In the Novemeber 18th- 24th edition of “The Economist” there were a couple of articles that dealt with “clean energy”. In class for the last week we have been talking about energy and alternate forms of energy. There were two articles in “The Economist” that are very relevant to our class discussions.
The first article, entitled “Green Dreams” talks about new businesses that are investing in alternate fuel production companies. According to the article, ” California’s entrepreneurs are piling into clean energy technology… The investors include some of the founders of ebay,the world’s biggest online auctioneer, and Germany’s SAP, a giant software firm…” The article talks about how finding alternate production sources is very costly, but the benefits are immeasurable. According to the article, ” One estimate puts the total investment going into clean energy at $63 billion this year, up from $49 billion last year, and just $30 billion in 2004.” “The Economist” believes that finding alternative energy will be the next big trend. If that is the case, that would be awesome, and the environmental benefits would be enormous.
The second article that relates to our class discussions is entitled ” Tilting at Windmills”. This article is very similar to the first one, but it elaborates more. This article said, ” Clean-energy fever is being fueled by three things: high oil prices, fears over energy security and a growing concern about global warming.” These three factors are growing concerns for many people, and perhaps now is the right time to strive to make advances in the clear energy market. This article suggests that as alternatives to coal and gas fired plants are solar and wind. It also mentions fuels that are derived from waste and plants that will replace diesel and petrol. Analysts predict that businesses dedicated to clean energy will grow by 20-30% every year over the next ten years.
When I began reading this article, I thought this all sounds good, but is anything actually being done or are there any specific plans. The answer is yes and the article elaborates on that. 21 of the 50 states in the United States have ” renewable portfolio standardrs”. These standards require local utilities to generate a certain percent of their energy from renewable sources by a certain year. For example, by 2010 California plans to generate 20% of its power from renewable resources. Maine has multiple hydroelctric dams which have allowed the state to produce 30% of its energy from a renewable source. New Jersey plans to produce 22.5% by 2021, and New Jersey is the second biggest solar market in America, California is the first.
The United States is only one of 49 countries who are have policies in place to help produce energy from renewable resources. Some of the biggest markets are found in Brazil, China, and India. Germany is also very involved. A large part of funding for these projects come from government funding. According to the article, ” Supporters argue that these subsidies are reasonable, since they encourage a worthwhile cause- the fight against global warming- that markets do not seem to prize highly enough…”
The article also mentions, ” Developing new, carbon-free technologies will seem less urgent if there is plenty of cheap oil about…” This is very true, because when gas is at a low price people want to buy it because it is cheap. When the price goes up, people tend to look for other sources that will hopefully be more affordable. It is important to remember that our oil supply will eventually run out and it is important to look for alternate energy sources now so that we will be prepared when that day comes. I think that it is great that states are acknowledging the problem and now devising plans. Hopefully, this is not just a phase and serious improvements will be made.
Sources:
“Tilting at windmills.” – The Economist- November 18-24, 2006
“Green Dreams” – The Economist – November 18-24, 2006
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Windmill.jpg
