Should we make the switch to sustainable energy sources like wind and solar? We, the United States of America, absolutely should! An increase in the investment of renewable energy would benefit the United States by helping restore the environment, boosting the economy, and keeping us competitive in the technology race. This paper will discuss the many positives our country would gain by switching from conventional fossil fuels. The United States needs to start looking at the long term and become leaders in sustainability. For a majority of America, fossil fuels are the cheaper and more efficient option, however, thanks to innovation, trends are beginning to change. Revolutionary American companies, such as Tesla, are currently developing innovations that are progressing the solar industry. Although, there are many scientists and political figures who don’t believe we will ever switch from a fossil fuel nation, few can deny the potential wind and solar have. A comprehensive study done by the United States Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) indicates that it is possible for 80 percent of the country to run off of sustainable energy by the year 2050. The NREL’s study goes on to explain how the increase of renewables would produce significant advantages for our climate, public health, and the US economy. (Union of Concerned Scientists) With technology improving at the present rate, it is only a matter of time before renewables becomes the norm instead of the alternative.

Climate change has become a worldwide issue that has progressively gotten worse in the past decades. No matter what global warming deniers believe, there is no arguing with the data. According to NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, global temperatures have been increasing at a record rate.  No one can deny that, however, the disagreement lies in the cause of global warming. The grand majority, 97 percent of published scientists, believe human activity is to blame, yet some argue that the climate is going through a natural cycle similar to the ice age. This extensive and abundant research has come to a scientific consensus that humans are the problem behind climate change.  This consensus states that the biggest element behind this environmental crisis is the burning of fossil fuels, and renewable energy is the solution. (NASA)

 Even though conventional nonrenewable resources are inexpensive and highly accessible, they have a dramatic impact on our environment. The burning of fossil fuels causes a release of harmful CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. The increase of this emission, also known as a greenhouse gas, ultimately leads to the Earth gradually warming. Greenhouse gases accumulate in the atmosphere and absorb harmful UV rays, trapping heat from the sun. (NASA) This has recently become a huge problem because polar ice caps have begun to melt. Not only does this increase the global temperature, but the diminishing polar ice caps have rapidly started wiping out entire ecosystems. This catastrophe also directly causes ocean levels to rise, which scientists believe is also seriously damaging our environment. Higher sea levels are believed to cause erratic weather patterns, for example, devastating hurricanes and tropical storms. Hurricane Harvey and Irma are two recent storms that have severely impacted the United States. Higher ocean levels are also a serious threat to major cities located on the coast of the United States, including Miami, Long Island, Manhattan, New Orleans, and San Francisco. The areas along the coast of the Chesapeake Bay, near where I’m from in Northern Virginia, are also at risk. These vulnerable cities face severe flooding risks and could potentially end up under water if trends continue. (NASA) Billions of dollars have been spent on hurricane and flood relief this year alone. This should be an incentive for our government to take action to protect the environment in which we live. However, President Trump has cut the funding of the Environmental Protection Agency and believes fossil fuels are still America’s future. 

Renewable energy releases no harmful emissions into the atmosphere. Controlling air pollution is vital to maintaining a healthy population and keeping American cities safe to the public. Green energy like wind and solar have the power to contribute to the reversal of the global warming crisis. These clean alternatives generate power naturally and will continue to capture energy without damaging the atmosphere decades after installation. An increase in the investment of sustainable energy will significantly help cut down on the amount of greenhouse emissions and commit to saving the environment. (NRDC) Renewables are a long term investment that would benefit the United States both ecologically and economically. Our government needs to start thinking about our country’s future. The American administration should to start moving in the right direction with energy before it’s too late and this global crisis becomes irreversible. 

Along with helping save the environment, renewables will progressively play a role in boosting our economy. The United States is built around the consumption of energy, which is only going to increase as our population continues to grow.  With the demand of power continuing to grow, the United States is forced to annually spend over a trillion dollars on energy. This colossal industry is one of the biggest in our country and will continue to be a critical part of our economy. (Select USA) Alternative forms of energy, especially wind and solar, have enormous potential to become cost competitive with conventional fossil fuels. 

Historically, fossil fuels have been much less expensive than renewables, however times could be about to change. Prior to a few years ago, growth in the solar and wind industries was mostly due to government subsidies and renewable energy mandates. Now with technology increasing at an exponential rate, the efficiency of renewables is also increasing. This has begun to allow the price of generating clean power to decrease, encouraging middle income families to make the switch. With renewable prices on the decline, wind and solar power has recently seen record growth. The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) predicts that renewable energy could reach up to 27 percent of the total United States energy production, by the year 2030. (Select USA)

Unfortunately, even with all of this optimistic growth for alternative energy, our current administration seems to want to move in the complete opposite direction. Donald Trump and the United States GOP do not see climate change as a serious threat to our country. Low cost fossil fuels like oil, coal, and natural gas have been the country’s main focus for generating power. Government regulations and laws, influenced by fossil fuel lobbyists and politicians who profit off of oil companies, remain a major barrier for the United States renewable industry. This summer President Trump made the decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement. This environmental action pact, signed by 195 nations around the globe, stood for an optimistic future for clean energy and the fight against global warming. (Egan) Another liability was when Donald Trump appointed Scott Pruitt, a denier of climate change and global warming, as Head Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Pruitt has been known to share ties with the fossil fuel industry which is most likely the reason for his attack on alternative energy. (Dennis/Mufson) The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, a department of the EPA, could see more than a 70 percent cut, or $1.4 billion, of government funding by the year 2018. (Egan) This could be a disastrous mistake that would lead the United States down a misguided path by killing jobs. Although this decision would help revive the coal industry, it would not benefit the future of our country’s environment. Instead of continuously investing in fossil fuel industries that have the high likelihood of becoming obsolete in the next century, we need to focus our money on the future of this country and its sustainability. By overlooking renewable energy, the United States would be taking strides backward. Cutting this blossoming industry would only be damaging the economy. 

