Solutions to Adverse Climate Changes
As time progresses and populations increase, Earth’s finite
resources continue to deplete. Utilizing technology and science in ways which make more sense need to include renewable energy. If political
powers continue to ignore destructive results of centuries of bad habits, choosing to preserve the earth may come a little too late. The United States government needs to
drastically change the way in which it deals with issues of survival, otherwise the economy
will not only worsen but it will also perpetuate more distractions which are
detrimental to the Earth. The simplicity in using science and technology to convert wind
turbine energy, wave energy, and solar energy will not only ensure future survival
of the Earth and all living creatures, but will also create a thriving global
economy.
Politics today has mutated into a system of out-of-control
spending by too many in positions of power.
This not only exists in the United States, but worldwide. The egocentricities and greed of government
officials continue to direct this planet’s future. President Obama appeared to be on the correct
path toward renewable, sustainable energy when he pushed a government
bailout loan of $535 million to the California solar company Solyndra. Unfortunately, Solyndra filed for
bankruptcy. Now Congress and the public have chosen to focus on
that fiasco, emphasizing a negative outlook on any progressive headway the
national government made (D’Andrea, 2011).
Obama is accused of using this bailout as a way of showing Americans he
is serious about jobs-creation in advanced and innovative areas, such as
renewable energy:
Solyndra was raided
after having publicly announced a cessation of its operations and an intent to
file for bankruptcy despite having received nearly half a billion dollars in
federal loans. The company cited foreign manufacturers, global oversupply of
solar panels, and shrinking credit markets as some of the reasons for its
decline. (Khalsa, 2011).
The outsourcing of jobs
is to blame and perhaps if the standard practice was to more widely utilize
products manufactured in the United States, Solyndra may have not
dissolved. In attempts to turn a quick
profit, politics impede potential advances.
When the United States depends on other countries to sustain its
needs, the potential for misunderstandings is present from so many cultural and
language barriers. The domestic economy
suffers from not enough jobs, so why not create
jobs within the innovative market of renewable energy? An article from California State University’s
The Online Pioneer illustrates
California’s political position, as Gov. Jerry Brown commented: “We’re going to invest in solar and make
California not only the national leader, which it already is, but we’re going
to make it the world leader” (Khalsa, 2011).
Perhaps the newness of renewable energy markets creates apprehension,
causing a reticent approach when a select and fearless few attempt to convey a
vision to a bureaucratic bunch.
The progression of Western science leaves room for ideas and
options like never before, and new methods exist which offer ways to sustain
life without allowing technology to ultimately destroy the planet. Earth faces increasing crises in the way the
current global population obtains energy with which to survive. The recent bankruptcy of Solyndra emphasizes
the risks, always present, in the attempt to commercialize new technologies
(Fogarty, 2011). In fact, everything worthwhile involves some
sort of risk; science has made leaps and bounds throughout history because of
the exceptional attitudes of brilliant scientists who have had a sense of
vision.
Green technology continues to grow in California, with
other solar panel companies in operation – some “using the same pool of federal
funding as Solyndra (Khalsa, 2011). California
State University (CSU) utilizes solar panel energy which currently fulfills a
portion of its energy needs. Other
California companies, such as BrightSource Energy, Inc., and Sungevity, will
benefit from an energy tax equity fund with Citigroup Inc. (Khalsa, 2011),
perpetuating an equitable long-term solution for a short-term investment. California keeps clear focus during a time of
pending recession, hopefully demonstrating that possible solutions to
increasing unemployment rates, at 10.9 percent (Khalsa, 2011), lie within
researching and investing in the innovation of renewable energy.
The desire for cleaner energy solutions are acknowledged
outside the United States as Ireland and China struck a deal in August,
2011: “Renewable energy firm Gaelectric
Holdings has signed a deal with XEMC VWEC to co-develop three wind farms in
Ireland, with a value of €18 million” (O’Brien, 2011). The
Christian Science Monitor (CSN) further articulates that in Singapore, “[seven]
U.S. solar manufacturers last month asked the Obama administration to impose
duties of more than 100 percent on China solar imports, which they said were
fairly undercutting U.S. prices and destroying American jobs” (Fogarty, 2011). The United States could be setting an example
for the rest of the world in the implementation of renewable energy.
