Change Your World Week Fall 2021 (Archived)

Ever since the industrial age of America, non renewable energy has been the “big thing.” It is what powers our trains, our industries, fuels our cars, and keeps our lights on; and throughout the last century and a half, not much has changed. There are still the big oil and coal companies running the show, and that’s basically all America has known. They all burn fossil fuels, and the carbon emissions get released into the atmosphere, contributing to the greenhouse effect. For over 100 years, combustion engines have been the way we power our vehicles and are the most widely accepted, because it is what we are used to. Back then, when factories and cars were at their height, nobody cared what they did to the environment. The technical limits of the internal combustion engine and the scale of automobile use, produced devastating forms of pollution. (“The Automobile and  The Environment in American History,” Martin Melosi, 2004-2010)  

After a while, people began to notice the effects, listen to these groups, and put specific regulations on emissions from cars and factories. According to Melosi, many people were affected by the pollution caused by vehicles, especially in major cities. As early as 1959, eye irritation was reported in Los Angeles County on 187 days; in 1962, 212 days. A typical car produced in 1963 (without pollution control devices) discharged 520 pounds of hydrocarbons, 1,700 pounds of carbon monoxide, and 90 pounds of nitrogen oxide for every 10,000 miles traveled. In 1966, 86 million of approximately 146 million tons of pollutants discharged into the United States were attributable to motor vehicle traffic.  

  The numbers have shown that emissions are still on the rise. According to Hannah Ritchie and Max Roser, carbon emissions have quadrupled since 1950 from 6 billion tons to 22 billion tons. Now we are at 36 billion tons each year. If we ignore that increase, we can be way over our heads. There has been a 2-3 percent increase each year, with some exceptions along the way. In the past few years, the numbers have gone down from 2-3 percent to .5-2 percent. America and Asia have been the leading emission producers, but America and Europe are now just under one-third of emission leaders, with China and Oceania Asia leading. The changes that need to be made to these rates are coming, but there needs to be an emphasis on it NOW. 

Yes, there is a daunting problem: the emissions are the only problem, but the root is people’s mindsets. Many people choose to avoid green action because they think it will cost them more than their typical, environmentally harmful activities. It is often true that environmentally friendly products come with high up-front costs, but these costs almost always make back over the lifetime of consequences. People are unaware of the economic benefits of going green. The market remains dangerously low, making up only 3-5 percent of any given market. (“Why Don’t We All Go Green?”, Rory Viokor, 2014) The mindset is the same with renewable energy. People think they are bad for the wrong reasons. Some hoops need to be jumped through to have efficient green energy, but it is well worth the struggle.  

There are many perspectives when it comes to Green Energy. It especially intertwines with the two major political parties and a lot of big and private businesses. These educated opinions should be respected no matter if you agree with them or not.  

A big question about renewable energy is if it will be powerful enough to tackle 100% of the energy requirements. Many believe that it won’t, and we’ll still have to rely on fossil fuels. There are some concerns about the efficiency of renewable energy as well. James Temple, Senior Editor for energy at MIT Technology Review, in a Feb. 26, 2018 article, “Relying on Renewables Alone Significantly Inflates the Cost of Overhauling Energy,” stated:

“It increasingly appears that insisting on 100 percent renewable sources—and disdaining others that don’t produce greenhouse gases, such as nuclear power and fossil-fuel plants with carbon-capture technology—is wastefully expensive and needlessly difficult. In the latest piece of evidence, a study published in Energy & Environmental Science determined that solar and wind energy alone could reliably meet about 80 percent of current U.S. annual electricity demand. Still, massive investments in energy storage and transmission would be needed to avoid major blackouts. Pushing to meet 100 percent of demand with these resources would require building a huge number of additional wind and solar farms—or expanding electricity storage to the extent that would be prohibitively expensive at current prices. Or some of both. The basic problem is that the sun doesn’t always shine, and the wind doesn’t always blow. The study analyzed 36 years’ worth of hourly weather data and found there are gaps in renewable-energy production even on a continental scale.” 

