Conserving Energy, Arguing to Inquire

Lauren Smith
English 201
Professor Conaway
March 13, 2012
Arguing to Prevail: Conserving America’s Energy With energy being a scarce resource, people across the world need to look at lifestyle changes to protect the environment for future generations. Anything from driving less to turning off a light in a room can help the cause. Conservation methods take thought, commitment, and changes to everyday lives to make a difference. In order to conserve energy, consumers need to be aware of their daily usage and find ways to cut the usage down. Conservation of energy includes using less gasoline, electricity, and non-renewable resources. It also involves finding and producing alternative energy, recycling and home improvements. Not all methods of energy conservation will negatively impact the daily routines of people. With a little consideration and dedication to reduce energy consumption, everyone can do their part. In order to understand how to conserve energy, there needs to be a definition of what non-renewable resources are. According to Ingrid Kelley, author of Energy in America: a Tour of Our Fossil Fuel Culture and Beyond, coal, oil, and natural gas are called fossil fuels because they were formed from layers of carbon-based organic matter that had been plants and simple marine creatures many millions of years ago (Kelly 14). While they were buried under sediment, these organic layers were concentrated by time, pressure, and terrain into various carbon deposits containing significant amounts of energy, which ancient swamps and forests soaked up from the sun (Kelley 14). This means that the energy that we use today for fuel and power to provide electricity for our homes and offices is a dying source. Fossil fuels take millions of years to be reproduced, and the way America burns through them, it would be impossible for them to be a consistent source of energy. From looking at the way energy consumption is at this point and time it does not seem to add up. The Fossil Fuel age dates back to the Industrial Revolution in England. The manufacturing of coal mining and exporting the raw material to other colonies and countries began as the source for the mass empire of energy production we see today (Kelley 16). The United States adapted this way of life and embraced the social and cultural potential created by these highly concentrated carbon fuels. The main benefit that Americans saw was the power coal and later oil had. It increased production and had more “muscle power” than any animal or human of its time (Kelley 16). As Kelley describes, Americans were glamourized by the power that fossil fuels held for the future. A new era had begun, but with this new era a price was to be paid. Fossil fuels were a revolutionary discovery; the ability to power an engine of a car with a few gallons of gasoline was a marvel most never thought would be possible. The only problem with this was the gases emitted from the engine burning the fuel. The science behind global warming is preached to many people on a regular basis, however; how well is it understood? Certain gases absorb solar radiation that would otherwise be dispersed back into space. If more gases are in the atmosphere, then more energy is radiated back to earth. As well as, the higher percentage of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the greater the amount of the sun’s energy that is trapped on earth (Inslee, Hendricks 6). Greenhouse gases are good, but like most things, only in moderation. Without them, planet earth would freeze over and be uninhabitable. Today, the gases that trap heat on our planet are nearly twice as “thick” as they were before we started cutting down our forests and burning oil and coal according to Jay Inslee and Bracken Hendricks book entitled, Apollo’s Fire. Inslee and Hendricks also describe other natural features that have changed since the increased usage of fossil fuels around the world. The mean temperature for earth has risen by 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit. The sea surface temperatures by .09 to 1.8 degrees over the 20th century; Sea levels have risen by .2 meters and the extent of Artic ice has decreased by 7 to 15 percent depending on the time of year. With increasing shorelines and melting icebergs scientists have new predictions of what to expect for future generations According to Dr. Carol Bitz, professor of atmospheric science at the University of Washington, “It is (referring to ice caps) melting rapidly now, and 80 percent of the summer ice will have disappeared by 2040 and the remain remnants by 2080.” Dr. Bitz is referring to the rapid rate that the ice caps are melting in the artic. If her predictions are accurate the excess water will make our shorelines disappear and potentially surrounding towns and cities. Gases emitted from cars, homes, and