Case Study: The Rural Town Of Burrillville

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.

This year we have seen more electric and hybrid vehicle startups than ever before.” (Morrison) Nearly everyone recognizes the benefits of the shift, both in terms of how it would help our environment in the long term, but also the economic impact it would have, (reduced gas costs, lower electric and other utilities bills... etc.) But still, many large companies work to impede the progress in favor of maintaining our dependence on fossil fuels. The American Petroleum institute has worked with many oil industry protection companies to stymie the renewable energy movement, even in some cases, “posing as environmentalist groups in order to attract the support of environmentalists while simultaneously pushing their anti-renewable agenda.” (Blankenhorn) Many of these companies striving against renewable energy also support the building of the Keystone pipeline, using the justification that the building of the pipeline would lower gas prices. But what they fail to acknowledge is the basic economic fallacy of this, “Fossil energy prices are not going to fall. The more you remove carbon-based resources from the ground, the more it costs to get more.”

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

On January 7th officials say a vehicle drove past a home in the 400 block of Salem Lane in Rossville.

The Industrial Revolution in America began to develop in the mid-eighteen hundreds after the Civil War. Prior to this industrial growth the work force was mainly based in agriculture, especially in the South (“Industrial Revolution”). The advancement in machinery and manufacturing on a large scale changed the structure of the work force. Families began to leave the farm and relocate to larger settings to work in the ever-growing industries. One area that saw a major change in the work force was textile manufacturing. Towns in the early nineteen hundreds were established around mills, and workers were subjected to strenuous working conditions. It would take decades before these issues were

As a member of the National Rural Electric Company I am presenting to you the idea of cutting off the carbon dioxide limitations is not the brightest of decisions. It will change the world as we know it.

What’s fracking and what's the hype about it? Well fracking is the act of injecting liquid into rocks to extract their oil concentrate, basically it’s like drilling for oils and gases, but different in some aspects. Drilling for oil –– wait no, drilling for anything –– is a double-sided blade, on one hand we have the costs, labor, time put forth, as well the depletion of habitats, on the other hand, we need to obtain the resources and use them efficiently. Establishing that we can infer that fracking is a major way we collect resources to keep our lives fueled. Us humans have been finding different ways to get the most out of something for awhile.

It produces a great deal of our electricity; however, we don’t spend a lot of time thinking about the implications. As Goodell notes on the first page, “We love our hamburgers, but we’ve never seen the inside of a slaughterhouse.” Isn’t that the truth? When we fuel up our cars, we don’t think (much) about the ramifications of our oil dependence. When we flip a light switch, we do not associate that with the coal-driven mountaintop removals in West Virginia. In this book, “BIG COAL” Jeff describes Goodell thrusts those associations right in your face. He covers the history of the industry, tells the stories of the people in and around the business, and while most of the book is based on U.S.-happenings, he does spend a chapter in China. We would imagine the coal industry was none too pleased with Big Coal because it paints a really ugly picture of the industry. Goodell contrasts the coal industry with the individuals whose lives have been negatively impacted by coal in one way or another. He details corruption and politics that allowed the industry to delay implementation of pollution control equipment. And on a big picture level, he argues that continued usage of coal poses a serious threat to the earth’s

If the United States can invest more money in green technology, instead of fracking sites, then green technology can be become affordable and children’s health can be supported. This does not mean that the United States should shut down current fracking sites. Instead, the solution would be to keep the current fracking sites and not create new ones. In the meanwhile, the American government could invest in producing renewable energy technology or the United States could buy renewable energy technology from China. Preferably, the United States could enter the market for renewable energy technology, profit from selling to other nations, and in turn utilize the money to continue the expansion of green energy and to conduct research on the ill effects of fracking on children who live near fracking sites. Once a sustainable amount of renewable technology is implemented around the United States, unnecessary fracking sites can be closed. The perfect plan would be to close all fracking sites, but some areas may not benefit from renewable energy technologies, for example, some areas may not be windy or sunny enough for energy production. Not only would renewable energy technology become less expensive through investment. Investment in renewable technologies would also help the children

Westville is a village in Lumpkin, Georgia that represents the way of life in the 1850s through old antebellum buildings, preserved pre-Civil War artifacts, and “townspeople,” who play the part of villagers. The vision and inspiration for the town was started by a man named John West in 1928.

In the State of Pennsylvania, a huge shale natural gas deposit has been found that could hold an even larger chance for growth in energy production in the United States. This natural gas deposit called the Marcellus shale deposit actually “stretches 1,000 miles from New York to Virginia and is 300 miles across at the widest point” (Grottenthaler 2011). Most of this formation of shale natural gas lies in the Pennsylvania portion of the shale natural gas deposit containing roughly “$500 billion in recoverable gas” (Finkel 2011). Not only is this great for the economy in Pennsylvania, it is also a great sign for the economy in the rest of the United States as well. According to many experts on the

While this is great to the consumer, the renewable sector’s growth was more stagnant. Attention was diverted to use another greenhouse producing fossil fuel rather than a clean renewable. A trend in U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (2017) data showed renewable sector’s power production since 2008 grew only 5.7% as compared to natural gas production 18%. Another disadvantage to the diversion from renewables is the additional carbon dioxide generated from these additional plants operating. “About 24 percent of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions are related to natural gas in 2011” (Natural gas prices. (n.d.)). The replacement of coal-fired power plants with natural gas has let to a decrease of the green house gases, mainly particulate matter and sulfur dioxide emissions. “Sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions produced in the generation of electricity at power plants in the United States declined by 73% from 2006 to 2015, a much larger reduction than the 32% decrease in coal-fired electricity generation over that period.” U.S. Energy Information Administration (2017). This shows that more efficient control equipment can be used to almost eliminate the trace amounts of sulfur dioxide in natural gas.

Most of the residents of Richibuto New Brunswick are arguing that, although economic growth is important, it should not be at the detriment of the environment. However, the government and some residents are of the opinion that, because the province is poor, prioritizing economic growth over environmental concern is paramount. If fracking is allowed in the province, it will create more jobs, attract private investors Another major concern raised was the issue of water pollution and wastage . Shale is a dense rock found two miles underground, if fracking isn’t done correctly, chemicals used in fracking can leak to the surface making water undrinkable.

A study done in 2015 by the Royal Society of Chemistry, a non-profit organization of chemical scientists in the UK, shows that, if the US were to switch to utilize solar and wind energy sources, the air pollution mortality will decrease by at least 62,000 premature deaths yearly. In addition, converting would eliminate up to 3.3 trillion dollars per year in “2050 global warming costs to the world due to US emissions,” and the average person would save $1500 in health costs and $8300 on climate costs yearly. (Jacobson). Opposition to cleaner energy sources comes mainly from the business world, which fears the EPA estimated $1.4 billion in factory modifications; however, “$2.9 billion to $5.9 billion will be saved each year due to fewer missed days of work and school, emergency room visits and premature deaths” (Adams). By changing the methods in which we acquire energy, we can change air and life quality in a positive

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