Table of Contents
Introduction
The switch from the oil and coal fuel to the renewable sources of energy in the world is a vital move by both the international and national energy agencies. For the purpose of reduction of dependence on the petroleum products and coal, countries need to change from oil and coal fuels to renewable sources of energy such as use of solar panels, windmills, and natural gas.Whenever the transition is done, it both has economic and environmental effects to the people.Several studies have shown that about 100% of the renewable sources of energy supply systems are always technically and economically feasible to the people across the globe.Apart from spending a lot of money on buying the fossils so that different governments can satisfy the energy demands of the people, the fossil fuels have a lot of carbon emission to the atmosphere. The emission of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere not only causes global warming but it has also caused respiratory diseases and acidic rainfall in some parts of the world. Therefore these essay will explore the benefits that are brought by the change from the oil and coal fuel to the renewable sources of energy. The essay will also look at the economic and policy factors that might speed up the transition from the fossils fuel to the renewable sources of energy.
Benefits of Switch from Coal and Oil to Renewable Sources of Energy
The energy supply within a given country tends to be diversified when that particular nation uses renewable energy. It is evident that most of the countries in Europe and America depend on foreign oil from the middle East countries. Having a different supply of energy will always ensure that a country does not depend on one source of energy (Thomas, & Kerner, 2010). As such when a country shift from using the fossil fuel to a point of using the renewable energy then it tends to mean that the supply of energy is right for the country even in situations when the country seems to delay the transportation of fuel. Use of natural gas and solar power has provided sufficient energy for domestic use.According to the energy study, Geothermal power can be used the whole year which makes it a reliable source of energy.Therefore diversion of the energy supply will happen if there is a transition from the carbon producing fuels to the renewable sources of energy. This will also increase the energy supply within the country thus satisfying the demand of energy by the people.
The transition will also improve the public health of the people(Connor,2013). The oil and coal fuels are characterized by a lot of emission of carbon dioxide.Whenever the whole country will change from the oil products and coal the health of people and environment will be improved. For instance, a survey was conducted in America by the American protection Agency which revealed that the Americans spend 361.79 Billion on health for the treatment of the people who have been affected by diseases which are caused by the emission of carbon dioxide.Most of these people are the ones who are working in the industries that use the fossil fuels. The problems that are brought by the use of fossil fuels include cancer, neurological problems, and lungs diseases. The countries should now change to the renewable sources of energy which will reduce the emission of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.For instance, the biomass can be used in the locomotive machines rather than using fuel that emits a lot of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Therefore the country will improve the public health reduce the amount of money used to treat the people who have been affected by the emission of carbon dioxide.
The renewable sources of energy will never be depleted.It can also be said that such sources will always be available.For example, geothermal energy will always be there making it very reliable to the uses. It can be renewed throughout the year. Another example is the solar panel.As long as there is the sun, the uses of solar energy will be assured of the energy all through.However, most of the people argue that the wind and solar energy are not reliable because they depend on the weather. This one will only happen if the windmills and the solar panels have been placed on the same geographical areas. The machines are supposed to be spread on different parts with different geographical features.On the other hand, depending on oil means that it will reach a time when it will be depleted in the ores. Nevertheless, once the oil burns it will never be renewed. Therefore it is important to change from the fossil fuels to the renewable sources of fuels as they are always available.
Renewable sources of energy will create job opportunities for the citizens of the country(Lovins, 2011).Most of the time the renewable sources of energy are more intensive than the fossil fuels thus creating job opportunities.At the moment thousands of people are working with the companies which have specialized in making the windmills and installation together with companies which are making the solar panels.The Union of Concerned Scientist has conducted an analysis and it has been showed that there are about 220,000 people who are working with the companies that provide renewable sources of energy.
Lastly, the renewable sources of energy save the money.Once the initial cost of buying a solar panel and its installation has been incurred the person will receive energy each day without paying money. Windmill will also reduce the cost of energy. Therefore it is a high time that the world should transits to such sources of energy due to several benefits as discussed above.
