A solar panel roof in Sant Adrià de Besòs, Spain
~Written by our guest writer Kenneth Thomas~
Clean and renewable energies are the way of the future, but for them to really take hold in the United States, the government must invest in them. It is important for governments across all countries, not just in the United States, to invest in clean energies. For the most part, improvements in clean energies have been in the private sector. Clean energy is the future of powering everything from cities, cars and homes to restaurants. Harmful dependency on oil and other fossil fuels can be reduced as more efficient ways are found to harvest clean energy.
Coal is a huge industry in the United States, but there are many drawbacks when it comes to its impact on health and the environment. When burned, coal releases carbon dioxide, CO2, which is a greenhouse gas that contributes to the greenhouse effect and climate change. In the greenhouse effect, gases such as CO2 and nitrogen, N, have become much more abundant in the atmosphere due to human activity, increasingly trapping heat in the Earth’s atmosphere to cause unprecedented changes in the Earth’s climate and weather patterns, known as climate change. Coal has such a massive impact on the Earth and the environment because burning it releases these gases. “Coal-fired power plants accounted for 62% (165 GW) of total power generation installed capacity and generated 74% (850 billion units) of India’s electricity in 2014-15. India’s greenhouse gases emission was 3.05 billion tons of CO2 equivalent; that is about 7% of global greenhouse emissions.”[1] While 3.05 billion tons of CO2 may not seem like much when the total weight of the atmosphere is taken into consideration (which is 6,000,000,000,000,000 quadrillion tons), 7% of global greenhouse emissions is a lot, and so much CO2 greatly increases the greenhouse effect and climate change.
Windmills found on a desert highway
Wind power is a great source of electricity and perhaps one of the oldest, dating back to windmills grinding grain into flour. “Wind generates less than 1% of the world’s electricity, but it is the fastest-growing energy source.”[2] Wind power is something that has a very low carbon footprint and will continually produce electricity even when the sun goes down, unlike solar power. Wind power can be generated on a large scale, helping to power towns and cities or even on a small scale to power homes and businesses. Wind turbines in households can often seem as though they are not an option because of neighbors and homeowner’s associations complaining about their appearance, or simply too many obstructions which reduce wind speed such as tall buildings and trees. But with just an acre, you could put a wind turbine on your property and produce electricity at any time of day.
Solar power is immensely useful for many reasons, and with limited obstructions solar panels can be placed nearly everywhere, which makes solar power extremely versatile. Excess solar power can be stored for use later when it’s a stormy or cloudy day, or at nighttime so that solar electricity can continue to function even when the sun goes down or is not visible. Solar power also has a very low carbon footprint, and after being manufactured, solar panels have no negative effects on the environment.
Solar panels incorporated into modern architecture
The government has begun to give out more grants to allow businesses to implement clean energies into their working environments[3]. Alternative energies offer unique opportunities to create jobs because people are needed for research, building, implementation, and maintenance of these new technologies. Eventually solar, wind, geothermal, and other types of clean energies can replace the use of fossil fuels[4]. Being independent of fossil fuels may seem impossible simply because fossil fuels have been the way of the world for so long, but all it takes is just a little push for growth and change to happen. A good example of being independent of fossil fuels on a personal level is having a home that strictly uses solar and wind power for electricity, geothermal heat, and an electric car. With all these elements combined, a household can be completely independent of harmful ways of generating energy. Iceland is a great example of the use of geothermal heat; Iceland is an unforgiving landscape, yet it generates almost 30% of all its electricity from geothermal powerplants[5]. This could be implemented in other countries worldwide who are able to take advantage of geothermal energy from their surrounding environment.
Geothermal harvesting in Iceland
To get more involved in renewable energies, the government can do many different things such as offering tax incentives for businesses powering their buildings with clean energies such as wind, solar, or hydro-electric power, and for homeowners doing the same[6]. Using clean and renewable energies is a necessity because there is a finite amount of fossil fuels, whereas the sun will continue to shine for millions of years and the wind will continue to blow. By harnessing solar and wind power, there is a seemingly never-ending source of power for all. Besides solar and wind power, the other clean and renewable energy source is hydroelectric power.
