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Christopher J. Richards

Harrisburg Area Community College

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Abstract

This paper explores the research of various authors that build the case for creating a future of

alternative energy for the continuity and advancement of modern civilization. The research

suggests that alternative sources of energy are various in form and poise far more benefits than

conventional methods of energy production. Higher rates of efficiency, larger capabilities, and

lower costs of operation are among the most practical advantages in the application of clean,

alternative energy sources. With limited resources drawing thinner and causing unprecedented

damage to both the environment and our populations across the board, alternative energy offers a

practical and safe alternative to the destructive nature of conventional energy. This paper

examines the research of scholarly articles in the fields of energy consumption, efficiency,

economics, environmental science, and human aspirations.

Keywords: energy, fossil fuels, solar, fusion, nuclear, alternative, pollution, economics.

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Basics of Energy Production and Consumption in the U.S.

Blaschke, T., Biberacher, M., Sabine, G., and Schardinger, I. (August 2013) researched

the efficiency of conventional energy versus that of alternative methods of production. Energy is

arguably the most important resource of modern civilization, as it drives nearly every other

aspect of global society. Increasing systems of production and navigation are controlled almost

exclusively by electronics, relying on a steady stream of energy to power them. The methods of

energy production are countless, and there are levels of efficiency that remain virtually untapped

at the dawn of the 21st century. Even the most effective forms of energy production still utilize

less than 1% of potential energy stored within mass, with nuclear energy being the current leader

in efficiency. To put the inefficiency of more conventional methods in perspective, nuclear

energy is around 17 million times more efficient than fossil fuel burning and it still weighs in at a

fraction of 1% of the maximum potential. Conventional methods of energy include coal, oil, and

natural gas; they are the most common sources of power and fuel in the United States and

abroad.

Change, Y., Lee, J., and Yoon, H. (November 2012) researched energy consumption

projections between 2007 and 2035. Conventional methods of energy production currently hold

somewhat of a monopoly over industries such as transportation, electricity, and defense. As the

conventional modes of transportation are all designed to run on gasoline, oil becomes a target of

mass-production despite its inefficiency and continuous disproportionately-high inflation in

pricing. Prices of gasoline have skyrocketed over the last few decades at far greater rates of

inflation than most other resources. Oil is secure at current rates of consumption in the short-

term, but even the most optimistic projections estimate large-scale production can only be

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sustained as late as the end of the 21st century. Peak oil consumption topped out at 85.6 million

barrels per day worldwide with an estimated 1.3 trillion barrels in known oil reserves. Despite

new technological advancements that may increase those reserve findings or efficiency of the

process, it is fundamentally an impractical long-term solution for future sustainable energy

production.

Qin, R., Grasman, S., Long, S., Lin, Y., and Thomas, M. (December 2012) researched the

economic effects of continued reliance on conventional energy. Reliance on these finite resources

for sustaining an exponentially-growing population presents several key issues worth explaining

in detail. The first and most obvious issue is the likelihood that after a set amount of time and

expansion, these finite resources will either not be sufficient to keep up with demand and will

experience severe price hikes. The second problem is the inefficiency of conventional energy that

limits the capabilities of large-scale projects, which relates to higher costs that correlate with

increases in demand and a stagnant rate of supply. Lower rates of efficiency in energy output

equate to lower rates of production than would exist in under desirable circumstances with higher

rates of efficiency in energy output. Since energy acts as a driving force behind most other

markets, an increase in efficiency in energy production will create benefits across the board.

Heeter, J., and Bird, L. (October 2013) researched the feasibility of alternative energy and

its positive effects on the environment. The third issue of relevance to the continued dependence

on conventional energy deals with the environmental impact on both local and global levels. The

disruption of ecosystems varies in form and scale, yet all conventional methods share the

common bond of significant risk nonetheless. Oil spills are amongst the most damaging and

difficult to manage man-made disasters that have actually occurred outside of theory. Natural gas

drilling, commonly known as fracking, pushes trapped gasses into local water lines that

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contaminates water supplies and natural watershed. Fossil fuel burning creates an excess of

carbon dioxide and other harmful pollutants that are dangerous in concentrated levels to humans

and natural systems alike. Pollution in metropolitan areas of larger scale has been correlated to

increased rates of birth-defects, mental illness, and overall lower physical health.

