I think that we as a global community need to stop talking about all the other options we could have as alternative energy and actually use these renewable energy sources to their full potential. Cost being the largest hurdle in the way for the development of these alternatives is a problem, but the price of the overall environment heavily out weighs these expenses. More studies on methane leaks would definitely help out, but instead of using these energy sources that we know are destroying the earth we NEED to wean ourselves off of the destructive energy we are using now and think more about the future generations that need to live on the world that we leave them. Coal and Natural gas will not be around for much longer due to our insane consumption rate of these resources. The answer is that we have to change our ways as a society now, or the world we know today will be a barren wasteland. We as a technologically advanced society have the tools to make a difference in the environment. So what is stopping us from opening up our wallets to save the earth that we all need.
Refering to Jeremy's last question about what is stopping us from opening our wallets now, I believe that although many people know what they are doing is harming the environment, a lot of times, they have no choice. Many people can't afford to pay the extra dollar to go green and so they must go with the cheaper, less efficient product. It is unfortunate that the right way is the more expensive way but thats the way it is at this point in time. However, there are still many people that can afford to pay the extra dollar and I believe it is them that need to start this green trend. Many people take on the lifestyle that is just like the example of our dream homes in class, being filled with aesthetics and having virtually no efficient energy sources fueling them. People really need to stop worrying about the useless presentation of their home and start using what makes the home more efficient. As Coach Wilson said, you can still have a comfortable, energy efficient and aesthetically pleasing home without the gaudiness that many go for when furnishing their homes. If materials are the trend and everyone is buying them because its the trend, why not start the trend of a green home and make that the hot item to have. As far as energy sources go, we also may as well, as Jeremy said, ween ourselves off of the harmful ones now. We already complain about high gas prices at the gas station and how they are becoming hard to afford. If price is the issue with alternative sources, just like it is becoming with gas, we may as well use the cleaner and more efficient alternative source. It can only help an already dying environment. That being said, yes using a possibly more efficient natural gas instead of coal could definitely help the environment, but only by a small amount. We need to think about using sources that are substantially more efficient and we need to then start using those sources as soon as possible. The environment is only growing worse everyday we use the same bad methods.
The most unfortunate thing about a situation like this is the amount of pessimism that seems to be associated with the search for alternative energy sources. It’s always either too expensive, too dangerous, too wasteful, or just not viable. Consider for a moment the amount of money given to recent corporation CEO's as part of their "golden parachute" severance package: In Cleveland, as of August 26th, 2011, the CEO of Lubrizol, Inc. stands to make $97 million if his company is bought out in June (http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2011/04/lubrizol_ceo_poised_to_soar_on_fabulous_golden_parachute.html.). That's enough money to pay for the Lake Erie Wind Farm with $4 million to spare. Why are we allowing the people who are fired from their jobs to be paid more money than the combined yearly income of roughly one thousand four-member families instead of, at the very least, shelling out to protect our planet? Maybe after this particular CEO pays for Cleveland’s Wind Farm, he can use the extra money to pay for 450 houses-worth of solar shingles that $4 million can buy. With amounts of money such as these just floating around, the debate over coal or natural gas is totally irrelevant. Since both are clearly harmful, we should be investing in better, clearly cleaner alternatives that are proven to work (Wind, Solar, etc.).
I agree with Zach in his comment that we should be investing time and money into finding a resource that is less harmful than coal and natural gas. From the movie we saw, we know coal is not a viable long-term option. It is harming the environment through air pollution, water pollution, destruction of green space and loss of aquatic ecosystems. It is also harming the health of the individuals who live in areas surrounding those being mined for coal. As this article suggests, coal and natural gas have roughly the same impact on global warming. Natural gas could even be potentially worse for global warming, if methane leaks are not kept to less than 2%.
With this in mind, the next logical step is to work on finding a different resource that will power this country’s and the world’s energy needs. It is not viable to ask the world to use less energy, as the world progresses farther and farther we rely more and more on technology, which requires energy. I do not believe the world is going to technologically regress even for something as important as the environment. So it is our job to come up with a clean source of energy that will power all of our energy needs without harming the environment and without running everyone out of money. This is an extremely hard thing to accomplish, but as Zach mentioned, some people have the money. If we could convince the wealthiest class of people that the environment needs saving and that needs to start with where we get our energy, they have the money to make the change.
I believe that instead of arguing over whether coal or natural gas is the lesser of two evils, we should invest in finding an energy source that is actually clean and a viable long term option.
