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IvanKorolev
Mr.Burchett
HonorsGov5
20October2015
PropositiontoIncreaseSpendingonAlternativeEnergy
Imagineaworldnotreliedonfossilfuels.Theworldwouldbemoreecologicallyclean
andhumanswouldnotbelimitedbyenergytogrowandprosper.Carswouldrunonelectricity
onotheralternatefuels.Therewouldbenosmogandtheairwouldbemuchcleaner.Andmost
importantly,therateofclimatechangeandecologicalfootprintwoulddecreasesubstantially.In
orderforthesepleasantdreamstobecomereality,theworldneedstodecreaseitsdependenceon
nonrenewableenergysourcessuchasoil,coal,andnaturalgas.Todothis,theUnitedStates
governmentshoulddramaticallyincreaseexpendituresoncleanerenergybecausefossilfuelsare
quicklyrunningout,todecreaseharmfulpollutantsbeingejectedintotheatmospherethroughthe
burningofoil,coal,andothertypesoffossilfuels,andtobemoreenergyindependentfrom
hydrocarbonsandnotbelimitedbycurrentenergyneeds.
Theeraoffossilfuelsiscomingtoanendandsomethingelseneedstotakeitsplace.
Fossilfuelshavebeenthemainsourceoffueltopowertheindustryandgenerateelectricityfor
welloveronehundredyears.Theyarecheap,easilytransportable,andreleasemoreenergywhen
burnedthanmanyothertypesofenergy.Becauseofthis,theworldhascreatedastaunch
dependenceonhavingtheenergysectorbepoweredbynonrenewableenergyproduction.The
InstitutionforEnergyResearchfoundthat,AccordingtotheUSEnergyInformation
Administration(EIA),fossilfuelsmeetaround82percent[i]ofU.S.energydemand(Institute

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forEnergyResearch).ThismakestheUnitedStatestoodependentonhydrocarbonsandmakes
thecountrypronetoshortagesinsupplyofoil,coal,ornaturalgas.Inaddition,oilproductionis
peaking,meaningthatinthenearfuture,theworldwillstarttoseedecreasingproductionevery
year.AstudymadebyCornellUniversityfoundthat,
...Oilandnaturalgaswillprobablypeak
sometimebetween2010and2040.Exceptforsomeextremelyoptimisticprojections,most
peopleinsideandoutsideofindustrypredictthatoilandnaturalgasproductionwillbeindecline
beforethemiddleofthe21stCentury(PeakOil).Thisshowsthatglobaloilandnaturalgas
productioncanstarttodecreaseinthefuturewhichwilldrivepricesup.Oneoilspecialiststated
that,Worldcrudeoilproductionhasbeenalmostflatsince1998(Deffeyes).Sinceproduction
isnotincreasingattherateofdemand,therewillbecomplications.Anothersourcestatedthat,

By2035,theworldwillusemorethantwiceasmuchenergyasitdoestoday.Demandforoil
willjumpfromthecurrent80millionbarrelsadaytoasmuchas140millionbarrels.Useof
naturalgaswillclimbbyover120percent,coalusebynearly60percent(Roberts).These
findingsdemonstratethatitisimpossibleforthehumanracetohaveeconomicgrowthwhile
havingoil,naturalgas,andcoalasthemainenergysourcebecauseofthedwindlingfossilfuel
productionandthegrowingdemandforenergy.TheUnitedStateshasaverybigresponsibility
indecreasingitsdemandforfossilfuels.Formanyyears,Americansarethemostprofligate
usersofenergyinthehistoryoftheworld:acountrywithlessthan5percentoftheworlds
populationburnsthrough25percentoftheworldstotalenergyButitisalsotruethatthe
AmericanlifestyleistwiceasenergyintensiveasthatinEuropeandJapan,andabouttentimes
theglobalaverage(Roberts).SinceAmericansuseanenormouspercentageoftheworlds
energy,itisanecessitythattheUnitedStatestakesinitiativeatusingotherenergysourcesto

