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Renewable Energy

The modern era that we live in today is one of the digital age. Technology, it seems, has

surpassed itself at a rate that once seemed impossible. Because of this, Americans today are able

to take advantage of numerous luxuries that they take for granted. These luxuries include

electricity, vehicular transportation, smartphones, tablets, heating and cooling systems in their

homes and workplaces, and even something that seems as small as running water. However,

what many Americans do not realize is that all of these benefits of the modern era do come at a

cost: energy. This energy takes the form of electrical energy, combustible energy, energy from

natural gasses, etc. Therefore, one would be lead to believe that a secure source of energy would

already be in place. Sadly, this is not the case. As a country, the United States still relies heavily

on the burning of fossil fuels and other forms of nonrenewable energy. In fact, according to the

U.S. Energy Information Administration which is a branch of the U.S. Department of Energy,

approximately 90% of the United States’ energy is derived from burning fossil fuels. With the

vast amount of energy that the United States consumes every day, the question is raised as to

whether or not the United States needs to shift more of the energy production to more renewable

sources? The answer to such a question is “ Yes.” The United States should, as a whole, take

larger strides towards renewable energy production. Now, as with everything in this country,

there are those who disagree with such a statement. They make numerous claims against

renewable energy stating things such as, the environmental effects of fossil fuels are false or

expanded out of proportion, the system already in place is sufficient, the United States already

has enough energy coming from renewable sources, doing so would cause massive loss in jobs, it

is not feasible to enact such a vast change with such a complex system, and that the depletion of

fossil fuels is not a primary issue for the current generation. While some of these may have some
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merit to the argument, it is important to realize how there is still a severe need for the United

States to act.

To begin, one must first consider the effects the current reliance on fossil fuels has on the

United States as a country. One of the criticisms against using more renewable energy is that the

environmental effects of burning of fossil fuels are disproportionate to what is told to the

American people, and some claim they are nonexistent all together. The term that is quite loosely

used is “Global Warming.” This is the theory that states that the earth is slowly becoming

warmer every year. NASA’s earth observatory website shows us that the world’s top four

climate observation organizations all had virtually the same conclusion when studying

temperature data from 1890 to 2010: the earth is, in fact, getting warmer. The reasoning behind

the warming can be traced back to the thickening of the atmosphere. In his book, Global

Warming: Understand the Forecast, David Archer shows us that in the last few decades, the

carbon dioxide concentration present in the atmosphere has drastically risen and is continuing to

do so (90-94). The reason that carbon dioxide is such a relevance to renewable energy is that the

number one source for carbon dioxide emissions is the burning of fossil fuels to create

electricity, heat our homes, power our cars, etc. Therefore, the environmental issues associated

with the burning of fossil fuels to create energy poses an immensely relevant issue, an issue that

could be solved by enacting processes to further renewable energy production. The more energy

that comes from renewable sources, the less that is produced form the burning of fossil fuels,

therefore, reducing the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere and slowing the

rate at which the earth is warming.

Another problem associated with the current situation is the efficiency of the current

system in place. As stated earlier, ninety percent of the energy in the U.S. comes from the
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burning of fossil fuels. Shockingly, however, various studies suggest that coal burning is about

37% efficient, natural gas burning about 45% efficient, and oil burning 37% efficient (Taylor 10-

14). This means that of all the coal, natural gas, and oil that is burned, less than half of it will

yield usable electrical energy. To put this into perspective, this would be equivalent to putting

sixteen gallons of gas in your car and only being able to drive less than eight miles. In today’s

modern era, if a system was brought forward with an efficiency less than sixty percent, it would

immediately be discredited. Another frightening aspect of energy efficiency is where the United

States ranks in comparison to other countries. Inside Climate News did an investigative report on

the top sixteen largest economies in the world, the study showed, “… according to a new ranking

of the world's 16 largest economies. . .the United States was near the bottom, placing 13th”

(Douglas). Given that the United States has been considered a world leader since WWII, it is

almost astounding to see that it ranks so low on such a crucial matter. On the opposite side,

renewable energy is quite efficient when producing electricity. According to a report by the Wall

Street Journal, all of the forms of renewable energy produce more than 200% of what is put into

the system (Molla). Granted that such systems such as wind and hydroelectric are not readily

available everywhere, there are numerous alternatives such as solar, geothermal, and biomass.

