From Guest Blogger Anica Oaks: Clean and Green–Four Critical Steps for Moving Away from Fossil Fuels
A wide range of scientific studies have shown that fossil fuel extraction, refining and usage causes severe environmental damage, such as ozone depletion, global warming and ocean pollution. Additionally, many of the byproducts of fossil fuel processing, usage and environmental accidents harm the health of people and animals.
Although the public needs to take more than four steps to end fossil fuel dependence, the following steps are critical to forcing people to embrace change.
Invest in Public Education
Members of government agencies, nonprofit organizations and academic institutions along with experts and green-focused individuals need to invest more of their time, money and resources in educating the general public about the harm caused by fossil fuels. A lot of time is currently spent educating children to sway the next generation away from fossil fuels, but really everyone needs to see and hear the truth about fossil fuel dependence and alternative energy and material sources from experts in their fields.
Protest Media and Political Bias
More people need to protest against media sources that ignore the potential for harm caused by fossil fuels because of influence behind the scenes by companies that extract, refine or sell fossil fuels and create and sell related byproducts. Politicians who support green alternatives need to work harder at protesting false safety claims made in public spaces by passing laws that heavily punish companies that make them.
Focus on Renewable Alternatives
Individuals and business leaders need to shift their focus away entirely from current fossil fuel products to alternative energy and raw material sources to generate more out-of-the-box thinking about using renewable resources in environmentally-friendly ways. People also need to spend more time perfecting existing alternative technologies and developing new ones.
Emphasize Green Infrastructure Projects
Everyone needs to place more emphasis on green infrastructure projects that seek to create harmony between natural and man-made structures, including projects related to designing, constructing and maintaining green buildings, roads, bridges and communities.
People who are interested in working in these areas should consider higher education to learn more about green and environmental safety options and how to position themselves in leadership roles. For example, a civil engineer with an online master’s in civil engineering could play a central role in designing cities and communities in ways that exist in better harmony with ecosystems. Green collar jobs such as civil engineering are critical to advancing society into a new, green, and sustainable world.
The only way that humanity can ever hope to move away from fossil fuels is by rejecting them wherever and whenever possible. These four steps provide a basic outline of how that shift needs to take place.
Unfortunately, one completely, entirely, and necessary step was omitted, id est, expand nuclear power as rapidly as possible.
“On May 17, 2016, over four dozen climate scientists and leading environmentalists urge national environmental leaders to take urgent action to protect America’s largest source of clean energy. ”
Here is the link to the site from which I copied the above quotation:
http://www.environmentalprogress.org/environmental-leaders-letter/
And, the quotation is referring to NUCLEAR POWER! At least two of the leading environmentalists are members of the Sierra Club which, contrary to what one might suppose, is not of one mind. In fact, a significant, although perhaps unknown and probably growing, percentage of Sierra Club members favor nuclear power.
Here are additional quotations from the link:
“If nuclear plants at risk of premature closure received a fraction of the subsidies solar and wind receive, or were included in state Renewable Portfolio Standards, no new policies would be needed to protect them.
“Recent closures show that nuclear plants are replaced almost entirely with natural gas-fueled power. Retiring four nuclear plants resulted in additional carbon emissions equivalent to putting three million new cars on the road; if we lose the other 10 plants, it will be the same as adding 10 million cars to the road.
“Loss of nuclear plants will largely negate the benefits of the EPA’s Clean Power Plan. Reactors in states with deregulated electricity markets and reactors approaching license renewals are especially likely to shut down. If these 47 units close and are replaced with natural gas-fired power, the extra 171 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions will reverse 87 percent of the CPP-mandated emissions reductions in their home states.”
However, I suggest reading the entire linked-to article.
Here is a link to the home page of the organization from which the quotes were copied:
http://www.environmentalprogress.org/