The right energy policy can promote new, energy saving practices that help the environment. For example, energy policy can remove economic disincentives for the adoption of new technologies as well as provide funding for the development of new technologies.
Cap and trade is a policy that would limit, or "cap" a company's emissions at a certain level. If a company wishes to emit more than allowed under the cap and trade program, they can purchase emissions credits from companies who emit less than allowed. Proponents of cap and trade argue that it provides financial incentive for businesses to reduce their emissions.
This policy would impose a tax on carbon. This policy is currently being discussed as an alternative to a cap and trade system.
Policies addressing gasoline efficiency are important for reducing our dependence on foreign oil. We currently import about 60% of our oil, and 65%-75% of our total oil consumption is used for gasoline, so increased fuel efficiency in cars is important. There is still discussion of how much fuel efficiency standards should be increased. For example, the NRDC currently recommends that fuel efficiency standards be increased to 40 mpg by 2015 and 55 mpg by 2025, but other estimates differ.
Energy efficiency is important because the easiest way to conserve energy is to never need it in the first place. Energy efficiency does NOT mean using less energy by returning to the stone age. Energy efficiency means energy intelligence using energy smarter to provide the same services with less energy. There are already many products that are energy efficient, and an energy efficiency policy can encourage the adoption of such products.
Supporters of this policy believe that, no matter how successful other clean energy policies are, the U.S. will still remain dependent on coal for much of its energy. As such, coal plants should be made cleaner by capturing some of the carbon they emit and storing it in mountains or oceans. Carbon sequestration does not store pollutants forever; instead it slows the release of CO2 into the atmosphere at a rate that better matches the ability of the earth to filter out the CO2.
There are several types of renewable energy, including solar, wind, hydroelectric power, geothermal power, and others.
Current issues related to large scale renewable energy largely center around scalability. It takes significantly more land area to generate electricity from solar or wind than from nuclear, coal, or natural gas plants. Renewable energy is also sensitive to the time of day and weather patterns solar power is only possible if it? sunny outside.
Proponents of renewable technology note that renewable technology can be made reliable if coupled with a battery that charges when the energy source is available so that the system can continue to provide energy even if the sun isn't out or the wind isn't blowing. Moreover, since renewable technology is still young, the energy that renewable technology can supply is likely to increase as technology improves. Because improvements in renewable technology is so likely, it is an attractive option because it can become more reliable and cost effective. Currently we get less than .5%1 of our energy from renewable sources.
Nuclear Energy is touted because it is cleaner than coal and natural gas and has already been proven to work successfully on a large scale. Nuclear power already supplies the U.S. with 20% of its energy and can produce electricity with no CO2 emissions other than the energy it takes to build and run the power plant2. In addition, nuclear power can produce large amounts of energy without needing a lot of land a nuclear power plant has a small footprint compared to the area that would be needed to produce that same amount of power with wind or solar power.
However, nuclear power also has some risks associated with it. Nuclear fission, which is the process currently used to generate nuclear power, generates radioactive waste which needs to be stored for thousands of years before it is safe. Currently, there is no way to store the waste where its safety can be 100% guaranteed. Moreover, even though nuclear power is a developed technology, it is still more expensive than coal.
Would cut greenhouse gas emissions 70% below 2005 levels by 2050. The Warner/Lieberman bill is important because it has recently passed out of committee, and has the best chance of any bill to actually pass the required majorities in the house and senate (60 will be required in the senate due to a filibuster by Senator Inhofe).
S. 2191: America's Climate Security Act of 2007 (Full Text)
Weaknesses of the Warner/Lieberman Bill from Jim Rubens, Union of Concerned Scientists.
A Non Partisan Evaluation of What We Need
The Presidential Climate Action Project recently released the first draft of the Presidential Climate Action Plan.
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Author: Nick Enge and Lauren Leonard
Contributors:
References: (1)Adapted from the EIA, (2)NEI
Special Thanks: Paul Komor (U. CO-Boulder) for introduction to many of these policies.
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