Hohenzy

WRD 104
18 October 2011

Exploratory Essay

The potential for the use of new technology for renewable energy is so great that it is
impossible to ignore in the face of rising costs of fuel both in this country and across the world.
The health of the environment, economic security and political stability are all at stake. In this
essay, the potential for the uses of renewable energy, the positive socioeconomic benefits that go
along with it, and the challenges that they faces will be explored. In addition, the different means
of production of energy will be discussed and evaluated. Environmental effects of the use of
fossil fuels and of renewable energy will be discussed, and effects on the economy as well.
Some questions will arise as to the feasibility or necessity of renewable energy, if industry is in
fact affecting our environment, and if the creation of renewable energy can help our economy.
Primarily, this essay will be about the economic benefits of renewable energy, but it is
important to examine the effects of the use of fossil fuels on the environment. Global warming is
a huge topic today. A growing body scientific researchers and analytical models suggest that
human activity is having a devastating effect on our environment, and that the impact of human
activity has been increasing exponentially since the industrial revolution. Carbon dioxide,
among other emissions, is choking our atmosphere and stressing life cycles on Earth to the point
of near extinction of many species, an irrevocable loss to biodiversity. Human activity is also
destroying natural habitats, compounding this effect. Critics will say that there is not enough
evidence to support this theory, and even suggest that human needs trump those of other species.
Obviously, more research needs to be done in this area, but it seems necessary that active
strategy needs to be planned to mitigate the effects of human activity.


In order to properly discuss this issue, it is first important to review how energy is
produced and consumed today, and in order to keep focused this paper will mostly constrain
itself to the United States. The large majority of energy usage in this country comes from the
burning of fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas. According to recent data, with only two
percent of global reserves and 4.5 percent of total population, the United States remains the
worlds largest oil consumer with twenty million barrels per day (Gastal 94). This is used not
just in transportation, but in industry and residential settings and in production of energy itself.
The United States is a net importer of energy, meaning that as a country we use more energy
than we produce. Proponents of renewable energy will say that we can drastically cut the
necessity of fossil fuels by implementing new technology, while critics will maintain that there is
no serious risk of maintaining our oil supply and even suggest that burning of fossil fuels does
not have any negative impact on our planet.
To contrast the use of fossil fuels, this paper will discuss those renewable energy sources,
or those manufactured energy sources produced through harnessing natural resources such as
wind, rain, tides, sunlight, geothermal, or even nuclear. It will be a difficult task to keep the
paper from becoming too technical at this point and losing the audience, so this essay will
attempt to remain brief on how these processes work and maintain focus on what they supply.
Most experts agree that shifting production of energy to those renewable resources will
significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions, but critics argue that these technologies are
unreliable and not cost effective.
Countering the claims of critics that renewable energy sources are not viable will be the
most important part of this paper. As mentioned before, the economic impact of renewable
forms of energy production will be the focal point of this research, and it will be necessary to


show the economic benefit of implementing new technology. Although in the short term there
may be little value to the production of renewable forms of energy, long term value should not be
discounted. The idea of a portfolio based approach to energy policy, or a Renewable Portfolio
Standard (RPS) is one that is gaining support across the country, while Congressional
proponents of proposed RPS cite several goals, including: reduced pollution, improved
national security, job creation, and lower consumer prices (Fershee 55-56). This theory shows
that having several sources of energy, not just one or two main ones, helps prevent supply shocks
and subsequent price shocks in the marketplace and increase the stability of our country. Indeed,
it would seem that four times over the past 30 years (1973, 1979, 1990, and 2000) major oil
price spikes were followed by economic recession (Gastal 95).
However, there are many criticisms of a National RPS, even when it results in overall
gain in renewable energy production, as there will be those who will not come out ahead in the
game. The primary arguments against a national RPS are that it could lead to increased
consumer costs, that the RPS amounts to a wealth transfer from states and that it is
unnecessary and better handled at the state level (Fershee 59). Yet by depending on imported
oil and other forms of energy, we are setting ourselves up for disaster if the supply should
abruptly change. With oil becoming ever scarcer, this type of supply shock seems all the more
possible. However, by increasing our portfolio to produce more energy domestically, we can
mitigate these risks associated with supply shocks. In the long term, it will cost our economy
less money and increase our energy security. It is important to also discuss the long term savings
on importing oil. This is money leaving our economy. Energy produced domestically will
infuse capital into the local economy. Areas that produce energy will benefit greatly in this time
of recession.


Nonetheless, up until this time not a single energy policy initiative has seriously
addressed how to develop a domestic renewable industry that would revitalize the manufacturing
sector (Sterzinger 82). Previously, the Bush administration in 2002 impacted the development
of alternative green energies by stating that the United States has no interest in implementing
or ratifying the Kyoto treaty limiting greenhouse gas emissions (Gastal 96). What the Bush
administration failed to realize is that more important to our environment than importing energy
will be the impact on the economy through jobs created by transforming our energy sector.
Some estimates put the number of new jobs created by a new energy policy in the millions.
Renewable energy is manufactured energy. In the past few decades, the United States has gone
from a manufacturing economy to a service economy, and with it our job security has
significantly decreased.
By manufacturing the components necessary for renewable sources of energy in this
country, we create a new manufacturing industry that will provide many jobs and skill training as
well. Then, to implement this new technology there will be a boom in construction jobs as well
as the creation of many long term employment opportunities to run and maintain these new
facilities. If we allow the main component manufacturing to occur offshore, we have no way to
maintain environmental and wage standards during construction and thus will negate the benefit
of these impacts. On the other hand, critics will argue that starting a new energy industry will
displace the jobs of many people, those in the coal or refining industry for example. There is
some difficulty in predicting what the overall benefit will be, as quantifying job impacts in
developing nations can be a challenge, and model types generally do not capture industry
innovation which may lead to reduced job dividend over time and of course, any model is subject
to policy uncertainty (Wei, Patadia, and Kammen 921). In addition, it is therefore necessary to


show the positive benefits that outweigh this displacement, possibly more jobs and higher wages,
and higher health and safety of such employment.
At this stage of research there are some gaps to be concerned about. Particularly, specific
data of energy production and consumption, cost benefit analysis of investing in the renewable
energy sector, and perhaps more research into critics of renewable energy. Additionally, it
would seem that some more information about climate change would be a nice addition. A good
point of research would be government research data, readily available on the internet. At this
point, it seems clear that there is something to be said about a change in energy policy in the
United States.
















Works Cited
Fershee, Joshua P. "Changing Resources, Changing Market: The Impact of a National
Renewable Portfolio Standard on the U.S. Energy Industry Energy Law Journal 29.1
(2008): 49-77. Business Source Complete. EBSCO. Web. 13 Oct. 2011.
Gastal, Martin. "The Impact of Energy Policies on the Development of Renewable Energies.
Energy & Environment 18.1 (2007): 93-107. Environment Complete. EBSCO. Web. 13
Oct. 2011.
Sterzinger, George. "The Economic Promise of Renewable Energy. New Labor Forum
(Routledge) 16.3/4 (2007): 80-91. Business Source Complete. EBSCO. Web. 13 Oct.
2011.
Wei, Max, Shana Patadia, and Daniel M. Kammen. "Putting renewables and energy efficiency to
work: How many jobs can the clean energy industry generate in the US?." Energy Policy
38.2 (2010): 919-931. Business Source Complete. EBSCO. Web. 13 Oct. 2011.