In the U.S. , we have an abundance of naturally
occurring resources in coal and oil. These resources have raised the standard
of living and fueled our society for decades. But the future of conventional
sources of energy is uncertain.
Al Gore and President Obama have
both said that the continual use of fossil fuels will result in a global
warming disaster and they encourage us to turn to alternative sources of
energy. But the fact of the matter is, there are experts on both sides of this
issue and we don’t know with certainty if this claim is true or not. Carbon emissions
from human activity constitute less than 5 percent of the total emissions
released from oceans and land. Some experts contend that temperature rises are
due to a natural cycle of warming and cooling, not humans.
Alternative energy is
underdeveloped and expensive—solar and wind costing two to four times more than
coal and oil. It is simply not practical to pursue alternative energy if it is
not competitive in the market.
In 2010, the federal government
spent $66 billion on clean energy. Forcing expensive energy will worsen the
economy and impede recovery.
Due to more state and federal
regulations, the coal and oil industry is safer, cleaner, and more efficient
than ever before. We can rely on coal and oil until the technology is developed
that will make clean energy competitive. I hope to see a future where society
is powered by solar and wind, but I can't see it happening today.
Laws:
Federal spending
State and federal regulations on
oil and coal industries
Players:
Federal and
state governments
Coal and
oil industries
Clean
energy proponents and industries
Interests:
Cheap
energy
Clean
energy
Please leave a comment with your opinion!
For more information on energy (and many other issues): http://alternativeenergy.procon.org/
2 comments:
Alternative energy is the future but I feel unless this country focuses more on fixing our many other problems new advancements in green technology will be slow. I've always felt that nuclear power is the best temporary fix to our energy and environmental crisis until we can invent something better. Though it's not perfect it's safer than most people think. Thank you for sharing that article!
Here is a site that tells the many benefits of Nuclear energy: http://www.nei.org/
That was not an article actually. I wrote it myself. But thanks, I'll take that as a complement :)
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