Post 1: Why We Are Looking to Alternative Energy Sources

Everyone has heard about the environmental issues associated with fossil fuels. The burning of these fuels releases dangerous amounts of carbon dioxide into the air, causing a greenhouse effect. The amount of carbon dioxide in the air, combined with the massive amounts of methane produced by billions of domesticated animals each year, has resulted in a major elevation in global temperatures. If you were in attendance at Dr. Richard Alley’s lecture during the Schreyer Honors Orientation in August, you’ll remember his warnings about the fate of humanity should we continue (if you weren’t there I would highly suggest checking out what he has to say. He’s a Nobel Prize winner guys, I think he knows what he’s talking about). This trend is likely to continue, and only immediate action will be able to curb the effects to anything short of disaster. The threats are immense. Increasingly energized weather systems means more powerful storms, as well as more storms in general. As landlocked ice melts from Greenland and Arctic regions, sea levels will rise, flooding some of the greatest population centers on the planet, including New York City Link. Eventually, temperatures may grow to the point that there are much wider bands of the globe that are simply unlivable. Now, the extreme dangers listed above are still far away by our perception. By the time we die, we will likely see the beginnings of crisis due to sea level change and have experienced larger storms than ever seen before,but nothing will have been cataclysmic yet. These predictions are based on fact, as Dr. Alley said, and are indisputable, One would think this alone would be motivation enough for widespread government-sanctioned change, but there are other more material forces at work surrounding fossil fuels.

The unfortunate truth about new pushes for change in regards to fossil fuel dependency is that often the inciting force is nothing less than threats to humanity’s economic system. Fossil fuels are finite, much more so than we like or like to think about. We are using the world’s fossil fuel reserve one hundred thousand times faster than these reserves can be made Link. One hundred thousand. This is a problem. But this rate of use is by no means reaching a plateau or sloping downwards. Take a look at the world. Much of the population lives in developing countries that have no choice but to use fossil fuels for development, as they lack economic resources to do otherwise. Recent studies have revealed that while the population of developed countries is relatively stagnant, developing countries continue to grow at an alarming rate Link. This increase in the dependent population puts an increased strain on rapidly depleting fossil fuel deposits. China’s ultimate goal is to reach the point where every family owns a car. The resulting rate of consumption has been predicted to be greater than the rate oil can be pulled out of the ground Link. This means fossil fuel deposits will become scarce. Scarce in a world where fossil fuels are the most demanded goods on the market. I don’t need to have a history teacher tell you what happens when the world competes for resources that are a need. Trade does not satisfy the dependency, and the more powerful countries of the world have never hesitated from going to war to claim the necessary resources to maintain their positions at the top. I am not trying to sound apocalyptic, but the signs of more violent competition are very visible. Of the numerous complex reasons for conflict in the Middle East, one of the greatest is the conflict over oil. As more countries run short on fossil fuels, more will get involved. This is a haunting prediction, but one that does not need to come true.

So there you have it. Humans simply cannot rely on fossil fuels anymore. The threats are enormous, and the fact that we have the technology and money to begin making change makes doing nothing blatantly inexcusable. I’ve never been a “tree-hugger” or wacky environmentalist. In this situation I am speaking as a realist, and the problems are real. The conversion to sustainable energy sources isn’t something to be left to fringe groups of people who sleep in tents for months on end and eat only organic foods. This is everyone’s problem, and this is why I’m writing this blog.

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