According to the Solar Energy Industries Association
(SEIA), a November 1, 2011 survey concluded that nine out of ten Americans “overwhelmingly
support the use and development of solar energy as well as federal investments
for solar” (SEIA, 2011). The SEIA is a non-profit association, which “oversees
policy-driven research and develops education outreach programs to promote
positive policy and further deployment of solar energy in the United States
(SEIA, 2011). They continue to
perpetuate their goal of “installing enough solar power to two million American
homes each and every year by 2015” (SEIA, 2011). With all of the negativity American media
choses to broadcast, solar companies and other renewable energy companies
continue to thrive, and will continue to perpetuate jobs.
The only way to see prices drop for any type of renewable
energy is to invest in it and the government ultimately holds the most
responsibility. Americans look to the
United States government for direction and will follow suit once its government
shows more confidence. Government bailouts
have proven to deplete the confidence America once had in its own government
but perhaps the creation of new jobs would generate a new confidence. The Christian Science Monitor (CSN) further
articulates that in Singapore, “[seven] U.S. solar manufacturers last month
asked the Obama administration to impose duties of more than 100 percent on
China solar imports, which they said were fairly undercutting U.S. prices and
destroying American jobs” (Fogarty, 2011). This illustrates how outsourcing
jobs, as important as renewable energy, will only benefit foreign economies.
The United States should be held accountable for every job which is not only
outsourced, but also be held accountable for utilizing products from other
countries which could very well have been created domestically.
Solar is only one example of alternative energy; the
exploration of wind turbine and wave energy needs more exposure. Dan Arvizu, director of the National
Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado (part of the U.S. Department of
Energy), believes that an overabundance of solar panels is driving U.S. solar
panel manufacturers to slash prices.
Other clean energy technologies need more attention, though “[offshore]
wind, next-generation geothermal and wave and tidal power [remain] promising
but still costly” (Fogarty, 2011).
Wind turbine energy’s innovative results regularly gain
attention from those who continue to look for other means of producing energy
for both residential and commercial use.
The Obama Administration recently announced intentions to pursue
offshore wind energy: “Secretary of the
Interior Ken Salazar and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director
Tommy P. Beaudreau announced that the department’s renewable energy initiative
has cleared an important environmental review, allowing Interior to move forward
with the process for wind energy lease sales off Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey
and Delaware” (Bullin and Schwartz, 2012).
David Calley and Andy Kruse, the company founders of Southwest
Windpower, modified a Ford alternator to create their first wind generator
called the Windseeker (Southwest Windpower, 2011). Their designs “reduce dependence on fossil
fuels for those on the power grid” and they continue “to push the boundaries of
clean, efficient, sustainable wind energy use in every corner of the world”
(Southwest Windpower, 2011). This clean
energy has resulted in customers [having] generated enough wind energy to
offset about 15,300 tons of carbon emissions, the equivalent of 37,820,278
miles not driven in a car (Southwest Windpower, 2011).
There are some who are a little more cautious when it
comes to changes in how the population utilizes renewable energy. This innovation could potentially have an
environmental impact for which scientists are not prepared; however, there is
no reason why science cannot grasp potential adverse effects through proper
research. José Manuel Entrecanales, the
chief executive of Acciona, a major engineering company that operates wind
farms worldwide, said wariness in Europe about shale gas was warranted:
“I am afraid and fearing
that there is some degree of environmental effect that we are not yet aware
of,” Mr. Entrecanales told the Global Clean Energy Forum, a conference
organized by the International Herald Tribune in Barcelona. He was referring to
the process of fracking, or using pressurized water and chemicals to release
natural gas from shale rocks, and said he was “not sure how safe” that process
could be. (Kanter, 2011).
