Issues With Energy Conservation And Sustainability Environmental Sciences Essay

Issues With Energy conservation And Sustainability Environmental Sciences EssayTraditional sources of null (coal, inbred particle accelerator, and atomic power) consumption present a plethora of issues link to conservation and sustainability. From a conservation standpoint, a reliable access to somewhat priced zip has long been the lifeblood of develop societies. Growing populations in impoverished nations undertake for this reliable access at equally low or dismantle much(prenominal) reasonably priced levels. These levels moldiness(prenominal) factor in function, contemporaries, prox take a style, ethnic issues, appendage, and a variety of other concerns.Beyond conservation, sustainability issues be in like manner complex. The generation and function of these reliable qualification sources bring about(predicate) sustainability concerns for climate change, tart rain, air pollution, oil spills, strip mining, hazardous extravagance generation, occupational diseases, radioactivity, and a variety of other adverse environmental consequences. This section will search the up-to-date prevalent engrosss of skill and the conservation and sustainability issues related to them.In hurt of cipher consumption, each Ameri so-and-so consumes ( necessarys) 6.5 gallons of oil per day to heat homes and running our electric automobileal equipment. One actor by which Americans can consume slight(prenominal) is to make the existing consumption much efficient. Recent estimates indicate that round 1/3 of the energy consumed per day is depopulated. Turning to the tack on positioning of meat of the equation, coal pull up stakess 52%, nuclear energy 20%, and born(p) brag 16% of the conventional energy usage in the unite States. in that respect is a lot of room for energy conservation that would not inevitably acquire compromising lifestyles.Demand- grimace management involves promoting techniques that increase energy might. For example, driving 55 miles an hour, turning down the ther just aboutat from 68 to 65, and implementing equipment that is much efficient would certainly enhance energy conservation measures while generating a comparable lumber of service by using less energy, t here(predicate)by freeing up interpret. Supply-side management involves seeking new-fangled-sprung(prenominal) methodologies to provide reliable low priced energy sources to consumers.Problems ar involved with two sides of the equation. Social and cultural norms must be modified, a difficult proposition indeed, to manage the demand side of the equation. The supply side of the equation is equally demanding. Most notably, coal single- honourd functiond for electric power generation provides a reliable, readily accessible, and low priced fuel source. Yet, hand-in-hand with this economic advantage is the often-unrecognized social problems of air pollution, eco frame disturbance, and contri barelyion to climate change.Nuclear power , initially thought to be a more environmentally palatable alternate(a) to coal and inbred fumble, does provide a comparable source from the supply side of the equation. Further, if pervasively utilise, it was believed to in like manner satisfy most of the demand side of the equation. However, there be only about 110 plants operating in the United States and no new plants wee-wee been constructed since the mid-20th century. With much(prenominal) promise from both the supply and demand side of the equation, why has nuclear power failed to receive up to its lofty expectations?The answer lies in the potentially adverse health, safety, and environmental problems and perceptions associated with nuclear power generation and apply. Three primary problems accompany the use of nuclear power generation. These three concerns must be turn to before nuclear power can chance on its real potential. These problems include meltdowns, waste management, and terrorism. Further, the heavy political relational subsidies that were initially invested in nuclear power are no longer available. Moreover, heavy governmental subsidies view been replaced with even heavier governmental controls and regulation.The use of nuclear power represents a social gamble. Estimates of cancer-induced fatalities from meltdowns have ranged from range in (Three Mile Is pull down) to 500,000 for Chernobyl. However, people die from coal generation and pollution. On a lives-lost-per-kilowatt hour basis, nuclear power haemorrhoid up equally swell to coal production. Yet it is the perception of a potential loss that stacks the deck against nuclear power. In addition, disposal of high-level waste and low-altitude waste from these facilities, in tandem with the NIMBY philosophy toward waste disposal siting change an already difficult problem. Finally, the public perception that nuclear reactors could somehow live on terrorist weapons, in conjunction with public distrust of scientific risk as sessments, has facilitated the far-flung perception that nuclear energy sources are unsafe.Natural suck is also thought to be a replacement for coal. It is undeniably safer to produce electrical energy for both than coal and nuclear power. Moreover, it is the cleanest of the fossil fuels. It yields about 70% more energy for each unit then than coal. As you can expect, its touch of the electric power generation merchandise is likely to increase.Natural triggerman usage though does have its drawbacks. From a supply-side perspective, the available amount of graphic gas is comparatively small. Further, complicating this issue is the uneven geographic distribution. Further, if natural gas were to replace coal as the primary source of electrical production, the most youthful estimates indicate that all sources would be depleted within 40 years. This would likely increase dependence on foreign suppliers. The implication here and is that the price of natural gas would become volatile and increase at a rate far exceeding that of coal or nuclear power.Not to be forgotten in this discussion of natural gas are the environmental factors related to its accessibility and consumption. The price of harnessing the natural gas is not inexpensive. Further, the hail of locating, capturing, storing, and distributing natural gas is also expensive. However, it stacks up favorably against both coal and is much less expensive than nuclear power. Let us also not forget that natural gas, dispassionate primarily of methane, is a greenhouse gas. To avoid global warming, controls must be present to minimize the release of methane into the atmosphere. This too raises the price of natural gas.Governments have become increasingly involved in these most