Economic and Policy Factors that Might Speed up The Switch from Oil and Coal to Renewable Sources of Energy
The rise of the cost of the fossil fuels is speeding up the rate at which most of the people are changing from the traditional sources of energy to the renewable sources of energy. The increase in the cost of the extraction and the incidences of depletion are making the oil be a rare commodity. Whenever a commodity such as oil is on demand but it starts depleting ,the prices will, of course, go up. When an individual or a government in a certain place thinks about the price of fuels and the prices of the renewable sources of energy, they will rather go for the renewable sources of energy.After all, there are no costs after it has been installed.Therefore the transition to the renewable sources of energy will happen so fast because of the shooting in the prices of oil and coal across the whole world
The low cost involving renewable sources of energy will also speed up the transition from the fuel sources of energy to renewable sources of energy. When the world began changing from the traditional sources of energy to inexhaustible sources of fuel the prices of buying solar panels and windmills was very high. Nevertheless, the installation was also supposed to be paid for at a higher price.However, at the moment the prices of the machines used to provide renewable energy are reducing making it easy for most of the people to afford.At the moment most of the people have placed solar panels in their houses for domestic uses. The expenses of installation and buying are so cheap that people are going for them.Additionally, the cost incurred for maintenance is negligible.For instance, in Iceland, the Geothermal hot water is less expensive than the coal mining and use. The hot water is mainly used to heat building so that people can be comfortable or reduce the cold during the winter periods. Therefore most, of the building use hot water from underground because it is cheaper compared to coal. As a result, the renewable sources of energy are becoming cheaper than the fossil fuels. Due to lower prices of the renewable sources of energy, there is a rapid transition from the tradition sources to the renewable sources of fuel.
The accounting for the fuel externalities which have caused negative effects on both the people and the environment. Some scientists are urging that the harmful gases produced by the burning of the fossil fuels have already caused damage and there in no need to change. They continue to say that they are waiting for the ores to be depleted so that the damage created by the fuels can be controlled. However, this is wrong. If the government and different agencies will stay and watch the pollution of the atmosphere will go on. There is still a lot of oil liquid underground. The only thing that should be done is to advise the people to change from the traditional sources of energy to the renewable sources of energy. This will reduce the environmental problem and health effects that are brought about by the emission of carbon dioxide to the environment. It has caused global warming which has altered the weather patterns of the different parts of the world. Therefore the negative effects which are brought about by the fossil fuels will speed up the transition from such type of fuel to the renewable sources of energy.
The demand for energy will also cause the transition from the fossil energy to the renewable methods. It is so because the demand for energy is high and depending on oil alone will not be enough to the people. Therefore as the people will turn to renewable sources of energy then the transition will happen.
Fair and stable tax policies for the inexhaustible sources of energy should be implemented so that most of the people install windmills and solar panels for both domestic and commercial uses(Cuff, & Goudie, 2009). This will be an appropriate government incentive that will speed the transition of the people from the use of oil and coal. In the recent years, there have been supporting the companies that are making and installing the windmills and the solar panels. The companies have received tax subsidies so that the prices of the gadgets should not be high. Therefore the financial support given to such companies will always assist in speeding up the rate of transition from the coal and oil fuel to the inexhaustible sources of energy.
We can do it today.
The other policy that increases the use of inexhaustible sources of power is taxing heavily on the small consumers of the fossil fuels. The small consumers of the fossil fuels have the greatest chance of installing and using the renewable sources of energy(Deutch, 2011). This will make most of them turn to the renewable sources of energy as they fear to incur a lot of costs.This majorly happens in Denmark and it is really working in ensuring that people change the oil and coal to the renewable sources of energy.
Conclusion
The whole world should be aiming at ensuring the there is a change from the traditional fuels to modern sources of energy happens. It is so because it has benefits such as increasing job opportunities and improving the environment.The economic factors such as the high prices of fossil fuels as compared to the prices of solar panels will, of course, increase the rate of change.
- Cuff, D., & Goudie, A. (2009). The Oxford companion to global change (1st ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.
- Connor, P. (2013). Policies to support the growth of renewable energy sources of heat. Energy Policy, 59, 1-2.
- Deutch, J. (2011). The crisis in energy policy (1st ed.). Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
- Geri, L., & McNabb, D. (2013). Energy Policy in the U.S. (1st ed.). Hoboken: Taylor and Francis.
- Thomas, S., & Kerner, D. (2010). Defense energy resilience (1st ed.). Carlisle, PA: Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College.