I think that we as a global community need to stop talking about all the other options we could have as alternative energy and actually use these renewable energy sources to their full potential. Cost being the largest hurdle in the way for the development of these alternatives is a problem, but the price of the overall environment heavily out weighs these expenses.
ReplyDeleteMore studies on methane leaks would definitely help out, but instead of using these energy sources that we know are destroying the earth we NEED to wean ourselves off of the destructive energy we are using now and think more about the future generations that need to live on the world that we leave them. Coal and Natural gas will not be around for much longer due to our insane consumption rate of these resources. The answer is that we have to change our ways as a society now, or the world we know today will be a barren wasteland. We as a technologically advanced society have the tools to make a difference in the environment. So what is stopping us from opening up our wallets to save the earth that we all need.
Refering to Jeremy's last question about what is stopping us from opening our wallets now, I believe that although many people know what they are doing is harming the environment, a lot of times, they have no choice. Many people can't afford to pay the extra dollar to go green and so they must go with the cheaper, less efficient product. It is unfortunate that the right way is the more expensive way but thats the way it is at this point in time.
ReplyDeleteHowever, there are still many people that can afford to pay the extra dollar and I believe it is them that need to start this green trend. Many people take on the lifestyle that is just like the example of our dream homes in class, being filled with aesthetics and having virtually no efficient energy sources fueling them. People really need to stop worrying about the useless presentation of their home and start using what makes the home more efficient. As Coach Wilson said, you can still have a comfortable, energy efficient and aesthetically pleasing home without the gaudiness that many go for when furnishing their homes. If materials are the trend and everyone is buying them because its the trend, why not start the trend of a green home and make that the hot item to have.
As far as energy sources go, we also may as well, as Jeremy said, ween ourselves off of the harmful ones now. We already complain about high gas prices at the gas station and how they are becoming hard to afford. If price is the issue with alternative sources, just like it is becoming with gas, we may as well use the cleaner and more efficient alternative source. It can only help an already dying environment. That being said, yes using a possibly more efficient natural gas instead of coal could definitely help the environment, but only by a small amount. We need to think about using sources that are substantially more efficient and we need to then start using those sources as soon as possible. The environment is only growing worse everyday we use the same bad methods.
The most unfortunate thing about a situation like this is the amount of pessimism that seems to be associated with the search for alternative energy sources. It’s always either too expensive, too dangerous, too wasteful, or just not viable. Consider for a moment the amount of money given to recent corporation CEO's as part of their "golden parachute" severance package: In Cleveland, as of August 26th, 2011, the CEO of Lubrizol, Inc. stands to make $97 million if his company is bought out in June (http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2011/04/lubrizol_ceo_poised_to_soar_on_fabulous_golden_parachute.html.). That's enough money to pay for the Lake Erie Wind Farm with $4 million to spare. Why are we allowing the people who are fired from their jobs to be paid more money than the combined yearly income of roughly one thousand four-member families instead of, at the very least, shelling out to protect our planet? Maybe after this particular CEO pays for Cleveland’s Wind Farm, he can use the extra money to pay for 450 houses-worth of solar shingles that $4 million can buy.
ReplyDeleteWith amounts of money such as these just floating around, the debate over coal or natural gas is totally irrelevant. Since both are clearly harmful, we should be investing in better, clearly cleaner alternatives that are proven to work (Wind, Solar, etc.).
I agree with Zach in his comment that we should be investing time and money into finding a resource that is less harmful than coal and natural gas. From the movie we saw, we know coal is not a viable long-term option. It is harming the environment through air pollution, water pollution, destruction of green space and loss of aquatic ecosystems. It is also harming the health of the individuals who live in areas surrounding those being mined for coal. As this article suggests, coal and natural gas have roughly the same impact on global warming. Natural gas could even be potentially worse for global warming, if methane leaks are not kept to less than 2%.
ReplyDeleteWith this in mind, the next logical step is to work on finding a different resource that will power this country’s and the world’s energy needs. It is not viable to ask the world to use less energy, as the world progresses farther and farther we rely more and more on technology, which requires energy. I do not believe the world is going to technologically regress even for something as important as the environment. So it is our job to come up with a clean source of energy that will power all of our energy needs without harming the environment and without running everyone out of money. This is an extremely hard thing to accomplish, but as Zach mentioned, some people have the money. If we could convince the wealthiest class of people that the environment needs saving and that needs to start with where we get our energy, they have the money to make the change.
I believe that instead of arguing over whether coal or natural gas is the lesser of two evils, we should invest in finding an energy source that is actually clean and a viable long term option.