Renewable energy in the USA

Renewable energy in the USA:

In the current situation we are starting to realize that our power supplies are not infinite and therefore will someday be depleted. The future seems to rely in renewable energies.

We can wonder how the biggest energy consumer, the USA are dealing with this problem and whether or not these renewable energies are a solution.

The 5 documents of the file:

Doc1: Internet article with information about renewable energies provided by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory And the Department of Energy

Doc2: an extract from last year President Obama’s State of Union speech

Doc 3: an article from the New York Times

Doc 4: a pie chart illustrating the sources of energy in 2010 in the USA

Doc 5: a cartoon

in partake in answering this question.

What is at stake is how renewable energies, interesting the president with their benefits, are a goal hard to reach.

I/ Renewable energies:

We can first wonder what renewable energies are:

Currently, 91 % of the energy resources we are using are fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas these are: nonrenewable, expensive, environmentally damaging energies

Conversely to these finite resources (8%), renewable energies, mostly from the sun (eventually indirectly) to be distinguished:

*Solar energy: heating, lightning house, generating electricity, hot water heating, solar cooling, commercial industrial uses

*Sun's heating ==> wind: energy captured with turbines ==> water evaporation ==> rain or snow: flow: river or steams: hydroelectric power

*Sunlight: plants growing: Biomass, used to produce electricity, transportation fuels, or chemicals: bio energy

* Oceans energy: Tidal energy from the gravitational pulls of the moon and the sun

*Sun warming of the surface rather than the ocean depths: temperature Difference: energy source.

Independently from the sun: Hydrogen (most abundant element on earth) separated from the elements it's combined with can be burned as a fuel or converted to electricity.

Geothermal energy: taps the earth’s internal heat for uses such as electric power production, heating, cooling of buildings.

Also seen in the pie chart wood and waste

Important because providing benefits:

*environmental benefits: clean, lower environmental impact

*energy of the future (children’s children's children): no depletion.

Concretely, to be used need of human action: solar panels

researches At Caltech: developing sunlight and water turning into car fuel.

II/ Renewable energies have many other advantages, which is the

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