Tag Archives: rcl1314

The reason I chose to do alternative energy as the topic for my civic issues blog was because their is so much information about it around and a lot of this information is false. Alternative energy is the energy of the future whether we want it to be or not. There is very little time left for fossil fuels as the dangers of using them become more apparent. People need to be more open to the drastic changed necessary to make the switch from fossil fuels to renewables within the next century.

I really wanted to expose a lot of common misconceptions people have as false. One of the biggest ones and one major reason I started this blog is that we don’t have the technology to implement alternative energies on a large scale and that alternative energies are not up for the challenge. However, countries like Germany where one third of their energy is being provided by renewables, are showing that the switch is very possible. Another misconception that is very false is the idea that America does not have enough sun to support a solar power infrastructure. America gets far more sun that Germany, who is leading in solar energy, and simple things like cloudiness are not a factor as people so often believe. People also seem to believe that renewables are all going to be very expensive but solar power is almost as cheap as energy now.

It seems like people are very deterred by these misconceptions and are less optimistic for renewables than they should be. Although it will take a lot of money and work there isn’t really another option than an eventual full switch and people need to be more open to this. A full switch will probably not occur in our lifetime seeing as there would have to be a new infrastructure built and that people are not fully on board for investing in renewables. There is a lack of urgency in talk about alternative energy and the dangers of fossil fuel because people don’t feel like any of the consequences of them are happening now. Global warming is talked about like a future problem that we want to save future generations from but the truth is that we are already seeing major negative effects from the fraction of a degree the earth has already heated. We have the potential to heat the earth more than 2 degrees Celsius in our lifetime and that could be catastrophic. An overall heating of the earth by a few degrees is going to cause flooding and extreme weather that effects humans.

The biggest misconception of all is that we are doing this to save the earth. The purpose of stopping global warming is not to save the earth, it is to save us. The major thing that global warming is going to do is cause animals to go extinct including humans if we let it go on. After people are gone the earth is going to live on creating ecosystems adaptable to the new temperatures and geography of the earth and after thousands of years will cool again, mostly unaffected by it’s heat spell that will be a blip in it’s timeline. There are other problems we cause that are effecting the earth is drastic ways but global warming is not one of them. Global warming is going to effect the organisms that live on earth is drastic ways and we are one such organism.

I hope everyone learned something from my blog and that maybe someone is more open and optimistic about renewable energy. Even if renewable energy is something that doesn’t interest you I hope that you at least make sure to check facts when presented with them and be open to new ideas and possibilities involving them. 🙂

You may or may not know what divestment is, but I’m going to tell you about it either way. Universities, including Penn State, have an endowment and they invest it in stocks to make it grow. Most of these universities have some or a majority of this endowment invested in fossil fuel companies. Investing in these companies is both socially irresponsible and bad financially for the universities. Divestment movements are popping up on universities all over the country to try stop them from investing their money in these companies. 

Let’s first talk about social irresponsibility, if you didn’t read my blog last week it briefly went over some of the many dangers of fossil fuels and the harm they do to the environment and human health and quality of life. Investing in these companies is giving them the ability to continue this and to say this is okay. If all universities currently investing in fossil fuels stopped the companies would have a financial incentive to invest in alternative energy (which if anyone says they “already do this” don’t listen because they only use like 1% of their yearly profits on alternative energy). Also by investing in these companies we are telling them that their actions are okay and that even if they destroy our planet and mess with international politics we’ll still invest in them. Universities are supposed to be progressive places and they should start acting like it.

There are a lot of financial reasons colleges use to avoid divesting. Most colleges use investment firms and claim they don’t know where their money is going. Although they do use investment firms we all know they can ask where their money is going and some even use firms that solely invest in fossil fuels (Penn State, for example, uses firms like this). This information can be hard to find but it is definitely out their for discovery. They also say they can’t just stop investing in these things right away, but no one is asking them to. Most divestment movements are just asking for a promise to work towards divestment and a stop to future investments in fossil fuels, not for colleges to sell all of their fossil fuel stocks immediately. The most effective movements have actually written out a new stock portfolio for the college that will be just as lucrative  and that does not involve fossil fuel companies. There are also more financial reasons for colleges to divest than to avoid divestment. The stock prices of all fossil fuel companies are highly inflated based on the assumption that they are going to sell all of the fuels they have. However, the IPCC, congresses committee on climate change, has said that if the earth warms more than 2 degrees Celsius it will have catastrophic effects. The fossil fuel companies have enough fuel in their  reserves to emit 2,795 gigatons of carbon dioxide which could raise the temperature 10 degrees if it is all burned. The IPCC has declared burning that much fuel illegal and so the fuel companies know that they will never burn all of it. The average investor, however, does not take this into account and invests as though this companies can and will burn all of their reserves.

Fossil fuel divestment is something all college campuses need to work towards and stop investing in companies that know they are destroying our planet and endangering the lives of everyone. Penn State actually has an up and coming divestment movement right now (this is where the shameless plug comes in), it’s called fossil free PSU and you can like their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/fossilfreepsu?ref=br_tf and sign the petition for Penn State to divest. They are also having an event April 9th at 6:30 in 112 Kern called Onward on Climate Change (https://www.facebook.com/events/1397120750559736/1402436780028133/?notif_t=plan_mall_activity). I seriously feel like everyone should check it out, they are going to have multiple speakers including Nobel Prize winning climatologist Dr. Michael Mann and Environmentalist Bill McKibben! They are not a fully functioning club yet but if you have any questions you can totally ask me in class. 🙂 Also you can check out the entire divestment movements website gofossilfree.org.

