the aforementioned issues is not congruous amongst the stakeholders, it is essential to formulate an efficient plan that considers each pillar of sustainability.
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
In 1848, James Marshall discovered a single nugget of gold in the American River in California, setting off a massive migration west as hundreds sought to capitalize upon the Gold Rush. Today, a similar situation is playing out. In the late 2000s, new technology enabled workers to extract natural gas from previously inaccessible shale deposits through horizontal hydraulic fracturing. This “shale boom” has had companies racing to capitalize upon the potential of vast natural gas and promises of energy independence and cheap energy. Yet, as the miners during the Gold Rush found upon arriving to California, scientists today are finding that many of the initial claims are not as they seemed. Companies are recklessly continuing, prospecting for natural gas deposits. Hydraulic fracturing is a means of extracting natural gas from deep, previously inaccessible shale deposits. It involves injecting a fracking cocktail mixture of water, sand, and various other chemical fluids into the ground at very high pressures to literally fracture the ground, releasing natural gas that can then be collected. Natural gas is a finite fossil fuel, yet due to the recent fracking boom, many people in the United States have heralded it as the future of America’s energy, the way to energy security.
Whilst it may seem a “no-brainer” to cease investment in non-renewable power and transfer our effort, resources and investment into developing renewable energy sources, the reality is that we have become so reliant and dependent upon non-renewable energy – particularly fossil fuels – that we must continue to use, develop, and invest in such energy to maintain the living standards that we enjoy today. In our short to medium-term future, and in spite of our ever-increasing scientific knowledge about the environmental price that we pay in using non-renewable energy, we must continue to invest in it. Let me explain why.
When the new Southeast Polk High School opened they added many new energy saving products. This included installing geothermal heating under the high school cutting back on the cost of heating such a large building. Many new windows help save on energy used to light the building along with automatic lights that turn off after several minutes without movement. The new high school shows how easy it is to save money and help the environment. Renewable energy is good for all aspects of the U.S, providing jobs, economical growth, environmental cleanliness, and new research for improving energy efficiency. Therefore the United States should use renewable energy to benefit the economy and environment.
Renewable energy may seem like a daunting task, but the benefits to humanity could be incredible. Public uses of renewable energy range from transportation all the way to heating and cooling. Everything we use could become less explosive and less expensive. Cities with a high concentration of people could become safer and healthier places to live. Transportation could be converted to electricity dramatically, improving smog conditions. Global warming may or may not
Jacobson and Delucchi proposed for construction of 3.8 million large wind turbines, 90,000 solar plants, geothermal, tidal, and rooftop photovoltaic installations to meet the demand of power by 2020 (59). Since the demand of power is about 16.9 TW, the amount of power that WWS will produce will meet that demand by over a factor of 100. Wind power can provide 1700 TW and solar power can provide 6500 TW (60). This plan cost about $100 trillion compared to about $10 trillion from traditional energy source such as coal plants. Although the price tag might make Jacobson and Delucchi’s plan not as cost effective, it does not account the extra power generated by renewables. The traditional coal power plants would only meet 16.9 TW, but does not address the potential of population and consumption growth. Moreover, if the cost of negative externality is include from fossil fuel generation, WWS will even be more cost competitive (64). Lastly, the cost of generating electricity by WWS is anticipated to drop more, making the author plan more achievable. There are some economic worries with getting metals such as tellurium and indium, but this shouldn’t still make WWS less competitive to coal and not achievable.
Wind, solar, geothermal, hydroelectric, and biomass provide so much benefit for our climate, health and our economy. As many reliable energy’s rise on demand and expense like oil, coal, natural gas and nonrenewable fossil fuel that draw on limited resources which will eventually diminish. Looking at all the power plants and the millions of cars that exist in the streets today and many more technologies and industries that are polluting the air it is safe to say we may be going the wrong way into saving the world our kids will grow into. People and many utilities need to focus on the positive outcome of renewable energy. Like the good it brings on stable energy price, improvements on public health as well as the prevention of global warming discharge, jobs and other economic benefits.
The U.S. should replace fossil fuel with renewable energy. There are many reasons that the U.S. can use renewable energy to improve the economy. First of all, renewable energy can have a more stable price. Unlike fossil fuel, renewable energy is a continual source of energy that will not be as demanded, and will not cause inflation. Next, using renewable energy is a key to having a clean and green environment. It will not cause pollution to the environment and will keep cities clean. Finally, the United States can provide more efficient jobs for unemployed workers. People will have more opportunities for jobs like installing or building any source of renewable energy. Replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy can be more efficient because it will have a stable expense, it is a clean way to help the environment, and it can provide several jobs.
Germany has been an economic power house for decades, ever since the German reunification, the country has become an active member in several influential intergovernmental organizations, such as European Union (EU) and United Nations (UN). As a highly developed country, it upholds a universal health care system, tuition-free higher education, and most importantly, a well-established environmental protection program. The Energiewende, or the Energy transition, is a sophisticated long term plan that hopes to minimize the usage of coal and other non-renewable energy by the end of 2050. The plan began in 1990 and the country has made constant progress ever since. While renewable energy technologies develop and Germany continues to dominate the world as an innovative green leader, new problems also arises. However, with the help of its well-developed laws and the cooperation of various sectors involved, it is likely that Germany is able to remain a powerful green leader and complete its energy transition by the year 2050.
Global climate changes and depletion of fossil energy resources on the planet forced the civilized world to pay more attention to the efficient use of traditional energy resources and increase the proportion of renewable ones. One can definitely say that Germany is the most progressive country in that sense. Constant growth in prices for gas and other energy sources, as well as Germany 's dependence on exporting countries, gave rise to a new round of debates about the German energy policy. The discussion primary topics concern mixed energy supply stability as well as promotion of inner energy production through the use of coal and alternative energy sources. This paper is focused on Germany’s wind