chemicals that are not natural to the environment cause ice caps to melt. These excess gases are what fuel the “Greenhouse Effect,” by getting trapped in the atmosphere and creating more heat than what is needed to survive. Most people know the harm that burning non-renewable resources can cause, so why not stop the overusing of these fuels? In his 2006 State of the Union address, President George W. bush declared, “America is addicted to oil.” This was news coming from a president who once declared, “There’s no such thing as being too closely aligned to the oil business” (Inslee and Hendricks 12). President Bush’s statement was not a thought out of random. Looking from the time the usage of oil began to present day, it has become quite apparent that it has become part of every American’s everyday life. On average the United States uses nearly 21 million barrels of oil a day. That amounts to a staggering 25 percent of total global consumption. And of the oil America uses, we import over 65 percent, or 13.5 million barrels each day (Inslee and Hendricks 14). These statistics should not be as high as what they are. American’s could stop at this alarming rate if there was a way for alternative energy to become affordable. The 1990 amendments to the Clean Air At may help change that. The act, according to Rodman D. Griffin’s article entitled “Alternative Energy,” offers a cash incentive to utilities that invest in conservation and renewable energy, as long as their regulators ensure that efficiency investment is at least as profitable as buying new plants. This means that the government is pushing companies to make their products better for the environment. This would help greatly with conserving energy, there are many alternatives to saving energy that are not going to change everyday life drastically. Some ways the scientists have found people can cut back on using fossil fuels and other nonrenewable energy methods. One of these methods includes biomass and anaerobic digestion. Biomass is the biofuel produced from various forms such as wood, grasses, crops, and crop residues (“Green Power”). This type of fuel produces electricity and fuel that can be used in motor vehicles. Biofuels are not as cleans as other renewable resources such as wind or solar power, but they are better than using fossil fuels. However, anaerobic digestion is a more natural solution to getting rid of waste products. The digestion process starts with bacterial hydrolysis, in which the input materials like insoluble organic polymers such as carbohydrates are broken down to make them available for other bacteria (“Green Power”). The most common source for anaerobic digestion is in cattle manure. This method of getting rid of waste is popularly in use by people in countries such as Indian, Nepal, Bangladesh, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Bhutan, and China (“Green Power”). A few more obvious sources for renewable energy are solar and wind power. Winder power is gained from huge wind turbines that produce electricity. These are generally found in open field because they require lots of wind, of course, and also the turbines are too large for a family to own in their backyard. The only problem that occurs with wind turbines is wind energy varying throughout the year. In typical conditions, in a year, windmills run at 25-35 percent of capacity (“Green Power”). With this being said, other sources of energy should be used such as solar and hydroelectricity. Solar power is the cleanest form of energy because it derives its power from the sun. These are just a few major suggestions to alternative energy, however there are many more such as hydropower, tidal, nuclear, and hydrogen fuel cell. Luckily, other parts of the world are getting a jump-start on using alternative sources of energy. Wind energy is the fastest growing renewable energy in the world, doubling in three years from 2005 to 2008 in Europe (“Green Power”). Also, in Brazil has one of the largest renewable energy programs in the world with the largest ethanol fuel production industry in the world using mainly sugar cane (“Green Power”). This is a new way to produce the fuel we use in our cars and it emits healthier fumes than regular unleaded gasoline that is used in America. If we all contributed to saving energy and finding new methods of producing energy, we could save many lives in the future. There needs to be major cut backs with the burning of fossil fuels and use of toxic chemicals. There are many alternatives that will not be inconvenient for consumers to use and they are healthier for the environment. Everyone would like to see nature be preserved and future generations be able to enjoy the earth without having to wear facial masks in order to breathe the air that we use to survive. This can only be possible with the consideration and cooperation of everyday people.

