Energy Conservation and an Environmental Problem within It - Term Paper Example

Energy conservation and an environmental problem within it Energy conservation in general is done for two fundamental purposes: to decrease environmental pollution and to preserve resources for the future generations. The approach often proposed to achieve this is also twofold i.e. through development and use of energy efficient technologies or by simply reducing our levels of energy services consumption. The direct benefits of this are reduced energy costs, improved environmental value and economic security for both individuals and countries. Industrial and commercial users would benefit through cost reduction and profit maximization. Though the imperative to conserve energy is as old as the use of energy itself (Wulfinghoff, n.d.) it could be argued that the modern push for energy conservation has been driven by overreliance on fossil fuels and the accompanying fear over their rate of depletion, rising costs of fossil fuels and the effects of fossil fuels on the environment. Herein we can single out the production of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that lead to global warming as a significant environmental problem within energy conservation. Greenhouse gases are those gases that absorb and emit heat in the atmosphere e.g. carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor and nitrous oxide. Water vapor and carbon dioxide are the greatest contributors to the greenhouse effect. However, according to Jacob (1999) water vapor resides in the atmosphere for a period of about nine days before it condenses and precipitates, unlike carbon dioxide and the other greenhouse gases which mix in the atmosphere and reside there for years. It is this lack of natural processes to remove the greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide that leads to the earth heating up because the gases entrap heat within our atmosphere. Factors contributing to or are affected by energy conservation Seas / lakes, vegetation, land, wildlife and livestock are some of the living and nonliving factors that contribute to or are affected by energy conservation. Seas have a huge potential with regards to providing an alternative source of energy in the form of wave or tidal energy. Tidal energy provides a renewable source of electricity that should lessen our dependence on fossil fuels thus reduce our emissions of greenhouse gases. However, it must be noted that harnessing tidal energy through building of dams near bays or estuaries could result in negative impacts on aquatic and shoreline ecosystems (Ocean Energy Council, n.d.). Secondly, utilising seas/oceans for energy generation would reduce the need to open up more oil exploration in the seas which could lead to leaks and disasters such as the one at the Gulf of Mexico that have a devastating effect on marine life and ecosystem. Climate change due to the increased warmth of the earth has led to increased periods of drought in some parts of the world and floods in other parts (El Niño effect). This is believed to have had a negative effect on vegetation and wildlife e.g. warmer water temperatures affect the habitat for cold water species such as trout, salmon and also lead to massive coral bleaching which destroys their ecosystem. With regards to vegetation, warmer winters have contributed to frequent and deadly outbreaks of bark beetles that kill trees. These trees are then dried up by the high temperatures caused by global warming, leading to massive drought-fuelled forest fires that further destroy wildlife habitat, put human lives at risk and cause extensive damage to property (National Wildlife Federation, n.d.). On the other hand, technologies are being developed to utilise waste vegetation as source of fuel such as the billions of tons of agricultural waste generated each year in the developing and developed countries (Yevich & Logan, 2002). Similarly: …whether biofuels offer carbon savings depends on how they are produced...biofuels made from waste biomass or from biomass grown on degraded and abandoned agricultural lands planted with perennials incur little or no carbon debt and can offer immediate and sustained GHG [greenhouse gases] advantages (Fargione, Hill, Tilman, Polasky & Hawthorne, 2008, p. 1235). Positive or negative human impacts The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) directly linked global warming to human activity. Agriculture and fossil fuel use have been cited as the main contributing activities to the increase in human-caused greenhouse gas concentration (Roach, 2007). With an increased population the world is faced with the dilemma of trying to feed itself while avoiding having a negative impact on the environment. According to Hickmann (2009) this dilemma is manifested by the US think tank Worldwatch Institute’s research that demonstrated that 51 percent of global emissions of greenhouse gases were caused by tens of billions of domesticated animals in three major areas: methane, land use and respiration. The unfortunate bit is that developed countries have become so dependent on oil such that anticipating a lack of it is considered threat to national security. Oil therefore has come to be the cause of wars such as the much debated military presence of UK and US in Iraq. It is with this in mind that US president Obama lifted the ban on offshore drilling in areas that were off-limits to oil and gas exploration for up to three decades. Unfortunately, this decision led to the oil spill disaster at the Gulf of Mexico. If we go back into history we discover that mans’ unique ability to capture and exploit energy from stored energy sources is the driver for causing global warming. It is this ability that has made it possible for man to extract oil, coal and natural gas as sources of fuel. Worse still human population in the planet has multiplied by a factor of five from 150 years ago. Other than the population explosion, man’s increase in wealth has also encouraged overconsumption of energy. The wealth angle is manifested by the fact that Americans consume 300 to 600 times more energy than people in the poorer developing countries (Liloia, 2009). Evaluation of current sustainability strategies and solutions Current environmental sustainability and energy conservation strategies include development and promotion of use of renewable sources of energy, establishment of environmental and energy conservation bodies within nations to champion the cause, and technological improvements to enhance energy efficiency. Green energy is the byword for this century. It comes in various forms as biofuels, solar energy, wind energy and tidal energy. Biofuels if obtained from agricultural waste and these other alternative energy sources have minimal impact on the atmosphere with regards to trapping heat. The disadvantage of these technologies however has been the huge capital outlay required to sustain them. All these renewable sources of energy cannot compete with fossil fuels when it goes down to cost, which has led to consumer reluctance in accepting them. The only hope therefore for renewable fuels to remain attractive to producers and consumers would be via provision of government subsidies. Secondly we mentioned that the establishment of environmental and energy conservation bodies within nations as being one of the sustainability strategies. In the US we have federal organizations such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that has been mandated to champion the environmental