Carly Larson

English 12
Mr. Myer
4/1/15
My Energy Mix
When my English teacher Mr. Meyer asked us to write a research paper on
something that was an arguable social issue I have to say it was a hard one to
decide. But then he said do it on something that you really think matters and that
you dont know the answer to yet. I then thought, nothing could be a better
argument than the battle of energy. As environmentalists have been researching,
we have focused our attention on energy and the different ways us as humans go
about creating and using it. A lot of these things being very new to me, I started
noticing the many ways that we have to create power. All of which are extremely
creative and innovative. I also started to notice how we could improve our systems
of energy production and use. I would like to propose a change to Utah's current
energy mix and how we can be more effective in the near future. I would like to stop
using fossil fuels as our main source of energy and focus more on renewable
recourses. The transition from using fossil fuels to natural recourses is key to not
only Utah's but the rest of the worlds future in the environment.
An energy mix is how final energy consumption in a given geographical
region breaks down by using primary energy sources. Primary energy sources are
things such as fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, and coal), nuclear energy, and many
types of renewable energy (biomass, wind, geothermal, water and solar). These
primary energy sources are what's used today to provide fuel for transportation,
electricity, and heating and cooling residential and industrial buildings. Throughout
the world people are constantly trying and creating new ways to make energy more

efficient and effectively. Though it varies from country to country, on a global level
fossil fuels account for over 80% of the globes energy mix. From the years 19712011, oil consumption rose from 5.5 billion tons to 13.1 billion tons. In the United
States, coal was thirty nine percent, natural gas twenty seven percent, nuclear was
nineteen percent, hydropower was seven percent, while other renewable recourses
were between six to nine percent. In today's world, we are dominated by these
industries and depend on the production of these primary energy recourses to
function. There are two major problems with this. One being that fossil fuels are a
recourse that will eventually dissipate and the second being that it is damaging for
the environment as a whole. While these resources dwindle away, how prepared are
we to take on the task of creating energy in different ways?? We have to ask
ourselves what the benefits as well as the repercussions of the transition and what
can we do to adapt.
There are a lot of pros and cons to switching from fossil fuels to a more
renewable energy source. The biggest immediate impact will be the jobs that could
possibly be lost in the transition. Thousands of Utah citizens work in or around oil
refineries and would lose jobs and business due to the decline of manufacture.
Putting this many people out of work could harm our local economy in a very
negative way. Also, the price of electricity would increase as well. Utah is known for
having an extremely low rate of utilities because coal and oil are the cheapest to
manufacture. Switching to alternate energy sources could raise prices and leave a
lot of people struggling to pay. The best thing about fossil fuels being used is the
convenience. Every home is connected and set up with gas and electricity, but
changing from fossil fuels to alternative energy would make things less convenient
by having to convert those homes to solar or wind energy. I do agree that all of

these things would be immediate and would be hard to adjust to. In the end, there
are much better benefits in alternative energy and everyone needs to look at the
bigger picture. Changing the way that our community survives is a big and
intimidating step but knowing that in the long run we will all be better off should be
worth it. Jobs will be threatened but with other recourses being used, more jobs will
become available, almost counter acting the loss. The small towns around these
manufactures could still survive as well. The price of electricity would increase but
eventually, with time, would go down. The increase would be because of the
building of all new plants and energy fields as well as getting this energy to local
homes. Technology is constantly increasing, making things more accessible and
cheaper. The process of change would be the hardest but once it was complete
everything would be enhanced. One of the worst things about Utah is the smog and
pollution that gathers in the valley and doesn't leave until a storm flushes it out.
This is a major health concern for children, pregnant women, and elderly people.
With an increase in natural recourses, pollution would drop drastically making our
air quality much cleaner. At the moment, all of us are content and nobody is
panicking because we don't have too. We know that in our generation we will have
enough recourses to survive, but like I said big picture and that includes the
generations to come. I know that I want my family to be able to strive and not have
to worry about clean air or water and how they can save the planet when we could
do it first.
Utah is a very interesting state with an interesting energy mix. We are in the
top fifteenth for least amount of energy used per capita and sixteenth overall in
total energy production. How is that possible? Why would we produce so much more
than other states but use so little? We ship out up to 30% of our production to