Chmutina, K., and Goodier, C. (October 2013) researched the possible decentralized

implementations of alternative energy in the UK. Alternative sources of energy can broadly be

defined as creative means of harnessing energy that reduce risks and maximize benefits outside

of conventional methods. The most common methods of alternative energy include hydroelectric

plants, wind turbines, solar panels, and nuclear power plants. As noted earlier, these methods are

still only tapping into the potential of harnessing energy, yet still are generally more cost-

effective, efficient, and safer in all major regards. Wind and solar hybrid systems operate on an

annual cycle in which each peaks at the other’s low. Wind and sunlight run no risk of being

depleted since they are maintained indefinitely by natural forces and reduce pollutants and long-

term costs significantly. Nuclear power as it is offers the most viable potential for replacing

current large-scale energy production, yet runs the risk of meltdown and the issue of disposing of

waste. Fortunately, no such occurrence has actually happened in the United States and only twice

elsewhere.

Heeter, J., et al.’s (October 2013) research suggested there is already a steady model for

renewable energy in the United States. Several states have included the implementation of large-

scale alternative energy in their agendas, yet few have extensively experimented with it except in

recent years. There have been propaganda campaigns run by petroleum companies to build the

Keystone XL pipeline through the central United States amid an overwhelming amount of

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opposition. The struggle between big oil and the common population highlights the importance

of creating large-scale alternatives to conventional methods before the problem becomes acute.

Energy projections made by the Energy Information Agency of the United States predict

exponential increases in energy consumption by the year 2035 with disproportionately higher

costs involved as well. Figure 1, as cited at the end of this paper after the references section,

shows the actual projected amounts of energy consumption by 2035 in graphical representation.

The researchers of the cited study ran their own comparisons against the EIA’s and found that

they projected even higher projections in the United States and China than the EIA did. The

never-ending increases in demand in these highly industrious nations places extreme pressure on

scientists in them to devise a solution before the problem becomes acute.

While the general population is largely unaware of the severity of the impending energy

crisis, the scientific community is not. Unless society is geared into the right direction, industrial

civilization could come to a grinding halt as resources become scarce and prices inflate. The

overall ignorance of the severity of the situation can be attributed to several factors. These

factors include religious beliefs that deny the limitations of resources, plain ignorance in light of

where energy is derived from, and ignorance out of choice because of propaganda run by

conventional energy producers to continue an unchallenged monopoly. The evidence in favor of

climate change and global warming is overwhelmingly accepted in the scientific community,

with far less than 1% of papers written, published, and peer-reviewed arguing against it. High

emissions are correlated with higher rates of skin cancer, birth defects, destruction of segments

of the Ozone layer, and the accelerated process of extinction amongst species in certain habitats.

Plenty of individuals simply remain ignorant of the feasibility of alternative energy being

used on a massive scale. Most people simply do not see the long-term effects that reliance on

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fossil fuels can have, since short-term effects are too discrete to observe and generally more

difficult to use as evidence of an impending energy crisis. To understand the limited supply of

fossil fuels, we have to understand what exactly fossil fuels are and why they are of a limited

nature. Generally speaking, fossil fuels are the result of compressed organic material that

hardened over a period of millions of years, such as from the ages of the dinosaurs. As time goes

on, this decayed organic material becomes heavily compressed and turns into fuels such as coal.

Since life is carbon-based, the burning of these highly-compressed carbon materials releases

carbon dioxide as it is released into the air. While it is natural for living organisms to release

carbon dioxide and other gasses, it is not natural for the rate of carbon burning our society has

imposed in recent years. The assumption of the general population is that because carbon has

always been released by life forms, it is natural to release carbon dioxide in the air and the

amount released has little to no effect overall.

