Energy Policy in the United States
Introduction
The energy policy is a set of rules and guidelines set up by the federal, state and local government to address issues concerning energy production, its distribution and utilization. It includes concepts of conserving energy in addition to legislation touching on foreign agreements of energy utilization. United States of America consumes a lot of coal gas, electricity and oil in the industries as well as domestically. Since the early 1970s, the U.S Department of Energy has been on the forefront of asking American to reduce their consumption of energy in the form of heating at home as a way of reducing global warming. Recently, the Energy Independence and Security Act was enacted which was aimed at making all Americans install energy saving bulbs in their homes to conserve energy. This has led to alternative sources of energy been sought such as wind or solar power which is cheaper and has minimal effects on global temperatures. Non-renewable energy sources have great impacts on the environment as most of them emit harmful gases which result in severe medical implications to affected individuals.
Discussion
Characteristics of United States energy consumption
After the 1973 oil crisis in the United States, the government deluded various ways of minimizing oil as a form of energy and more efforts were put into establishing modern energy. Oil is used by all form of automobiles, the manufacturing industry as well as domestically in the form of cooking gas. However over the years consumption of petroleum products has declined following introduction of biofuels such as ethanol from corn. Methane is also used although in small scale thus increasing the variety of energy forms presented to Americans (US Dept. of Energy, 2007).Coal is another form of natural non-renewable source of energy which is used to provide electric power to run manufacturing plants.
Natural gas popularly known as liquefied petroleum gas is highly consumed in industries as well as at home to provide artificial heating when the temperatures fall before normal. Numerous nuclear reactors preset in the country provide adequate electric power used in lighting as well as in powering machinery. Americans also consume a lot hydroelectric power to provide energy for lighting and in other household appliances. Despite all this sources of non-renewable energy sources, the country also consumes a wide variety of renewable energy such as wind power and solar energy (Gallagher, 2009).
Social and environmental implications of subsequent energy consumption
Combustion of certain energy components in the presence of oxygen yields various oxides such as carbon dioxide, sulfur oxides and oxides of nitrogen. Carbon dioxide is often referred to as a greenhouse gas due to its impact on the environment. Increased atmospheric temperature which is attributed to causing global warming has been linked to increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Global warming has generated a number of negative effects on human life as well as that of living things in the world. Increased surface temperatures are significant to expansion of deserts and arid areas while ice sheets have melted due to these thus making oceans unstable due to increased water. Human existence is therefore threatened by such environmental phenomena which are not usual (Bonskowski, 2001).The other environmental implication of subsequent energy consumption is that it pollutes the environment due to production of gases which are harmful to human health. Exhaust fumes from petroleum driven cars cause respiratory cancer especially if inhaled for considerable period. Smoke from exhausts also contributes to fog which reduces visibility as well as reducing the quality of life among flora. Fog decreases the rate at which the sun’s rays reach the earth such that green plants which require sunlight for photosynthesis are biologically interfered with hence reducing their productivity (Markhijani, 2007).
Consequently, not all contributions of the increased energy consumption are harmful as there are a handful of advantages as well. Non-renewable sources of energy have led to increased efficiency in industries and manufacturing plants hence making the economy grow positively. In addition to this, more employment opportunities have been created resulting in improved standards of living. The society is uplifted and their social status improves due to increased investment opportunities (Bonskowski, 2001).Increased research on renewable sources of energy has led to establishment of a wide variety of energy sources. This provides increased customer choices such that power failure is not common among key players in the production industries. This ensures that operations of any firm are continuous and society gains from increased productivity as all factors of production are in place. Similarly, the performance of employees is enhanced because most of the laborious work is made easier by incorporating around the clock electric power (Markhijani, 2007).
Emphasis of current U.S energy policy
The most current energy policy is the Energy Independence and Security Act 2007 which was incorporated into the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 2009. Under that act, the federal and state governments are entitled to a portion of funds from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant to make changes in energy efficiency as well as reduce energy use. The other key aspect of the policy is to ensure that American industries and household emit less fossil fuels emissions as a way of conserving energy. This projects aims at encouraging investors to develop residential and commercial buildings which will require minimal energy to operate in terms of keeping warm as well as lighting. Similarly, the transport industry is encouraged to consume less energy by purchasing electric cars which will produce fewer emissions (US Dept. of Energy, 2007).The government is also working towards installation of renewable power supplies at its offices as a way of encouraging the public to do the same. Street lights will also undergo modifications to make then more energy-efficient which all projected towards reducing the amount of energy being consumed by Americans (Markhijani, 2007).
