The Future of Renewable Energy
This
article is from The Energy Times, written by Ryan Pletka, and discusses the growing
impact renewable energy has on the gas and oil industry. As individuals and communities
become more aware of the negative impact fossil fuels and other traditional
energy models have on the dying planet more and more green alternatives are
being introduced to the market. These alternatives, known as renewable energy,
have been on the market for some time, but as these products become more
advanced they are also becoming more affordable for the everyday consumer. The
article linked below talks about an interesting case surrounding the state of
Hawaii and their dedication to becoming more sustainable. Pletka explains that
in 2015 Hawaii passed a “100-percent renewable energy requirement by 2045 and
has since been making steady progress towards this goal.” This example does a
good job explaining how seriously communities, and in this case Hawaii, are striving
for more renewable and planet-saving options. Because of this, companies such
as PG&E, Exxon, and others should be concerned about their sustainability
in the market. Energy companies need to start investing in renewable technologies
in order to maintain their hold within the gas and oil market.
I
believe that in the coming years more and more states and countries will begin
to realize the importance of renewable energy. Global warming is real and the
human race is responsible for the increasingly warming planet and I think this
understanding is becoming more widely accepted. Individuals are looking to help
rather than hurt the planet and renewable energy sources are a way to do so.
For example, more homes and business now rely on solar power to produce
electricity, therefore opting out from using traditional providers such as
PG&E. While one household may not make that much of a difference, thousands
and thousands will. I truly believe that if the electrical, gas, and oil companies
want to stay in business and thrive they need to start adopting more sustainable
practices; the transition to solely renewable energy will be slow but in time will
dominate the market.
Some examples of renewable energy sources
are solar power, wind power, geothermal energy, and hydropower. Below I have
linked a video that explains how renewable energy is impacting the large gas
and oil companies. One statistic that sums up how disruptive renewable energy
is becoming is the following, “in just eight years, the value of the world’s biggest
power companies has halved” (1:04). This massive decrease is value is due to
the renewable energy resources available to the public. Overall it’s clear that
a large shift towards sustainability is happening, and because of this gas and
oil industries are starting to suffer.
1 comment:
I personally really enjoyed this article, because for one of my other classes I worked on a project about Daimler the manufacturing company who creates Mercedes. As I wrote my report about Daimler, I learned how big the electrical market is becoming, which Samantha emphasized in her blog post. As of right now the oil industry continue to be stagnant in society but I do believe that in the next 10 year the oil industries will plummet due to the increase of electrical and renewable energy will have. Samantha wrote how individual and communities are becoming more aware of the negative impact fossil fuels and other traditional energy model have on our planet. Due to more people learning about these impacts, countries, state, and cities are beginning to regulate their environmental and suitability laws even more. For example, much like Hawaii, Germany is introducing electrical alternatives into their cities such as an all electrical mass transportation bus which will eliminate the emission of pollution but will harm the oil industry because less and less fuel vehicles are being used. Car manufacturers are even investing tons of money into electrical technology to build eco-friendly vehicles. As we can see not much money is being invested into oil and gas companies like they used to be, so now we should question where these companies are going to go and what are they going to do next. I agree with Samantha that energy companies need to also start investing in renewable technologies. But I personally think that will be extremely difficult for energy companies because honestly they will be faced with too many challenges because they will be dealing with a whole different industry.
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