There is a lot of skepticism within certain political movements on the reality of climate

change and global warming which stems from a lack of deep understanding. Within the scientific

community, over ninety-nine percent of peer-reviewed articles acknowledge the existence of

climate change and the direct correlation between our industrial expansions to the changes in the

global climate. While it is easy to dismiss this claim from a purely individualistic and

inexperienced perspective, once evidence on a broader scale is taken into consideration it

becomes impossible to deny. Educated populations generally have a deeper understanding of the

effects our industrial activities have on the environment regardless of political affiliation,

whereas areas with lower educational achievement are more likely to not understand our effect

on the environment. At any given time, over six billion people are co-existing on the planet,

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simultaneously carrying out their daily tasks, with some organizations producing exponentially

higher amounts of pollution and waste than others. The carbon footprints, as measured in a per-

capita fashion, highlight the profound impact our more industrial nations have in comparison to

less developed nations.

Those who argue against the possibility of climate change often do so on the grounds of

suspicion that it is a scam for personal gain by politicians. Another popular theory against

climate change is that it is a conspiracy to stagnate the growth of third-world nations, as they

would need to become industrial by nature to achieve greater status. While the premises

presented in either argument are feasible, there is no actual evidence to support them and are

based on speculation and personal beliefs. The main focus of controlling climate change is, as it

should be, on the most industrial nations on the planet, such as the United States, Canada, China,

Brazil, India, Japan, South Korea, and Mexico. The carbon footprints of these nations are

exponentially higher than those of third-world countries, and even though the current rates of

production make it unfavorable to simply cut fossil fuel consumption, the necessity lies in

developing alternative methods. To reduce the impact of global warming, production does not

need to slow down at all, and in most cases the implementation of alternative energy can actually

lead to much higher rates of production altogether. Cleaner alternative energy has higher rates of

energy output, less risk of catastrophe, lower maintenance costs, and shorter payback period

times than conventional fossil fuels and oil.

According to Qin, R., et al.’s (December 2012) studies, there are various possibilities for

seamlessly integrating alternative energy into modern economics. The case for alternative energy

does not necessarily involve taxing industrial sectors or removing them in the short term at all.

Contrary to a somewhat popular belief, environmentalists generally do not desire a weaker

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economy or productive private sector. The case for alternative energy is simply to create new

means of harnessing energy production for the advancement of the human species and to remove

the threats and risks associated with conventional means of energy production. This must be

done in a realistic fashion, with carefully implemented small-scale grids that test the waters with

the capabilities of large-scale power production from alternative energy sources. Over time, the

long-term objective of alternative energy is to offer both economically and environmentally

beneficial methods of production that can be adopted by individuals, companies, and the public

sector alike. The transition from conventional methods of power would not necessarily mean the

end of coal or oil companies, as they could simply transition into the more lucrative trade of

clean energy once it becomes more popular. The entire idea behind the alternative energy

movement is to provide a new technology that has benefits that far outweigh those of its

traditional predecessor and renders it an obsolete practice in the long-run.

There is no legitimate reason with credible evidence not to at least attempt to innovate

possible methods of alternative energy production on a large scale. Alternative means of energy

production can be as simple as individuals planting solar panels on their homes with wind

turbines alternating on the months of low solar output. There are countless do-it-yourself designs

available on the internet for energy production that offer insight into the feasibility of not only

sustaining themselves locally but contributing to the grid they are a part of with any excess

energy they provide. In Germany, there is a town by the name of Wildpoldsried that has solar

panels on all public facilities and generates 321% more energy than the village needs. The

community also has no debt, seven windmills, and five biogas digesters. The energy efficiency of

this village is outstanding and the costs the maintain the power system are lower than normal,

with next to no waste byproduct and lower levels of pollution than conventional towns. This

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town is just one of several notable examples of cities where alternative energy has been proven

to be a feasible long-term alternative to conventional energy.