There can be a balance and a coexistence with renewable and non renewable energy, and it would tremendously help the carbon emissions as they are already at a very high rate. Of course being 100% fully reliable on renewable energy would be ideal, but it’s not the most realistic. Getting as close as we can to the goal would be the most beneficial for humanity as a whole, for our environment, and our future.

Another argument is that solar panels and wind farms take up a lot of land. In a May 6, 2019 article, Michael Shellenberger, environmental author, “The Reason Renewables Can’t Power Modern Civilization Is Because They Were Never Meant To,” stated Solar farms take 450 times more land than nuclear plants. Wind farms take 700 times more land than natural gas wells to produce the same amount of energy. But according to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, state webpage states can contract brownfields out to these companies to build these solar farms and wind arms on. The definition of a brownfield is a property that is perceived to be polluted and is now underused. Landfills and abandoned military bases are perfect examples of these. In “Wind Farms... the good, the bad and the ugly,” Leah Jarratt makes a good point that green energy would be cheaper in the long run because the sun and wind are free. She also mentions that many think windmills are unsightly and a waste of land that could be used for crops or agricultural purposes. However, private companies subsidize the land used and pay whoever owns that land, so people will still be paid to have the windmills on the property.

  Another concern is how nuclear energy is produced. There are a lot of questions surrounding it, including is it safe, how much of a chance would there be a radiation problem, and will it blow up? Many believe it is hazardous because some reactors have complications, but there are minimal nuclear meltdowns. But Michael Shellenberger, Cofounder of Breakthrough Institute and founder of Environmental Progress, in a Feb. 27, 2019 article, “Why Renewables Can’t Save the Planet,” available at quillette.com, stated:

“Strange as it sounds, nuclear power plants are so safe for the same reason nuclear weapons are so dangerous. The uranium used as fuel in power plants and as material for bombs can create one million times more heat per its mass than its fossil fuel and gunpowder equivalents. Because nuclear plants produce heat without fire, they emit no air pollution in the form of smoke. By contrast, the smoke from burning fossil fuels and biomass results in the premature deaths of seven million people per year, according to the World Health Organization. Even during the worst accidents, nuclear plants release small amounts of radioactive particulate matter from the tiny quantities of uranium atoms split apart to make heat.”

In addition, nuclear plants require far less land than most electric power plants and other renewable energy sources due to their energy density. 

One of the great things about America is the power of the consumer. As Americans, we are probably our biggest known quality and what our free economy is based around because we are large consumers. Americans use about ¼ of the world’s energy resources, even though we make up about 5% of the global population (https://internationalbusinessguide.org/hungry-planet/). This reflects a considerable part about our needs as a country and the culture that we live in. Since America has a free-market economy, the businesses rely almost entirely on consumers who will buy their products. This places a ton of power within the hands of the people. We need to use that power. 

Within the last 50 years, you can see a more conscious push towards renewable energy and “going green” benefits. One of the many ways that companies have made a switch to greener energy is electric cars. America will always be a large consumer, and we prioritize our valuables, such as our cars, homes, food, clothing, etc. The way that we as a whole are going to shift towards renewable energy is by changing what things we buy or use. There is a lot of power in the hands of the people; we need to use it.

Tesla is an excellent example of an environmentally conscious company to make a better future for the consumer. One of the first things Elon Musk focused on while creating Tesla was how to make his cars available to the middle class. As a result, Tesla is now one of the leading producers of electric vehicles and was one of the first to make them widely available. This is just one of many examples that allow consumers to choose which type of product they want to buy and how that will, in turn, affect the economy.