Fear should not overrule
the approach to common-sense science; confronting these fears is the only way
to overcome any obstacles and potentially harness awareness for future
good.
In addition to wind turbine energy, wave energy proves to
be among one of the most promising alternatives for sustaining
communities. Dr. Tom Heath, mechanical
engineer from the British company Voith Hydro, illustrates how implementation
of wave energy would eventually benefit communities in a short period of time:
The wave energy industry
is now in a similar stage of development to the wind industry in the 1980’s
with privately funded prototype devices under development with public support
and some public money. There will be failures on the way, that is the nature of
technical development, but with sustained public support to create conditions
where new energy sources can be introduced to the market there is every
expectation that wave power will mature to make a major contribution to our
energy needs. (Heath, 2011).
Dr. Heath’s research and
experience illustrates how, initially, the cost fossil fuel generation will
become more expensive and wave generated power will fall in cost. The development of wave power is “hampered by
the need to introduce a fledgling technology into a commercial market dominated
by subsidized low-cost fossil fuel and nuclear generation” (Heath, 2011). Once again, people have difficulty in
changing their habits. The refreshing
and even invigorating experience of this sort of change could be one of the
most liberating transformations of humankind.
To be able to take part in reversing damage the Earth’s environment has
sustained due to the use of fossil fuels would be a lie-changing experience for
those involved in the process!
Many other countries have been provided funding to
explore wave energy, such as the United Kingdom. The Cornwall Wave Hub and Fab Test nursery
site at Falmouth.Minister Making plan to create thousands of jobs support the
United Kingdom’s place as a world leader in wave and tidal power: “Wave Hub is a grid-connected offshore
facility in South West England for the large scale testing of technologies that
generate electricity from the power of the waves. It holds a 25 year lease of 8
sq km of sea bed connected to the grid by a 11/33kv subsea cable” (Cornish Guardian, 2012).
In the publication Ecosphere,
the article “Managing uncertainty in climate-driven ecological models to inform
adaptation to climate change” discusses approaches for understanding and
reducing uncertainty behind modeling effects of climate change on ecosystems
and focuses on multi-model approaches.
This helps to clarify strengths and limits of projections and minimizes
vulnerability to undesirable consequences of climate change (Littell, et al, 2011). Implementing change in order to erase
preconceived doubt in the minds of millions should be a priority in
America. If the United States can fund
stem-cell research or AIDS research, then why not fund teams devoting their
lives to erase uncertainties about changes in climate? Many of these uncertainties can be controlled
by characterizing their effects on models and future projections from those
models:
There is uncertainty in
decision making that does not derive just from the complex interaction of
climate and ecosystem models, but in how modeling is integrated with other
aspects of the decision environment such as choice of objectives, monitoring,
and approach to assessment. Adaptive management provides a hedge against
uncertainty, such that climate and ecosystem models can inform decision making
(Littell, et al, 2011).
The only way to be prepared for potential futures, projecting
ecological impacts, and planning for their consequences is to fund research
dedicated toward the stabilization of the global grid. This type of research is critical to decision-making
and adaptation to climate change (Littell, et al, 2011). Notwithstanding political considerations, the
success of renewable and sustainable energy supply technologies will ultimately
save not only the planet but the global economy, as well. Wave energy, for example, can deliver power
to the market because according to Dr. Thomas Heath of Wavegen, another company
in the United Kingdom, “the cost of
producing wave generated electricity is comprised primarily of the capital
expenditure in building and installing the device and connecting to the energy
grid” (Heath, 2011, p. 3). A successful
energy device will therefore have a minimum capital expenditure and a maximum
power output (p. 3). The evidence is
clear that putting off an inevitable alternative to America’s dependence on
coal or oil, foreign or domestic, will be detrimental to the economic future of
not only the United States, but to the world.