The future of the human species relies on its ability to develop technology that can

sustain the ever-growing population with ever-diminishing natural resources. It is likely with

current trends that humanity will eventually rely solely on technological advancement to sustain

itself with some form of artificial environmental enhancement. Space colonization, including

asteroid mining, could help solve the energy and overpopulation problem as well, but that would

require more advanced methods of energy production as well. The more advanced humanity’s

means of producing energy become, the more potential it will have to explore alternatives in

dealing with other problems. Much of the world is without electricity and running water as it is,

yet alternative energy methods offer viable options to power these areas without pollution or

tremendous start-up costs, especially on small-scales. In virtually every other field of technology,

humanity has excelled and advanced exponentially over the past few decades, leaving energy

production being virtually the only one to remain stuck in the Stone Age.

As suggested in the research of Chmutina, K., et al., (October 2013) renewable energy

can be built and maintained on local scales by any community that has the know-how and the

desire to develop it. It would boost local component manufacturing industries, decrease the costs

of waste management, and greatly reduce or even remove the negative side effects that pollution

has on human health and the environment. Bioenergy makes use of biological waste and turns it

into a preferable alternative to fossil-fuel burning, with many private homes and agricultural

powerhouses making use of it already. The capabilities of biomass fuel offers a safer alternative

to third-world countries that do not yet have large-scale means of energy production. This

answers the problem presented with opposition to industrial expansion by means of fossil-fuel

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burning, for biofuel has the most potential in these areas most restricted by lack of electricity and

running water. Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America hold the greatest potential in the world for

making use of biofuel, and it could offer a safe transition into industrialism with minimalized

risks. Solar energy is extremely viable in these environments as well, since the amount of

sunlight hitting these areas is optimal all year round with their close proximity to the equator.

The combination of countries that make up the European Union currently lead the world

in biofuel production, coming in at around 123 terawatt-hours per year. China leads the world in

renewable energy sources overall, with almost 800 terawatt-hours annually. Technically, the

European Union is second with around 700, but with only individual countries the United States

comes in second with around 520 terawatt-hours per year. The overwhelming majority of

renewable energy worldwide is hydroelectric power, utilizing natural currents to generate

electricity at places such as the Hoover Dam. In the United States alone, there are 5 states that

generate more than half of their electricity from renewable sources, including Idaho, Washington,

Oregon, South Dakota, and Maine. Consequently, these states face less pollution and waste than

their conventionally-powered state counterparts. Areas with lower levels of pollution correlate

with lower rates of birth defects, higher ratings of satisfaction, and generally higher educational

achievement. On the contrary, areas with higher levels of pollution correlate with more birth

defects, lower test scores, and generally less-than-satisfactory ratings.

The byproducts of pollution are not limited solely to carbon dioxide, with another

byproduct being carbon monoxide, which is like carbon dioxide except with one less oxygen

molecule. The danger of this pollutant, which is commonly expelled from motor vehicles, is that

the body confuses it as normal oxygen and replaces the oxygen in the blood stream frighteningly

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quickly. Carbon monoxide poisoning is known to be lethal in even short periods of time and is

impossible to detect with the natural senses, yet it is released in massive amounts into the

atmosphere in industrial centers. In combination to the lack of plant life to recycle the air in these

industrial centers, the pollution takes a toll on the health of the locals that can be both

overwhelming and permanent. Simply replacing the methods of energy production can reduce or

eventually eliminate emissions that harm both the atmosphere and put the population’s health at

risk. Solar panels can be outfitted on rooftops regardless of geographical location, while

windmills can be outfitted in most areas of relatively flat plains nature. Hydroelectric power can

be situated in any area with sufficient current in a body of water, and biofuel can be obtained

from any source of significant biomass. Nuclear power plants can generate massive amounts of

energy to large-scale populations with lower emissions and higher levels of efficiency than fossil

fuels, and geothermal energy is abundant on the west coast.

