Our Economy
Is Based on
Fossil Fuels
The United
States has to stop it's addiction.
Our
nation's fossil fuel dependence means that, to ensure
our supply, we may be forced to protect foreign
sources of oil. The Persian Gulf War is a perfect
example: US troops were sent to the Gulf in part to
guard against a possible cutoff of our oil supply.
Although the war is over, through taxes we are
continuing to pay for protecting oil supplies with our
armed forces. Not only were billions of dollars spent
in protecting the oil, but lives were lost as well.
Reliance
on Middle East oil also creates a danger of fuel price
shocks or shortages if supply is disrupted. Today,
about one-third of our oil comes from the Middle East.
By 2030, if we do not change our energy policy, we may
be relying on Middle East oil for two-thirds of our
supply.
Go Green Revolution
(GG Revolution)
The world is moving into a new era, the Go Green
Revolution (GGR). This means that everyone, not
only environmental activists, has to go green
because of the earth's current global warming and
rising seas. Environmental changes are not only
damaging to our economy, but are now to the point of
threatening human life itself. It is no longer
acceptable to solely use fossil fuels to run the
economy while damaging the environment.
Many countries now realize there is a problem and
are actively trying to change their economic system
to become more earth friendly. Germany is an
example of this, they have placed a cap on their CO2
emissions to reduce their greenhouse gas
contribution. In Brazil, they have taken charge and
started the process of changing to ethanol. They
have already changed 40% of their fuel to ethanol,
so they are no longer dependant on foreign imported
oils.
In
the United States, the Bush administration has in
the past five years been spending 29 billion dollars
in research and development of renewable energy
sources and energy tax incentives. What is more
interesting is that Congress and the Senate are both
controlled by the Democratic Party. This is
significant in that there is a presidential election
next year and if a Democrat wins the presidency,
there will be a huge shift toward green energy
policies. The Democratic Party has many
environmental supporters. Its also possible that
there could be more pressure put on the oil and gas
companies to invest in renewable energy sources. If
this were to happen, it's possible a tremendous
amount of money would be invested in renewable
sources of energy.
Americans, in general, already acknowledge failure
with the Iraq War. They are realizing more and more
their dependence on oil and that they must change to
renewable sources of energy. After a new
administration is brought in, many countries will
have to change their energy policies if the U.S.
decides to join the Kyoto treaty with the condition
that all developing nations join (including China
and India).
The United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC) already warns us of the
seriousness of global warming. Dr. Achim Steiner,
Exec. Direc UN Environmental Program, says that It
matters whether or not you are born in
Africa
..societies are affected in different ways.
No longer is there debate about our direct
involvement in global warming. We, humans, are
responsible for the warming of the earth and all
nations accept this result without doubt.
How does this global change
affect us? It's very clear that our future has to
change dramatically soon. This is bad news for
those nations that are not prepared. The future
competitiveness of a nation depends on its energy
security. Whoever develops the initial green
energy source, will elevate their nation to become a
major power in the future. A new revolution means
new opportunities for all industrial nations. It
can be solar, wind, water, biomass, or any type of
renewable energy source for all different nations.
It is a matter of survival and the fittest will come
out on top with innovative energy developments.
The 19th century had
the Industrial Revolution, the 20th century had the
IT revolution and now the Go
Green
Revolution is for the 21st century.
The Go
Green
Revolution and converting to an environmentally
friendly industry is no longer a choice. It is our
reality and it's coming to us very fast.
Global Warming
Is It For Real?
The hotly debated topic right
now is whether or not global warming is real. Its
a topic as volatile as politics and religion and one that will
continue to be intensely contested.
It is said that global warming
is caused by greenhouse gases (brought about by CO2
emissions). Simply put, these gases get trapped in the
earth's atmosphere causing the
Global warming is major issue
behind the push for lowered CO2 emissions from vehicles.
Instead of pushing global warming as a major factor, we should
focus (in part for the sake of the global warming opponents)
on better health effects. Not only is decreasing CO2
emissions better for the earth and surrounding environment, its
also better for our health.
For anyone in doubt about the
negative effects (i.e., smog) all they have to do is look at
California and the smog. Anyone who has flown into LAX or
Ontario airports has seen the thick level of smog that covers
the city of Los Angeles. Smogs
negative effect on peoples
health is
well documented and
experienced by those in the area.
One of the reasons global
warming has been rampant in the news is because of vehicular
CO2 emissions. Regardless of the reasoning behind lowering
CO2 emissions from gas powered vehicles, the development and
emergence of flex-fuel and hybrid vehicles is a positive
change that should be embraced by all Americans (and drivers
around the world).
The production and development
of hybrid SUVs should have SUVs drivers around the U.S.
jumping for joy. GM will be releasing the hybrid 2008 Tahoe
this year and it is supposed to have 25% more fuel
efficiency. Exact numbers have not been released yet for this
vehicle.
In addition to hybrids, the
increased manufacture of flex-fuel vehicles is a slower, and
not as effect method of decreasing emissions. With flex-fuel
vehicles (with use ethanol/gas blends), there is debate
whether there is much savings in emissions when the use of
plants and heavy machinery (transportation) is factored in.
While there are emissions from factories, some experts feel
that placing plants next to dense forests would in effect
negate those emissions. The trees would in essence
eat
up
the extra emissions.
Every
day in things we do at home, work or at play, we emit
greenhouse gasses. In our homes, we can reduce our emissions
by purchasing energy efficient appliances, windows, and
furnaces2.
Another simple way to reduce the emissions is to recycle,
recycle, recycle. Its
really easy to do this and really helps with waste and
landfills getting overfilled. Every little bit helps and in
order to help our earth adjust to the many changes we are
submitting it to on a daily basis. If you cant
afford to buy energy efficient appliances or make other
improvements to you home, the cheapest and easiest way in the
world is to simply recycle. Many cities offer curbside
recycling services, check with your city to see what is
available.
 |
