The United States of America is known as the “Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. America earned this nickname and has one of, if not the most productive economy in the world. However, one area that the United States shows great room for improvement in is the politics of energy. There’s plenty of ways that I believe America should begin preserving energy and become much more energy sufficient in general.Energy efficiency is defined as a way of managing and restraining the growth in energy consumption. In other words, using less energy in order to provide the same services. Since the late 1900’s, many countries around the world have been installing guidelines to improve energy efficiency. America’s energy intensity and efficiency ratings are nearly the lowest worldwide, due to its current debt, the immense population, and the nations recent budget cuts. …show more content…
Firstly, Energy Efficiency is basically defined as using less energy to provide the same service, and Energy Intensity is simply the measure of the Energy Efficiency of a specific nation, which is usually represented in a graph.
Whether you like it or not, the use of energy impacts all of us, either negatively or positively. It can affect our everyday lives by being anything from high gas prices, an overly expensive electric bill, and can also result in a plethora of greenhouse gas emissions. The Federal government is currently working with manufacturers and technology companies to improve the Modernized Grid that connects with the nation’s electricity. Improving the “Smart Grid” would allow us to produce electricity from more reusable and renewable sources. As a nation, we’re a little behind when it comes to things like this which also another result in America ranking out of the top ten in most energy efficient
nations. Due to the billions of dollars that the United States is currently in, America no longer has the money needed to continue putting into energy conservation programs. The United States doesn’t have the funds available to pay corporations like the “Energy Star” (which creates everyday appliances such as microwaves and refrigerators to be more energy efficient than others.) Some politicians are arguing that this is the reason why America is using so much energy to perform basic everyday functions. However, a recent push towards buildings, buildings, appliances, and cars have helped dramatically. The Smart Car and Prius, which are two of America’s electric hybrid cars, have done wonders for not only the economy, but the ecosystem as well! Countries like China, South Korea, and Germany are putting billions of dollars into the development of what they call “Smart Cities.” Smart Cities are a futuristic city that features self operating energy systems and driverless cars that operate by themselves. The driverless cars operate off of electricity, and each of the countries agreed that since they implemented their Smart Cities, issues within the country similar to crime, pollution, and congestion has decreased noticeably. On the other hand, it should be noted that the United States hasn’t even begun building or funding it’s first Smart City; However, America has began the process of designing Smart Growth strategies for its current cities such as New York and in Kansas.
Introduction The reliance on other countries for fossil fuels that produce energy has put the United States of America at risk of being pulled into unstable regions around the world, jeopardizing international relationships and putting its own citizens in harm’s way. America needs to balance both the pursuit of alternative energy solutions and reducing energy usage. Our military runs on fossil fuels produced by other nations who do not have similar interests or values as the United States, ultimately adding unwanted risk that becomes difficult to manage. There are advantages to alternative energy solutions that could allow for America to become an independent energy nation, eliminating the need to support and stabilize various regions around the world. The U.S. Military needs to reduce its overall energy usage by taking advantage of breakthrough technologies that could be integrated into current systems.
Wind turbines can be very useful in bringing energy into your home. They are especially useful when solar panels aren't working. They take the wind speed from oceans, lakes, dugouts, or rivers and turn it into energy. To use the wind turbines most efficiently you should set up a wind power system.
Currently society is structured in a way that makes the people dependent on fossil fuels. The era of technology requires the need for electrical usage, the layout of cities and highways are constructed to force people to travel by vehicles, and the taxation for using cleaner energy sources oppresses those who are environmentally conscious. One of the major problems in funding cleaner energy sources is the capitalistic ideology of America. Instead of funding research for the retrieval of oil from exhausted oil wells, or funding the production and maintenance of oil pipelines, the money instead should go towards finding more sustainable ways to fuel the country and then enabling the public to purchase these techniques through incentives such as tax breaks. Instead of negatively reinforcing the public for the usage of clean energy, provide positive reinforcement for the endurance of the behavior.
ways. The use of electricity will reduces the usage of the earth’s resources such as gas and oil.