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slowdowntheconsumptionofhydrocarbons.Notonlyistheavailabilityofeasyenergy
comingtoaclose,butalsosignificantenvironmentalconsequencesareoccurringfrompollution
relatingtotheburningofnonrenewableenergysources.
Retreatingicecapscausedbyglobalwarming,smogfilledcities,andhabitatdestruction
areallcausedfromminingandburningoffossilfuels.Mostimportantly,globalwarmingcaused
byanincreasingamountofCO2emissionshascauseddevastatingchangestoourplanet.There
hasbeencountlessevidenceandstudiesthatprovethispoint.Onestudyfoundthat,
Overthe
last150years,burningfossilfuelshasresultedinmorethana25percentincreaseintheamount
ofcarbondioxideinouratmosphere(TheHiddenCost).Thisincreaseincarbondioxide
concentrationisnotnatural.Toprovethispoint,NASAscientistshavediscoveredthat,
The
industrialactivitiesthatourmoderncivilizationdependsuponhaveraisedatmosphericcarbon
dioxidelevelsfrom280partspermillionto400partspermillioninthelast150years.Thepanel
alsoconcludedthere'sabetterthan90percentprobabilitythathumanproducedgreenhouse
gasessuchascarbondioxide,methaneandnitrousoxidehavecausedmuchoftheobserved
increaseinEarth'stemperaturesoverthepast50years(ABlanketAroundEarth).Thisfinding
demonstratesthathumansareresponsibleforthedetrimentalchangesoccurringintheworldand
thehugeincreaseincarbondioxidelevelshassubstantiallyraisedtheglobaltemperature.The
UniversityCorporationforAtmosphericResearchstatedthat,
Averagedoveralllandandocean
surfaces,temperatureswarmedroughly1.53F(0.85C)from1880to2012"(HOWMUCH).
Thissurgeintemperaturehascausedirreversibleclimatechangethatismeltingtheicecaps.
NASAhasobservedthat,
Thepolaricecapasawholeisshrinking.ImagesfromNASA
satellitesshowthattheareaofpermanenticecoveriscontractingatarateof9percenteach

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decade.Ifthistrendcontinues,summersintheArcticcouldbecomeicefreebytheendofthe
century.Themeltingicecapsarecausingtheworldsealeveltorisewhichposesaproblemto
populationsneartheoceancoasts.Countriesthathaveadensepopulationneartheoceanlike
Bangladeshareatmostcriticaldanger.Inordertodecreasethesechangesandmakeaviable
futurefortheworld,itisnecessarytocurbharmfulpollutantsbyswitchingtootherenergy
sources.Eventhoughtherearechallengesindoingthis,itisdefinitelynotimpossible.
Alternativeenergysourceshavehadmajoradvancementsinrecentyearsandhavebeen
proventobeagoodsubstitutetowardnonrenewables.Technologiessuchassolarenergy,wind
farms,andhydroelectricpowerplantshavegreatpotential.Agovernmentstudypublished
that,
Continuedresearchhasmaderenewableenergymoreaffordabletodaythan25yearsago.
Thecostofwindenergyhasdeclinedfrom40centsperkilowatthourtolessthan5cents.The
costofelectricityfromthesun,throughphotovoltaics(literallymeaning"lightelectricity")has
droppedfrommorethan$1/kilowatthourin1980tonearly20cents/kilowatthour
today(EnergyStory).Theseadvancementsaremakingrenewableenergymoreefficientandare
significantlydecreasinginstallmentcosts.Also,alternativeenergysectorhaspotentialeven
withoutradicalnewscientificbreakthroughs.Stanfordresearchersestimatedthat,"Basedonour
findings,therearenotechnologicaloreconomicbarrierstoconvertingtheentireworldtoclean,
renewableenergysources,saidJacobson,aprofessorofcivilandenvironmentalengineering.It
isaquestionofwhetherwehavethesocietalandpoliticalwill"(Theworldcanbe).Itisnot
anissueoffindingnewwaysofdevelopingenergy,butratherhowwecanchangegovernment
policiesandexpenditurestofundmoremoneytowardcleaner,renewableenergy.Also,by
limitingourdependenceonfossilfuels,wewillbeabletohaveamoreenergyefficientstructure.

