Will we ever reach the point where we are 100% (or very close to) dependent on renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, hydropower, biomass, or maybe even something else we discover? It sounds like something we could get close to and should probably start figuring out if we can reach that goal because we are going to run out of coal and natural gas eventually. There have been many plans made by leaders and politicians that are very plausible, all they really need is to be funded, put into action, and executed properly. Easier said than done, though.

In 2008, Al Gore came up with a five step plan to reduce our carbon footprint hopefully by the year 2030. The goals he wanted to achieve was to install renewable energy sources across the nation that would help work towards reducing the climate crisis and help out the economy by creating jobs. It’s going to take a while to achieve this and I don’t know if I agree with that he thinks we could have had it done in 20 years (from the time he proposed the plan).  Maybe by 2050 we could achieve something very close to his goal.

The five steps to his plan are as followed:

1. Construct power plants in southwest, wind farms in the Midwest, and find and identify geothermal hot spots and place plants in these areas.
2. Build a “national smart grid” to help distribute the energy across the nation efficiently.
3. Convert cars to plug-in hybrids to reduce gas emissions.
4. Enforce stricter rules on buildings to become more “green”.
5. Create climate regulations to reduce the climate crisis.

All of these sound great on paper, but like I said before, easier said than done. Step two includes a $400 billion investment just to create the grids and get them running properly. Although, in the long run it is hoped that it will make up for and pay off the $120 billion power failures other energy grids have annually. Step three would be difficult to achieve because it would be very hard to get everyone to buy a hybrid car because automakers are still going to want to make their cars and trucks with whatever engines they prefer and that work with their automobiles. They would have to completely change the design of their cars. But if the government made a law saying automakers are required by law to make hybrids then maybe it could work, but I’m pretty sure the government can’t tell companies what to make. Environmental laws are plausible and can be made and passed, we already have a bunch that are helping the environment already.

If we find a way to fix all the problems I thought of (and others I didn’t address) with Gore’s plan, then yeah, I do think we could become a totally renewable energy dependent country and possibly world. It is possible, but expensive and everyone has to work together to achieve the goal. I think once people realize that we really are in an energy crisis, they will start working towards these goals and trying to help out. But with our history, this realization won’t be until it’s to late and we have to scramble to figure out what to do, even though plenty of people are giving warnings right now.