I do not believe that fossil fuels are a thing of a past. Obviously they are not. Do cars still not run on gasoline? Do nations not continue drilling for oil? My assertion is that they are becoming a thing of the past. Yes, going green is everything but inexpensive. Recently I was helping my father install energy efficient spotlights around our house. These spot lights were nearly 3 times as expensive as the traditional spotlight. These “going green” acts will continue to be expensive for quite some time, at least until the majority of the public decides to go green.
It’s all about the law of supply and demand. If demand for something is low then the supply is low and the product is relatively expensive, but if the demand for something is high then the supply is high and the product is relatively inexpensive. However, changing something as big as the consumption of fossil fuels will be no easy task, especially for America. “As of 2008, the average American household had 2.28 vehicles.” This change would involve switching a vast amount of gas-guzzling vehicles to an alternative vehicle that uses a different kind of energy.
Right now I think that Americans should start slowly transforming into a greener nation. The complete removal of fossil fuels from our economy in a short amount of time would be detrimental. Instead, Americans need to slowly switch to alternative energy sources. Our economy needs time to adjust to a different stimulus other than fossil fuels. One thing I believe is that hybrid cars should become more widely used. They use a lot less gasoline, but still use it. Therefore, over time the demand for gasoline will go down and the demand for cleaner alternative energy sources will go up. Long run benefits would be greater than the short run costs and oil will not be as necessary for our economy.
You make some compelling points as to why we should gradually switch to being “greener”. I agree with you, on an economic standpoint. The only problem is that we may not have time for a gradual change. America, along with the rest of the world, has been dependent on fossil fuels ever since the invention of the first automobile (oil) or the first steam engine (coal). These fossil fuels are what we classify as “nonrenewable resources” and they are in limited supply. The switch to being “green” (if we don’t try and make it now) will eventually have to happen. If we continue to run through all of our natural resources at the same rate as we are now, the “gradual” shift that you say we should begin to make will turn into a mandatory shift. I believe this should be used for motivation to get people to start trying to find new “greener” methods of energy.
ReplyDeleteMoreover, I think it’s crucial to start going green ASAP for the health of our planet. Every day we release greenhouse gases into our atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels. These gases lock harmful gases in our planet. Using green energy sources instead of burning coal and going through oil would decrease the amount of harmful gases and waste that we release and would thus increase the lifeline of our planet. Earth is everyone’s home, and it takes everyone to take care of it. Switching to green methods of energy consumption should happen gradually for economic reasons, but for the health of our planet we should try and speed up the switch as much as we possibly can.
I think that it is necessary to start finding green substitutions for fossil fuels. And, I also think that gradual change is the best way to go. However, because no one knows when the fossil fuels will run out, finding alternative energy is important. And alternative energy would be better for the environment too.
ReplyDeleteI believe that america defenitley needs to start waining off of its mass consumption of fossil fuels. America has become so dependant on oil the last few decades. I agree with you that the transition off of our use of fossil fuels should be a gradual one. Fossil fuels are not going to last foreever and finding an alternative energy source is extremely important.
ReplyDeleteJQ, yes we have been depleting our resources exponentially and no one knows when they will run out. But I have one point to make. The World has been around for billions of years and the industrial revolution was a mere 200ish years ago. This is an extremely short amount of time in respect to the history of the Earth. Of course it is not safe to risk the chance of us running out of oil tomorrow, but I think we have at least a few decades to make the shift to green.
ReplyDelete