Mitigation Strategies and Solutions
SCI-275

Mitigation Strategies and Solutions There are many environmental problems that are present because of humankind’s impact within this world. Each of the environmental problems that we create is not only impacting the source where the problem is but they are also impacting other problems within this environment. For example using oil for automobiles and to create electricity is not only reducing the resources of oil and creating an energy problem on this planet they are also creating atmospheric pollution. A single change in a positive or negative way can have an effect on many other factors of this environment. In order to create positive change there needs to be proper research and education into what changes will have the best impact on this planet. The cost of the change will always be a factor but humankind needs to consider; is the cost of change a bigger factor than the change itself. There needs to be real consideration for the impact that we have over the environment by our actions and not the cost of what it will take to make a positive impact; the longer humankind takes to make positive changes the more it will inevitable cost to make those changes.
The different environmental problems at this point in time that impact this planet are all linked; they all break down to how much carbon dioxide we are producing on this planet. Carbon dioxide is produced by using nonrenewable resources such as oil and coal and has exponentially increased due to the industrial revolution. The earth naturally producing carbon dioxide but we have increased the amount in the atmosphere due to our use of nonrenewable resources. We need to find the best ways that can reduce our dependence on nonrenewable resources and find a way to increase renewable resources. The energy consumption of this planet needs to become clean energy consumption rather than an energy consumption that produces waste into the environment.
Our reduction of energy that produces carbon dioxide is the main focus that needs to be changed; this can be done in many different ways. We can reduce our impact through the sources which we acquire energy for our vehicles, house, businesses, and every other energy consumption. The current methods that are mostly used to acquire this energy are harmful to not only the environment but the health of the people and animals within it. Pollution is created in the form of carbon dioxide through most of the current methods, but there can be other dangers of pollution through methods such as nuclear energy. The dangers of nuclear power can be felt globally. According to the World Nuclear Association (n.d.) “Following a major earthquake, a 15-metre tsunami disabled the power supply and cooling of three Fukushima Daiichi reactors, causing a nuclear accident on 11 March 2011”. Nuclear power can create instances such as this or the disaster of Chernobyl which also created major problems on a global scale. Utilizing clean energy resources will not only reduce our impact on the environment; it will also have an impact on humankind’s overall health and the health of the animals that live within the environments being contaminated. Energy consumption needs to be the focus of mankind in order to create real change in other areas of the environment such as atmospheric pollution caused by high levels of carbon dioxide emissions.
An article called Solving the Climate Problem by R. Socolow and other authors has multiple graphs showing the estimated level that carbon dioxide levels will be if we continue with our current use of nonrenewable energy. Since we are at such high levels of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere due to energy consumption and we have such a high dependency on the current methods of energy consumption; we cannot actually start to decrease our impact until the year 2054 if we started to make real changes in our energy consumption starting in 2004. The estimation according to figure 1a of the Solving the Climate Problem article is that it will take fifty years to make a transition which will actually start to decrease our carbon dioxide emissions. This will come from many different forms of carbon dioxide producing emissions; such as vehicles and electricity production. Figure 1b of Solving the Climate Problem has a stabilization triangle which is split into wedges to show that many changes are necessary to achieve the goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
Electricity production is one of the highest contributors to the high levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This requires a substantive change in our methods of acquiring electricity if humankind wants to make a positive impact for the future of this planet as well as ourselves. Clean methods of energy consumption are available but there is a cost that many cannot afford associated with these kinds of energy methods. In order to contribute to a reduction of the carbon dioxide in the environment that is produced through the creation of electricity, there needs to be a campaign to educate people on the importance of acquiring renewable resources that can produce electricity through clean methods that do not produce pollutants; such as solar power or wind power.
This mitigation plan is to reduce humankind’s reduction of carbon dioxide through the education of the importance of renewable energy to create electricity; to the individual, the community, and to the highest levels of governments. This can and will be a major contributor to our reduction of carbon dioxide production through energy creation if the people and governments understand the importance of renewable energy and take the necessary steps to implement renewable resources such as solar power into this world on a global scale. There are many individuals and governments who understand the importance of renewable and clean energy resources, but this only a small portion of the population and there will not be a substantial impact without widespread education and action that is created on all levels; from the individual to the federal governments.