By investing in sustainable energy, Donald Trump would be prioritizing two of his key election points: creating jobs and putting America First. Clean energy industries, specifically wind and solar, generate an abundance of high paying jobs. Solar and wind industries alone are creating jobs 12 times faster than the entire United States job market. (Samuelson) This is because of how fast technology is improving and growing within these industries. Clean energy jobs are boosting the economy and supporting millions of Americans and their families. It would be detrimental to employees and their families to cut funding for these environmental protection departments. The reduction of these offices would put a large amount of the jobs clean energy creates at risk. This would have a negative impact on the economy and the United States unemployment rate. Although Trump’s intention would be to increase the amount of jobs in the coal industry, it would be practically impossible to match the amount of jobs wind and solar create. Even with the lack of funding, renewables would still most likely create jobs at a faster rate than fossil fuels. (Samuelson) It would be counterintuitive to reduce the amount of money we invest in such a fast growing industry; all this would be doing is killing American jobs. Donald Trump and the American government will not be putting America’s future first if they continue to attack the renewables. Numbers show that regardless of these political hurdles, the renewable energy industry is still rapidly growing. 

Another major incentive for the United States to not cut government funding and increase investments in renewable energy is to keep competitive in the global technology race. At the end of the day, world power heavily relies on which nation can constantly generate the most energy. Opposing nations like China and Japan are miles ahead of the United States in clean energy investing. China and Japan are developing and producing renewables at a much faster pace than the United States. (Pham/Rivers) Both of these countries were going through an environmental crisis and realized it was time for a change. China has been the world’s number one polluter for decades. They often experience a dangerously poor air quality that has made living conditions in cities and near factories extremely unsafe. As a result, parts of China were basically uninhabitable. Japan was also hit with an environmental crisis after facing a detrimental natural disaster.  Thanks to population uprisings and continuous protests, the Chinese and Japanese governments decided to make a change. Even with China’s excessive coal supply, they have realized that a greater opportunity for success lies in sustainability. As a result, both governing bodies suddenly increased the capital invested in sustainability by a significant amount. Today, China supplies over two thirds of the world’s solar panels, as well as nearly half of the world’s wind turbines.  (Pham/Rivers) Along with critically improving China’s living conditions, this increase in renewable energy has also boosted their economy by providing an influx of jobs. As competing nations are generating more sustainable power, they are gaining an enormous advantage in the likely renewable based future. When technology is increasing this fast, the United States has to keep up and not fall behind especially when alternative energy has the likelihood to revolutionize the grid. It is only a matter of time before our nation realizes that the way we generate energy must change in order to maintain competitive in the technology race.   

One of the largest questions renewables, specifically solar energy, faces is how to efficiently store excess power. Some people will argue that solar is not an effective source of energy because it can only generate power when the sun is out, which only occurs during a certain portion of the day. A major disadvantage to solar is that it produces no energy at nighttime or when the sun is blocked. Furthermore, some geographical regions don’t receive enough sunlight for solar to be an economical decision. For example, the southwest region of the United States receives an overly abundant amount of sunshine compared to the northeast. However, now that energy storage technology is rapidly improving, it is steadily allowing solar to expand across country. Another major turnoff investors and consumers have against solar energy is how conventional solar panels are found as unattractive. Upper and middle class homeowners, prime candidates for solar energy due to their influx of income, are often concerned about the visual appearance of their homes. By developing solar panels that are more aesthetically appealing, it would significantly increase the amount of American homeowners that switch to solar.  

Thanks to innovators like Elon Musk, CEO and founder of Tesla, these questions are starting to turn into answers. The explosion of Musk’s electric automobile company has already taken the United States by storm. These state of the art electric cars have shown the world how far battery-operated technology has already come. Tesla has also recently made a major impact in the solar industry with the introduction of the Tesla Powerwall. Tesla’s revolutionary battery technology has demonstrated the ability to store more than the amount of energy needed to sustain an average household. The Powerwall allows you to produce electricity from your home, even at night or on cloudy days. (Tesla) This innovation will help Tesla grow solar powered homes in unconventional solar markets. Additionally, Tesla also released another progressive solar development called Solar Roof. This modern innovation provides homeowners with an essentially undetectable solar roofing system that generates energy without becoming an eye sore. These roofs come customizable to each individual home and look incredible. (Tesla) Tesla has started to win over customers that were previously concerned with how switching to clean energy would affect the appearance of their home. Elon Musk has brilliantly taken these innovations and created a synergy between solar powered homes and electric cars. Tesla has recently become the most valuable car company in America and has serious potential to compete with the fossil fuel industry. The renewable energy industry feeds on innovation and will continue to benefit from companies like Tesla. 

Especially with how unpredictable today’s world can be, it is vital to our nation’s future that we start improving our sustainability by introducing renewable energy resources to provide an alternative for the burning of fossil fuels. The impending environmental collapse should be an incentive for our government to take action to protect the place in which we live. Not only would an increase of sustainable energy offer a cleaner, safer environment, but also a surplus of job opportunities for the United States and global economies. Even despite the recent lack of government support, renewable energy has steadily taken strides to compete with fossil fuels. With tensions tightening between global superpowers, it would be in the United States’ best interest to start catching up with sustainability pioneers such as China and Japan. Even amongst unanswered questions from skeptics, innovative companies like Tesla have emerged with eco-technology that has influenced the sustainable energy revolution. By investing in renewable energy today, the United States will contribute to a cleaner, more efficient world tomorrow. 