Common Sense on Climate Change Solution #2: Modernize America's Electricity System
More than half of America's electricity is produced from outdated, coal-burning power plants that dump pollutants and heat-trapping gases into our atmosphere. In fact, power plants are the single largest source of CO2—one-third of the U.S. total.
However, cost effective, clean energy sources do exist. By increasing our use of clean renewable energy, investing in energy efficiency, and reducing pollution from fossil fuel plants we can save money for consumers, reduce heat-trapping emissions, and lessen the need for new coal or gas power plants.
A study by the Union of Concerned Scientists found that we could reduce power plant CO2 emissions by 60 percent compared with government forecasts for 2020. Consumers would save a total of $440 billion—reaching $350 annually per family by 2020.
10 Percent Renewables by 2020
A national standard requiring 10 percent of our electricity to be generated from renewable energy sources by 2020 is an attainable goal. We are already using clean, safe, renewable sources such as solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass (fuel from plant matter) to produce clean energy. Costs for these technologies have dropped dramatically since they were first introduced decades ago. For instance, the cost of wind energy has decreased from 40 cents per kilowatt hour in 1980 to between three cents and six cents today.
We can reduce our emissions of heat-trapping gasses by establishing a Renewable Electricity Standard that requires utlilites to generate 10 percent of our power from clean renewable energy sources like wind, solar, and bioenergy. UCS and EIA analysis of a 10 percent standard show that carbon dioxide emissions would be reduced 166 million to 215 million metric tons nationally by 2020, equivalent to taking 32 million cars off the road. In addition to curbing global warming, increasing our reliance on homegrown renewable energy would also grow our economy. According to a UCS study, Renewing America's Economy, the 10 percent standard would save consumers $28.2 billion by 2020, create more than 190,000 jobs, and provide $41.5 billion in new capital investment.
Twenty states have already adopted standards requiring utilities to offer more renewable energy to consumers. Texas, the heart of the nation's fossil fuel industry, has one of the biggest, most successful markets for new renewable energy plants in the United States. In fact the Renewable Portfolio Standard in Texas has been so successful that in July 2005, the Texas Legislature voted to increase it. If Texas can do it, so can the rest of the nation.
To be most effective, a national renewable standard should be implemented in concert with measures to reduce the pollution coming from coal, oil, and gas power plants. The current mix of pollutants pouring out from power plants causes smog, acid rain, and mercury poisoning as well as global warming. Addressing all four major pollutants (sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, mercury, and CO2) at once allows utilities to take an integrated approach to pollution control, reducing industry costs and greatly increasing the public health benefits.
Consumer Solution
In some states, you can switch to electricity companies that provide 50 percent to 100 percent renewable energy. In other states, utilities offer "green power" choices. Ask your electric company to provide you with "Green-e" certified renewable power.
 Coal"Clean coal" technologies allow coal to burn with less pollution, and have the potential to reduce heat-trapping emissions if combined with carbon capture and storage technology. However, there are still technological and financial hurdles to overcome for these technologies to be viable, and there would still be significant upstream environmental damage from the mining and transportation of coal resources. In the meantime, new power plant proposals continue to rely mostly on conventional dirty coal technology. The fact is, coal-burning power plants remain the single biggest source of industrial air pollution. We have better options. |
|
Like large power plants that use oil and coal, as well as major pipelines and refineries, these facilities are vulnerable to terrorism and sabotage. The plutonium used to fuel some power plants, which can be used to make nuclear weapons, could be an attractive terrorist target as well. Renewable energy facilities—such as wind turbines and solar panels—contain no radioactive, explosive, or flammable materials. And, since they are also decentralized, they are inherently less attractive terrorist targets.
|
Common Sense Solution #3