Work Cited
Griffin, Rodman D. “Alternative Energy: Can Renewable Energy Sources Replace Fossil Fuels?” CQ Press 2.25: n. pag. CQ Researcher Online. Web. 13 Mar. 2012. <http://library.cqpress.com/‌cqresearcher/‌document.php?id=cqresrre1992071000&type=hitlist>.
Rodman D. Griffin’s article entitled “Alternative Energy: Can Renewable Energy Sources Replaces Fossil Fuels?” is about alternative methods of getting energy. The article goes into great detail of how America has gone into such an increase in using oil and other non-renewable resources. America spends billions of dollars a year on oil and gas to fuel the countries working class. This was incorporated in my paper along with other facts that Griffin uses throughout his article. His article gave me insight to the crisis that we face everyday and a new wave of thinking when it comes to alternative energy.

Inslee, Jay, and Bracken Hendricks. Apollo’s Fire: Igniting America’s Clean-Energy Economy. Washington D.C.: Island Press, 2008. Print.
Apollo’s Fire is a very important book when it came down to writing this paper. President Bill Clinton whom approved of the author’s explanation and ideas of how to save the earth read this book. When I skimmed through the different chapters, I found many facts that were very useful in my paper. The opinions and facts of this book are very intriguing.

Kelley, Ingrid. Energy in America: A Tour of Our Fossil Fuel Culture and Beyond. New England: University Press of New England, 2008. Print.
The book Energy in America: A Tour of Our Fossil Fuel Culture and Beyond was also a very helpful book with my paper. There are many interviews from doctors of science and world leaders that give the book a factual meaning. Most of my statistics used in my paper came from the reading.
Panda, Sudhanshu Sekhar. "GREEN POWER." Green Energy. Ed. Dustin Mulvaney and Paul Robbins. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2010. 218-26. SAGE Reference Online. Web. 13 Mar. 2012.
Green Power is an article that shows different methods of alternative energy that are effective with everyday life. I used many of what the article suggested in my paper, however there are many more. I decided to use this in my paper because I thought it was very factual and it had ideas that I had never heard of such as biomass energy. When I though of biomass before I thought of something hazardous, but as I read I learned that it can be used as a very important substitute for fossil fuels.

Cited: Griffin, Rodman D. “Alternative Energy: Can Renewable Energy Sources Replace Fossil Fuels?” CQ Press 2.25: n. pag. CQ Researcher Online. Web. 13 Mar. 2012. &lt;http://library.cqpress.com/‌cqresearcher/‌document.php?id=cqresrre1992071000&amp;type=hitlist&gt;. Rodman D. Griffin’s article entitled “Alternative Energy: Can Renewable Energy Sources Replaces Fossil Fuels?” is about alternative methods of getting energy. The article goes into great detail of how America has gone into such an increase in using oil and other non-renewable resources. America spends billions of dollars a year on oil and gas to fuel the countries working class. This was incorporated in my paper along with other facts that Griffin uses throughout his article. His article gave me insight to the crisis that we face everyday and a new wave of thinking when it comes to alternative energy. Inslee, Jay, and Bracken Hendricks. Apollo’s Fire: Igniting America’s Clean-Energy Economy. Washington D.C.: Island Press, 2008. Print. Apollo’s Fire is a very important book when it came down to writing this paper. President Bill Clinton whom approved of the author’s explanation and ideas of how to save the earth read this book. When I skimmed through the different chapters, I found many facts that were very useful in my paper. The opinions and facts of this book are very intriguing. Kelley, Ingrid. Energy in America: A Tour of Our Fossil Fuel Culture and Beyond. New England: University Press of New England, 2008. Print. The book Energy in America: A Tour of Our Fossil Fuel Culture and Beyond was also a very helpful book with my paper. There are many interviews from doctors of science and world leaders that give the book a factual meaning. Most of my statistics used in my paper came from the reading. Panda, Sudhanshu Sekhar. "GREEN POWER." Green Energy. Ed. Dustin Mulvaney and Paul Robbins. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2010. 218-26. SAGE Reference Online. Web. 13 Mar. 2012. Green Power is an article that shows different methods of alternative energy that are effective with everyday life. I used many of what the article suggested in my paper, however there are many more. I decided to use this in my paper because I thought it was very factual and it had ideas that I had never heard of such as biomass energy. When I though of biomass before I thought of something hazardous, but as I read I learned that it can be used as a very important substitute for fossil fuels.