Over four dollars for a gallon of gas? With fuel prices quickly running through the four dollar range and approaching five dollars a gallon, the attention of Americans has turned to lowering fuel prices and finding alternative sources of fuel. The increasing price of oil has led to a rise in energy costs across the board. In addition to climbing prices, increasing attention on global warming and pollution have lead a push for developing and using low cost energy alternatives that produce little to no pollution. In the conservation of our natural energy sources, many factors and alternatives must be considered.
Nonrenewable energy resources include coal, oil, and natural gas. These are the resources that Americans have been dependant on for electricity, heat, and fuel for their cars. These resources were in seemingly inexhaustible supply at one time but the human population has grown and consumption has increased dramatically. With these energy sources taking hundreds, sometimes thousands of years to develop; human consumption has far surpassed the earth's ability to generate these sources of fuel. Couple this with the environmental impact that using these nonrenewable sources of energy have, conservation of these nonrenewable resources and the implementation and use of renewable sources of energy have become a global focus.
Coal Energy
Out of the nonrenewable energy resources in the United States, coal is the most abundant. Large coal deposits in the United States constitute one quarter of the world's known supply of coal. There are estimations that at the current consumption rate, the coal available in the United States is enough to meet American demand for the next 200 years (America's Power, 2008a). Half of the electricity produced in the United States comes from coal power plants. Relatively inexpensive to mine and convert to energy, coal has proven to be the fossil fuel of choice in the United States. New technology and research has been able to turn coal from a gross polluting source of energy to an energy source that can comply with current environmental standards (America's Power, 2008b).
Continued research on carbon capture and CO2 reduction produced by these plants is still in process. The FutureGen Alliance seeks to develop a zero-emissions coal plant in the United States. Originally backed by the United States Department of Energy (DOE), the FutureGen Alliance recently encountered a setback in March of 2008 when the DOE retracted $1.8 billion dollars in funding to build a zero-emissions plant in Illinois. This was nearly three quarters of the funding that the FutureGen Alliance had acquired to go ahead with the project. The FutureGen Alliance is currently regrouping and looking at moving its project and development from Illinois to Kentucky, where extra support would be made available by the state (Blankinship, S., 2008).
Oil Energy
With the price of oil topping $142 per barrel and moving ever closer to five dollars a gallon at the gas pump, the push for alternative fuel use has moved to the forefront of news channels and American concern. America's reliance on oil to fuel the large SUV's and trucks that had become increasingly popular over the last decade have led to supply shortages and increased prices. This increasing demand for oil has put national wildlife reserves and American coastlines in danger as the search for potential sites for domestic production swings into full force. This reliance on oil has had a large impact on the American marketplace. Commodity costs have increased while large American corporations such as Ford, GMC, and Chrysler have taken large hits in production and sales.
While America struggles with its dependency on oil, fuel alternatives are being researched. Ethanol, produced from plant cellulose is one of these alternatives. BP and DuPont have also partnered to research the use of biobutanol. Biobutanol is less volatile and less corrosive than ethanol, and can be handled both in delivery and the way it is dispensed through the current fuel infrastructure (Lovaas, D., 2007). Automobile manufacturers have responded by offering vehicles that provide better gas mileage and hybrid vehicles. These gas-electric hybrids have shown better mileage and a reduction in emissions. Even with these improvements, these automobiles still rely on oil to power them and have not been offered using an alternative fuel source.
Natural Gas Energy
Natural gas could take thousands, even millions of years to develop. As its use increases year after year, the difficult estimation process of how much natural gas can be found in the United States becomes ever more crucial. In a study conducted in 2000 by the Energy Information Administration, it was estimated that the United States had 1190.62 trillion cubic feet of natural gas available. According to a 2006 study conducted by the Energy Information Administration published in the Oil & Gas Journal, the natural gas reserves in the United States only amount to 277 trillion cubic tons, or around 3% of the total reserves in the world (NaturalGas.org, 2008a). Placing a close third behind oil and coal, natural gas is used widely for a variety of applications.
In residential applications, natural gas is used to fuel stoves, ovens, heaters and air conditioners. Commercial uses are very similar to residential uses. Industrial uses of natural gas are primarily wrapped up in processing various commodities such as refining petroleum products, plastics, and in food processing. Natural gas is also a component in making methanol, which has many various industrial uses (NaturalGas.org, 2008b). In comparison to coal and oil, natural gas is relatively the cleanest burning of the nonrenewable resources. Because of the dramatically reduced emissions of natural gas over other fossil fuels, the increased use of natural gas over other fossil fuels can help mitigate some environmental issues such as greenhouse gas emissions, smog, and even transportation-generated pollution (NaturalGas.org, 2008c).