The next criticism against the use of renewable energy is that the United States already

produces enough energy from renewable resources. While it is true that as a whole, the United

States is one of the leading countries in renewable energy production, when compared to how

much energy is consumed daily in the U.S., the amount produced by renewable resources is

almost negligible. According to the Energy Information Association, “In 2015, the average

annual electricity consumption for a U.S. residential utility customer was 10,812 kilowatt-hours

(kWh), an average of 901 kWh per month.” This means that only about 90 kWh a month come
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from renewable energy sources. To put this into perspective, that’s enough electricity to only

power a microwave oven for a year. If you multiply the amount of energy used by one home by

the number of households in the United States (not counting businesses, schools, hospitals, etc.),

the amount of electricity that still originates from fossil fuel combustion is astronomical. With

this extensive amount of energy produced—combined with the efficiency of such processes

discussed earlier— one can safely interpret that the United States relies far too heavily on fossil

fuel production and needs to take further strides in the production of renewable energy.

Perhaps one of the greatest fears of seeking energy production from “cleaner” sources is

the potential threat of job loss in the current energy production industry. However, what some

fail to contemplate is the basic fact that in order to produce energy from any source, jobs will be

available and needed. In fact, the number of jobs in the renewable energy sector of employment

is on the rise and is expected to continue to do so. According to the International Renewable

Energy Agency, in 2015, “An additional 1.3 million people are employed in large hydropower…

Solar PV was the largest renewable energy employer with 2.8 million jobs worldwide, an 11%

increase over 2014… Wind Power received record growth with 5% increase in jobs over the last

five years” (2-3). The same study also showed that the United States had the third largest job

growth in the renewable energy sector (2). This indicates that although the United States does not

produce much renewable energy in comparison to how much is consumed, the employment

opportunities elevated to heights it had not witnessed prior. This evidence arises curiosity as to

how many jobs would require filling should the United States as a country decide to “jump-start”

the renewable energy industry. Now critics claim that although the jobs in the renewable energy

sector will grow, those in the fossil fuel production would decline at a much more drastic rate

than the other would increase. The dilemma with such a claim is that it is made on the
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assumption that fossil fuel production would come to an abrupt halt. However, this could not be

more false. Although there are numerous sources and solutions to the energy needs of the

country, it would be naïve to believe that fossil fuel production would all but cease to exist. It is

undeniable that some place would still require such methods to provide them with the necessary

means to produce the energy required. Therefore, those jobs in the fossil fuel production

industries would, although they will reduce in number, remain a necessity. Another crucial factor

is the reality that with any form of technical system, there will unavoidably always be room for

optimization, meaning that no new technology and new methods will come to light as to how to

make each and every system better and more efficient, thus leading to a further increase in job

creation.

The next criticism against the use of renewable energy sources by the United States is the

claim that with such a complex system of grids and networking that is already in place, it would

not be feasible or even possible to make the transition to renewable energy sources. Yet, this is

not necessarily the case. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, “America’s electric grid is

actually comprised of three smaller grids, called interconnections that move electricity around

the country” (Pierce). Granted one must be aware that there are numerous different electricity

production plants throughout each of these grids, in order to accustom some of these plants to

production by renewable energy sources, one would only have to manipulate the current factor or

plant which is already hardwired into the grid. Therefore, this eliminates the complication of

transitioning from one form of production to another. In addition to being able to synchronize

easily with the main grids, many of the plants currently in partake in process that renewable

energy does as well; processes such as amplifying voltage to allow long distance travel,

substation distribution, and the various increases and decreases in voltage before making it to the
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place of consumption. These means the only alteration that present itself with a challenge would

be the source of the energy. The solution to solve this problem is to determine to correct

renewable production method for each plant. Biomass and biogas are relatively new methods that

work similarly to hoe coal and natural gas plants do however they do not produce near the

equivalent amount of harmful byproducts. (Energy Information Agency). Another viable

production method that could readily be manipulated into the current production plants is the

geothermal process. This process uses the heat generated by the earth underground to heat and

cool water (Energy Information Agency). Given that it is well known fact that virtually all fossil

fuel combustion power plants use the fuels to heat water into steam in order to power the

turbines, the only manipulation required in this instance would be to reallocate the source of the

steam. Coincidentally, the process of integrated the renewable energy source into the factories

and plants of the old ones will, inadvertently, take time and more importantly, labor, therefore;

create further jobs in the energy sector by integrating fossil fuel and renewable energy

production in which both sides of the argument benefit from.

