Why Care?
How do the use of fossil fuels affect the American public?
The use of fossil fuels for energy very easily affects the American public in many ways that people forget to consider. According to environmentamerica.org, "American consumers and businesses spent $921 billion on fossil fuels in 2006, more than the nation spent on education or the military". This should clearly provide some incentive to rid the country of fossil fuels considering how much money is spent on energy that harms our own environment. Renewable energy, on the other hand, is a clean source of energy that is also a financial benefit. Continuing, the American people are being affected by fossil fuel use from an environmental perspective. Being that the use of fossil fuels for energy causes climate change, important US cities like, Miami, New York, and New Orleans have had more severe storms and significant rises in sea levels in the past years, putting these particular cities at risk. Aside from these direct affects to the public, you will learn more about the health hazards that fossil fuels bring about in future slides.
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How does climate change matter on a global scale?
While it is true that many countries contribute to climate change, there are also many countries actively working against it, making this a global phenomenon. China being the most populated country in the world, gets blamed for climate change because of the extreme amount of coal they burn, but they are not completely at fault. The documentary "Catching the Sun", reveals how 70% of the climate changes we see are coming from major cities all around the world. However, many countries have already begun to make a change. When last reported, Costa Rica had been operating on 100% renewable energy for two whole months! This proves that life without fossil fuels is very possible. Even Germany is planning to be 80% renewable by 2030. Some of Germany's largest cities like Berlin and Hamburg are already at 70%. If more countries support the renewable energy movement, America can finally see a change in the prolonged effects of climate change.
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Renewable energy has the potential to transfer electricity across the country!
Future plans reveal a way for renewable energy mechanisms to work together to produce power: particularly solar power and wind power. A system to transfer electricity would allow a windy day in North Dakota to power a cloudy day in New York. Therefore, the energy North Dakota is receiving may help New York on a day that does not have wind or is very cloudy. This would allow for wind turbines and solar panels to be built in the most windy and sunny places (respectively) because the distance from where energy is needed would no longer matter. These plans would very easily refute the arguments that renewable energy is unreliable being that it is weather dependent. This further proves that if the American public can work together as one, we can provide clean energy for all.
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