The growing need for practical application of renewable, alternative energy is a matter of

life or death for society as a whole, consequently affecting the livelihood of each and every

individual. In modern society, there would not be a single family unaffected by the lack of access

to a functioning power grid; likewise, there would not be a single family unaffected by toxic

pollution levels on a global scale. The amount of greenhouse gasses have been accelerating

rapidly, along with rates of birth defects in heavily polluted areas rooted in impoverished

industrial areas. While greenhouse gasses have naturally risen before on Earth, we have

systematically destroyed the natural balancing mechanism of increased vegetation that the Earth

has relied on in the past. With less vegetation to recycle the greenhouse gasses into oxygen and

clean the air, the rising pollution has begun to weaken the ozone and contaminate the cities in

which we live.

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Symbolic interactionism describes the process by which we create and sustain a sense of

understanding between our own perspectives, our societal roles, and objective reality. When

dealing with climate change and the impending energy crisis, as with many other macro

sociological issues, we have allowed our individual desires and societal obligations to cloud our

understanding of objective reality. The sustainability of our species in future generations rests on

our ability to put aside our preconceptions and biases long enough to understand the severity of

what lay ahead. What separates humans from animals by the definition of logic is our ability to

foresee and plan into the future with an understanding of the consequences. If we allow our

short-sighted desires to continue to overpower our long-term necessities, we will have effectively

wasted our foresight and will instead only have pointless hindsight and an unnecessary mess to

clean up for generations to come.

To understand why climate change and the impending energy crisis is not taken seriously

by some people, we must first understand how they think and why they think that way. The

ability to empathize is just as important in defining our humanity as is the ability to have clear,

calculated foresight. Empathy is, in essence, the ability to create a bridge between the unique

identity and objective reality while understanding the role that social reality plays in the

connection between the two. When people fail to absorb objective reality into their own unique

identity, there has either been a barrier caused by their social reality or a misinterpretation based

on a predefined unique identity that has ceased to grow and adapt. The blind, absolute rejection

of evidence in favor of preconceived ideas is known so some as arrogance, but at a more basic

level it is simply a product of a closed mind that rejects change. Individuals that have formed a

desirable unique identity that mixes well with their social reality will reject anything that

threatens that status quo.

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Each unique identity develops independently and is therefore bound to conflict with

another identity that developed along a different path. People of like-minded identities often

band together to form a larger sense of identity in the form of a fabricated social reality. When

interacting with an individual of a conflicting unique identity, it is not only a conflict of

individual interests but also a conflict of collective interests between groups and social identities.

When social identities offer positive influence to individual minds, those individuals are likely to

yield to the collective wisdom of their social circles and oppose the influence of any group that

contradicts it. When an idea is predominantly supported by a group whose interests directly

oppose the group that an individual identifies with, without the ability to properly empathize,

they will resort to automatically associating the idea with the opposition’s unique minds and

social identities.

When an idea is objectively verifiable, those with empathy and the ability to identify

outside of their social reality will acknowledge it, but those without those abilities will cling to

their group consensus. This applies to the denial of the overwhelming evidence pointing towards

dangerous changes in climate and atmosphere by certain groups of people that otherwise may be

perfectly rational beings. The concept of climate change was brought to light recently in large

part due to ex-presidential candidate Al Gore pouring resources into a public campaign about the

issue. Regardless of the scientific backing of the idea, simply because of political division and

suspicion, Republicans vehemently opposed the idea and claimed it was merely a scam by a

washed-up politician. This conflict of interests amongst the two major political parties has set

them into a gridlock of extreme approval or disapproval of this and many other concepts. This is

not to suggest that one group is necessarily more pro-science than the other, however; there is a

large anti-vaccination and anti-GMO movement amongst democrats, for example.

