Through out the twenty century the Fossil fuels like- Coal, Oil, and natural gas- have been the primary source of Energy all over the world. These forms of energy are limited and take millions of year to produce from degradation and decomposition of plants and animals under tons of rocks and ancient seas. Our dependent in fossil fuel is creating serious problems like global warming, Ozone layer depletion, Pollution, economic crisis etc. in this century. Therefore, all Business Corporation should implement renewable energy by 2020, to avoid enormous economical catastrophe caused by global energy depletion. Renewable energy is produced from the resources like sun, wind, water, geothermal, biomass which is available in infinite amount and is constantly regenerated naturally over short period of time. Earth natural resources are limited and finite in nature. In next fifty years, we will start feeling scarcity of finding fuels and by the next century earth will be out of any kind of fuel. The population of world has reached about 6.77 billion and it is rising exponentially. The consumption of oil has reached to 28 billion barrels per year, which is huge volume and may not last longer ( Matthew). These fossil fuels are non-renewable sources of energy and it takes millions of year to form. Therefore, to save our future generation transition of 100 years long fossil fuel based economy into renewable energy is utmost important both economically and ecologically. The use of technology could harness the solar, wind and biomass energy which is 6000 times more abundant on annual basis than fossil fuel and produce large amount of energy that is sustainable and clean to environment and could be used to power factories, automobiles, homes, and aircrafts ( Christopher). Technology such as wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, and small hydro are contributing in reducing global warming and making us independent of traditional energy system. The current energy system based on fossil fuel threatens the future of our children and grandchildren by polluting the air and contributing to global warming. If current system is left untouched and unnoticed the emission of heat trapping gases like CO2 will damage our economical development and lead to irreversible damages by causing sea-level rise leading to flooding and coastal erosion; extreme weather condition causing more intense hurricane and drought; reduction of productivity of many fertile lands; loss of many treasured landscape and species- from coastal reef to polar beer (IPCC). A new fleet of coal- fired plants is significantly increasing global warming in America and rest of the world causing intense effect on our economy and quality of life. The global temperature has risen by 1.4 degree Fahrenheit [F] and it is estimated to rise by 2.4 to 10.5 degree by the end of this century, depending upon global response the threat ( Madsen and Sargent). Al Gore in Earth in balance has stated that, “The concentration of carbon dioxide and other heat-absorbing molecules has increased by almost 25 percent since World War II.” (Gore).Renewable Energy promotes cleaner air and promotes healthy life style by eliminating pollutants that causes lung cancer, Cardiac problems, asthma, and allergies. It reduces industrial and electricity pollution by eliminating the production of harmful gases like sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides, which are the major causes of acid rain. Due to Frequent acid rains, our water sources become acidic; this not only damages our crops and fertility of soils, but also adversely affects the animals who consume it. “Pollution and toxic chemicals take a heavy toll on public health, particularly with children. We’re dedicated to cutting smokestack and tailpipe pollution by 80%." Says Andy Darrell, VP Living Cities (Edf). Coal based power plants, which provides 49% of electricity in U.S. and 30% of carbon emission are estimated to emit annually 120,000 tons of Sulfur oxides, 240,000 tons of nitrogen oxides and 3 tons of mercury that are associated with premature death, Cardiovascular diseases, photochemical smog and neurotoxins all leading to death (Madsen and Sargent). Renewable energy not only help to reduce the environmental pollution, but also help to stabilize the economy by making us independent of few resources of energy and vulnerability, fluctuations of prices and interruption of fuel supply. As the renewable are self-reliant of fuel market, they are not affected by the constant change in fuel price as a result of increased or decreased demand and supply in the system, respectively. The chart below shows the growth of different renewable energy resources in the world. The solar PV is the fastest growing technology in the world (66%), hence creating millions of jobs in rural developing areas of the world (Martinot). The Renewable energy is turning into a big business as the entire big business corporations like Shell, BP, Sanyo, Siemens etc are investing on it. In 2004, over $ 30 billion dollars were invested worldwide and it created about 1.7 million jobs in manufacturing operations and maintenance (Martinot). Similarly, President Obama had pledged that United States would invest about $ 15 billion dollar annually to support the development and discoveries of green technologies. Pointing out at the green technology that are brought and assembled overseas in Europe or Korea, Obama said, “I do not accept a future where the jobs and industries of tomorrow take root beyond our borders -- and I know you don't either," (Geman). Renewable energy supply 17 percent of total energy in world and is growing in an exponential rate that the Obama-Biden administration has announced to create over Five million jobs in next ten years in the America ( Martinot). The modern technologies and research in developing renewable energy could shift the current conflict in the countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, middle-east, civil war in Venezuela and rest of the world toward peace and unity in world. The Former President George W. Bush lunched two most