Mitigation Strategies and Solutions: Energy Conservation

Mitigation Strategies and Solutions: Energy conservation

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Energy Conservation

Energy conservation is an important topic that needs action to be taken immediately. If federal and local governments, the Environmental Protection Agency, industry, and individuals do not start to conserve energy then it will just continue to shorten the life expectancy of the fossil fuels we currently use. In addition, those fossil fuels release emissions that are harmful to the environment. There are several ways in which energy can be conserved, not just to cut down on how it is used, but also to find new effective ways to produce energy.

There is an increasing demand for energy as the world continues to grow. The problem is that most energy is produced using nonrenewable resources such as coal, oil, natural gas, and other fossil fuels. These resources cannot replenish themselves, or will not before they are depleted (Berg & Hager, 2007). In the United States, 71.5% of the energy produced came from nonrenewable resources in 1997(Environmental Protection Agency, 1997), with that figure over 85% today (Quote Oil, n.d.). Coal, under its current consumption, is only expected to last worldwide for another 200 years, according to the World Resource Institute (Berg & Hager, 2007).

Currently, industry uses about 42% of the energy produced in the United States, with homes and offices using 33%, and transportation using 25% (Berg & Hager, 2007). These are all areas that would benefit from renewable energy, such as wind, water, or solar power. They will not only help to save consumers money, but they do not release the harmful emissions that nonrenewable resources do. Electric companies, in the United States, that burn coal produces a third of all the mercury emissions in the air (Berg & Hager, 2007). The burning of coal and other fossil fuel emit sulfur and nitrogen oxides that turns into acids when they come in contact with water (Berg & Hager, 2007). Much of the United States oil and other petroleum products are imported, over 60% today compared to only 28% thirty years ago (Quote Oil, n.d.).

Renewable resources such as the ones previously mentioned, in addition to biomass and geothermal energy, cannot be depleted. The current technology used to capture the resources for energy conversion is expensive. However, when considering how much oil costs and how long it will take before future generation find themselves in an energy crisis, perhaps the economics of renewable energy is affordable. There is technology that can extend the life expectance of coal to over 1,000 years, but is considered too expensive to implement (Berg & Hager, 2007). Newer, "clean coil" technologies do help to reduce emissions and produce more energy than the current standards, but these resources will still run out on day. It just makes sense to continue to invest in renewable energy, not only will it reduce emissions that cause global warming and other pollution problems, the new projects will also create many jobs that are needed across the United States. In addition, biomass energy uses farm waste and other natural products that can be found throughout the United States, and the world. The technology could allow every nation throughout the world to become independent from importing fuels for their transportation needs.

Environmental Factors

The environment and all of its surroundings are harmed by the emissions that nonrenewable resources produce. In addition, the methods for harvesting these resources can do major damage to the environment. Many people have read and seen on television the devastation caused by the British Petroleum, Exxon Valdez, and other oil spills have caused. Wildlife was covered in oil and many died, and even after the oil companies claimed the clean ups were finished, there were still traces of oil to be found on shorelines throughout those regions (Berg & Hager, 2007). They even effect many human populations that depend on those waters for their lively hood as fishermen, and/or by the oil contaminating the wildlife those areas use as their main food supply. Even if there is a disaster on land with an oil well, like an explosion or blowout, they leak oil all over the land or send enormous clouds of black smoke into the air, with no pollution controls to filter the emissions in that cloud of black smoke.

Many of the old practices for gathering coal had devastated the landscape and continue to do so. Coal that is mined by a procedure known as strip mining removes large masses of earth which devastates wildlife habitats. Mines like these allow rain water to come in contact