The education plan will be focused on both solar power and wind power. While these can be very effective and clean ways to acquire energy they are not an energy resource that can be acquired from all areas of the world. While there might be an area that receives high winds that would be ideal for wind turbines, there are many others that it would be not ideal. This same principle works with solar power. Many areas of the world receive a higher concentration of solar energy than others, such as deserts, which makes those areas more ideal for solar power over others. These factors can create a problem when implementing a plan to acquire solar or wind power for the electricity needs of the population on a global scale. These obstacles can be overcome though if federal governments, state governments, and individuals work together in order to create global change in the area of electricity acquisition. For example California acquires solar and wind energy that is not only for the citizens of California but the surrounding states also acquires part of their electricity needs through this source. When people work together to create change; real change can happen and it starts with the education of the importance of renewable resources.
Governments can use the education about renewable resources to establish power plants that consist of energy produced by either wind or solar power. Governments can also provide incentives to the individuals of their country that use renewable resources to help establish the need for renewable resources and what they can do for the individual as well as the global community. Many individual people would not be able to establish wind turbines due to their size, quantity, and cost; in most cases; to actually create the energy needs of those individuals. The focus of the education about clean energy acquisition when speaking to the individual would be on solar power. There are many solar power systems that are very expensive and the individual still would not be able to afford it. The education of the individual will be more to allow them to understand how solar power works, how they can build it themselves in an inexpensively way, and to promote the importance of clean energy in our current world as well as the impact that clean energy will have on the future of this planet and environments within.
A major component of this global problem is the already established electrical companies. The electric companies already have a method to acquire energy that many individuals are willing to pay for. If an individual wants to change to clean energy they will need to pay the extra initial expenses to reduce their impact. The electric company would have to pay that initial expense but on a much larger scale to provide power for an entire region or area. This is not a good business choice when viewing it from the perspective of the electric companies; although they probably have the addition profit to make such a change. In order to involve the electric companies in this sustainability plan; governments need to collaborate and give them incentives just like the individual to promote clean energy acquisition.
The global community has many problems which can be move in a positive way by education and conversion from nonrenewable energy to clean energy. The economies of the world will also be affected by creating clean electricity. There will need to be individuals who will build and maintain clean energy systems such as wind and solar power plants. This can provide jobs for many individuals. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists (2012), “A UCS analysis found that boosting the nation's use of renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, would create more than three times as many jobs as producing an equivalent amount of electricity from coal and other fossil fuels”. Creating these jobs will be a beneficial addition to establishing clean energy; not only within the United States because their will need to be people establishing and maintaining clean energy globally.
This will be a major challenge because of the sheer scale of the plan; but there will also be benefits felt on a global scale. One challenge that many will face is the cost of building and establishing systems such as solar and wind power. This can be overcome through collaboration of governments, manufacturers, electric companies, and the individual people. “A variety of well-tested policies can overcome these and related impediments” (Liard, 2009). Finding the ways to establish a global community that uses renewable energy is possible; it just needs to be put on the same economic plane as nonrenewable resources. Establishing policies to create these balances is very important when implementing a plan for change of this scale. The benefits of creating electricity through wind and solar power will outweigh the benefits of nonrenewable resources once they are established on a larger scale. Many energy companies have received tax benefits and are currently receiving tax benefits by providing energy using the current methods; nonrenewable resources. The renewable energy industry should also receive these same benefits to allow fair competition. If this can happen there will not be much of a benefit to use nonrenewable resources over a renewable resource.
The United States of America alone can create this change through these different methods described in the sustainability plan; but in order to effectively implement this plan it needs to start on a local level and grow from there. Education of the individual will start within the community; move to higher positions such at the state levels, then the federal government. Once we establish effective ways to retract from nonrenewable resources and move to renewable resources; the education and plan can move to global levels such as the UN. There is a need to establish a global green and clean revolution because it is a problem that is happening on a global scale and can only be fixed with the majority of the world working together through education and collaboration to create positive change.
Sources:
World Nuclear Association. (n.d.). Fukushima Accident 2011. Retrieved from http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/fukushima_accident_inf129.html

Socolow, R (2004). SOLVING THE CLIMATE PROBLEM. Environment, 46(10), 8. Retrieved from http://ehis.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=d19b2a45-0687-485f-a1b1-d39691059f26%40sessionmgr104&vid=10&hid=102

Union of Concerned Scientists. (2012). California Legislature to Reconsider Renewable Elecrticity Standard. Retrieved from http://www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release/california-renewable-electricity-standard-0409.html

Laird, F. N. (2009). A Full-Court Press for Renewable Energy. Issues In Science & Technology, 25(2), 53. Retrieved from http://ehis.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=d19b2a45-0687-485f-a1b1-d39691059f26%40sessionmgr104&vid=10&hid=22