America is a consumer-based society with a free market economy. This allows us, the consumers, to determine significance and influence our economy regarding what it deemed the most important or valued and what will be produced more. Non-renewable energy has been our primary source of energy since the very beginning of the industrial age. It has allowed the oil and coal industries to have an outmatched influence on our daily lives. Since so much of our culture relies on personal transportation, individuality, and a free market, it seems like these large businesses can do whatever they want. However, thanks to our free economy, that also means that we, the people, are running the show, and we are the ones who determine who will influence us.

The good thing about Michigan is that there is a renewable energy policy in place. According to Energy Policy in Michigan, “As of February 2017, Michigan was one of 30 states with a Renewable Portfolio Standard. In addition, in 2008, the Michigan State Legislature enacted Public Act 295, which requires all investor-owned utilities, alternative retail electric suppliers, electric cooperatives, and publicly owned municipal utilities to generate 10 percent of their retail sales from renewable energy resources by 2015. In 2016, the legislature increased the requirement to 15 percent by the year 2021.” (2019) Knowing the state legislatures are on our side to make Michigan a more green state is excellent news. 

We already understand the importance of using fewer fossil fuels. Now we need solutions. One of our solutions can be our businesses; as stated above, having policy solutions already makes it simple for Michigan to become more energy efficient. With business being a part of the solution in the community, companies can manage and reduce emissions by preparing greenhouse inventories and setting long-term targets to reduce emissions. Developing and establishing adequate power this solution will allow companies to achieve effective energy solutions throughout the company’s business and manage other business features. One more solution a business could do is to buy renewable energy for their company. If a company is purchasing to use electricity, it could be a significant source of air pollution. Taking the time and effort to use a solar panel could reduce the amount of air pollution and have a significant positive impact on the business. As a customer, I enjoy going to a business that uses more renewable energy and sustainable products.  

There are several ways that individuals can make a change into using fewer fossil fuels. For example, we could attempt to carpool more often, utilize public transportation, and of course, walk, biking, or even use electric scooters. By choosing these options, we could reduce emissions being released into the air. As individuals, we could try to make changes by reducing nutrient pollution by adding a programmable thermostat in the home (which lots of newly built homes have now), turning off any electrical equipment when not in use, and buying equipment that requires less energy use like ‘Energy Star’ energy products. Some universities like MSU have decided to put a plan in place that requires the school to use 40% energy from solar, wind, and alternative energy sources, which is a step in the right direction based on the article by Steve Carmody. However, some students were upset about the plan because “The plan does not please some Spartan students who wanted the university to commit to 100 percent renewable energy sources.”(Carmody, 2012) 

As Americans, there is so much that we can do with our freedom of speech, we just need to make ourselves heard. Click on this link to be taken to a petition on Change.org about 100% Renewable Energy by 2035. There, you can read more information about the cause, and sign the petition to help out.

“CO2 emissions” 

HomeCO₂ and GHG Emissions 

by Hannah Ritchie and Max Roser 

“The Automobile and the Environment in American History” 

by Martin V. Melosi 

“Why Don’t We All Go Green?” 

This entry was posted in Uncategorized on April 2, 2014, by Rory Vinokor. 

 ‘Brownfields in Connecticut” 

Content last updated February 11, 2020 

“Should the US Move toward 100% Renewable Energy?” 

ProCon.org  

Last updated on: 9/24/2020 | Author: ProCon.org 

“Wind farms… the good, the bad and the ugly”

Leah Jarratt   

“Clean energy is building a new American workforce”

Report published January 2018 

Carmody, S. (2012, April 13). Michigan State University commits to green energy (but not enough for some). Michigan Radio. Retrieved November 4, 2021, from Michigan State University, commit to green energy (but not enough for some). 

Environmental Protection Agency. (2020, December 11). The Sources and Solutions: fossil fuels. EPA. Retrieved November 4, 2021, 

The Sources and Solutions: Fossil Fuels | US EPA.

Kaiser, H. J. (2020). Energy policy in Michigan. Ballotpedia. Retrieved November 4, 2021,

Energy policy in Michigan.