PROPOSAL ESSAY 1

Lessening America Dependency on Fossil Fuel

Student Id:

Causes of Deforestation
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Americans are constantly consuming energy, whether at work or at play. The demand for

reliable energy is a constant need to power homes, businesses, transportation and the large

assortment of electronic devices in use today such as smart phones, tablets and computers, etc. To

satisfy the energy needs of the many electronic devices that are now part of the everyday life of an

average American, energy is currently being produced primarily using coal and petroleum, because

these sources are cheap and have large amounts of reserves. Therefore, America is dependent on

non-renewable fossil fuel to satisfies at least 80% of its energy needs since the 1900 according to

the United States Energy Information Administration (“Today in Energy”, 2015, July 2). But using

fossil fuel to generate power is bad for the environment and human health so, abandoning fossil

fuel use should take precedence in America. Lessening America dependency on fossil fuel is

achievable by educating the American people, investing in the development and deployment of

renewable sources of energy, and increase government intervention.

Educating Americans is especially important to lessening Americas’ dependence on fossil

fuel. Americans need a comprehensive education on the dangers of using fossil fuels and the

benefits of using renewable energy. A comprehensive education on the disadvantages of using

fossil fuels and the benefits of producing energy form renewable sources must be added to the

school curriculum from kindergarten to high school. By making this a part of the school

curriculum it will raise the awareness of the dangers of using fossil fuels and increase the

awareness of the associated benefits of using renewable energy in the psyche of future generations.

Including such a course of study as a requirement, in the same way as Math, English and Science,

will help to inoculate future generations of Americans from wanting to continue the use of fossil

fuels. Future generations of Americans because of their education will be more inclined to meet
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their energy needs by using renewable sources of energy that are less dangerous to the planets’

environment and their health. Nationwide public service announcement campaigns are also

necessary. These campaigns need to stress to the general American public, that the nations’ current

energy needs are not being met in a sustainable manner and inform them of the available renewable

alternatives that exist today. Education is a vital tool to inform and influence behavior and or

attitudes. Education is such a vital tool that UNICEF (“Basic education”, n.d) stated “Education is

one of our most important weapons against the spread of HIV/AIDS. The evidence for this is

growing”. Therefore, the success of education being use as a tool when addressing other social

issues makes it an excellent tool for this purpose.

America can decrease its present dependence on fossil fuel by making more investments

in development and deployment of renewable sources of energy. In the year 2017 American

generated only 17% of its electricity from renewable sources according to the United States Energy

Information Administration (“Frequently Asked Questions”, 2018, March 7). There are several

forms of renewable energy available in the United States such as solar and wind, etc. The potential

for solar energy as a primary source of renewable energy is huge. According to Gromicko Nick

(“Advantages of Solar Energy”, 2018) around 10,000 times the amount of energy consumed by

every nation on the planet yearly is continuously available every second of the day because of the

sunlight that illuminate the earth. The solar energy that we get from the sun is also constantly

being renewed as the sun shines. Solar energy can satisfy all of America energy needs for hundreds

of generations to come. Also, partnerships like those between the U.S. Department of Energy

(DOE) and the Suppliers of wind technology need to continue and expand into other renewable

energy sectors. The partnership between DOE and wind technology suppliers is one in which both

parties work to lower cost and promote the wind energy industry. The U.S. Department of Energy
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states that wind turbines power generating capacity has increase by 180% since 1999 and now

stands at 2mw (“Wind Manufacturing”, n.d). As a matter of a fact according to Wind Exchange,

U.S. Department of Energy (U.S. Installed and Potential Wind, n.d) states that the energy

production capacity (what can be achieve with current technology) potential in 2016 for wind in

the US is 10.6 trillion kWh per year. The Wind Exchange, U.S. Department of Energy (U.S.

Installed and Potential Wind, n.d) also says that the total potential wind generation (what can be

achieve with future technology) in 2015 was 31 Terawatt-hours, which is 3000 times more than

total potential wind capacity of 10.6 trillion kWh per year. The total potential wind capacity of

10.6 trillion kWh per year is roughly equivalent to 20 billion barrels of oil. The U.S. Energy

Information Administration states that the total U.S. petroleum consumption for 2017 was 7.26

billion barrels (“How much oil is consumed”, 2018, April 4). These numbers show that the total

potential capacity for wind generated power (20 billion barrels) in the U.S. is close to three times

greater than what was produce using crude oil (7.26 billion) in 2017. Base on the potential of

renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, there must be more investment in developing

and deploying these technologies to decrease America dependence on fossil fuel.

Increase Government intervention at both federal and local levels is essential to making

America less depended of fossil fuel. The government is in charge of determining the nations’

energy policy. The government needs to lead by making the laws that are required for the speedy

adaption of renewable source of energy as the preferred method of supplying power to the nation.

Policies to support the first essay point of educating the American people about the dangers of

using fossil fuels and the benefits of using renewable energy would also have to be tackled by the

government. Provision of incentives such as grants, tax breaks and or tax credits will have to be

given to companies to encourage research into renewable energy sources and promote quicker
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adaption of renewable energy products or technologies. Penalties or sanctions will also have to be

imposed on companies that do not meet standards and requirements to develop or adapt energy

renewable technology in compliance with the nations’ energy policy. In general, the governments’

intervention is need to setup the framework that will encourage and facilitated the transition of the

nation from a fossil fuel dependent energy system to a renewable energy dependent system.

In closing I would like to reiterate that lessening America dependency on fossil fuel is

achievable by educating the American people, investing in the development and deployment of

alternative sources of energy, and increase government intervention. Education is necessary to

help influence Americans attitudes by informing them about the issues associated with using fossil

fuel and encouraging them to use renewable energy because of its advantages over fossil fuel.

There also must be investment in the development and deployment of renewable energy

technology to take advantage of the under-tap potential of renewable sources of energy, such as

solar and wind energy etc. Government invention is necessary to develop the framework that is

needed to encourage and smoothed the move from less reliance on fossil fuel to greater dependence

on renewable sources of energy.

Reference
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United States Energy Information Administration. (2015, July 2). Today in Energy: Fossil fuels

have made up at least 80% of U.S. fuel mix since 1900. Retrieved From

https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=21912

UNICEF. (n.d). Basic education and gender equality: HIV/AIDS. Retrieved From

https://www.unicef.org/education/index_focus_aids.html

United States Energy Information Administration. (2018, March 7). Frequently Asked

Questions: How much of U.S. energy consumption and electricity generation comes from

renewable energy sources? Retrieved From https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=92&t=4

Gromicko Nick. (2018). Advantages of Solar Energy. Retrieved From

https://www.nachi.org/advantages-solar-energy.htm

U.S. Department of Energy. (n.d). Wind Manufacturing and Supply Chain: Manufacturing Is the

First Step in Affordable Wind. Retrieved from. https://www.energy.gov/eere/wind/wind-

manufacturing-and-supply-chain

Wind Exchange, U.S. Department of Energy (n.d) U.S. Installed and Potential Wind Power

Capacity and Generation Retrieved From https://windexchange.energy.gov/maps-data/321

How much oil is consumed in the United States? Retrieved From

https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=33&t=6