Wysocki 1

Ryan Wysocki
Mrs. Fusca
ELA Pd. 2
2/24/15
Renewable Energy
We've embarked on the beginning of the last days of the age of oil. Embrace the future
and recognize the growing demand for a wide range of fuels or ignore reality and slowlybut
surelybe left behind. - Mike Bowlin, ex-CEO of BP Industry. In this quote Mike Bowlin is
stating the necessity of switching to renewable resources. A zero-CO2 U.S. economy can be
achieved within the next thirty to fifty years without the use of nuclear power. The U.S.
renewable energy resource base is vast and practically untapped. Hydro power, solar energy,
wind power, ocean energy and geothermal installations harvest renewable energy in a sustainable
way. If there is a switch to renewable energy sources there will be more jobs, less pollution and
less use of fossil fuels.
The IER recorded that 9.5 percent of all energy consumed in the United States in 2013
was from renewable sources.[1 para. 3] In order to increase this number many things need to
happen. One such thing is the construction of solar, wind, and hydroelectric industries. Doing
this will require people to work which creates jobs. For example, in 2011, the wind energy
industry directly employed 75,000 full-time-equivalent employees in a variety of capacities,
including manufacturing, project development, construction and turbine installation, operations
and maintenance, transportation and logistics, and financial, legal, and consulting services. [ 2
para. 13] Its win-win-win for the country, said Roger Besdek of MISI. The economy wins,
the environment wins and the American people win because most of the jobs created are not

Wysocki 2

those that can be outsourced, he said. Besdek also said that many of the new jobs would not
require significant additional education or training.
An argument against alternative energy is that it will cost more money to create jobs than
money made from actually producing energy. This is not the case according to Heather Taylor, a
deputy legislative director for the Natural Resources Defense Council . Clean energy jobs are
growing 2.5 times as fast as traditional jobs right now. Indeed, according to economists at the
University of California, the climate bill that passed the House of Representatives could generate
nearly 2 million new jobs. Clean energy industries require more people than those in the fossil
fuel industry. In fact, for every $1 million spent on clean energy, we can create 3 to 4 times as
many jobs as if we spent the same amount on fossil fuels. [3 para. 8,9] This data shows that
building industries in renewable energy is a promising future.
Another benefit of renewable sources for energy is the reduced amount of CO 2 that is
normally produced through fossil fuels. Compared with natural gas, which emits between 0.6 and
2 pounds of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilowatt-hour (CO 2E/kWh), and coal, which emits
between 1.4 and 3.6 pounds of CO2E/kWh, wind emits only 0.02 to 0.04 pounds of CO 2E/kWh,
solar 0.07 to 0.2, geothermal 0.1 to 0.2, and hydroelectric between 0.1 and 0.5. [2 IPCC Special
Report on Renewable Energy Sources] This source shows that all three renewable resources
combined still produce less CO2 than natural gas and coal. In the past three years as the
percentage of renewable energy sources for the US has gone up the amount of CO 2 the US
produces has gone. All this data shows that using solar wind and hydroelectric energy sources
will lead to less pollution.

Wysocki 3

Some say that it is more effective to spend time and money to reduce the amount of CO 2
in the air than to switch to renewable energy. This argument is easily proved wrong. As said
previously the money spent in renewable energy sources produces 3 times the amount of jobs
than regular energy jobs. That shows that investing in green jobs, jobs in renewable energy, is not
only a smart idea but and environmentally friendly one too. Next if all of the US switched to
renewable energy right now instead of coal and oil, the US would produce 90 percent less carbon
dioxide equivalent per kilowatt-hour. This also states that it is a worthwhile idea to switch over to
renewable energy sources instead of staying with coal and oil.
According to the US Energy information Administration, since 2008 the amount of
kilowatts produce per hour by renewable sources in the US has risen 15 percent. In the entire
world the amount of kilowatts produce per hour by renewable sources has increased by 26
percent since 2008. [4 chart] What this means is that by producing more electricity using
renewable resources that means we are using less fossil fuels of nonrenewable resources. BP
estimated that there is about 1,687.9 billion barrels left in the world which at current
consumption level, would only last another 53 years. It is also estimated to be about 847 billion
tons of coal left which would last around 118 years. When these supplies run out there needs to
be a backup and that backup is renewable energy sources.

Building renewable energy industries will lead to more jobs. In the current
economy green jobs are already growing fast. Renewable energy industries also produce more
jobs with the same amount of money than do regular industries. Pollution levels would also be
reduced. Renewable sources do not give off as much carbon dioxide as fossil fuels which would

Wysocki 4

lead to less CO2 emission. As fossil fuels run out there needs to be a switch to renewable energy
resources. There also is a wide range of renewable sources that are better than burning fossil
fuels. In conclusion there needs to be a switch renewable energy sources in the future because
there will be more jobs, less pollution and less use of fossil fuels.

Wysocki 5

Work Cited
1. "Renewable Energy." Institute for Energy Research . N.p., July 2014. Web. 15
Feb. 2015.
2. "Benefits of Renewable Energy Use." Union of Concerned Scientists. N.p., 2012.
Web. 15 Feb. 2015.
3. "Opposing Viewpoints." Gale Group. N.p., Feb. 2015. Web. 14 Feb. 2015.
4. "International Energy Statistics - EIA." U.S. Energy Information Administration
(EIA). N.p., 2014. Web. 15 Feb. 2015.
5. "Gale Cengage Energy." Gale Cengage. N.p., Feb. 2015. Web. 15 Feb. 2015.
6. Taylor, Heather. "Energy Crisis." Gale Cenage Learning. N.p., Feb. 2015. Web.
15 Feb. 2015.
7. "Renewable Energy." Department of Energy. N.p., 21 Mar. 2013. Web. 13 Feb.
2015.
8. "Why is Renewable Energy Important?" Renewable Energy World - Renewable
Energy News, Jobs, Events, Companies, and More. N.p., May 2014. Web. 23 Feb. 2015.