Renewable Energy Sources
Renewable energy sources include solar, hydroelectric, wind, and geothermal energy. These renewable energy sources generally produce little to no pollution in comparison to nonrenewable fossil fuel sources. As nonrenewable energy costs continue to rise and local demand for power increase, some states are turning to alternative renewable energy sources for their energy needs. This has proven to been the case in Texas, where the state seeks to harness energy to supplement their dwindling energy reserve problems with wind energy.
With energy reserve margins for the state estimated to drop below the acceptable 12.5% margin as early as 2009, Texas is looking to the windy west side of the state for a solution. In 1999, the state set a goal to begin to harness the potential 100,000 MW of potential wind generation available in western Texas in order to achieve a goal of producing 2,000 MW of power to add to its power grid by 2009. By 2006, Texas became the top generator of wind energy in the United States, passing California for the lead. By 2007, Texas had more than doubled its goal, producing 4,200 MW of wind energy with another 2,600 MW scheduled to join the grid soon. Texas has extended its goals for the production of wind generated energy to reach 5,880 MW by 2010 and 10,000 MW by 2025. While this will not come close to powering the entire state, it is a beginning of diversification in energy options in an effort to supplement and conserve nonrenewable resources in the state.
Energy Solutions and Conservation
State and federal programs and initiatives are supporting the efforts to implement renewable energy sources to power surrounding areas. Through continued research, solar tiles have become cheaper to produce and more effective in harnessing solar energy. Government sponsored programs such as The Million Solar Roofs initiative plans for the installation of solar panels on over 1 million buildings by 2010. Another government implementation, the National Appliance Energy Conservation Act regulates the energy efficiency of appliances used in the home. Along with these programs and energy conservation acts, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy target power plants for improvements in energy efficiency (Chapter 18).
On a local and individual level, homeowners have also take measures to conserve energy in their own lives and homes. From a homeowner's standpoint, the use of solar power can be applied in different ways to help conserve energy and save long-term cost. Active solar water heating allows sunlight to flow in through solar collectors or panels mounted on the roof of a house. The sunlight heats the fluid in these panels which then passes through to a heat exchanger. The heat exchanger then heats water which flows into a storage tank for use in the house. Passive solar heating incorporates home design and ventilation, insulation, and other energy efficient steps such as dual-pane windows to establish passive solar heating and cooling of a house that could reduce heating costs up to 50%. Photovoltaic cells placed on the roof of a house can convert solar energy into electricity to power lights and appliances in the house (Chapter 18). This coupled with the improved technology for energy conservation found in new household appliances; homeowners can do their part to conserve energy in their household.
The Future of Energy Conservation
In planning for the future, efforts to conserve our natural resources and move forward with the implementation and development of alternative and renewable energy resources is a must in order to preserve the environment and its resources for future generations. A concentrated effort is required with both state and federal backing to diversify current energy sources with renewable energy. This would slow the amount of nonrenewable resources needed to generate energy and cut down on the pollution that these fossil fuels create. A slow implementation of these renewable energy sources across the country with the goal of replacing nonrenewable energy plants should be the long-term goal.
The same tactic needs to be handled in the way we use oil for gasoline in the automobile industry. All the current cars being produced require the use of gasoline to run. The automobile industry as a whole needs to make a move to offer different types of alternative energy vehicles. Americans are limited in their options to buy alternative energy vehicles because they are not available. Increasing availability and options of these vehicles will become a starting point to moving away from our dependence on oil.
These efforts must be a focal point for all involved in order to shift the paradigm toward conservation and clean energy. Options must be made available to move away from our reliance on nonrenewable resources, even if they still exist in an abundance that would last through the following centuries. Environmental concerns must be at the forefront in this pursuit to ensure that the planet is available to be enjoyed for generations to come. This is an effort that everyone can have a part and voice in moving forward from taking part in their local government to make a difference in their communities to using available technology to make a difference in their own homes. By working together we can use the resources available to us and ensure that they will still be available to use and enjoy in the future.
References
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Blankin ship, S. (2008). Carbon Capture Projects Re-Group After FutureGen Reversal. Power
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Chapter 18. Class reading, SCI 275. Retrieved June 22, 2008 from:
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