course in the US through programs, policies and legislation. EPA for example issued the Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases Rule that required reporting of greenhouse gas emissions from large sources and suppliers in the US. The purpose of the reporting system is to provide EPA with a better understanding of where greenhouse gas emissions originate so that it may come up with effective policies and programs aimed at reducing emissions. This comprehensive, nationwide emissions data would aid in the fight against climate change (EPA, 2010). Another notable program in the US is ENERGY STAR. This is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy that seeks to save money and protect the environment through the push for energy efficient practices and products. ENERGY STAR is a voluntary labeling program designed to identify and promote energy-efficient products to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Over the past decade, it has led to widespread use technological innovations e.g. low standby energy uses, efficient fluorescent lighting, and power management systems. The demerits with institutions such as ENERGY STAR is that membership is voluntary. Some organizations may therefore take that optional condition to completely avoid adherence to it. In as much as customers may be persuaded to buy only products with an ENERGY STAR label, in free market economy consumers would simply go for lower priced substitutes. Finally, another sustainability strategy being applied currently is that for development of technologies that increase efficiency in terms of energy usage. It is argued that increasing energy efficiency will ultimately reduce demand for an energy resource. Efficient use of fossil fuels e.g. through designing of fuel efficient vehicles will lead to less fuel consumption, less carbon dioxide emission and less extractions thus conserving the oil, coal and natural gas reserves. One of the strengths of this approach is that efficient use of energy could be practiced at the individual level to a highly effective overall avalanche effect on the world energy conservation efforts. The only detriment is what economists refer to as the rebound effect. Economic theory suggests that increasing energy efficiency will ultimately reduce demand for an energy resource which will subsequently lead to a decrease in the cost of using the resource. This reduction of cost could cause a rebound in demand to the extent that the consumer chooses to use more of the resource instead of realizing the energy cost savings (Schettkat, 2009). Mitigation plan From our discussion it is clear that for us to achieve success in combating global warming through energy conservation a multifaceted approach has to be employed. In our case we have identified three key players to this method that we propose, namely: society, government and the global support. Society here implies the community that immediately surrounds you. Communities are generally characterized by individual attitudes and behaviors that are spread through social interactions and activities. At this level we advocate for the individuals within a community to practice the following five activities to reduce greenhouse gases and conserve energy. First, individuals should be encouraged to reduce their daily carbon emission through daily activities such as cycling over short distances rather than driving, increase use of public transportation and car sharing. Second activity is to buy foods that are actually in season and are local (check the stickers). It is a fact that food transportation contributes heavily to greenhouse gases. Thirdly, practice energy saving within the home e.g. purchase energy efficient products with ENERGY STAR label, switch off your PC or TV when not in use instead of leaving them on standby. Fourthly, reduce your consumerism. Consumerism encourages degradation of the environment through endless production of goods (Liloia, 2009). Finally, learn to share your values with your colleagues, friends and neighbours because the impact will be greater if you can create a network of people (a society) that cares about energy conservation and the environment. The role of the government with regards to promoting energy conservation is much broader than that for society and would naturally involve use of more resources. The government’s foremost activity would be to put in place legislation that supports organic and sustainable agriculture, and formation of environmental monitoring bodies such as the US EPA. Also, with ‘Jevons Paradox’ that arises due to energy efficiency the government could reduce energy consumption through introduction of interventions such as green taxes. Furthermore, we have not yet seen governments putting effort in education e.g. via introduction of energy conservation courses within the school systems so that children grow up with a mindset that appreciates environmental protection. Governments through legislation could also ensure accountability through handing out of retardant fines to offenders of environmental laws. On the global scale, we realize that environmental pollution in one part of the world does have an effect on a different part of the world for example Africa has suffered from the effects of global warming such as El Niño, extended dry season etc. because of the bad practices of the developed world. For this reason global bodies would need to have more muscle so that they can ensure all nations are held accountable for their actions or inactions. With the world’s biggest economy, the US, and the quickly rising economy, China, unwilling to ratify global protocols it is unfortunate for the world. This actually hampers the global effort towards energy conservation. References Fargione, J., Hill, J., Tilman, D., Polasky, S & Hawthorne, P. (2008, February). Land clearing and the biofuel carbon debt. Science, 29 (319): 1235 – 1237. Hickman, M. (2009, Nov.1). Study claims meat creates half of all greenhouse gases. The Independent. Jacob, D. (1999). Introduction to Atmospheric Chemistry. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. pp. 25–26. Liloia, B. (2009, February 2). How do humans cause global warming. Planetsave. Retrieved on 20 May 2010 from http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/02/02/how-humans-cause-global-warming/ National Wildlife Federation. Global Warming and Western Forests. Retrieved on 20 May 2010 from http://www.nwf.org/Global-Warming/Effects-on-Wildlife-and-Habitat/Western-Forests.aspx Ocean Energy Council. Tidal Energy. Retrieved on 20 May 2010 from http://www.oceanenergycouncil.com/index.php/Tidal-Energy/Tidal-Energy.html US Environmental Protection Agency. Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases Rule. Retrieved on 20 March 2010 from http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/ghgrulemaking.html Roach, J. (2007, February 2). Global Warming "Very Likely" Caused by Humans, World Climate Experts Say. National Geographic News. Schettkat, R. (2009, January). Analyzing rebound Effects, 117. Doppersberg, Germany: Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy. Wulfinghoff, D. R. (n.d.). The Modern History of Energy Conservation: An Overview for Information Professionals. Energy Institute Press. Retrieved on 20 March 2010 from http://www.energybooks.com/resources/modern_history_of_energy.pdf Yevich, R & Logan, J. A. (2002, June 30). An assessment of biofuel use and burning of agricultural waste in the developing world. Global Biogeochemical Cycles Read More