WhatisSustainableEnergy?

SustainableEnergymeansenergy sourcesthatwillallowtheEarthtosustainbalanced,
healthyecosystemsandhumanlife.
Fossilfuelscoal,oilandgasarenotsustainableenergysourcesbecausewhenweburn
themtocreateenergy,theycreatemassivelevelsofgreenhousegases,whichresultinhuman
impactontheglobalclimate.ThatimpactiscreatinganimbalanceintheEarthsclimatethat
isalreadyimpactinghumanlifeallovertheworld,aswellasoceans,freshwatersupplies,
forests,homes,andmanyotherspeciesaswell.
Whenwesay sustainableenergy,wearereferringtosolarenergy(solarpanelsand
photovoltaicwindows),windenergy(windturbines/windfarms),someformsofwater
(hydro)power, andsomebiomassfuels.
Intermsofhydropower,wedonotpromotetheuseofdams(largescalehydropower)
becausetheydisruptthenaturalflowofwaterwaysandfishmigrations.Thereareother
formsofwaterpowerbeingdevelopedoverthelastseveralyears(likemicrohydropower)
thatusehydropowerbutarenotdisruptivetothenaturalenvironment.Thosearethe
technologiesweconsidersustainableenergy.
Intermsofbiomassfuels(fuelsmadefromnaturalnonfossilfuelmaterialssuchascorn),
thismaybeasustainablealternative,oratleastaninterimalternative,butitisnotabsolutely
sustainable.Thereareseveral reasonsfor this.Inthecaseofcornforexample,theEarth
wouldhavetoproducesomuchcornforfuel (calledethanol),that
(1)a tremendousamountofenergywouldhavetobeusedtoproducethatcorn
(2)theamountofcornneededtocreatethefuelwouldencouragethegrowingof
geneticallymodifiedcorn,amanufacturedstrainofcornwhichhasthepotential towipeout
allnaturallygrowingstrainsofcorn.Havingeradicatedall natural strainsof corn,thegmo
corncouldultimatelybeattacked.Nolongerhavingdiversityinstrainsofcorn,thegmocorn
strainscouldeventuallybewipedoutaswell
(3) theamountoflandneededforgrowingsomuchcornforfuelcouldendanger
moreforestland.ForestsareextremelyimportantforholdingmoistureclosetotheEarthand
thuscoolingthesurfacetemperatureoftheEarth.DeforestationintheU.S.andaroundthe
worldisalreadycontributinggreatlytoglobalclimatechange.
Itspossiblethatifthereareenoughdifferentkindsofbiomassfuels,togetherwiththeother
formsofsustainableenergy,theymaybeusedsustainably.Alltheseformsofsustainable
energy,togetherwith energyefficiency,goalongwaytosolvingtheproblemofgreenhouse
gasemissions.
Atpresent,hybridelectriccars,whichrunonacombinationofgasandelectricityproduced
bythecombustionengineinthecaritself,areaverygoodoption.They getgreatgasmileage
sotheyusealotlessgas,andtheyemitmuchlessCO2intheprocess.
WhereweliveinWashingtonState,wepayalittleextraeachmonthonourenergybillso
thatsomesustainableorgreenpowerisaddedtoourpowergrid.Sustainableenergy
sourcescostmoreatpresentbecausetheyarenotenjoyingthelargefederalsubsidies(ourtax
dollars)thatareflowingtononsustainableenergy industries.Thus,theyarenotabletobeas
competitiveintheenergymarket.However,wecan helpthembypayingalittleextraand
helpingenterthemainstreamenergymarket. Itmayalsobepossibletogettaxbreaksfor
puttingsolarpanels(photovoltaics)inourhomesandbusinesses.
Heresawebsitewefoundwithagoodarticleonphotovoltaics:
http://www.taunton.com/finehomebuilding/pages/h00114.asp.
Anotherenergysourcethatproducesonlyasmallamountof greenhousegases,butisnotnot
consideredasustainableenergysourceisnuclearpower.Youllnoticewedontmention
nuclearpowerin PenguinsonThinIce. Therearemanyproblemswithnuclearpower:
(1)Thereisnogoodplacetostorethemassesofspentfuelrods,whichwillbe
radioactiveforhundredsof thousandsofyears.Anenergysourcethatleavesabyproductso
toxiccannotbeconsideredsustainable.Nomatterwhatwedowiththem,wedontreally
knowwhattheimpactmightbe.Thisisnotsomethingwewanttoleaveforourchildrento
dealwith.
(2)Nuclearpowerplantsareextremelyexpensivetorun,andhavehadtoreceive
hugeamountsoffederalsubsidiesinordertooperate.
(3)NuclearpowerplantscreateserioussecurityrisksintheU.S.Nuclearmaterials
thatcanbeusedforpowerplantscanalsobeusedtomakenuclearweapons,makingnuclear
facilitiesinothercountriespotentialsecurityrisksforusaswell.
WhatisSustainableDevelopment?
SustainableDevelopmentisanapproachto thecontinuedeconomicdevelopmentofthe
worldwhichbalancesequallythethreepillarsofsustainability.Thesethreepillarsare(1)
Social(meaningpeople),(2) Environmental,and(3)Economic.Withsustainable
development,globaldevelopmentmustequallyconsidertheimpactsofdevelopmenton all
threepillars.Itmustconsiderthewellbeingofall peopleourjobs,health,andoverall
qualityoflife.Itmustconsidertheimpactsofdevelopmentonourecosystems,whichagain
relatestohumanhealth andwellbeing.Anditmustconsiderboth theeconomicadvantages
andcostsofdevelopment,includingprocessestohelpbridgethelargegapsintheeconomic
statusof peopleinalltheworldscommunities.Itisaveryhighgoal,butpowerful
multinationalcorporateinterestsusetheirpowertoinfluencegovernmentsandslowprogress.
Wheremoneyisconcerned,peopleoftenbecomeveryshortsighted.Sustainable
Development,ofwhichSustainableEnergyisamajorpart,areintendedtohelpus,through
solutionsbasedapproaches,toshiftourthinkingfrom shorttermgain(withnegativelong
termresults)tolongtermgainthatcanbeginworkingforusnow. Itisanattempttocreatea
newbottomline,inwhich valuecanbeseeninthelongterm,andinwhichhumanwell
beingatpresentandgenerationsintothefuturearecalculated,alongwithcorporateand
governmentaleconomicfigures,intothebottomline.
Inasustainableworldsociety,thesocial,economicandenvironmentaldimensionsof
sustainabledevelopmentwouldbeintegratedintopolicymakingatinternational,regional
andnationallevels.