The Effects Of Renewable Energy On The United States And Around The World

Have you ever wondering where your electricity comes from? How your car uses gasoline to run? What about how these things impact our environment or how we are going to keep producing them? As a country, we need to start looking ahead to the future and planning for what is to come. Currently, 86% of America’s energy comes from petroleum, natural gas, and coal. All of these resources will run out eventually. We need renewable energy sources that will keep producing in a clean, more efficient way for a long time. Before committing to an idea and going all the way with it, we need to compare all the different energy sources available to the U.S. and choose the one that is best for everyone.

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 The US’ reliance upon outdated energy sources continues to harm both the environment and the economy by producing millions of tonnes of pollution every year and costing the government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

There are many types of alternative non traditional fuel forms and methods that have been developed to generate renewable energy, such as wind energy and bio fuel energy, which is created from alcohol derived from vegetable matter such as from corn. There are two types of energy derived from water, one is Geo thermal energy generated from hot water, and the other is hydroelectricity energy generated from a rush of flowing water. And when you mix

In the 1960’s and 1970’s a movement regarding the physical environment began, this movement focused on a few environmental issues and disasters caused directly or indirectly by pollution. As the years progressed, this movement grew into a multifaceted activist movement gaining more attention in the US, more often referred as “Environmentalism” or “Environmental Activism”. As the human race realized the physical environment is fragile and thus must be protected, scientists started to look for more efficient and ecologically safe energy sources. The introduction of renewable energy brought to light all of these issues, giving a viable alternative for the nation’s energy future, implementing resources that are naturally replenished and also, eco-friendly.

In an article posted by Reuters on October 24, 2006, the global conservation group, formerly known as the WWF, stated that “humans are stripping nature at an unprecedented rate and will need two planets' worth of natural resources every year by 2050 on current trends” (Blanchard). The report indicates that, if every other country were to use the same amount of energy as America does, five planets worth of resources would be needed to support the world. America, as one of the largest consumer countries of energy, has been making attempts to implement methods for using alternate energy sources in order to preserve the already dwindling resources of its

Energy is used in our daily lives and we all get energy from different sources. But, do you know how much energy we use in the United States? The U.S. Energy Information Administration, or the EIA, website stated“In the United States, British thermal units (Btu), a measure of heat energy, is commonly used for comparing different types of energy to each other. In 2015, total U.S. primary energy consumption was about 97.7 quadrillion (1015, or one thousand trillion) Btu.” One thousand trillion Btu is difficult to comprehend in our minds, but you can understand we use a lot of energy in our lives. While people enjoy the world filled with energy they forget that some of the resources used to generate this energy is harming the environment and

Fuel price seems to be the subject that always makes headlines on a regular basis. The United States is the biggest consumer of energy in the world. Lucas Davis, a Berkeley Professor conducted a study in 2013 on global oil consumption and found that the average American consumes more than 300 gallons of gasoline annually. The amount is at least 200 gallons more than other developed countries such as Germany, and France. (Davis, 2013) The high consumption forces Americans to rely on foreign fuel sources since domestic energy is simply not enough to satisfy the thirst. Rising fuel price coupled with fuel shortage scare are often a common concern for every American, thus there needs to be an invention to stretch the supply in case of disaster.

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.

The primary source of energy in the United States is fossil fuels – for heating, power, and electricity generation – but we have a limited supply [1]. In addition to limited quantity, the burning of fossil fuels releases greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming as well as pollutants that cause asthma, acid rain, smog, and more [1]. Alternate sources of energy generation have been studied – among them hydro, tidal, wind, biomass, geothermal, and of course solar energy – to reduce dependency on fossil fuels, to have “clean” energy sources, and because they are all unlimited resources [1].

Renewable resources are also known as alternative energy sources. Alternative Energy is any source of energy that can be renewed (Issit). Renewable Energies include hydrogen fuel, biomass fuel, hydropower, solar power, geothermic energy, and nuclear power. Hydrogen fuel is an amalgamation of hydrogen and oxygen which is used to produce electricity (Issit). Biomass fuel is made from materials which have already been used, such as compost, and can be used to generate electricity (Issit). Hydropower can be created through moving water or wind to generate electricity (Issit). Using sunlight to produce electricity is called solar power (Issit). Geothermic energy is energy made by the heat under the earth’s mantle (Issit). Nuclear power is

Out of all the energy sources the United States has access to, 83.6% of the energy used in 2013 were fossil fuels. Being the leading country in energy consumption, and the amount of alternative energy available to the US, it is no wonder that the general population is concerned with global warming and pollution. The use of fossil fuels has increased pollution in the United States from 2013 to 2014 by 3.4%. The public pressure to address this energy crisis has lead Germany to decrease their use of fossil fuels. Even so, they are still “recording modest economic growth of 1.5 percent, breaking a traditional pattern in which nations see their energy use fall only during recessions,” said Melissa Eddy from The New York Times.

The Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) aimed to influence residents to convert most of the state’s energy production into renewable energy. Based on the Califonia Energy Commision, in 2006, the standard requires 20 percent of electricity retail sales to be powered by renewable energy. The standard is then further improved to a targeted percentile of 33% in 2020 by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and moving forward to the current standard which is at 51% by 2030 by Governor Edmund G. Brown. As of June 2017, California is ahead of schedule and the state is currently 29% fully powered by clean energy. These data are proven by the California Energy Commission, there are no doubt that these numbers are true, but does it really contribute to the

Over the years, the unequivocal increase in the Earth’s climate has been an issue concerning environmentalists and other scientists. With overwhelming evidence pointing to environmentally damaging human behavior as the culprit for the Earth’s rising temperature, a search for cleaner and renewable energy sources creates a vastly growing alternative energy industry. One of the most widely used forms of renewable energy is hydroelectricity. Like the name implies, hydroelectricity refers to the generation of electricity through use of hydropower. In particular, the gravitational energy of falling, flowing, or spinning water can be transferred to electric energy through Newton’s Law of Conservation of Energy (i.e. energy cannot be created or destroyed, but can be transferred from one form to another).9 This renewable energy source has grown in popularity vastly over time since the industrial revolution, and now accounts for nearly 15 percent of the Earth’s total electricity generation.9 The benefits hydroelectricity speak for themselves; hydroelectricity yields no direct waste, has a relatively low costs and expenses, and releases considerably less carbon dioxide emissions than the burning of fossil fuels. However, some recent studies have suggested that the vast benefits of hydroelectricity do not outweigh the damaging effects on the surrounding ecosystem.

Clean sources of energy basically refer to those that do not encompass the burning of coal, petroleum or its products and the transformation of solid waste or nuclear division (Broyles 23). Therefore, renewable types of energy could be termed as clean sources of power because they are products of natural sources and do not emit hazardous by-products. Safe energy is not poisonous, is healthy, renewable, and sustainable and does not have devastating effects on the lives of the users, the

Imagine a world where nobody can use their iPhone, their computer, or even turn on the lights. That is the kind of world the future may be like if there is not an overhaul of how electricity is obtained. Ever since the Industrial Revolution, people have utilized fossil fuels to power their homes, cars, and businesses. Unfortunately, our stores of fossil fuels are running low, and they have been demonstrated to increase the temperature in the atmosphere and accelerate global warming. As gas prices steadily rise, people need a newer, cleaner source of energy. The alternatives are numerous and would be beneficial to the well being of the whole world. The human race must replace its fossil fuel use with renewable resources in order to