The United States of America spends more than $200,000 per minute on foreign oil -- $13 million per hour(NRDC). America 's dependence on oil is a threat to its national security and economy. Growing demand and shrinking domestic production means America is importing more and more oil each year to fill its ever growing need for fuel. The United States needs to use new alternative energy sources to to prevent the spending of millions more on foreign oil. Renewable sources such as wind, solar, geothermal, hydroelectric, and biomass provide alternative energy sources. Implementing alternative energy sources will decrease the dependency on oil which will save the country millions of dollars, while also creating many jobs.
The U.S.’s dependence …show more content…
A popular belief is that if we switch over to alternative, renewable energy then all these jobs will go away and half a million people will become jobless, adding them into the mix of the unemployed. Many people believe that the alternative energy plants will not have enough jobs to provide to the people. However, this is not the case. Compared to fossil fuels, which are very mechanized, the renewable energy industry is more labor intensive. The renewable energy industry already supports thousands of jobs in the United States. In 2011, the wind energy industry employed 75,000 full time employees(UCS 2015). Other energy sources also employ many people: The solar industries employs approximately 100,000 people on part or full time. This includes sales, manufacturing, and installation, thehe hydroelectric power field employs 250,000 people, and the geothermal energy field employed 5,200 people (UCS 2015). Now, while this amount of jobs may seem small compared to the amount provided by gas and oil plants, when added up, it is equal to about 430,200 jobs. This is less than the gas and oil plants, but just because there are less jobs on the plant floor, does not mean it has any less jobs. The renewable energy industry is going to create a “ripple” effect of the economy. Industries in the renewable energy supply chain will create benefit towards other manufacturers and services that help support these plants such as unaffiliated solar panel installers (UCS 2015). Also, increasing the use of alternative energy offers important economic development benefits. The local governments get money through property and income taxes from alternative energy plant owners, and these taxes can continue to support public services. This tax money will help the rural communities where these plants would be located. A very small amount of jobs also come from rural farmers that
The U.S.’s dependence …show more content…
A popular belief is that if we switch over to alternative, renewable energy then all these jobs will go away and half a million people will become jobless, adding them into the mix of the unemployed. Many people believe that the alternative energy plants will not have enough jobs to provide to the people. However, this is not the case. Compared to fossil fuels, which are very mechanized, the renewable energy industry is more labor intensive. The renewable energy industry already supports thousands of jobs in the United States. In 2011, the wind energy industry employed 75,000 full time employees(UCS 2015). Other energy sources also employ many people: The solar industries employs approximately 100,000 people on part or full time. This includes sales, manufacturing, and installation, thehe hydroelectric power field employs 250,000 people, and the geothermal energy field employed 5,200 people (UCS 2015). Now, while this amount of jobs may seem small compared to the amount provided by gas and oil plants, when added up, it is equal to about 430,200 jobs. This is less than the gas and oil plants, but just because there are less jobs on the plant floor, does not mean it has any less jobs. The renewable energy industry is going to create a “ripple” effect of the economy. Industries in the renewable energy supply chain will create benefit towards other manufacturers and services that help support these plants such as unaffiliated solar panel installers (UCS 2015). Also, increasing the use of alternative energy offers important economic development benefits. The local governments get money through property and income taxes from alternative energy plant owners, and these taxes can continue to support public services. This tax money will help the rural communities where these plants would be located. A very small amount of jobs also come from rural farmers that