This is an interesting article written by Vaclav Smil, a professor from the University of Manitoba. The article analyzes the global progress of non-carbon energy sources (solar, wind, biomass), and presents an argument on how fast the world can realistically transition to these energy sources. One point in the article I found very interesting was the comparison of China's increase in coal generation compared to the United State's increase in wind generation.
http://spectrum.ieee.org/energy/renewables/a-skeptic-looks-at-alternative-energy/0
The future of renewable energy sources seem terribly bleak in this article. What really grabbed me most is the point that you referenced in which China's coal usage increased their carbon-dioxide emissions by nearly 800 million metric tons. I'm not a scientist, but that sounds like a significantly high number. I never put much thought into how difficult a systematic switch to these cleaner sources of energy would be, but when he made the point that in order to make enough of a difference to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases that we needed to think about it on a global scale, his argument really set in for me. Hopefully these disappointing numbers won't deter us from at least trying to move forward. I would really like to see some sort of positive change in my lifetime.
ReplyDeleteWhile right now we rely heavily on carbon-energy sources, I think it is extremely important to look in to alternative energy sources for the future. Other energy sources such as solar and wind energy are much cleaner and while they may not be perfect right now, that doesn't mean that there isn't potential for these energy sources to become widely used and eventually replace carbon-energy sources. It may take a long time but I believe it is better to look into and start making the switch to cleaner energy sources sooner rather then later.
ReplyDeleteAlternative energy has come a long way. Just a decade ago it was a concept and now it's becoming a real industry, where prices are determined less by government and more by market forces. This is good news. It means advances in the durability and efficiency of solar power will go directly into production, and this will make its worldwide implementation that much more possible. To supply the energy we need, we have to rapidly accelerate the switch away from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources such as wind, geothermal and solar—energy sources that will not run out.
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