controversial foreign policy initiative:“a global war against terrorism” and a “ Global Campaign to Expand Americana Access to Foreign oil”, which merged the United States into many unstable, conflicted, and petroleum rich regions of the world that is now devastating our economy (Klare) . According to the [former Vice-President Dick] Cheney’s Cheney report, “the United States will become increasingly reliant on foreign oil. At present, we obtain about half of our petroleum from foreign sources; by 2020, imports will account for two-thirds of U.S. consumption, the report predicts. From this, it draws two conclusions: The United States must maintain good relations with Saudi Arabia and other oil producers in the region, and the United States must diversify oil suppliers around the world. "Middle East oil producers will remain central to world oil security," it says, but "our engagement must be global”. This means developing close ties with major suppliers in all oil-producing areas, including the Caspian region, Africa, and Latin America, is a "high-priority areas”(Klare). Therefore, we must be prepared and be self-reliant of our own infinite renewable energy before these countries stop selling those fuels to rest of the world. Despite all the advantages, “Renewable Energy is twice as much as expensive as gas or coal-fired electricity, with government subsidies unlikely to close the price gap” (Taylor). Most consumer of electricity in the world are those poor people who are very price sensitive and therefore these people would rather pay less to their utilities bills by choosing coal, gas other fossil fuel based energy system than paying double the sum of money in wind or solar energy. Besides, the producing energy from wind or solar energy is not always possible to meet the requirement or demand when wind is calm and the sky is cloudy. It always depends upon the geography of the place and limited to a specific site to install the plants and machineries. Therefore, there should always be backup conventional generators in those areas where demands of electricity constantly raise in hot summer days when there is no breeze. The renewable energy like wind, hydroelectricity and geothermal energy has been affecting our health and the ecosystem adversely, thus rising concern over the use of these technologies as an alternative source of energy. According to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), “Wind power providers found bats fatally collided with turbines in West Virginia, Tennessee, Minnesota, and Wyoming last year. Bats play an important role as primary predators of night flying insects, including many major agricultural pests, and they pollinate plants and disperse seeds" (Taylor). There are thousands of birds like golden eagles, red-tailed hawks, and burrowing eagle killed annually from the wind turbine blades, which is destroying the food chain of our ecosystem. Similarly, these wind turbines are thought to be spreading human diseases like malaria and west Nile virus ( Taylor). Also, the dams that are used in producing hydroelectricity are causing sever effect to the aquatic wildlife by stopping the constant flow oxygen in water, hence killing fishes and other water animals. Meanwhile, these dams are constantly threatening its nearby community as it could cause flooding and damage the lives and property of people living around it. The other biggest issue is the noise pollution due to the large wind turbine that is creating problems among the nearby habitants and property owner. These giant wind turbines produce unbearable sound while operating disturbing the peace and tranquility of nearby schools, hospitals, offices and other institutes. The energy challenge in the world is becoming more severed and havoc due to our addiction to the fossil fuel and undermined natural resource, which would generate same or more amount of energy, while creating negligible or zero effect on our environment. Renewable energy would stabilize the economy of any country by making them independent of any fuels that are non-renewable and strengthen the security of a country by making themselves self-reliant and self-sufficient. It would stop nations to merge into war in the search of oil and to gain authority upon it. Moreover, investing on renewable energy would bring a positive effect on global environment by cutting the green house gas and reducing global warming, which in turn cuts the health-threatening air pollutants. Besides, these new technologies would creates more jobs around the globe, build new communities and stabilize the world market price, hence all business Corporation should implement renewable energy by 2020 in order to prevent the collapsing world environment and economy.
Works Cited
Simmons, Matthew. "The World Is Running Out of Oil." At Issue: Is the World Heading Toward an Energy Crisis?.Ed. Daniel A. Leone. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005. Gale. North Lake College Lib., Irving ,Tx. 28 March. 2009<http://0-find.galegroup.com>.Flavin, Christopher. "A Transition to Renewable Energy Sources Is Necessary." Opposing Viewpoints: Energy Alternatives. Ed. Helen Cothran. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2002. North Lake College Lib., Irving ,Tx. 29 March.2009 <http://0- find.galegroup.com>.Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. “Third Assessment Report.” Climate Change 2001: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. North Lake College Lib., Irving ,Tx. 28 March. 2009.< http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/climate-changes-2001/synthesis-spm/synthesis-spm- en.pdf>.Madsen,Travis and Sargent, Rob. "Coal Should Not Be the Energy of the Future." Opposing Viewpoints: Coal. Ed. Michael Logan. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. Gale. North Lake College Lib., Irving ,Tx. 28 March. 2009.<http://0-find.galegroup.com>.Gore, Albert. “ Ships in Desert.” Earth In Balance. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2000.29. North Lake College Lib., Irving ,Tx. 28 March. 2009.
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