The Future of Renewable Energy and RE Policy Mechanisms Essay -- Energ

Albert Einstein, the famed physicist, once noted that â€Å"We can’t solve our problems with the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.† Today’s world is faced with the dual threats of climate problems brought on by the use of fossil fuels and the economic challenge caused by the increasing scarcity and demand for those fossil fuels. It is time for society to look beyond the limited and dirty fossil fuels as the energy of choice and promote the use of the abundant renewable energy sources we are endowed with. Because the subsidies to wind and other alternative energies ultimately generate more income than their initial costs and because we continue to subsidize fossil fuels, we should modify governmental tax policy to incentivize and establish the renewable energy industries so that they remain competitive with fossil fuels. Estimates that the world’s population will expand from today’s 6.7 billion to more than 9 billion in 2050 foretell of a coming demand explosion for energy (Friedman 29). Increased requirements for food, transportation, and consumer goods will result in larger energy consumption on many fronts. Fossil fuels, which currently provide an estimated 80 percent of the world’s energy supply, have already been consumed for more than a century and their finite supplies are becoming increasingly difficult to find and more expensive to produce (â€Å"Prediction of Energy Consumption World-wide†). The combination of increasing energy demand and depleting fossil fuel supplies calls for government action to incentivize the production and use of the unlimited supplies of renewable energies. Inducements may come in the form of direct subsidies to the producers of renewable energy, construction of the necessary transm... ...n of Energy Consumption World-wide.† Time for change. n.p., n.d. Web. 2 March 2012. Puzzanghera, Jim and Kathleen Hennessey. â€Å"White House Unveils Corporate Tax Changes to Fix ‘Unfair’ System.† latimes.com. Los Angeles Times, 22 Feb. 2012. Web. 2 March 2012. Shah, Anup. â€Å"World Military Spending.† globalissues.org. n.p., 2 May 2011. Web. 2 March 2012. Wald, Matthew L. â€Å"Fossil Fuels’ Hidden Cost in Billions, Study Says.† NYTimes.com. The New York Times, 19 Oct. 2009. Web. 8 March 2012. â€Å"What’s the Real Cost of Fossil Fuels?† hubpages.com. riversedge, n.d. Web. 8 March 2012. Wiser, Ryan, Mark Bolinger, and Galen Barbose. â€Å"Using the Federal Production Tax Credit to Build a Durable Market for Wind Power in the United States.† Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Clean Energy States Alliance, Nov. 2007. Web. 27 Feb. 2012.