So I realized I started a blog about alternative energy without first explaining why we need it. I’m sure everyone is aware of most of these reasons but it seems that people don’t realize the urgency of the situation. Fossil fuels like coal, natural gas, and oil are harmful to the environment and to human health.

Fossil fuels are extremely harmful to the environment and the gases they release while burning, such as CO2 and SO2, are known green house gases that are causing climate change. This is absolutely happening and the warming of the planet will continue and accelerate if we do not take action. Many people have a misconception about climate change and they think everything is going to be getting hotter. However, the melting of the polar ice caps is because of the overall heating of the planet but it’s causing the currents from them to col causing areas along the oceans where these currents run to stay colder for longer. These currents are also a cause of severe weather in these areas. The eastern coastline of the United States is one such area and so the next time it’s really cold don’t say “it’s freezing, global warming my ass” because it could instead be a sign that it’s happening. The cooling and heating of different areas on the globe are going to lead to droughts in Africa, severe weather, flooding in the densely populated Asian river deltas, and threaten small island populations in the pacific.

Climate change is not only effecting people, it’s effecting all organisms negatively. Climate change is leading to the extinction of many species of animal, for example polar bears, caribou, penguins, musk oxen, various types of cold water fish, seabirds, tree possums, American pikas, alpine butterflies, and frogs. These animals could all go extinct without a serious reduction in our carbon footprint. Coral reefs, tropical forests, and mangrove forests are also threatened and they are some of the most densely inhabited and important ecosystems in the world. The coral and trees are effected by the heating and cooling of the ocean, as well as possibilities of drought. If these ecosystems die we could see extinctions of thousands of species both known and unknown. Beyond climate change, pollution and instances such as oil spills are also threatening wildlife.

If you are still not concerned about climate change or our effect on the Earth, fossil fuels are also effecting human health. Burning fossil fuels releases chemicals and pollution that are dangerous for people to breathe. It may not feel like it every time you take a breath but it’s true. Air pollution is leading to increased instances of asthma in children and other diseases. Also when we’re talking about natural gas we are also talking about hydraulic fracturing (fracking). It is heavily debated whether or not fracking is dangerous, but in my very strong opinion and from the facts I’ve heard I believe that is is dangerous to human health. Fracking occurs on soft sedimentary rock beds such as shale, but this is also where we get most of our ground water from. There are many alleged cases of gas leaking into the ground water and making many people sick, possibly giving people cancer (although of course this is only “alleged”). There is also the question of the fracking liquid they use. I don’t know what’s in it because, well, no one does. It’s a trade secret, but there have been reports of dozens of dangerous chemicals and reports that they only use sodium chloride. Either way if we are so dependent on fossil fuels that we are willing to look over and not investigate dangers to out own health there is seriously something wrong.

Right now we see solar energy used to power calculators and the houses of people who can afford to pay for the pricey panels, but solar power has the potential to be used for so much more. I’m not just talking about wireless cell phone charges and solar powered flash lights, I’m talking about solar power plants.

Solar power is one of the most promising forms of alternative energy and we see more and more people all over the world installing solar panels in their back yards and on their roofs. Not only is it better for the environment but it also can eliminate an individuals electricity bills and depending on where they live, get them a nice tax break. However, most people can’t afford the outfit they’re houses with the very expensive panels and a lot of people just don’t care enough. Honestly, a lot of people feel like they have more important things to spend their money on and worry about. This is why I think the only way we can really make a serious difference in the United States’ carbon emissions is through serious research into large scale solar power plants.

The technology is absolutely available. The largest solar power plant in the world is actually located in the Mojave desert in California and the development and deployment of even larger scale plants is very possible. Also the cost of solar power per watt is becoming very competitive with that of gas power, the prices are anticipated to become equal in the United States as soon as 2015 and Spain has already achieved this. The United States is leading the world in solar power at the moment. We have the highest investment in solar research and the two largest plants in the world but that doesn’t mean it’s really making a difference yet.

The transition to using solar power on a large scale is obviously going to take a long time. The economics and practicality of a dramatic switch from fossil fuel to solar power just don’t make any sense. However, if we seriously start considering this as a possibility now we can make this transition happen as soon as possible. The most practical way would  just be to built more plants. The more plants and the more people already using solar energy the easier the transition to full dependence on solar power.

Until the, which seems to be very far away, people should really be open to looking into switching to solar power in their own homes. The benefits far outweigh the costs of switching. The one immediate advantage is not having to pay an electricity bill anymore. Being on solar power means that their house is no longer on the grid and therefore they don’t have to pay for their electricity anymore. Also sometimes the solar panels can put energy into the grid and the energy company will pay you for it (It will only be at most a few dollars every once in a while, but the idea is still pretty cool). The cost everyone thinks of is the price of the panels, but this is the only cost and the panels are becoming cheaper and cheaper.  It’s estimated that having solar panels actually pays the investor back in 8-12 years.

Right now solar power only accounts for about 10% of the world’s energy which is a sad amount for how much potential it has. With the rising costs of fossil fuels and serious environmental issues such as climate change people and governments need to take a much more serious look at solar power. Solar power has been discussed since the 1860’s and is by far the most talked about form of alternative energy and yet people are still skeptical. The facts and technology are all pointing in the direction of solar power and it really has the most potential to fuel the future.