In the 1970's I was intrigued by the huge black solar panels on roofs of houses. In the 1980's I was very impressed with a NASA installed wind turbine that provided power to Block Island, Rhode Island's fifty winter residents. I was astounded in the late 1980's when my eighth grade son's teacher told me to buy an Apple computer that covered the entire desk and was slightly expensive. When I first met Marshell in the 1990's he carried around a huge box that contained a cell phone that only made phone calls.
Technology has come a long way. Just as we have embraced the computer and the cell phone you can now slip into your pocket, it is time to embrace the technology of the wind turbines and the solar industry. It is all too common that people repeat the catch phrases that changing to renewable energy is too expensive, inefficient and will not supply the world's needs. Let's take away the terms "global warming" and "climate change". Let's try to ignore the politics and greed that dominate the fossil fuel industry. Why not think in terms that the future of energy production is here now and it is time to use it? Why not think of it as clean, renewable and sustainable and it is time to make the transition now?
As all of us trudge thru our busy lives there is so much information that we do not see, hear or read. Did you know that the top cities in the United States who use 100% green energy are Washington, D.C. and Aspen, Colorado with Austin, Texas coming in at 99%? When the discussion of job creation comes up do you ever hear that world wide green energy employs 7.7 million people with 724,00 of those jobs in the United States?
The United States currently supplies 13% of our energy needs with green energy. Iceland is at 100%, Albania 85%, Paraguay 90% and Germany, Norway, Denmark, Spain, India, Brazil, France, Japan, Bangladesh and Indonesia are moving to be 100% green in the next five to fifteen years. These countries are shutting down there nuclear and fossil fuel plants and turning to green energy due to the cost of fossil fuels. They need the job creation for their growing populations. It helps governments quell social discontent, reduces the need for war over energy needs and provides sustainable energy at a much cheaper cost.
Solar energy has come a long way since the 1970's. The panels are small and much more efficient. In the last three years the cost of solar has dropped by 75% with another 50% decrease expected in the next three years. More than 500,000 solar PV systems are currently installed in the U.S. with enough power being produced to supply 5 million homes with all their energy needs. Battery storage systems have gotten much more efficient to provide power 24 hours a day. Solar jobs alone are expected to increase in the next year by 25% creating 24,000 new jobs.
The United States Navy is currently building the largest solar field in the world 60 miles west of Phoenix to provide power to fourteen of its bases. This will save $90 million dollars in power costs over the next 25 years and reduce the need for fossil fuels. Saudi Arabia has been building solar fields for the last few years to sell power to European countries. By the end of this decade the cost of solar will become cheaper than conventional electricity.
Currently in the United States there are 49,000 wind turbines in 39 states. There are over 500 wind manufacturing facilities spread across 43 states and a wind farm of 50mg can be completed in less than a year at a far cheaper cost than that of a conventional power plant. New technology is developing every day. Norway is working on a direct drive system that will do away with the need for the transformer itself. The first offshore wind farm in the US is currently under construction off the coast of Rhode Island and wave action turbines are being installed in other places in the world.
Hawaii has to import all the fossils fuels for their power needs which has become too expensive. Their first thought was to switch to LNG as a transition phase to renewable energy but decided instead to just make the move to switch to clean energy. Their first grid tied wave driven turbine is expected to go online in the next few months. They have also launched a thermal energy conversion project (OTEC) that uses the temperature difference in the ocean water to generate electricity. Not only does the OTEC project create electricity it also desalinates the ocean water at the same time. This desalinated water can be used on the islands or put back into the ocean close to shore to grow schools of fish and kale. Hawaii plans to be 100% renewable energy by 2045 and it is the most aggressive project in the US.
China, in 2007 was opening a new coal fired plant every week and has the highest amount of air pollution in the world. Their current slow down in production and financial situation is due to the fact that in 2014 they began weaning off of fossil fuels. They have shut down steel, iron and cement sectors even at the cost of temporary job losses to switch to wind, solar and hydro electric forms of energy. The unbearable air quality has been the catalyst for the beginning of this fundamental change. Four nuclear plants are currently under construction as well as wind and solar installations. Actually by the time the nuclear plants are up and running in six to ten years they expect to already have enough power from wind and solar to provide their energy needs. They are leading the world in the investment in green energy far outstripping the United States.
As a science major in college I always think of the scientific fact the "for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction". Fossil fuels and water are finite resources. There will always be a use for fossils fuels but if we don't think and plan ahead what happens when they are gone?
Can we really continue to drill holes in the earth making it look like a pin cushion without some consequence? Can we afford to inject millions of gallons of water back into the earth that can never be used again?
Having always been a Michael Jackson fan one of my favorite songs has the lyrics " If you want to make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself and then make the change
I'm starting with the man in the mirror
I'm asking him to make the change"
It is past time we should have been embracing the green technology and moving toward a clean sustainable future.
No comments:
Post a Comment