Based on the objectives of the policy, the government is emphasizing on reducing the consumption of energy. This is aimed at reducing the negative effects presented by excessive consumption of non-renewable energy. By adopting energy-saving lighting bulbs as well as ensuring that subsequent houses being constructed will not require intensive cooling or warming is a clear indication that the amount of energy being consumed will be reduced (Bonskowski, 2001).Consequently, the policy is calling for adoption of alternative forms of energy which are renewable. This will reduce the amount of non-renewable energy being consumed as well as the amount which is imported therefore reducing the cost of such expenditure. The program has a provision for funding research which is seeking new alternative forms of renewable energy. Such sources include ethanol and hydroelectric power which present fewer emissions while at the same time they are renewable (US Dept. of Energy, 2007).
Alternatives to current energy supplies
Electric power generated from wind is among the top alternatives which are aimed at replacing non-renewable energy sources. However, hydroelectric power is considered more efficient due to its readily available nature as well as efficiency in powering major industrial and household machines. The inconvenience caused by utilization of renewable sources of energy is that it is quite difficult to store them. Unlike petroleum products which can be stored for future use, it is almost impossible to store wind power or hydroelectric power. This makes the efficient as long as the there is wind or water otherwise if any ceases to exist then no power is produced (Baltimore, 2007).Solar thermal power is also another avenue for renewable energy which is obtained from the sun.
This form of energy is quite limited to only few parts of the country which experience uninterrupted sunshine. Areas around southern California have proved to be quite effective in harnessing solar energy. A similar limitation occurs as only a limited amount of solar energy can be stored (Gallagher, 2009).All these alternatives are socially viable as they have limited harmful effects on human beings in terms of well being. They are uneconomic as quite a lot of resources will be used to store energy obtained from either source while their availability is dependent on natural occurrences which are beyond human intervention (Markhijani, 2007).Adoption of the various sources of renewable energy has a great impact the overall energy conservation in the country. This is because individuals and industries will use less of non-renewable forms of energy hence conservation will be enhanced (Markhijani, 2007).
Individual energy policy recommendations
Based on environmental damage which has been caused by non-renewable gases, the best alternative towards ending such implications would be embracing renewable sources of energy which have presented very minimal negative implications on the environment. Combustion of either wind power or hydroelectric power does not yield carbon dioxide hence global warming will be checked. Hence the government should encourage researchers to seek ways through which various players in the department of energy can establish adequate ways of harvesting the energy so as to increase its efficiency (Gallagher, 2009).The other recommendation is to encourage citizens to minimize consumption of any form of energy as a way of ensuring that society is able to reduce appliances which are dependent on artificial energy. This involves jogging as a way of increasing body temperature rather than using the heater hence a certain amount of energy is conserved. Ideally by jogging an individual is able to reduce chances of being obese as well as other health related complications. This boosts the well being of the society (US Dept. of Energy, 2007).
Conclusion
The energy policy in the United States has shown quite clearly that for Americans to reduce their consumption of energy, the government has to establish laws which will govern the same. Similarly, by providing alternative sources of energy, the citizens will have no choice but to follow the guidelines set by legislation. This way an environmental issue such as global warming will be kept under check as well as improving energy efficiency for the alternative forms.
References
Baltimore, Chris. (2007), “New U.S. Congress looks to boost alternate fuels,”The Boston Globe, January 5, 2007.
Bonskowski, Richard F. (2001). “Energy Information Administration Statistics and Projections for U.S. Coal Supply and Demand: U.S. Coal, Domestic and International Issues” US Department of Energy. http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/FTPROOT/presentations/issreport. Retrieved 2010- 06-16.
Gallagher, S.K. (2009), acting in time on energy policy. Brookings Institution Press
Markhijani, A. (2007), Carbon-free and nuclear-free: a roadmap for U.S. energy policy.RDR Books
US Dept. of Energy (2007), U.S. Primary Energy Consumption by Source and Sector,retrieved on June 15, 2010 from: http://www.energyus.gov/consumption
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