resersh paper
The Reality of Renewable Resources
On April 20, 2010 the Gulf of Mexico experienced what president Obama called “the worst environmental disaster in American History”, a Deep water Horizon oil rig exploded, releasing barrels upon barrels of oil into the gulf (Hertsgaard 1). This disaster, also known as the BP. Oil Spill, gushed out oil for over 2 months. The oil spill caused 11 fatalities, not to mention the lives of aquatic and coastal animals, the destruction of ecosystems, the downfall of tourism and fishing industries on the gulf, as well as the Hefty clean-up cost. Debts need to be paid and changes need to be made to ensure this horrific disaster never occurs again, but that dose not mean the United States needs to completely abolish the use of fossil fuels. The untied states is the worlds largest oil consumer, using more than 1/3 of the worlds oil (Altars 8). The majority of America’s oil is used to make gasoline for cars and other motor vehicles, it is also refined to generate electric power and diesel engines (Altars 6). If the United states were to extinguish the use of fossil fuels and switch over to renewable resources the nation would be using resources such as wind power, solar power, hydro-power, and even biomass. These resources are considered to be environmentally friendly and and more beneficial for american foreign policy, but there are doubts that an all-out energy transition is currently the best choice for the United States. Renewable resources shouldn’t replace the use of fossil fuels in the United States right now because of high expenses, reliability, and existent technology.
In the current United States economy renewable resources are too expensive to rival fossil fuels in the energy market. Energy sources like wind and solar power require large government subsides to even compete in markets where the electricity cost is already incredibly high (Gold 1). Alternative energy sources require large amounts of government funding
On April 20, 2010 the Gulf of Mexico experienced what president Obama called “the worst environmental disaster in American History”, a Deep water Horizon oil rig exploded, releasing barrels upon barrels of oil into the gulf (Hertsgaard 1). This disaster, also known as the BP. Oil Spill, gushed out oil for over 2 months. The oil spill caused 11 fatalities, not to mention the lives of aquatic and coastal animals, the destruction of ecosystems, the downfall of tourism and fishing industries on the gulf, as well as the Hefty clean-up cost. Debts need to be paid and changes need to be made to ensure this horrific disaster never occurs again, but that dose not mean the United States needs to completely abolish the use of fossil fuels. The untied states is the worlds largest oil consumer, using more than 1/3 of the worlds oil (Altars 8). The majority of America’s oil is used to make gasoline for cars and other motor vehicles, it is also refined to generate electric power and diesel engines (Altars 6). If the United states were to extinguish the use of fossil fuels and switch over to renewable resources the nation would be using resources such as wind power, solar power, hydro-power, and even biomass. These resources are considered to be environmentally friendly and and more beneficial for american foreign policy, but there are doubts that an all-out energy transition is currently the best choice for the United States. Renewable resources shouldn’t replace the use of fossil fuels in the United States right now because of high expenses, reliability, and existent technology.
In the current United States economy renewable resources are too expensive to rival fossil fuels in the energy market. Energy sources like wind and solar power require large government subsides to even compete in markets where the electricity cost is already incredibly high (Gold 1). Alternative energy sources require large amounts of government funding
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