Samuel's ENG121 Blog

Conclusion Throughout this exploration, I have a very different perspective on the topic of renewable energy. My topic actually started with the question:  Does converting to renewable fuel resources run the risk of eliminating jobs in the US and worldwide? After starting my second post, I quickly realized that this topic was too broad to discuss in 4-5 posts. The fact is, the specifics of renewable and fossil fuel energy production vary so much based on demographics and economic factors that I had to refine that question. My question then became:  Does converting to renewable fuel resources run the risk of eliminating jobs in the US? I began believing that electric car conversion and production could be a major factor in helping reduce the carbon emissions created by vehicles. My main concern with this was the conversion price for this conversion. It turns out, the price for this conversion was even more than I would have expected and, at this price, our count...

Is It Worth The Change? These last two articles came back to the question of whether renewable energy is worth the money and whether it could create or destroy more jobs. The concept that renewable energy is more expensive than conventional energy sources is no longer the average perspective. Though making this conversion can be difficult when US citizens have to make small conversions themselves, when done on a larger scale, it can be a much easier transition. The authors of  Renewable Energy   believe that if we use renewable energy sources for the main power grids, the average citizen can save a substantial amount without having to use up their entire savings in conversion. According to Renewable Energy,  this transition would be made easier by using natural gas as a backup for intermittent renewable energy sources and allow us to utilize a higher amount of renewable resources sooner rather than later. They Took Our Jobs! As far as new jobs are concerned, re...

Synthesizing Common Ground When comparing the two articles by Vanessa Brown Calder and BobbyMagill to each other, they seem to have a similar standpoint on the electric car issue. According to the NationalReview article, Tesla electric car company is only showing the positive side of their vehicle’s environmental impact. The Climate Central article uses the Nissan leaf to make the same point. The major conclusion that both authors agree upon is that the use of fossil fuels to create the electricity for these vehicles produces more carbon emissions that conventional, gas-burning vehicles. Magill does state that if the electricity was derived from wind or solar sources, it could cut down pollution by as much as 50%. Calder, in contrast, seems to acknowledge the pros of development in electric cars, but seems to focus on government spending and environmental impacts of electric vehicles currently. One discrepancy that bothers me is Calder stating that electric vehicle emissions ar...

Helping or Hindering the Workforce? In the first article , the authors express that renewable energy has a positive impact not only for the environment but for employment rates. Fuel energy has been declining in the fossil-fuel industry with little contribution from environmental regulations. Jobs in the fossil-fuel industry are primarily in operations and maintenance and jobs in manufacturing and construction are the primary focus in the renewable energy industry.  The authors of the first article believe  renewable energy has proven to create more jobs overall than fossil-fuel based industries. The coal industry generates only 3.96 person-years of employment, the solar industry generates 5.65, and the wind-energy industry generates 5.7. I believe these industries will prove themselves to create an even higher number of new jobs as more companies begin converting to renewable energy sources. The new jobs being created by renewable energy industries are predominate i...

Introduction Does converting to renewable fuel resources run the risk of eliminating jobs in the US? This is the question that seems to present an ongoing dispute amongst our society. It is hard to know for sure which side to lean towards. Most people seem to want to help the environment but some find the steps less realistic than others. How much would it really cost to transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy?  Though this question may seem like a simple analysis of numbers, the factors that come into the equation are vast. We must break this down into more specific questions: How much money does the transition of a combustion engine into an electric or compression engine cost? What impact does utilization of electric or compression engines have on the environment and what is the most cost-effective way to generate this energy source? Another question to consider is: what non-renewables resources are being used to produce energy today? The standard cho...