One of the major contemporary issues faced globally is the growing phenomenon of climate change. Pundits believe that this phenomenon has anthropogenic roots, as a result of human activities since the industrialization period. Climate change in the form of global warming is believed to be major as a result of fossil fuel burning as a source of energy. Therefore, there have been concerted efforts to find alternative sources of energy, ones that scientists believe have little to no negative effect on the environment and are also sustainable in the long run (Owusu and Asumadu, 2016). The United States can and should take up more renewable energy sources since they are more sustainable and have little to no negative effects on the environment. Currently, fossil fuels, main oil, are the foremost sources of energy. However, these sources are non-renewable, meaning that they will be depleted at some point in the future (Owusu and Asumadu, 2016). For oil, a time will come when we reach optimum output, and then the output will start to decline as these sources are depleted; this is known as peak oil. Peak oil is expected to impact lifestyle globally in different ways. From an economic aspect, it will lead to a recession or depression, and oil prices will rise. Money will also not have the same value and life will get very expensive. It is however probably going to lead to a lot of research into alternative energy sources. To avoid energy once the peak oil period is here, there is a need to increase the uptake of renewable energy, so that they reduce reliance on nonrenewable sources. The United States can consider various alternative energy sources, including wind, solar, and hydropower energy. However, relying purely on renewable energy sources is untenable due to inherent shortcomings, such as intermittent sunshine for solar energy leading to shortages. Renewable energy sources will reduce current CO 2 emissions and lead to a healthier environment. On the other hand, there are hidden costs. For example, wind energy comes about with costs such as negative aesthetic impact due to wind turbines; these are usually very high, create a lot of noise, and at the same time lead to high bird mortality (Timmons, Harris, and Roach, 2014). The two best renewable sources the United States has successfully implemented are solar and wind energy. These two sources have the advantage of being renewable and clean but have the demerit of being very expensive to set up (Timmons, Harris, and Roach, 2014). Through research and cooperation with other nations, the U.S. can improve these technologies to a nationwide level.
References
Timmons, D., Harris, J. M., & Roach, B. (2014). The economics of renewable energy. Global
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Development And Environment Institute, Tufts University , 52 .
Owusu, P. A., & Asumadu-Sarkodie, S. (2016). A review of renewable energy sources,
sustainability issues and climate change mitigation. Cogent Engineering , 3 (1), 1167990.
