Question

What would be the upside in pursuing renewable energy? Who stands to win? Who stands to lose?

Answer 1

There are resources which are limited in nature, these are the non renewable energy sources like coal, natural gas, etc. More use of these resources will cause these resources to exhaust. Then there are few sources of energy that can be renewed everytime and so can be used as much as needed without the risk of it exhausting. The use of these resources need to increase for a better future environment. There are many advantages to this.

• Reduced global warming- Increasing human activities is causing increased emissions of carbon dioxide and other harmful gases to the atmosphere. In US only nearly 29% of global warming emissions come from electricity sector. If renewable sources are used, then this harmful emission can be controlled.
• Improved health- The harmful emissions by coal and natural gas causes pollution and health issues too like breathing problems, heart attack, cancer etc. This can be reduced by more use of renewable energy.
• Inexhaustible- These renewable sources can be used as much as needed without any risk of exhaustion. And is a reliable source of energy which can be gained at competitively economic prices.

There are many benefits to this but there are few limitations too like the upfront cost is higher, many of these sources aren't available all the time in many regions etc. But the advantages are much more than the disadvantages. Due to this, people are now tending towards renewable energy. The big oil companies are collapsing slowly and the wind and solar energy firms are growing.