Total Renewable Energy

25 July – Former vice president of the US and Nobel laureate Al Gore called upon the nation on July 18 to make a total shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy and totally clean carbon-free sources over the next ten years. Dismissing the claim of skeptics that making a complete shift to renewable energy is an impossible task, irrespective of the number of years, Mr. Gore said that the only obstacle in the way is the dysfunctional US political system that caters to special interests.

25 July – Former vice president of the US and Nobel laureate Al Gore called upon the nation on July 18 to make a total shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy and totally clean carbon-free sources over the next ten years. Dismissing the claim of skeptics that making a complete shift to renewable energy is an impossible task, irrespective of the number of years, Mr. Gore said that the only obstacle in the way is the dysfunctional US political system that caters to special interests.

According to Mr. Gore, the people who claim that ten years is insufficient time to make the complete transition to renewable energy have personal and political interests in continuing with the existing system, irrespective of its impact on everyone else. The former US vice president has challenged America to commit to producing 100% of its electricity from renewable energy and carbon-constrained fuels within ten years, while adding that his challenge is similar to that proposed by John F Kennedy for the US to land a man on the moon and bring him back safely to earth within ten years.

Mr. Gore’s call for complete transition has been applauded by scientists and researchers, who have urged the US to heed the advice and make a rapid shift to renewable energy. The statistics for 2005 indicate that coal contributed slightly more than half of America’s 3.7 billion kilowatt hours of electricity, while nuclear power, natural gas and renewable sources, including wind and solar, accounted for merely about 21%, 15% and 8.6%.

In addition, Mr. Gore drew attention to the fact that the US was borrowing money from China to buy oil from the Persian Gulf to burn it in ways that are destroying the planet. He prompted people to change the complete scenario. Al Gore said, “If we grab hold of that common thread and pull it hard, all of these complex problems begin to unravel and we will find that we’re holding the answer to all of them right in our hand.”

In response to Al Gore’s and T. Boone Pickens’ proposals to reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil, executive director of the Galvin Electricity Initiative Kurt Yeager said that the first essential step in that direction would be to strengthen the electric power grid. This will allow for the full integration of renewables and meet the growing demand for energy for transportation and from homes and industries.

Alternatio Cirqui, EconomyWatch.com Energy Correspondent