Beyond Silliness !
Are we being logical about Global Warming ? Probably not, since we now call it climate change. It might be a little ridiculous to think that man caused climate change to happen. Sure, we are a contributing factor, but we all know that the earth undergoes sometimes drastic climate changes-naturally! Mother Nature has never needed any help in that area. Even if we would have heeded the warnings 30 plus years ago, after the “gas crisis,” -much of what is happening now, would still be happening. We have no control over it. But, we probably have contributed to our crisis by not practicing good conservation.
So, what makes us think that we can change our habits and replace our energy demands with alternative sources, in just ten years? Today, here in the United States, only 7% of our energy comes from alternative sources. Hydroelectric power comprises 36% of our total alternative energy usage. Another 5% comes from the use of wind energy. These two sources cannot be tapped into much further, without studies of the damage it causes to already fragile ecosystems. Fish and wildlife suffer as a paradox of our need for alternative energy sources. It seems the only time we hear about these unfair tradeoffs, is when people protest (NIMBY) not in my back yard, when it is time to build dams and install wind turbines into already settled communities.
Today, over half of our alternative energy is in the form of biofuels. Sources such as switchgrass (it needs an enzyme to break it down) and ethanol (corn based) are our hope for renewable energy. Geothermal and solar power (through photovoltaic cells) offer another 6% of our current alternative energy usage. While these sources are promising, they supply a very minor amount of our total annual energy needs.
Will we meet the goal in ten years? Probably not, but we have to start somewhere. It is estimated that it will cost upwards of $2.5 trillion to achieve approximately half of our home based energy needs through alternative energy sources. Some feel that the environmental impact of biofuels is worse than that of petroleum souces. Sure, more information is needed in these areas, but we can’t stop progress. We must move forward. We should make more use of resources that we already have here at home. More use of nuclear energy, natural gas, and ways to safely make use of hydrogen should be looked at more closely.