The United States government does offer tax incentives such as the Renewable Energy Tax Credit, and this incentivizes people to go green. Many or most decisions are made based on money, so by adding tax incentives, companies can save money overall and receive federal funding in the form of grants to go green and build solar panels or wind turbines to power their business[7]. The cost of wind energy has been going down in recent years, with as many as 60% of wind turbines built in the United States, meaning jobs are kept here in the United States, helping grow our economy[8].
Increasing tax incentives to use renewable energy for businesses, as well as individuals, will benefit everyone and brings more money back into the economy while simultaneously encouraging the community to go green.
References
[1]Rohit Verma, “Estimation and Comparision of Cost of Coal Power Generation with External Costs and Cost of Solar Power Generation with Grid Integration Costs”, International Journal of Multidisciplinary Approach and Studies, vol. 04, No.2 (May-June 2017): http://proxy-tu.researchport.umd.edu/login?ins=tu&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=126593269&site=ehost-live
[2] Roger Brown, Christopher D. Merrett, “Wind Energy” Encyclopedia of Environment and Society, SAGE Publications, Inc, (2007): 1969. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412953924.n1201
[4] Elizabeth L. Golden, “Alternative Energy,” Green Energy: An A-to-Z Guide, (2011): 1-3, doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412971850.n1
[5] “Geothermal Heat,” Iceland On The Web, https://www.icelandontheweb.com/articles-on-iceland/nature/geology/geothermal-heat
[6] Beyond the Debate: The Role of Government in Renewable Energy Finance, Harvard University The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, last modified December 15, 2012, http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2012/energy-finance/
[7] Our Government Should Support Renewable Energy, Not Dirty Fuels, National Resources Defense Council, last modified December 07, 2011, https://www.nrdc.org/experts/peter-lehner/our-government-should-support-renewable-energy-not-dirty-fuels
[8] Our Government Should Support Renewable Energy, Not Dirty Fuels, National Resources Defense Council, last modified December 07, 2011, https://www.nrdc.org/experts/peter-lehner/our-government-should-support-renewable-energy-not-dirty-fuels
By the numbers, Trump’s big environmental regulation rollback is all kinds of unpopular. The Washington Post. Last modified March 29, 2017. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/03/29/trumps-rollback-of-obamas-environmental-legacy-is-all-kinds-of-unpopular/?utm_term=.a94367726266
Beyond the Debate: The Role of Government in Renewable Energy Finance. Harvard University The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Last modified December 15, 2012. http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2012/energy-finance/
Gabbard R. Todd. “Solar Energy.” Green Energy: An A-to-Z Guide, (2011): 403-408. Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412971850.n115
Golden L. Elizabeth. “Alternative Energy.” Green Energy: An A-to-Z Guide, (2011): 1-3. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412971850.n1
Grossman, David. “How Does Clean Coal Work?.” Popular Mechanics. August 23, 2017, https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/infrastructure/news/a27886/how-does-clean-coal-work/
Martin J. Pasqualetti. “Opposing Wind Energy Landscapes: A Search for Common Cause.” Annalss of the Association of American Geographers, no. 4 (July 2011): 907-917, doi: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27980237
Roger Brown, Christopher D. Merrett. “Wind Power.” Encyclopedia of Environment and Society. (2007): 1969.
Rodney Stevenson. “Federal Energy Regulation.” Encyclopedia of Business Ethics and Society, SAGE Publications, Inc, (2008): 863-865: doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412956260.n331
Verma Rohit. “Estimation and Comparison of Cost of Coal Power Generation with External Costs and Cost of Solar Power Generation with Grid Integration Costs.” International Journal of Multidisciplinary Approach and Studies, vol. 04, No.2 (May-June 2017): http://proxy-tu.researchport.umd.edu/login?ins=tu&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=126593269&site=ehost-live
Our Government Should Support Renewable Energy, Not Dirty Fuels. National Resources Defense Council. Last modified December 07, 2011. https://www.nrdc.org/experts/peter-lehner/our-government-should-support-renewable-energy-not-dirty-fuels
Waskey J. Andrew. “Locks and Dams.” Environment and Society. (2007): 1064, doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412953924.n651
“Geothermal Heat,” Iceland On The Web, https://www.icelandontheweb.com/articles-on-iceland/nature/geology/geothermal-heat
