Introduction
The phrase sustainable development is defined as meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. To create an impact on lowering the usage of fossil fuels and high levels of greenhouse gases there are several different forms of renewable energy available for worldwide use today. This includes biofuels (bioethanol and biodiesel), biomass, geothermal energy, hydroelectric power stations, solar powered cells, and wind turbines to name a handful of sources of energy. Solar energy from the sun can also be derived to produce photochemical, photoelectric, and photovoltaic energy to diversify its format.
By increasing uses of fossil fuels we endanger ourselves with the
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The protocol agreement suggested countries were required to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to 5% against levels produced in 1990. A further extension was agreed to depreciate the emissions by 18% below the levels in 1990 during an eight year time period from 2013 to 2020.
The triple bottom line (TBL) effect is taken into consideration when used to describe the sustainability of an industry. This is an accounting framework measuring the economic, environmental, and social aspects over a specific period of time. With the diversity of renewable energy and its different formats, it is an effective method to impose and produce a TBL. These results in accelerating profits and decelerating emissions of greenhouse gases produced by fossil fuel combusting power stations and also nuclear power stations.
Creating renewable energy projects result in more jobs for qualified people for installation and labour processes. Although the initial cost of installation for renewable sources of energy is high, the maintenance costs are low and are easily accessible, for example solar panels and wind turbine farms. The production of wind turbine farms has drawn eyebrows for many local communities complaining about them to be visually displeasing. However, many renewable energy projects increase domestic revenues on tourism. A prominent example being the Hoover Dam situated on the border of
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
TBL is a sustainable model for business that balances financial success, community participation together with ecological sustainability. The firm which employs triple bottom line towards capturing the set significances, processes as well as issues of the company might decrease and determine whichever harms resulting from company’s operations then create economic, social as well as environmental values of that the company. The model typically outlines that everything is supposed to taken into account that needs of the company 's shareholders, employees, stakeholders, governments, clients, business partners, local communities together with the entire public. Reporting through Triple bottom line (TBL) is currently turning out to be more ordinarily used across several sectors within
Addressing this issue, there has been a few things done in result of eliminating this problem. One solution being The Kyoto Protocol, "...was the first agreement between nations to mandate country-by-country reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions ( 'Extract ', 2011)." During this process, countries agreed to cut their yearly emissions of greenhouse gases. "Some countries and regions, including the European Union, were on track by 2011 to meet or
These alternatives can be helpful in reducing carbon emissions while ensuring the energy independence . These sources are wind ,solar ,geothermal, hydro, nuclear and renewable bio fuels. Some of these sources are renewable , meaning they can be replenished, while others like nuclear, are non-renewable, yet are clean sources of energy. For better sustainability , society continues to explore the challenges of these energy options to help implement the necessary changes for an environmentally friendly and energy independent future.
In the year 2013, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the United States consumed a staggering 6.89 billion barrels of oil (U.S.EIA). Which in fact, equates to 18.89 million barrels being consumed every single day. That is a vast amount of petroleum products being consumed on a daily national level. If the calculation is made, based on a barrel equaling forty two gallons, it would come out to 289,583,700,000 gallons per year, or 793,380,000 gallons per day. The amount is incredible, almost unbelievable. If the United States continues its use of oil at this rate, the supply will only last another forty years. With more and more cars being on the road and operating machinery performing tasks, the supply of petroleum will not be able to meet demand forever. As our use of fossil fuels increases, so does our need for a new source of renewable energy.
In 1997, The Kyoto Protocol was adopted to address climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions (EPA, n.d.). In spite of the international treaty, half of participating nations, including Canada failed to reducing its Co2 emissions (Clark, D., 2012, November 26).
Everyday in U.S., immense amount of fossil fuel is burned. Fossil fuels are fuel formed by natural processes, such as decomposition of buried dead organisms. Fossil fuel release carbon dioxide when they are burned which adds to the greenhouse effect and increases global warming. The way we can help the environment and reduce the amount of carbon dioxide is by replaying fossil fuels with solar and wind sources for electric power generations in the U.S.
“The Kyoto Protocol is an international treaty which extends the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits State Parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the premise that (a)
According to an article focused on environmental awareness, “the world’s average surface temperature rose by approximately 1 degree Fahrenheit, the fastest rate in any period over the last 1000 years” (Source A). Damage has already been done to the environment but it is not the time to throw our hands up, it is the time for leaders in all sectors to tackle this issue head on. We know that carbon dioxide is the culprit, so now it is imperative to implement the solution and take a hard look at who is producing the most greenhouse gases. Big changes need to take place but they can only be done in steps and not all at once to be effective. In an excerpt from a book about global warming, Mark Maslin brings up the point that many feel the Kyoto Protocol does not go far enough; scientists believe that a 60% cut of greenhouse gas emissions is necessary in order to “prevent major climate change” (Source E). A sixty percent cut of emissions should be what countries work up to achieving but first and foremost, every country needs to agree to the Kyoto Protocol guidelines. The Kyoto Protocol itself should not be viewed as the end in the discussion of greenhouse gas restrictions, but rather the first stepping stone to a much broader and effective
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
The triple bottom line has been commonly referred to as the three Ps for profits, people, and planet (Slaper & Hall, 2011). Similarly to CSR, the economic sustainability measure of TBL evaluates the profitability of a business. Measured primarily in dollars, the economic sustainability assesses the variables related to the bottom line (Slaper & Hall, 2011). The social
In this paper, we focus on using fossil fuels causing climate change. Fossil fuels are fuels formed natural resources such as coal, petroleum and natural gas, which are the most widely used fuel and industrial chemicals in the world. Since industrial revolution, fossil fuels bring a very great quantity convenience and technological products. So we can use cars, planes and all modern products. But fossil fuels cause climate change at the same time. Greenhouse gas, nitrous oxides and a great deal of harmful gas which are from fossil fuels are causing serious environmental problems. Therefore we need to be concerned about the problems caused by fossil fuels and the solutions.
This protocol started to work in 2005 for developed countries, and 2012 for developing countries. Specific figures were given in this protocol. Compared to the amount of emission in 1990, the amount during 2008 to 2012 should be reduced by 5%, and every country has been assigned a particular standard in GHG emission. For example, Japan should reduce its emission by 6%, while Australia could increase its emission by 8%. This is a quantifiable target. When measuring the emission, we take the part of GHG that is absorbed by forests off from the total.
In contrast, some believe that renewable energy is a key factor involved in helping the economy to grow. Many jobs are created in the manufacturing and running of renewable energy plants. The renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies created 8.5 million new jobs and $970 billion in revenue in the year 2006 (Langwith, “Renewable Energy is Economically”). The American Solar Energy Society says by 2030 it could generate up to $4.5 trillion in revenue for the U.S and create 40 million new jobs. This would represent one in every four jobs (Langwith, “Renewable Energy is Economically”). This shows how vital it is to get renewable energy companies in the U.S. It is important to build a stable economy again and do it all while helping the environment.
In the face of climate change, reducing greenhouse gas emissions is not only a nation’s essential task but also a global duty. Because of poorly regulated emissions, some greenhouse gases will remain in the Earth’s atmosphere for thousands of years. The mitigation of global environmental emergencies requires uniform international standards and established rules. Therefore, international policy coordination by multilateral agreement is indispensable. This policy paper aims to discuss participation in the Kyoto Protocol Extension is worthwhile and what benefits and burdens await the nation taking part in the efforts towards emissions reduction.