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Another example of social reality and group consensus getting in the way of the unique

mind perceiving objective reality is with religion, as this applies to the energy crisis as well.

Many fundamentalists claim that regardless of human action or inaction, god will provide

enough resources to ensure our continued survival. This naïve and primitive perspective that

inaction will somehow be rewarded by a blind jump of faith enables individuals to carry on with

a blissful ignorance of issues that seem unpleasant. The social identity they identify with

completely controls many aspects of their life and how they identify themselves, and as a result,

they refuse to accept evidence that contradicts their idea of functionalistic stability. With a

delusional sense of reality based upon social conditioning and a refusal to adapt to new evidence,

they actively oppose any initiative that challenges the status quo.

To continue ignoring the necessity for improved, renewable, clean energy would be a

death sentence not only for us, but for our children and every generation thereafter. Whether

people agree on the severity of climate change or not, it should be a universal consensus that

there will be an energy crisis within our lifetimes. As populations explode, resources deplete, the

economy globalizes, and technological advances occur, our need for energy will continue to

grow at an exponential rate. In the 20th century, there have been periods where gasoline was so

scarce that they had to resort to certain days for vehicles to use gas stations, and even brief

blackouts caused by solar flares or storms brought entire metropolises to a grinding halt. The

costs of gasoline have increased non-stop despite claims that oil scarcity is “not a concern”, and

oil spills combined with excessive pollution in both our air and water have decimated entire

ecosystems.

The loss of vegetation and pollution of water sources has led to increased illnesses in

humans and the decimation of species that played vital roles in sustaining local ecosystems. As

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individual ecosystems falter, the larger ecosystem that they make up must adapt accordingly; if

all individual ecosystems are being damaged simultaneously, adaptation becomes nearly

impossible. While simply severing our reliance on conventional energy methods is impractical,

the gentle conversion to safer, more efficient methods is both practical and beneficial. Research

for new sources of energy, implementation of current renewable energy, and community garden

efforts to restore vegetation should be a priority in the 21st century. We must distinguish between

rationale and facts versus propaganda and unfounded rumors that claim nothing should be done.

We must act on our findings in a way that will bring our social identities in synch with objective

reality, all the while remembering to respect the differences in our independent unique identities.

It is not too late to create a sustainable future, nor is it really that difficult if we act now.

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Figures

Figure 1: EIA projection vs IEO projection, 2007-2035, from

“Alternative Projection of the World Energy Consumption-in Comparison with the 2010

International Energy Outlook “, found at URL:

http://origin-ars.els-cdn.com.ezproxy.hacc.edu/content/image/1-s2.0-S0301421512006544-

gr3.jpg

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References

Blaschke, T., Biberacher, M., Sabine, G., Schardinger, I. (August 2013). “Energy

Landscapes: Meeting Energy Demands and Human Aspirations”. Retrieved from

http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.hacc.edu/10.1016/j.biombioe.2012.11.022.

Change, Y., Lee, J., Yoon, H. (November 2012). “Alternative Projection of the World Energy

Consumption-in Comparison with the 2010 International Energy Outlook”. Retrieved from

http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.hacc.edu/10.1016/j.enpol.2012.07.059.

Chmutina, K., Goodier, C. (October 2013). “Alternative Future Energy Pathways: Assessment

of the Potential of Innovative Decentralized Energy Systems in the UK”. Retrieved from

http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.hacc.edu/10.1016/j.enpol.2013.10.080.

Heeter, J., Bird, L. (October 2013). “Including Alternative Resources in State Renewable

Portfolio Standards: Current Design and Implementation Experience”. Retrieved from

http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.hacc.edu/10.1016/j.enpol.2013.05.067.

Qin, R., Grasman, S., Long, S., Lin, Y., Thomas, M. (December 2012). “A Framework of

Cost-Effectiveness Analysis for Alternative Energy Strategies”. Retrieved from

connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/84608294/framework-cost-effectiveness-analysis-

alternative-energy-strategies.