Wind+and+solar+power+could+meet+four-fifths+of+US+electricity+demand,+study+finds

[|Wind and solar power could meet four-fifths of US electricity demand, study finds] Date Published: February 27, 2018 Source: University of California - Irvine

Joydeep Mukherjee Current Event Posted: 3/8/2018

This article discusses the reliability of wind and solar power as sources for the United States' electricity demand. Scientists from the University of California, Irvine, the California Institute of Technology, and the Carnegie Institution for Science have discovered that solar and wind power generated electricity could reliably meet 80% of American demand. The main issue that scientists face is that meeting all (100%) of the electricity demand through solar and wind energy would require storing electricity to compensate for the inconsistency of the sources: "The sun sets, and the wind doesn't always blow," says Steven Davis, UCI associate professor of Earth system science. Storage methods would be very expensive, totalling up to more than a trillion dollars, and other forms of energy stockpiling, such as uphill water pumping, are limited by the variable geography of the U.S, as the East of the country has a lot of water and less elevation, and the West is the exact opposite. Regardless, scientists are impressed by the viability of solar and wind energy as a source of electricity: "The fact that we could get 80 percent of our power from wind and solar alone is really encouraging," Davis said. "Five years ago, many people doubted that these resources could account for more than 20 or 30 percent." Possible compliments to these new sources of electricity include nuclear and hydroelectric power.
 * Summary**

This article is related to AP Environmental Science as it discusses possible sources (solar and wind) of energy in the future and why each method is or is not viable. I learned from this article that though the logistics of solar and wind based electricity would cost up to trillions of dollars, they are a viable source of energy, covering 80% of American demand. I also learned that fossil fuel based electricity is popular, yet it results in carbon dioxide emissions (38% of emissions to be exact) and these emissions are one of the leading causes of global climate change. These stats are supported by information from our textbook: "The United States is the world's largest user (and waster) of energy. With only 4.6% of the population, it uses 24% of the world's commercial energy, 93% from nonrenewable fossil fuels (85%) and nuclear energy (8%)" (Miller 368).
 * Relation To Class**

I strongly support the research done by the scientists at the aforementioned universities. By utilizing solar and wind power, we can efficiently cover 80% of our nation's energy demands with one large system. I believe that investing in solar and wind based electricity production will pay off in the long run, despite the large capital investment and inevitable maintenance costs. A large upside to making the switch to solar and wind based electricity is the lessened dependence on fossil fuel based electricity. As cited from the textbook, 85% of the energy used by the United States comes from nonreneable fossil fuels (Miller 368) and "fossil fuel based electricity production is responsible for 38% of all U.S. carbon dioxide emissions" (UCI).
 * Opinion**

The Clean Air Act of 1963 is a law designed to control air pollution on a national level. It is administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and is regarded as one of the most influential and comprehensive modern environmental laws.
 * Law**


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