Making the switch to alternative, clean, renewable energy sources can help protect the environment and ensure a healthy future for generations to come. In 2014 the United Nations sponsored the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which addressed the issues our planet is facing due to rapid climate change. It was decided that greenhouse gas emissions would need to be sharply reduced before they spiral out of control. A main component of this action is the switch from non-renewable energy sources to clean renewable energy in the United States (Abdmouleh, 2015). In 2015 only 13% of the energy used in the United States came from renewable energy sources (Jacobson, 2015). Renewable energy is generated from natural, renewable resources such as sunlight, wind, water, and air. The main sources of renewable energy are wind, solar, geothermal, and hydroelectric power.
Wind power captures airflow through wind turbines and transfers it into usable energy for electricity. The energy generated from wind power is consistent from year to year but must be used in conjunction with other power sources to remain reliable. Wind turbines can be used on land as well as offshore and do not use much space. As the cost to develop wind power drops, so does the average cost to purchase electricity provided by wind. Their productivity is increasing and as of 2015 almost 5% of the energy generated in the United States was from wind power (EIA, 2016).
Solar power is the capture and transfer of sunlight into electricity. The International Energy Agency predicts that by the year 2050 around 27% of energy production worldwide would come from solar power (ACORE, 2016). Solar power unfortunately takes up a large amount of land and can result in habitat loss. In 2015 only 0.6% of the power generated in the United States came from solar power (EIA, 2016).
Geothermal power is clean and sustainable energy generated from the earths internal heat. The geothermal gradient ranges from only a few feet below the earths surface to as deep as the molten core. These are normally located in geological “hot spots” where the molten rock is closer to the earths crust (Ricardo, 2016). This form of energy generated 0.4% of the United States electricity in 2015 (EIA, 2016).
Hydroelectric power uses a turbine to capture the energy of moving water and transfer it into electricity. This energy source can negatively affect the environment around it as well as fish that try to pass through during migration. Increasing capacity and efficiency at current hydroelectric dams rather than creating any new dams is the best option for the future of hydropower. Hydroelectric power generated 6% of the United States energy in 2015 (EIA, 2016).
President Obama has kept the train moving towards using more renewable energy sources such as these. Since 2009 the Obama administration has fostered extensive energy into research and development for renewable energy sources. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) implemented a new policy strategy in 2013 that would regulate carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants, which emits an outrageous 38% of our nations carbon dioxide emissions, taking another step away from non-renewable energy sources and closer to clean, renewable ones (Podobnik, 2015). The EPA administers the Clean Air Act, a United States federal law put in place to help control air pollution on a national level. Under this act, older power plants are allowed to emit more environmental pollutants than newer plants, which have stricter regulations to stand by. This means that older plant do not have to spend as much money pollution control, giving them an unfair competitive advantage. Creating new regulations requiring the older plants to clean up their act or shut down would bring in more opportunity for renewable energy to provide and a cleaner environment for all. In August of 2015 President Obama announced his Clean Power Plan. This plan imposed the nations first limits on carbon dioxide output from power plants. These steep cuts will force the industry to shift toward cleaner-burning energy sources. The EPA set power plants greenhouse gas limits to be cut by 32% below 2005 levels by 2030 (Nanda, 2015).
Another policy solution to assist in the transition to clean energy is the cap and trade system. This system places a tax on carbon, deterring the use of this energy and encouraging the use of alternatives. This solution could affect the economy negatively, but keeping the tax relatively low at first with an increase over time would promote clean energy development and help to achieve long-term emission reduction goals (Twidell, 2015). Another option is giving tax credits to those who choose to use clean energy. Wind power for example has a production tax credit that has helped it to significantly expand throughout the United States (Milligan, 2015). Continuing this tax credit and making it available for other sources of clean energy will help renewable energy to grow (Jacobson, 2015). A third solution would encourage the implementation of new policies by improving the economic viability of clean energy generation. Clean energy leases on federal land by the Department of the Interior in areas that are optimal for solar, wind, and geothermal power is estimated to generate enough electricity to power 1.4 million homes (Dincer, 2015).
Our global population is expected to increase by 56% by 2040 (Abdmouleh, 2015). A population that large will meet many challenges if they are relying mainly on our fossil fuel reserves. By simply expanding our use of clean energy and becoming less dependent on coal-powered plants we can drastically decrease the amount of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere and ensure that our future populations will have electricity. Small steps can make big changes, and big changes can lead to a sustainable future.