Energy Politics: Balancing Economy and Ecology

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One of the most debated topics in twenty-first century politics is energy. As the world has progressively improved in technology, so has our dependence on energy. Energy comes from many sources, such as non-renewable and renewable energy. Non-renewable energy pertains to fossil fuel (coal and oil), natural gas, and nuclear. Renewable energy resources are hydro, wind, and solar. Since the industrial revolution most of the energy used has been non-renewable energy. These non-renewable energy sources have caused ecological problems, although there is disagreement to the extent. Energy reliance has also caused economic debate. Everyone wants to use the cheapest energy source. However, the cheaper energy sources have been causing the most ecological …show more content…

Climate change can cause major ecological problems. Although some argue against the theory of climate change, most scientist agree that carbon emissions have been the number one cause of global warming. The earth is naturally warmed though greenhouse gases, carbon-dioxide being the most occuring. The Energy Information Administration of the United States states in the “Energy in Brief” section, greenhouses gases are increasing: “From 1990 to 2013, energy-related carbon dioxide emissions in the United States increased on average by about 0.3% per year.” As carbon dioxide emissions has steadily increased so has global climate temperatures. Changes in climate can cause the reconstruction of plant biology. In addition, global warming causes the change of migration patterns. The earth is getting warmer, although some debate this is naturally occurring. No matter which side, protecting and preserving the earth should be of most concern. If life ceased to exist all the other implications would be irrelevant. The biggest issue right below reducing carbon emissions is energy conservation. If using energy resources is causing global warming, there should be a reduction of the resource usage. Although energy conservation is hard to implement because of how reliant we are on energy. Energy conservation has many economic implications, but not as much as energy

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