Should The United States Use Renewable Energy?

Fossil fuels (oil, gas, and coal) have been the pillar of our modern society since the Industrial Revolution. There is no further doubt that fossil fuels have a high density of energy and they are the world’s dominant energy source. Even though these non-renewable resources have a variety of applications like fuel for transportation, electricity, plastic, medicine, and chemicals, they are also the largest emitters of carbon dioxide which causes human health and environmental issues. Every economic aspect the United States depends completely on these fossil fuels. An effective way to address the United States’ fossil fuel dependency is by relying on renewable sources of energy, learning how to conserve energy, recycling and reusing products …show more content…
Moreover, renewable energy is a natural process, meaning the energy will be sustainable as it will never run out. Fossil fuels emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, causing global warming. In the United States, 29 % of the global warming emissions come from the electricity production after burning fossil fuels like coal and natural gas (Inventory, 2018). As opposed to fossil fuels, the majority of the renewable energy sources produce little to no global warming emissions. Solar energy can generate electricity in solar cells without releasing CO2 into the atmosphere. By implementing these clean energy solutions, health could be improved as most of the health issues related to air and water pollution would disappear due to the fact that solar, wind and hydroelectric system don’t produce any contaminated agents. According to one Harvard study the life cycle costs and public health effects of burning coal could be estimated at $74.6 billion every year (Epstein et al,