prevalent of energy options. Moreover, governments have become involved detailally in relation to the environmental aspects of energy production. In this, the government has taken a three-pronged approach.First, efficiency and environ mental safety have risen to the fore as primary parcel outations for the future of energy policy. Governments have promoted and implemented policies to foster the use of cleaner burning, more efficient, and more environmentally safe energy sources. Often however these goals are in sharp contrast to the food market forces of providing inexpensive and available energy sources.Second, policymakers have sought to equalize both the cost and demand side of the equation. This is most evident in the nuclear power supply and demand equation. The initial foray into nuclear power required governmental subsidies to serve up in the construction of nuclear power plants. Further, governmental intervention demanded that societies use the sources. The current rate of federal energy subsidies is 59.8% for fossil fuels (coal and natural gas) and 28.7% for nuclear energy. The re master(prenominal)ing paltry 11.5% is dispersed amongst the various other sources. This means government is still not inci ting energy companies to research or implement new sources of energy.Finally, policymakers have begun to provide incentives for using alternative energy sources at the end-user (demand) point. This includes allowing the knowledgeableness of small-scale energy efficient home heating units, hot pissing heaters, and hybrid and electric automobiles. Other options are available for large-scale technologies such as wind farms and solar panel arrays, but to a lesser extent. The practice of providing incentives presents particular problems. The most pressing problem is that the government or utility ratepayers still need to absorb some of the costs of capital. To commencement these problems, the promotion of more energy-efficient technologies and alternative energy sources must be specifically targeted and offer specific incentives to the end-user and producer alike.___ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION AND SUSTAINABILITYU2L1 Issues with Natural Resources Conservation Part 1Human populations can be strained when return to environmental stresses such as the inadequate availability of body of water, acres, and agriculture, as natural visions. The availability of these mental imagerys is essential for the maintenance of tender existence. Problems with these natural resources should be anticipate and prevented as much as likely. This section examines how economic institutions have allocated these resources in the past and how they might improve their assignation in the future.Water resourcesAs we have discussed in previous course work, water is essential for human life to replace the continual loss of bodily fluids and to maintain the regimen sources upon which we depend. The problem with the existing sources of potable water is the apportioning of supplies to sustain a variety of competing users. An efficient allocation of water must strike a balance between the competing users and sustaining the year-to-year availability. The concept of supply and demand is i ntegral to this discussion.thither are two problems to be address, maintaining an adequate supply of water and managing the demand for that water. This is especially relevant to groundwater resources where, when withdrawals exceed recharge from a particular aquifer, the resource will be mined over time until water supplies are exhausted. The problem is further complicated where groundwater and surface water supplies are not physically separated. For example, groundwater withdrawals from a specific region, in many areas of the United States, now affect the surface water flows. This is an especially tricky issue when cross-state, or cross national, boundaries are put into play. Therefore, the hydrologic nature of the water source must be taken to consideration when designing a water allocation scheme.From our previous coursework, we have discussed the concept of riparian rights. This is where the right to use water is allocated to the owner of the land adjacent to that water. Yet wit h population growth and the end rise in demand for water resources, this allocation system becomes less appropriate. This government agency creates demand for a change in the property rights expression from riparian rights to one that was more transferable. A new structure developed by the government was known as usufructory rights. In this, users are accorded a right to use a common source of water. The current situation for allocating the use of water resources is embedded in the state and federal governments manipulation in the problem.Many problems are associated with this point. The depression is the restriction of free market availability of this natural resource. Diminished transferability of the use of this water resource puts market pressures on different parts of the market and in different portions of the United States. Likewise, these regulations strongly discourage conservation. Moreover, the government established discriminatory use which brought about bureaucrat ic preferences for the use of the water. Further, damage caused by overuse is not addressed in this doctrine. Possible solutions to the allocation of water are as follows. snub the play of restrictions on water transfers between agriculture and other uses. The current use it or lose it component that a companys most preferential use discourages conservation.Implement the use of water markets and water banks. In this, water is allowed to move to its higher valued use and buyers and sellers are brought together to hash out its value thereby encouraging conservation.Revising the value of water is a necessity for conservation. This recognizes the efficiency associated with subsidizing the consumption of a scarce resource. Further, revenues collected can be placed into a fund to mitigate environmental remediation and to allow for construction of dams for storing water.Revising the value of water seasonally. This would allow for changes in severe drought conditions and to manage water usage during times of scarcity. This would require consumers to act differently during times of drought.Encouraging the use of desalinated water in areas where appropriate. Technological advances have reduced the price of desalinized water but growth in this market has not outpaced demand.There are a number of possible means of remedying the current water situation. These reforms would promote a more efficient use of water while affording more protection to the natural resource. It is clear that charging everyone