Time for Change Essay examples

Submitted By travisvsmith
Words: 1664
Pages: 7
Open Document
Time for Change The United States (U.S.) is technically a mixed market economy; even though the free market is the engine that drives our economy. The government sometimes has to intervene to keep U.S. industries competitive. Sometimes the government intervenes in the form of subsidies to assist U.S. industries and/or tariffs on competitive imports. Government support for green industries is essential. The green industry is a developing industry that does not benefit from economy of scale; but the transition from fossil fuels must begin with the right mix of wind, solar, bio-mass, hydro, and other renewable energy sources. Currently, fossil energies are by far the most widely used source of power, providing a little over 80% of the world’s supply of primary energy. “Oil still represents the most important share, 35%, followed by coal, 26%, natural gas, 21%, renewable energies, 13%, and lastly, nuclear power, 6%” (Rojey p.3). Nearly 8% of the renewable energy supply comes from biomass, 16% from Hydroelectricity, and 4% from other forms of renewable energy. In total, this is about one-half of the total primary energy consumed. The world reserves of hydrocarbons, oil, and natural gas, which provide more than half of the primary energy supply, are unequally distributed, mostly located in regions far from the main consumption areas. Consequently, more and more of these hydrocarbons must be imported by the consumer countries. The fact that some of the oil and gas reserves are located in unstable regions of the world creates geopolitical risks. In addition, the problem of security of supplies is aggravated by the limited number of players controlling a major proportion of the reserves. Saudi Arabia controls oil, and Russia, Qatar, and Iran controls natural gas. Globalization of the economy has led to greater dependency on oil, due to the ever-increasing demand for petroleum fuels and more generally, fossil fuels. Recently, the world has seen that the global economy could cope reasonably well with an increase in the cost of energy. In contrast, however, an interruption, even temporary, in oil supplies would cause a major crisis. (Rojey p.13-18) The opposition for green energy has a short term economic and environmental view points. An influential opposing argument comes from Jerry Taylor. Taylor is among the most widely cited and influential critics of Federal Energy and Environmental Policy in the Nation. He has been a regular contributor to the Wall Street Journal and The Nation Review; he also makes regular appearances on CNBC, NPR, BBC, and Fox News. Taylor’s argument opposing renewable energy has four main points. To begin Taylor argues that green energy takes up vast amounts of landscape. To support his argument a calculation by Jesse Ausubel a research assistant at Rockefeller University, shows that unorder to power New York the entire state of Connecticut would need to be devoted to wind turbines. Secondly, not only does green energy take up a lot of land space, it is also more costly. According to the president’s Energy Information Administration in 2016 on shore wind energy production will be eighty percent more expensive than combined cycle and gas fired electricity. Thirdly, green energy is unreliable. Taylor argues that in order to have profitable and noticeable change in our energy market the sun would need to shine daily and the wind would have to blow at full throttle to make a difference. Finally, Taylor points out that even if the sun shines daily and the wind was blowing fierce we would be unable to properly store the energy, because we do not have the battery technology that is needed. In closing his argument Taylor asks this question, “If green energy is so inevitable and such a great investment, why do we need to subsidize it?” Taylor then goes on to add that if green energy was something the American people wanted and needed, we would have profit hungry investors to finance the projects.(Taylor)
Show More

Related Documents: Time for Change Essay examples

Time for Change Essay

TIME FOR CHANGE May 19, 2013 ABSTRACT The internal group understands the internal components of the company already and has a good understanding of the situation while the external consultants can come in and bring outside wisdom and advice to the table. Combining these two groups should help to solve the issue rapidly. The first thing that needs to happen is to make sure that the internal and external consultants are on the same page with the issues and know what the other group is…

Words 1390 - Pages 6

Family Assignment: Changes Over Time

Family Assignment: Changes Over Time Hailey Merten SWL227EE Linda Scriberas March 2, 2015 What is family? Researching the concept of family in North America, a commonly used definition is looking at a "traditional" family which includes father, mother, and their children. “It is a conception of the family as a legally married couple sharing a household. The adult male is in paid employment; his earnings provide the economic basis of the family-household. The adult female may also…

Words 1969 - Pages 8

Essay about Change over Time

English 100 February 15, 2013 Change Over Time As a young, ignorant child, I had always perceived the world was filled with people who were better than myself. Like most adolescents, personal image and how others perceive you was extremely important. I wasn’t much different. I compared myself to everybody I came into contact with and it always seemed that whoever surrounded me was in better shape and also better looking. Irritated by my poor self-image, I began to exercise more than five…

Words 940 - Pages 4

Interest Rate Fluctuate And Change Over Time

Interest rate fluctuate and change over time. Most of the time, people want to make as much money as possible, and consistently expect interest rates to continue rising all the time. This 2018 seems to be a great year for the market. Due to the political changes, the economy of the United States has been positively impacted. Stocks have gone up, and businesses are flourishing. Basically, to understand if 2018 interest rates will go up, one has to match it up with a statistical comparison. Back in…

Words 343 - Pages 2

How Did Religion Change Over Time

All around the world, religion has played a strong role in many people's cultures and daily lives. However, certain historical occurrences have caused numerous religions to change over time. For instance, during the Bubonic Plague, or The Black Death, citizens of Europe used their religious faith to reflect their judgment on the event, which led to modifications in each community. Starting in China in 1346, the Black Death ate away at Kipchak Kahn Janibeg and his army, who were docked in a Genoese…

Words 196 - Pages 1

Essay about Today's Youth - Time For a Change

Today’s Youth: Time For a Change Since the beginning of time, children have always enjoyed the little things in life. Playing outdoors, friends and sports have always been the main forms of entertainment. However, in more recent years, children have found new ways of spending their free time, and it is changing the future of our youth. Parents spoil their kids, material possessions are more important than making friends, and the internet has lead to anti-socialism and cyberbullying. All…

Words 1030 - Pages 5

Essay on The Change of Family and Friendship over Time

Marique Cruz Period 3 11/24/12 Cause and Effect The Change of Family and Friendship over Time Albert Einstein once said, “it has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.” Technology has developed, evolved and changed over time and created a “magical,” positive influence throughout the globe; the excitement of what was new and unique is almost gone and now people view technology as normal, and utilize it to the point that people need technology…

Words 824 - Pages 4

How Did Religion Change Over Time

Many wanted to stick with Catholicism but seminal figures like Martin Luther and John Calvin brought it many different ideas. Catholicism versus Protestantism was the religious war at the time and Lutheranism and Calvanism were poking at Catholics across Europe. Indifference about beliefs were becoming larger and larger problems, many not knowing what to do. The Catholic church was trying to get involved, some members more than others. One…

Words 907 - Pages 4

How Did Mummification Change Over Time

Over the course of time, mummification changed through three periods. It went from a simple to a complex technical process, and then eventually, during the Graeco-Roman period, to a more widespread but less carefully done method. First, mummification had a natural style in the Predynastic period. A Predynastic mummy, with its lifelike and dry features, soon morphed into a complex mummy that took 70 days to embalm. Then the New Kingdom mummies took a turn into the Graeco-Roman period, with its less…

Words 901 - Pages 4

How Did Beowulf Change Over Time

then. Today, a hero is thought of typically as a celebrity, or a police man or anyone that people look up to. Along time ago, a hero was someone who fought battles with great strength and courage, who people looked up to because it gave them courage. Beowulf and Achilles, two very brave, strong and wise literature heroes, show is all what heroes were, and how they have changed over time. The impact they have had on people for thousands of years, even though they were both very different, it shows how…

Words 1096 - Pages 5