85% US Energy From Fossils: Threat to Economic Opulence? - Essay Sample

Introduction

In the United States, approximately 85% of the energy is obtained from fossils, which include Natural Gas, Coal, and Oil (Betini, 2012). A large population of the US relies on this energy to heat their homes generate electricity, power industries, and manufacturing. The transport sector heavily relies on energy from fossils, which involves conventional petroleum oil. Studies conducted reveals that petroleum oil contributes majorly to global warming, and this threatens the economic opulence as well as national security. Besides, the increasing use of fossil energy has led to health problems among people, destruction of wild places, and environmental pollution.

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Overview of Fossil Fuels

The projections from environmental assessment revealed that the consumption of fuel would rise by 56%, especially between the periods 2010 and 2040, with fossil fuel catering for 85% of the energy (Betini, 2012).. With this prediction, the fight against energy dependence on fossil fuel is likely to be futile. As a result, the global climate would be exposed to danger; thus weakening the world security environment. The United States needs to lessen its dependence on fossil fuels because of the adverse impacts it has on the global environment (Li, Jenkins-Smith, Silva, Berrens & Herron, 2009). Fossil fuels are considered nonrenewable sources of energy and usually takes decades to be formed. The society has a significant role to play in the fight against fossil fuels by relying on alternative sources of energy to conserve the environment. The US can win the war against fossil fuels by formulating measures that safeguard efficiency and energy conservation. This can be achieved by developing clean and renewable sources of energy to replace the use of fossils. Also, using innovative technology that aims at improving energy conservation would help to solve the dependency.

The US should encourage its citizens to practice energy conservation at their homes. For instance, the prevention of wasteful use of electricity at home lessens the number of fossil fuels required by lowering the demand. This can be achieved by using energy-efficient appliances to help in minimizing the amount of electricity consumed. Individuals need to shut off electronics and lights that are not in use (Biello, 2015). Appliances such as thermostats, heating, and cooling systems should be regulated to reduce electricity consumption. This measure needs to be communicated to every member of the family and encourage everyone to involve energy conservation by reducing the wastage.

Use of alternate transportation can help solve the problem of fossil fuels reliance in the U.S. Each time one drives the vehicle, the person consumes petroleum oil, which comes from fossils. The government needs to encourage Americans to consider taking another mean of transportation to save on fossil fuel. For instance, choosing to use public transportation lowers the rate of fuel demand; this is because one bus can carry more than 50 people unlike letting each of them use a car. The federal government must advocate for the availability of several public transportations such as subways, trains, and buses. Urging the American to use these alternatives means of transportation would help to cut down the increasing demand for fuel, which directly influences the use of energy from fossils. Heavy consumption of fossil fuels is experienced in the transportation sector; thus, alternative use of movement serves as a significant measure in reducing reliance (Biello, 2015).

The use of alternative sources of energy can help in the lessening of fossil fuel dependency among Americans. The sources of energy, such as solar and wind power, can serve as alternatives for reducing the rate of fossil fuel consumption. This is because they are considered renewable energy sources. The use of these other sources of energy minimizes the existing demand for fossil fuels. The society needs to be educated on the use of alternative energy sources at home (Betini, 2012). Renewable sources of energy are environmentally friendly and as compared to fossil fuels. Installation of solar panels in homes can help in minimizing the level of power consumption. However, the majority of households consider the installation costs as higher; the maintenance is relatively low.

The federal government should ensure corporate sectors embrace energy efficiency, especially the industries. This measure also aims at reducing the emission of harmful gases in the atmospheres. It is an effective approach to protecting the global security environment. The effort by the government to develop and implement appropriate corporate energy conservation would reduce the increasing demand for fossil fuel. Fossil fuels are detrimental to the global climate. As a result of this adverse effect, the government should enforce the firms that engage in massive production to use renewable sources of energy. This can be achieved through the new industrial revolutions, which requires the government to initiate policy measures to control the use of fossil fuel (Li et al., 2009).

The U.S government should stop processing fossil fuel subsidies. According to recent studies, the government spends dollars each year on subsidies towards the companies operating in the fossil fuel sector. The money directed to these companies should be invested in renewable sources of energy to overcome the increasing production of fossil fuels. Offshore wind, solar energy can be the better options for the government as an approach to reduce the dependency on fossil fuels. The movement by the wildlife sector to stop the generation of fossil fuels could be another action to help in the eradication of dirty energy. The collaboration with the federal government can help in reducing the increasing demand for fossil flues (Biello, 2015).

Spreading awareness of the negative effects of fossil fuel can be another way of countering the increasing demand. Organizations, institutions, government, and self-groups should schedule seminars or conferences to demand action towards reducing fossil fuels reliance. The environment belongs to every individual, and measures to eliminate harmful substances that threaten the global climate should emerge from people (Biello, 2015). Sharing information with others on the effective ways of conserving the environment helps to lower the demand for fossil fuels. The society should be committed to offer alternative sources of energy and encourage individuals to cease from consuming dirty energy.

A better understanding of the adverse effects associated with fossil encourage the members of the public to minimize their usage. Energy conservation at a personal level is significant for reducing the overall dependency on fossil fuels. The government should support groups formed to spread awareness about the dangers of relying too much on non-renewable sources of energy such as fossil fuels. The campaigns for lessening fossil fuels reliance among the Americans should reflect the national demand to safeguard the global climate. Therefore, each person should take part in the war against fossil fuels to reduce dependency. It is a collective responsibility to ensure that the global climate and environment is free from pollution.

Increasing the tax on fossil fuels can also help in reducing demand. For instance, the government should design a tax plan that would increase the productions costs to discourage companies from generating more fossil fuels. The consumers would find it expensive to purchase petroleum products and consider taking alternative sources of energy. Individuals driving personal cars would opt for public transportation such as subways, trains, and buses because of the high cost of fuels. The industries in the fossil fuel sector will also experience the high cost of production because of the tax plan targeting the generations and distribution of fuels (Betini, 2012). With this approach, the federal government should initiate policy measures to win the war against fossil fuel dependency in the United States. Other agencies committed to conserving the environment and control global warming should put more efforts to eliminate reliance. This can only be achieved by regulating the industrial production and distribution of fossil fuels.

Conclusion

In conclusion, fossil fuels reliance in America has turned out to be a serious problem of major concern as time goes. Staying in the U.S puts a person in automatic consumption of fossil fuels because of the industrial revolution. Most of the manufacturing, processing, and servicing heavily rely on fossil fuels as the primary source of energy. However, the tremendous effects that fossil fuels have on the environment and climate poses a great risk to the national economy. As a result, policy measures should be implemented to curb the increasing dependency on fossil fuels. For instance, developing clean and renewable sources of energy is an effective measure to minimize demand, thus reducing the dependency rate. Energy-efficient appliances can be used to reduce the amount of power consumption in homes, and this helps to lower the level of demand for fossil fuels. The government can also use tax plans to regulate massive production and distribution of fossil fuels. Implementing all these measures would help in solving the problem of fossil fuels dependency in the United States.

References

Betini, R. (2012). Strategies to Reduce the Use of Fossil Fuels. Renewable Energy And Power Quality, 245-250. doi: 10.24084/repqj10.287

Biello, D. (2015). Blacklist proposed for fossil fuels. Nature. doi: 10.1038/nature.2015.16695

Li, H., Jenkins-Smith, H., Silva, C., Berrens, R., & Herron, K. (2009). Public support for reducing US reliance on fossil fuels: Investigating household willingness-to-pay for energy research and development. Ecological Economics, 68(3), 731-742. doi: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2008.06.005