Essay on Energy in the United States - 869 Words

Have you ever wondering where your electricity comes from? How your car uses gasoline to run? What about how these things impact our environment or how we are going to keep producing them? As a country, we need to start looking ahead to the future and planning for what is to come. Currently, 86% of America’s energy comes from petroleum, natural gas, and coal. All of these resources will run out eventually. We need renewable energy sources that will keep producing in a clean, more efficient way for a long time. Before committing to an idea and going all the way with it, we need to compare all the different energy sources available to the U.S. and choose the one that is best for everyone. Electricity is the flow of electrons at high†¦show more content†¦The way the wind turbine works is when the wind blows, the blades on the wind mill (or turbine) are spun to run the motor that is attached to the back of the turbine. The motor transfers its energy through wires to a substation where the energy is transferred into electricity that can be useful for residential and commercial areas. The energy is then delivered through wires across the country. Wind energy is clean and renewable. The wind is never going to stop blowing; therefore, there will always be enough to keep the turbines going. While some areas may have more wind than others, there is always wind. Wind turbines do not produce any pollution or waste, making them one of the cleanest energy sources on the planet. However, environmentalists are concerned that with the increase of wind turbines, bird populations with decrease because they are getting hit by the wind turbines and dying. Because of the huge poles in the ground, turbines can cause erosion and disrupt wildlife habitats. Wind turbines are also huge; at 30 meters (100 feet) above the ground, with large spinning blades, they can be a bit of an eyesore. They are also loud and have a deep buffeting sound. But the idea is that the large wind farms will be located in the middle of nowhere so they don’t cause an issue in suburban areas. Small wind turbines may be located in backyards to feed houses directly, but these would be so small that they wouldn’t bother anyShow MoreRelatedThe United States Is An Energy Crisis1532 Words   |  7 PagesThe United States is in an energy crisis. We rely almost solely on crude oil for most of our â€Å"gasoline† needs, meaning our fuels. The issue with our current reliance on crude oil is, plainly, that it is running out. We don’t currently have enough crude oil production in the US to support our current demand, so we are forced to import oil from overseas. And, we import a lot of it. With a gas demand of roughly 134 billion gallons per year, there exists a large risk relying on a fuel that is unsustainableRead MoreThe Energy Consumed By The United States1153 Words   |  5 PagesRoughly 81% of the energy consumed in the United States in 2015 was produced by fossil fuels including coal, natural gas, and petroleum oil (EIA, â€Å"U.S. Energy Facts Explained†). A study on the consequences of coal revealed that the bur ning of coal produced over 100 million tons of solid waste, and the readying of coal to be burned creates nearly 90 million gallons of slurry, a muddy waste product, in the United States every year (Sierra Club 2011). In 2015, 2,413 petroleum oil spills were reportedRead MoreEnergy Security And The United States1553 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction Introduction Energy is more than a utility that keeps the lights on in our homes or the gas in our cars; it’s a foundational resource that plays a key role in a nation’s ability to provided economic opportunity and basic services and security to its people. As such, it is imperative to a nation’s overall security that it develops/acquires access to energy, ensures energy needs are properly met and supplies are readily available, and disruptions minimized. Policy directs that the URead MoreThe Energy Consumption Of The United States1392 Words   |  6 Pageswondered how many sources for energy you use during your day? We use energy to drive our cars, heat and light our homes, and provide efficiency at our jobs. We live hectic and demanding lives and little thought is given about the types of energy resources we have used from the time we wake up to our alarm clocks to the time we lay our head down in our warm cozy bed at night. According to the Energy Information Agency, in 2012, the primary energy consumption in the United States was about 95 quadrillionRead MoreRenewable Energy : The United States Gas892 Words   |  4 PagesToday in the United States gas is at a record low on the national average being below $3 it seems like we are heading in the right direction, but looks can be deceiving. While the USA gas prices drop, other countries are fighting over our $120+ Billion average oil costs. Despite the consistent jump prices from being outrageously expensive to afford to fill up our tanks, we are still not focusing more on something that would save the American people billions a year. The solution is focusing less onRead MoreEnergy Usage Of The United States1945 Words   |  8 PagesHere in the US alone we consume nearly 6.844 Quadrillion Btu’s of energy, however most alarmingly less than 7% of our toll energy usage comes from Alternative energy resources. This leads to the edge of a dangerous presuppose as our current resources continue t o dwindle and our future grows darker each day. It is estimated that there is less than 200 years of oil left in the reserves we currently have and with the population and the demand for oil increasing each year it could be here faster thenRead MoreThe Nuclear Energy Advantage Of The United States1571 Words   |  7 PagesNuclear Energy Advantage There is often speculation surrounding Nuclear energy. There were reports that the British applied to the United States for permission to carry out their first atomic bomb in the flats of Nevada. These reports were met with much speculation due to the physical size and observable flaws in the British program . This highlights an important problem with Nuclear energy production. Many countries pursue Nuclear energy for weaponry or other status symbols. When Nuclear Energy is harnessedRead MoreThe United States Energy Industry Essay1431 Words   |  6 Pagesbecoming increasingly important. So too is the lure of the future possibility of energy independence for countries both developed and developing. In the last decade, oil and natural gas development have rapidly expanded in the United States, fundamentally reshaping domestic energy production. It is abundant both within the United States and around the world. Currently, natural gas provides 22% of the U. S. energy demands. It also emits less than half of the greenhouse gas as other fossil fuelsRead MoreThe Solution to the United States Energy Crisis849 Words   |  3 Pagespossible? As the United States’ population increases and continues to undergo economic growth, this demand for energy will only continue to grow. The International Energy Agency (IEA) believes that â€Å"the world’s energy needs could be 50% higher in 2030 than they are today† [1]. And while Americans only make up about 5% of the world’s population, we consume more than 20% of the world’s energy supply [2]. The fossil fuels that are used to supply over half of our country’s energy are in finite supplyRead MoreThe Effects Of Renewable Energy On The United States1550 Words   |  7 Pages Renewable Energy In the 1960’s and 1970’s a movement regarding the physical environment began, this movement focused on a few environmental issues and disasters caused directly or indirectly by pollution. As the years progressed, this movement grew into a multifaceted activist movement gaining more attention in the US, more often referred as â€Å"Environmentalism† or â€Å"Environmental Activism†. As the human race realized the physical environment is fragile and thus must be protected, scientists started