Should The United States Invest More Money In Renewable Energy Research And Development As Opposed To Fossil And Nuclear Fuels? Essay, Research Paper

The United States should invest more money into the research and development of renewable energy. These renewable resources would take the place of fossil fuels, which are non-renewable resources. Fossil fuels will not be here forever; they will be depleted soon. Therefore, we need to research and develop renewable energy so that we can make a smooth conversion from fossil fuels to renewable resources.

Fossil fuels are formed over millions of years so when they are gone there will be a long time before there will be anymore. That is why they are considered non-renewable resources. Fossil Fuels are going to run out soon; for example global reserves of oil will be economically depleted in about 40-80 years. This depends on how fast we use up our resources. The depletion of oil will make the price of it rise. On the other hand, oil is easy to transport, it has a high energy density, and it is versatile because it can make plastic, oils, and gasoline. Coal is another fossil fuel that is non-renewable. The removal of coal by ways of mountain top removal damages the earth. This is another reason why we should research renewable energy. Natural gas produces some air pollution, is flammable and explosive, and requires more storage space. This too will also run out soon.

Conservation, solar power, biomass, hydropower, and wind power are all sustainable energy (renewable energy). Solar power energy comes from the sun. Biomas is energy generated from organic matter such dung. Hydropower is energy that is generated form water. Wind power is generated form the force of the wind. These four types of energy are renewable, make less pollution but they are not necessarily cost efficient It would cost a lot of money to and take up a lot of land space. Nuclear fuels are sustainable energy but there is a public fear of waste disposal issues, health concerns, public safety concerns and national security. Nuclear power on the other hand does not cause air pollution, no greenhouse gases, and there is a virtually unlimited supply.

Research and development of renewable resources is would be helpful to the United States. Research will help the United Stated find ways to conserve energy. The U.S is responsible for 25% of the world energy use. We need to start to find ways to preserve energy so that we won’t use all our resources and preserving energy will also cut back on pollution that is destroying the earth. Sustainable resources are good but they too have some obstacles to overcome. Solar energy cannot be used at night and for wind, power cannot be used when the wind is not blowing hard. Although there are some disadvantages to all of the optional resources, the research and development of renewable energy will help us to find a combination of resources that best fit the world we live in.