Renewable Energy: The Switch is Now

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The year is 2200. The world is going through a fossil fuel shortage. Oil reserves are almost completely consumed and it is becoming impossible to find new fossil fuel sources. Not prepared for this event to occur, The United States, has no alternative options. As a result of the oil shortage, the standard of living deteriorates. Heat in homes, supermarkets full of food, and transportation, all basic necessities taken for granted, will be depleted because fossil fuels are used to power almost everything. The key to the prevention of this future is renewable energy. Unfortunately the support for the use of renewable energy is weak and ineffective. Unless the US puts forth effort to research and promote the use of renewable energy to consumers, conversion from fossil fuels to renewable energy will no longer be an option. The use of fossil fuels on a large scale, specifically coal, began with the Industrial Revolution in England. Industries/corporations first used coal as a main source of energy to fuel their factories, and it became even more popular when railroads started. According to the United States Energy Department, "...by the early 20th century coal had become the major fuel in the United States, accounting for nearly 75% of the nation's energy requirements." Soon after, newer and cheaper fossil fuels, such as oil and natural gas, were high in demand. Energy Supplies, Sustainability, and Costs, by Sandra Alters, states oil was used as the main source of fuel to heat homes and offices, and gas powered the growing number of cars (57). "Oil shoved aside coal as the world's primary fuel, just as coal had replaced wood", says Tom Mast in Over a Barrel: A Simple Guide to the Oil Shortage (15). Most Americans were not concerned wit... ... middle of paper ... ...o. CSS03-11. Clay, Rebecca. "Renewable Energy: Empowering the Developing World." Environmental Health Perspectives 110.1 (2002): A30. GreenFILE. Web. 30 Mar. 2014. "Energy Supply." World Book Advanced.World, 2014. Web. 25 Mar. 2014 Mast, Tom R. Over a Barrel: A Simple Guide to the Oil Shortage. Austin: Hayden, 2005. Print. "Oil Embargo, 1973–1974 - 1969–1976 - Milestones - Office of the Historian." Oil Embargo, 1973–1974. U.S. State Department, 31 Oct. 2013. Web. 06 Apr. 2014. Smil, Vaclav. "The Long Slow Rise of Solar and Wind." Scientific American 310.1 (2014): 52. MasterFILE Complete. Web. 30 Mar. 2014. "What Governments Need to Do."Living Green. World, 2014.Web. 25 Mar. 2014. "U.S. Energy Information Administration - EIA - Independent Statistics and Analysis." U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). U.S. Department of Energy, n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.

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