neighboring states. Utah has 5 oil refineries that process crude oil from Utah,
Colorado, Wyoming and Canada. We are also a part of the UNEV pipeline, opened in
2012, is the first to connect Utah's refineries to Las Vegas. Utah produced 1.7% of
the United States coal in 2012 as well. Utah's energy consumption is dominated by
coal and natural gas. Eighty percent of electricity in Utah comes from coal while
fifteen percent comes from natural gas, where hydro and geothermal amount to
about only 2%. Coal and natural gas are used in Utah so heavily because the laws
are some of the most lenient in the country. A lot of the laws that aren't enforced
are because they are expensive to enforce. Over all this is why Utah has some of
the most affordable electricity and utility prices. This is the cause of much
controversy, people in Utah who complain about air quality pay lower utilities but if
quality of air improves, your utility bill would increase.
With proposing my own energy mix, I want to make a push to using other
alternative recourses. The first thing I would push to do would be to start turning the
oil refineries into cleaner energy manufacturers. Alternative recourses are the way
of the future and the sooner we make the transition, the easier it will be. I would
push for hydro, solar, and wind energy to be processed and collected and would
only export what we had to. I would want this to become our new source of energy.
The best quality of solar energy is that it doesn't create any pollution. The only
pollution that is created is in the actual manufacturing of the solar panels. From
what we know about our sun, that is a recourse that will continue to provide energy
to the Earth, even after we are gone. Also, with increasing technology they are
cheaper than laying down miles of high voltage electrical wires. Utah could really
benefit from solar energy. We are a giant desert with hundreds of miles of open land
to place solar fields. Utah has the capability of supplying 1/3 of all the United States

power if we wanted. If other neighboring states did the same, we would have
endless power. I would also like to propose the saving of more energy. The main
reason for storing this energy is the once concern with solar. The sun isn't always
shinning. For days when the sun doesn't shine, we will have to have energy already
stored. I understand the value in helping others as well as trading with surrounding
states and even countries, but I think that in the early stages of the transitions we
need to support our economy and community before we could help anyone else's.
States such as Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and California could all process and
store energy for themselves instead of getting it from other places. I would also
benefit those who chose to put solar panels on their house. It would only encourage
others to do the same and slowly eliminate fossil fuel use in households. That would
be the first step in the movement of an all-natural energy source.
The next renewable resource that I would try to use to its maximum potential
would be wind power. With all of our mountain ranges and canyons, it would create
a perfect natural wind tunnel. We could put turbines or windmills at the bottoms of
canyons and turn all of this into usable energy. Along with solar, wind energy
doesn't produce any pollution. It is a completely green alternative resource. With
the idea of putting them at the bottoms of canyons, wind turbines are some of the
most space efficient energy sources. Some of the largest turbines can create energy
for up to 600 homes. Wind power is increasing 25% in popularity every year and the
sooner we can get a start, the better. Similar to solar, there is one huge con. The
wind isn't always blowing. For these alternate energy sources, have a backup where
fossil fuel energy is available.
As far as pushing renewable recourses, I would focus on geothermal and
hydro the least. They have almost the same benefits as the others but for our state I

don't see it being as efficient. We could get enough out of solar and wind to survive
without geothermal and hydro but I would want to instill them anyways, just in case
it came down to using them. Hydro would be very good but we don't have many big
rivers. The ones that we do have are located in more rural areas and transporting
that energy would be very difficult. Geothermal is another great option, I just don't
see it being as beneficial as solar and wind.
I would enforce more strict laws and fines on those companies
manufacturing energy through the use of fossil fuels. Pollution is one of the biggest
problems with the use of fossil fuels. Everything about the process of harvesting and
producing the product is harmful to the environment. Thousands of animals die
each year from over polluted lakes, rivers, and oceans from companies dumping
harmful chemicals into the water as well as the smog they put into the sky. With
other recourses like wind, solar, or hydropower all of that could be eliminated. That
to me is the most beneficial thing in the turnover. We still need the energy from
fossil fuels for a lot of our transportation but there needs to be a decrease in
production for other recourses to become more dominant. I think that we should
focus on transportations. The way that we travel and transport goods today is a
result of manufacturing fossil fuels. With other alternatives to these things we could
eliminate or at least cut back significantly the amount of carbon dioxide and
pollution in the air.
In the end, we need to make the transition from fossil fuels to alternative
energy sources. Not only are fossil fuels harmful to the environment and to health,
they are not a fully sustainable recourse and will eventually run out. Utah needs to
make a push to change how we power our lives. There are plenty of other available

opportunities, we just have to go out and do it. In the end, it will only benefit our
families, our ecosystems, and our standard of living.

Work Cited
www.conserve-energy-future.com

www.altenergy.com
www.renewableenergyworld.com
www.nrdc.org/energy/renewable
www.envoronment.yale.edu/climate-communication/article/polotics-and-globalwarming-spring-2014
www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/big-oils-big-lies-about-alternative-energy
www.climate.nasa.gov/evidence/
www.nexus.som.yale.edu./qn/context/should-government-subsidize-alternativeenergy
www.oilprice.com/interviews/forget-renewables-we-need-cheap-oil-an-interveiwwith-tralberg.html
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