Final Draft
Implications of using
alternative energy sources on The U.S.A
BLSS - Group 2
Kate, C.
Content:
Faisal Al-Tamimi Kate, C. 2010 words
Student ID 200555902
BLSS -C3 Project Page 1
Abstract 3
Introduction 4
The alternatives 6
Solar energy 6
Wind power 6
Nuclear energy 6
Coal and other sources 7
Conclusion 9
Bibliography 10
Power and producing energy, have been a human concern since ages starting from lighting
the fire in Stone Age until operating factories and industries in recent days. Generating power
has passed through several stages in different ages. First wood was used as energy, then coal
and finally oil which has become one of the most important issues in the universe. The world
now is in a race to find a replacement of oil in case it runs out; however the absolute solution
has not been discovered yet. In this essay the issue of finding alternative sources of energy
will be discussed mainly in the USA since it is the world’s greatest power and depends on
imported power, funding research on this field. Also the implications of the USA having new
sources of energy from the political, economic and environmental aspects will be examined.
Finally, the possibility of obtaining alternative sources of energy other than oil and gas will
be analysed.
The USA as the world’s greatest power should look for its full independence. However the
1973 embargo approved the opposite, the Arabic countries in Middle East stopped their oil
exports to the USA and western countries as punishment for their supply to Israel in their war
against nearby countries in Middle East. That incident had a massive impact on U.S, a
reduction in speed limits to 55 mph, 400% rise in oil prices and gasoline stations had to close
down (ccds.charlotte.nc.us, Horton 2000). Also it had an impact of increasing in domestic oil
production (see graph below). Since then the U.S realised how important to be power
independent and started thinking seriously about finding a new source of energy because the
oil was used as a political weapon. Moreover ‘Alternative may be a national catastrophe’ a
statement by the USA president Jimmy Carter in 1977 (www.pbs.org, 2008). These are all
evidences approve the USA needs for alternative sources of energy.
Even though the USA started seriously thinking of researching the alternatives, it is not easy
as it seems to be. Oil has many advantages over other sources of energy. Firstly, oil is a liquid
which made it is simple to store it and transport it to overseas countries by pipes and ships.
Secondly, as liquid available underneath the surface a large amounts can be produced with a
little effort for example The Gawar field is producing around 4.5 million barrels per day with
small amount of power consumed to extract it which reduces its cost. In addition, burning oil
produce huge amount of energy and heat unlike the other sources of energy. (Blanchard, 2005
p14, 15)
Solar energy:
To start with the implication of the U.S having the alternatives, there is a rising question
about the alternatives to replace oil and gas. Actually there are many sources of energy to
replace and each one of them has its advantages and disadvantages. First of all, there is solar
energy or it can be called the ‘lost power’. The earth receives 10,000 times power from the
sun than it consumes which is a great power that can stop the dependency on fossil fuel; also
this energy operates the nature in our planet as well (El-Hinnawi & Biswas, 1981).
Furthermore, solar energy has great advantages as a sustainable energy generated and
consumed without producing greenhouse emissions. On the other hand, several difficulties
occur when using this sort of power. First, it cannot be applied in urban areas where the
skyscrapers block the sun. Also direct release of heat from other sources like nuclear, fossil
fuels and other stored energy may lead to climate disaster. At the end the most difficult
problem is dealing with the technology since the current capabilities cannot fully use sun’s
radiations. But still using the solar energy is the most sustainable choice (El-Hinnawi &
Biswas, 1981).
Wind power:
Along with solar energy, there is another type of renewable energy which is the wind power.
Like solar energy, this sort of power has several weaknesses since it rely on the air in open
areas. Also it has a similar problem to solar energy, which is its dependency on weather and
low efficiency in closed area that could block the air as well as the wind speed varies between
throughout America (Gipe, 2004). For example, it is more difficult to locate winds turbines in
the south west of USA where wind speed is approx 5.6 m/s generating at most 200 w/ m 2
(www.eere.energy.gov,2006). On the other hand this sort of power generation is functional
for remote areas where it is difficult for electricity supplies to reach and environmentally
harmful for agriculture to establish polluting power stations nearby. This technology is
developing steadily in America which has recorded an increase from 0.070 to 0.178
Quadrillion Btu between 2001 and 2005 (Energy information Administration, 2007) and it is
hoped to be more efficient in the future.
Nuclear power:
Other than these three sources which are commonly used, coal comes as a source of energy. It
used to be the main source before oil and it importance has been declining until the oil crisis
of 1970s. However coal is less efficient than oil in a way that burning 3.5 units of coal equal
to one unit of oil (Blanchard, 2005, p266). Although coal is environmentally unfriendly since
it produces CO2 emissions, it still used as cheap way of energy production which can be an
alternative of oil. Additionally, the U.S has got many sources of energy (see table below)
such as hydro electric that the water is the way to produce it. These are all source of power
that the U.S.A is trying to obtain however the question is what will happen if the U.S obtains
the alternatives? And how can USA benefit from that?
This table represents U.S energy consumption distributed by the source of energy in 2004-
2006 (Quadrillion Btu):
Environmental:
The answer for that question is obtaining energy from different sources will have many
consequences on the U.S in the environmental, economic, social and political aspects. First,
global warming and climate change has been the most environmental issue in the world. So
the U.S.A as the most developed country that has the highest rate of CO 2 emissions in the
world which is around 24% and that is caused mainly by the burning of fossil fuel and
depending on them (Crabtree, 2002). In addition, the U.S is facing critics towards their
environmental status so developing the renewable sources of energy which has non
ecological effects which would have a great influence on the American position as friends of
the environment since they also reject Kyoto protocol that recommend industrial countries to
reduce their greenhouse emissions (Crabtree, 2002).
In addition to that, by having the technology to produce new types of energy, America will
gain technological and economic advantages. In the world there are several developed
countries that depend mainly on the imported power and trying to be power independent.
This table shows the top ten petroleum net imports in the world in 2000:
Political:
At the end and most importantly, as mentioned before in the project the oil embargo of 1973
was the realization of oil as political weapon since it is the most demanded source in the
world. So if the U.S has fully succeeded in depending on the alternatives, it will provide more
freedom on its foreign policy and its war against terrorism. For instance, what happened to
the U.S in 1970s was valuable evidence of what can occur if the same problem repeats itself.
In addition to that the U.S is trying to protect its security in case the oil runs out and there
will be no sollution.
Conclusion:
The U.S.A has been trying seriously to develop new sources of energy to replace oil since
1970s embargo, because at that time it realised how dangerous it is to have all the oil fields
controlled by a group of nations that share the same culture and point of view since it risked
us national security. So that aspire the U.S to fund research in developing the alternatives and
they succeed in finding the roots. However the technology is still in its infancy and the
current figures shows a very slight increase in the consumption of the alternatives. At the end,
finding the replacement at this level is apparently difficult. However, in the future that can
happen and if it does, it will be a great success to the U.S and a benefit the world as well as
the environment.