Fortune states that “the solar and wind industries are each creating jobs at a rate 12 times faster than that of the rest of the U.S. economy” (Samuelson 1). The article states that there are roughly four and a half million jobs in the sustainability sector, and the number could keep growing if the United States continues to invest in renewable energy (Samuelson 2). All of these benefits would be considered extra incentives, because the biggest benefit of more renewable energy would be to combat the current climate change crisis. With so many positives, it is surprising that the United States refuses to dedicate more of its resources to expanding clean energy, even when it helps the economy, environment, and sets America up with an infinite source of
US DOE Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. (2006, July 26). Retrieved July 26, 2006, from http://www.eere.energy.gov/
Instilling this new way of energy usage into off-grid communities will inevitably increase the state of living for those in cities and other well-populated areas. The change to renewable energy sources could drastically lower the pollutants currently being dispersed into the atmosphere by coal mines and other harmful power options, increasing the supply of renewable energy would allow us to replace carbon-intensive energy sources and significantly reduce U.S. global warming emissions. a 25 percent by 2025 national renewable electricity standard would lower power plant CO2 emissions 277 million metric tons annually by 2025—the equivalent of the annual output from 70 typical (600 MW) new coal plants (“Benefits of Renewable Energy Use”). Electricity production accounts for more than one-third of U.S. global warming emissions, with the majority generated by coal-fired power plants.
We have in our possession, a variety of energy resources that can be used to replace, some of the more harmful fuels utilized today. Nevertheless, even with all these options we have yet to make a certified effort in the upgrading of our current systems of energy production. Of course this in many ways is tied to politics and economic issues. Yet it is my passionate belief that these should not over power that which is ultimately more important which is the welfare of the environment. Why so much interest in the subject you might ask? Well in truth it stems from the recent class we had on geothermal energy.
Garrett-Peltier, Heidi. "The Environmental And Economic Sense Of Energy Efficiency." Dollars & Sense 282 (2009): 9. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 1 Apr. 2014.
Green construction is growing rapidly because it is an alternative to expensive polluting fossil fuels in view of global climate change. Green aspects include helping the environment and can increase the amount of green (money) in one’s wallet. Today there is an enormous push toward investing in green technology and implementing green appliance usage and devices in older homes, newer homes and even homes under construction. There is also a push in the United States to decrease its dependence on fossil fuels to combat climate change, decrease pollution, the trade imbalance, and dependence of foreign oil. The objective of this paper is to explore a selection of green appliances on the market and how investing in them now will pay off in future years to come.
Household energy conservation is a very practical and realistic approach to conserving energy within our society. US households consume a tremendous amount of natural gas as well as electric energy. It has been calculated that the amount of energy consumed within the US increased exponentially from about 1850 to 1975. If energy continued to increase at this rate, we would be experiencing severe energy shortages in our current society. Luckily, steps towards conservation, including various energy regulations, have curbed that growth somewhat, brining the predicted 160 Qbtu/yr for the year 2000 down to around 93.8 Qbtu/yr by the year 1996. However, household energy usage is still a major issue as households consume about 38% of the total consumed energy and contribute greatly to natural gas consumption and issues such as global warming. Therefore, it is important that people understand how we use energy in the household and what steps can be taken to conserve that energy.
middle of paper ... ... g the Energy Revolution." Foreign Affairs. Nov/Dec 2010: 111. SIRS Issues Researcher.
What does it cost to turn on a light switch, run the TV all day, or take a long hot shower? How many hours a day, week, or year do we have to work just to pay for the gas in our cars, air conditioning and heating in our homes, or storage of old leftover food in our refrigerators? How early could a person retire if he never had to pay an electric bill his entire life? How many people would not be impoverished if they could forgo the monthly electric bill debt? Free energy, an untapped resource, means self-sufficiency, pride, and a better standard of living.
Electricity has become a basic necessity for most people all over the world. We are depending on electricity for our everyday lives and if one day we did not have electricity we would have difficulty going through the day. I think we need to be more dependent on things that do not use electricity and only use electricity sometimes as a treat so just in case if one day electricity all goes away we could still live comfortably and still have a great life even without it.
Using fossil fuels such as coal and oil is inefficient, dangerous, and otherwise a process that is known to eventually fail as a long lasting energy source. Yet, there is hope for the future of energy, this new hope has many shapes and forms, but requires a chance to be fully implemented in our everyday life. Such energy sources like solar energy, wind energy, geothermal energy, and hydro power are the key to our future. These energy sources are proven to be long lasting, safe, more reliable, and the next innovation. In short, all Americans should switch to renewable energy, resulting in a safer and more efficient world.