One of the final yet arguably one of the most crucial rebuttals in the argument for

renewable energy is the statement that the current uses and depletion of fossil fuels is sufficient

enough to last us through the next few generations; thus, it is not an issue which should be

investigated at this point in time. However, the evidence present suggests an extensively

different reality. Ecotricity, Great Britain’s leading renewable energy provider and researcher,

did an extensive study on the increased use of fossil fuels and the depletion rate that such fuels

where being consumed at. Their conclusion on the matter can be summarized in the reality that

the known oil deposits will be depleted by 2052 and in order to make up the difference in the

loss of oil natural gas will be gone by 2060 and finally coal by 2088 to enhance fill the void of
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the absence of both oil and natural gas production. This means that in just seventy years, the

fossil fuels, as we use them today, will be depleted and we will be left with nothing to produce

energy from, although many claim that there is ongoing research to make fossil fuel burning

systems more efficient as discussed earlier. However, this research will be irrelevant should the

sources of such process be consumed to point of extinction. Those that claim the energy situation

is not a top priority must comprehend that without a sustainable, reliable source of energy, all

parts of society understood today will come to a standstill. Also, if action is not taken soon to

transfer some energy production over to renewable production sources, by the time the fossil fuel

deposits are depleted and used up, the effects will be irreversible. Another problem with fossil

fuel depletion is that the United States already imports more than it exports. According to the

Energy Information Administration, “In 2015, the United States imported approximately 9.4

million barrels per day (MMb/d) of petroleum from about 88 countries… In 2015, the United

States exported about 4.7 MMb/d of petroleum to 147 countries.” This states that in the last year,

the United States imported doubled the petroleum that was exported out of the country;

translating to the United States spent twice the amount of money on petroleum that they made

from selling our own. It is well known information that in order for an economy to flourish

properly then it must make more capital then it spends. Otherwise, the economy goes into debt to

other countries; explaining the United States’ deficit in the trillions of dollars.

There is no controversy in the statement that in today’s world, everything revolves

around energy. We use it in every single part of our day: to light and heat our home, to power our

cars and business, to charge all of smartphones and devices we use every day, to providing us

with clean running water. For these reasons, it is crucial that as a united nation, we move towards

a more sustainable renewable source for such a crucial facet of our lives. The misconceptions
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that the current system in place is sufficient enough, the environmental effects are not true, it is

not feasible to incorporate such processes in the current system, a disastrous amount of jobs will

be lost, and that the problem is not a pressing matter have all been explained as to why this is not

the case. The only remaining task left is to take the information given and take action by signing

petitions and backing politicians that will move forward in developing some of the United States

of America’s energy to clean, renewable energy.

2012. Electronic Source.

Carlowicz, Michael. Global Temperatures. n.d. Electronic Document. 20 Novemeber 2016.

[Link]

Douglas, Elizabeth. Inside Climate News. 18 July 2014. Electronic Document. 20 November

2016. [Link]

efficiency-germany-tops-list

Ecotricity. The End Of Fossil Fuels. n.d. Electronic Document. 21 November 2016.

[Link]

fuels

Energy Information Administration. How much U.S. energy consumption and electricity

generation comes from renewable energy sources? 4 April 2016. Electronic document.

21 30 2016

International Renewabl Energy Agency. Renewable Energy and Jobs Anaual Review 2016.

Masdar City, 2016. PDF.

Molla, Rani. What Is the Most Efficient Source of Electricity? 14 September 2014. Electronic

Document. 21 November [Link]://[Link]/numbers/what-is-the-most-efficient-

source-of-electricity-1754/ .

Pierce, Erin R. Top 9 Things You Didn't Know About America's Power Grid. 20 November 2014.

Electronic Source. 21 November 2016.

Fuels." International Energy Agency (2008): 10-12. PDF.