Green dream: Meet reality
Jul 20 - McClatchy/Tribune
The vision of a "green" economy fueled by wind, sun, and renewable fuels
is powerfully appealing. But there's a huge disconnect between this
vision and the reality of America's energy needs.
The widespread use of fossil fuels _ oil, natural gas and coal _ has
enabled the United States and other industrialized countries to create
unprecedented prosperity. The inconvenient truth is that no one has yet
developed an alternative to fossil fuels capable of providing energy on
a comparable scale at a comparable cost.
As the Obama administration continues its push for a moratorium on
deepwater drilling and earmarks an additional $2 billion in stimulus
funds for solar energy companies, Americans need to recognize that
developing cleaner energy sources and reducing our reliance on fossil
fuels is not impossible, but it's a huge challenge that is much more
complicated than the bumper stickers and slogans suggest.
Shifting from one energy source to another is difficult because their
costs vary greatly and they are not necessarily interchangeable. Some 84
percent of the energy we Americans consume comes from fossil fuels
today. Only 8 percent comes from renewable sources _ most of that from
hydroelectric power.
For all the hype over wind and solar, the reality is that they
contribute very little to our energy supply, with wind accounting for
less than 1 percent of total U.S. energy consumption and solar for just
one-tenth of 1 percent. Together, they could power the country for all
of three days a year.
What's more, renewables are extremely expensive relative to fossil fuels
because of the huge up-front capital investments needed to develop them
_ something that won't change dramatically any time soon even if
government mandates and subsidies continue to increase and there's a
sharp rise in fossil fuel prices.
Moreover, petroleum, natural gas, coal, nuclear power and renewable
energy are not interchangeable and can not necessarily be substituted
for one another. Wind and solar power, for example, cannot be used for
transportation. And nuclear power can be used only to generate
electricity.
To make intelligent choices, Americans need to see the big picture. They
need to understand that nearly 28 percent of total U.S. energy use goes
to transportation and that 95 percent of that comes from petroleum,
while just 2 percent comes from natural gas and 3 percent from renewable
energy.
Americans need to understand that industry consumes about 21 percent of
total U.S. energy. Some 42 percent of that also comes from petroleum, 40
percent from natural gas, 9 percent from coal and10 percent from
renewable energy, mostly hydroelectric.
Our homes, offices and businesses consume approximately 11 percent of
the energy we use. Some 16 percent of that comes from petroleum as well,
76 percent from natural gas, and 1 percent each from coal and renewables.
Finally, our electric utilities consume just over 40 percent of the
energy we use. Just 1 percent of that comes from petroleum, 9 percent
from hydro and other renewable sources, 17 percent from natural gas, 21
percent from nuclear power and 51 percent from coal.
The point is: Fully 84 percent of the energy we consume comes from
petroleum, natural gas and coal. Even with the government heavily
subsidizing and promoting green energy with some $80 billion in tax
credits and subsidies in the 2009 stimulus bill alone, the Energy
Information Administration projects that the United States will still
likely get three-fourths of its energy from fossil fuels 25 years from
now.
The "green dream" needs to face this reality.
___
ABOUT THE WRITER
Kerry Lynch is a senior fellow at the American Institute for Economic
Research (www.aier.org), 250 Division Street, Great Barrington, Mass.
01230.
This essay is available to McClatchy-Tribune News Service subscribers.
McClatchy-Tribune did not subsidize the writing of this column; the
opinions are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the
views of McClatchy-Tribune or its editors.
___
(c) 2010, American Institute for Economic Research
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services
(c) 2010,
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