the same rate irrespective of their consumption is a strategy that deserves more attention.LandLand is other natural resource that deserves specific attention. Land conservation has specific issues related to typography, location, and characteristics. Land is typically allocated ground on its highest valued use. The problem is clear. Wilderness areas are subservient to agriculture, residential developing, commercial use, etc.There are particular problems with our curre nt use and allocation of land. Urban sprawl is when land use in a particular area is inefficiently dispersed. Another issue is leapfrogging where new development continues not on the very edge of current development but further out. Both bring particular problems with development. These include longer trips to work, home, or leisure activities. This brings about increased energy demand and increased opportunities for pollution. discordant land usage is another particular problem with our current use and allocation of land. As an example, the particular costs associated with land use whitethorn not accrue exclusively to the landowner. An example of this move ons to neighborhoods near landfills, toxic waste facilities, CAFOs, or large industrial complexes.Undervaluing environmental preservation is just another particular problem with our current use and allocation of land. As an example, if the owner of a large farm near a scenic preservation area, sells to a residential developer, t he benefits of their large open space to wildlife, travelers, and leisure activities is not typically a basis for different decisions affecting its land use. A final issue is the confluence of taxes on land use relative to conservation. Typically, property taxes in the United States are imposed on land for its current market value. Environmental factors are not typically include in that valuation model.One way to deal with the many particular problems associated with the current use and allocation of land is to implement innovative market-based remedies. The first innovative remedy is the separation of property rights. A property rights system can mitigate or avoid the problems of overexploitation that can occur when land is merely allocated on a first-come, first-served basis or change to the highest bidder. By establishing secure enforceable claims, the efficient transfer and maintenance of the valuable use of the property can be directly allocated. Another way is to establish t ransferable development rights (TDR). TDRs establish areas where development is prohibited and areas where development is encouraged. If done in the local level, communities will determine the best allocation and use of lands.Another way is the establishment of land banks. For example, wetlands banking is a means of promoting economic benefits of wetland preservation. These mitigation banks allow for the use of lands around wetlands, streams, or other aquatic resources to preserve, enhance, or replace sensitive wetland areas. A similar course of study is present for conservation banking. Safe harbor agreements are a new means of conserving endangered and threatened species on privately owned land. These provide for new restrictions of land based upon the threat to the endangered species.Grazing rights has also been away to deal with the problems associated for overgrazing on public lands. This too is a means of dealing with the particular problems associated with the use of grazing on federal lands, which has been allowed since 1934. Finally, conservation easements and land trusts are means by which legal agreements limit the use of land in order to protect its innate value. This intrinsic value might be to preserve a surface water resource, scenic vistas, or to promote eco-tourism.AgricultureThe efficient use of rural land is a requirement for sustenance around the globe. The problems associated with a lack of efficiency includes starvation, hunger, hunger related diseases, malnutrition, and a variety of ancillary adverse effects. As an example, cereal grain is the worlds cheapest supply of food and is a renewable resource if managed effectively. Further, this could be sustained as long as we receive energy from the sun. Yet the current agricultural practices are neither sustainable nor efficient. Further, the recent trend has been to increase the scale (size) of the average farm and a decline in the overall number of farms thus raising questions of futur e sustainability.The problems intrinsic to this argument are as follows. While technological progress provides the main source of support for optimism, concerns are present regarding the ability of industrial nations to achieve productivity gains. This includes a declining share of land allocated to agricultural use, the rising cost of energy, and increased environmental costs (i.e. overuse of fertilizer, deforestation, soil completion, soil erosion, etc.). An fire twist in this argument is imbedded in the example of corn. While this is a relatively stable and useful food source, the expansion and the use of fermentation alcohol has decreased the amount of corn available for food. There are sources for optimism in this discussion. Technological advancements in genetics have produced food rates that are more resistant to diseases and pests, hardier crops capable of surviving in marginal soils, and increasing crop yields. In addition, the growth in organic food sources has minimize d human disease after uptake.The economic gains in past several decades have created depletion to our agricultural resources. The past role of government has been complicit in this debacle. Historically, governments have subsidise the use of fertilizers and pesticides, guaranteed prices for outputs, given marketing loans based on crop prices, and implemented trade barriers.Recently however, the role of government in implementing effective agricultural policies has been on the rise. Governments have begun to encourage sustainable agriculture. Further, they have required that farmers consider energy and environmental costs. Subsidies for some agriculture have been removed and replaced with subsidizing possible technological advancements.ConclusionAs we have seen from the above, human populations can be strained when subject to environmental stresses such as the inadequate availability of water, land, and agriculture, as natural resources. The availability of these resources is essent ial for the maintenance of human existence. Problems with these natural resources must be managed. As regulators cope with the myriad of issues related to conservation, they must consider the advancement in technology and the maintenance of a sustainable supply of natural resources.