The snowball-effect of climate change and global warming continues
to compound. Though predicting the
weather is virtually impossible, even with modern technology and
meteorologists’ expertise, common sense should predicate humankind’s role in
perpetuating the advancement of potentially catastrophic consequences. The earth is sensitized to the actions of
human beings and only the sensitized human being can regulate the impact we
have on the environment. As technology now allows information to be accessed
instantaneously, and the availability of information on a global scale
continues to educate and inform people of all cultures – there are no excuses
for ignorance.
The planet faces increasing crises in the way the current global
population obtains energy with which to survive. The concept is to study
long-term effects on the Earth’s bio system with the use of simplified and
less-costly measures. The studies of certain renewable energy concepts include and
are not limited to windmills, waves, methane gas, and solar energy. These
methods are what makes the most sense and if they are not utilized soon, and if
the people in positions of power continue to ignore the depletion of the
Earth’s finite resources, the potential effect on a global scale will be
catastrophic. The populations of diverse flora and fauna will cease to exist,
food supplies will dwindle which will also affect the human population. Prices
will soar and debt will incur based on the current free enterprise system of
supply and demand. Further, the progression of the technological age insists
that human thought progress with it; there are ways to sustain traditions and
culture, without allowing the technology to ultimately destroy the planet.
There are ways to sustain traditions and culture, without allowing
technology to ultimately destroy the planet.
As time progresses and populations increase, Earth’s finite resources
continue to deplete. The solution is to
utilize technology and science in ways which make more sense, making use of
Earth’s resources in a perpetually renewable way. By using science and technology to convert
windmill, wave, and, solar energy to replace electricity, the Earth will
flourish and thrive not only physically, but also economically.
References
Bullin, L. and Schwartz,
M. (2012). Obama administration announces major steps
toward leasing for offshore wind projects in mid-Atlantic. “Wind Energy Areas
Moving Ahead in Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey and Delaware; Secretary Salazar
Streamlines Offshore Wind Applications.”
Press Release: U. S. Department of the Interior. Retrieved February 2, 2012, from http://www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/
Cornish Guardian. (2012).
Cornwall is handed millions for marine energy. Northcliffe
Newspapers Group Limited. Truro (UK): January 25, 2012. Retrieved January 31, 2012 from http://proquest.umi.com/pgweb?did=2569194771&sid=3&Fmt=3&clientld=74379&RQT=309&VName=PQD
D'Andrea, H.
(2011). The conscience of a
conservative. The Washington Times: Communities. Retrieved February 5, 2012 from http://communities.washingtontimes.com/
Fogarty, D. and Walet,
L. (2011). Renewable energy: victim of trade war – or winner? The
Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved
February 6, 2012 from http://www.csmonitor.com
Heath, T. (2011).
Realities of wave technology.
Wavegen.co.uk. Retrieved January
18, 2012, from http://www.wavegen.co.uk/pdf/art.1727.pdf
Kanter, J. (2011).
Economic slowdown challenges renewable energy. The New
York Times. Retrieved February 4,
2012 from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/27/business/global/economic-slowdown-challenges-renewable-energy.html
Khalsa, R. (2011).
Bay area green tech grows despite Solyndra. The
Online Pioneer. California State
University, East Bay: Department of
Communication. Retrieved February 6, 2012,
from http://thepioneeronline.com/news
Littell, J. S., D.
McKenzie, B. K. Kerns, S. Cushman, and C. G. Shaw. (2011). Managing uncertainty
in climate-driven ecological models to inform adaptation to climate change. Ecosphere 2(9). Retrieved February 9, 2012 from http://www.esajournals.org
O’Brien, C. (2011).
Chinese and Irish firms sign energy deal. The
Irish Times. Retrieved February 5,
2012, from
http://www.idaireland.com/news-media/featured-news/chinese-and-irish-firms/index.xml
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Solar Energy Industries
Association (SEIA). (2011). Retrieved January 16, 2012, from http://www.seia.org/
Southwest
Windpower. (2011). Retrieved February 7, 2012 from http://www.windenergy.com/about
Voith Hydro
Limited. (2011). Voith Hydro.
Retrieved January 29, 2012 from http://www.wavegen.co.uk/about_wave_energy_about_renewable_energy.htm
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