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Researchesfoundthat,Renewableelectricitygenerationfromtechnologiesthatare
commerciallyavailabletoday,incombinationwithamoreflexibleelectricsystem,ismorethan
adequatetosupply80%oftotalU.S.electricitygenerationin2050whilemeetingelectricity
demandonanhourlybasisineveryregionofthecountry(RenewableElectricityFutures
Study).Inaddition,
Evenwithoutwidespreadadoptionofenergyefficiency,theprojected
2050U.S.electricitydemandcanbemetmanytimesoverbyrenewables.Actualdemandcould
be1045%lowerafterefficiencyimprovements(U.S.RenewableEnergyPotential).Becauseof
this,thegovernmentshouldtakeactionatmaximizingsustainableenergyproductionbecauseit
isavalidmeansofchangingourenergygrid.However,manypeoplethinkthatthetimehasnot
comeforrenewablesandinsistontheuseoffossilfuelsasthemajorenergysourceformany
yearsintothefuture.
Inordertodiscreditthedecreasingsupplyofoil.majoroilcompaniesfalsifyreportsthat
newmethodologiesandanabundanceofundiscoveredoilfieldswillbeabletopostponethe
energycrisis.Ontopofthat,someanalystssaythathuge,heavyoilreservesincountriessuchas
CanadaandVenezuelawillbeabletosupplytheworldwithenergyforaverylongtime.
However,theseargumentsareflawed.Thoughoildrillingmethodshavebecomemoreeffective
at
maximizingoiloutput,newoilfieldshavebecomeharderandhardertofind.PaulRoberts
writesinhisbook,...Since1995,theworldhasused24billionbarrelsofoilayearbuthas
found,onaverage,just9.6billionbarrelsofnewoilannually(Roberts).Statistically,thereare
notenoughplacesintheworldtohavelarge,easilyaccessibleoilfields.Also,heavyoilisnot
economicallyorenvironmentallyplausibletoinsurefossilfuelsafuture.Itishighlyexpensiveto
refineandproductionreleasesmonstrousamountsofgreenhousegases(TheFutureof

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Petroleum).Therelianceoffossilfuelproductionwillcausegreatproblemsbecauseoflimited
solutionstodecreasingsupply.
Thetransitionbetweenhavingahydrocarbonbasedeconomytoarenewableenergyone
isoneofthemostmonumentaltasksforthehumanrace.
Nevertheless,
theUnitedStatesisthe
greatestglobalpowerintheworldandhasthestrengthtochangethetideinenergyproduction.
Anincreaseingovernmentspendingonalternativeenergy

willbeastrongstridetowardthe
entire
worldbecomingmoreecologicallycleanandbringingcountlessotherbenefitstosociety
asawholewhichwillmaketheworldabetterplace.

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WorksCited
Print:
Deffeyes,KennethS.
BeyondOil:TheViewfromHubbert'sPeak
.NewYork:HillandWang,
2005.Print.
Roberts,Paul.
TheEndofOil:OntheEdgeofaPerilousNewWorld
.Boston:HoughtonMifflin,
2004.Print.
Schlager,Neil,andJayneWeisblatt.
AlternativeEnergy
.Detroit:UXL,2006.Print.

Websites:
"ClimateChangeCauses:ABlanketaroundtheEarth."
ClimateChange:VitalSignsofthe
Planet
.NASA'sJetPropulsionLaboratory,29Oct.2015.Web.01Nov.2015.
<http://climate.nasa.gov/causes/>.
"TheEnergyStoryIntroduction."
TheEnergyStoryIntroduction
.CaliforniaEnergy
Commission.,n.d.Web.02Nov.2015.
"TheFutureofPetroleum."
Petroleum
.Petroleum.co.uk,n.d.Web.02Nov.2015.
"TheHiddenCostofFossilFuels."
UnionofConcernedScientists
.N.p.,n.d.Web.02Nov.
2015.
GlobalWarmingPutstheArcticonThinIceNaturalResourceDefenseCouncil.nrdc.org.
November22,2005.September24,2015
"HOWMUCHHASTHEGLOBALTEMPERATURERISENINTHELAST100YEARS?"
UCAR.8January,2014
.
"PeakOil?"
PeakOil?
CornellUniversity,n.d.Web.02Nov.2015.

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RenewableElectricityFuturesStudyNationalRenewableEnergyLaboratory.nrel.gov.June
16,2015.October18,2015
Theworldcanbepoweredbyalternativeenergy,usingtoday'stechnology,in2040years,says
StanfordresearcherMarkZ.JacobsonStanfordReport.news.stanford.edu.January26,
2011.September24,2015
"U.S.RenewableEnergyPotential."
U.S.RenewableEnergyPotential
.RockyMountain
Institute,n.d.Web.02Nov.2015.