Rapid River Magazine, october 2006

R A P I D R I V E R A R T S & C U L T U R E M A G A Z I N E
Green Report:
Renewable energy becomes
more affordable and
increases homeland security,
says new report
Although renewable energy resources
now provide six percent of the total energy
needs of the United States, this percent
could rapidly increase in the coming years,
according to a just released report, entitled
“American Energy: The Renewable Path to
Energy Security.”
The joint report released in late
September 2006 by the Worldwatch
Institute and the Center for American
Progress stated that renewables are becoming
cost-competitive with fossil fuels as
well as can provide greater security at
home for the United States.
THE GREENER HOME
Renewable energy becomes more affordable
COMPELLING REASONS TO USE
RENEWABLES
Stated the authors of the report: “With oil
prices soaring, the security risks of petroleum
dependence growing, and the environmental
costs of today’s fuels becoming
more apparent, the country faces compelling
reasons to put these technologies to use
on a larger scale.”
The report’s findings included the following:
• The USA boasts some of the world’s
best renewable energy resources,
which have the potential to meet a
rising and significant share of the
nation’s energy demand. For example,
one-fourth of America’s land
area has winds powerful enough to
generate electricity as cheaply as
natural gas and coal, and the solar
resources of just seven southwest
states could provide 10 times the
current electric generating capacity.
• All but four U.S. states now have
incentives in place to promote
renewable energy, while more than
a dozen have enacted new renewable
energy laws in the past few years,
and four states strengthened their
targets in 2005.
• California gets 31 percent of its electricity
from renewable resources;
12 percent of this comes from nonhydro
sources such as wind and geothermal
energy.
• Texas now has the country’s largest
collection of wind generators. The
United States led the world in wind
energy installations in 2005.
• Iowa produces enough ethanol that,
if consumed in-state, would meet
half the state’s gasoline requirements.
• Renewable energy creates more jobs
per unit of energy produced and per
dollar spent than fossil fuel technologies
do.
The report also stated that while there has
been strong public support by American
citizens, the U.S. has not kept up with other
countries, which have experienced rapid
growth over the past decade.
On a worldwide basis since 2000, global
wind energy generation has more than
tripled; solar cell production has risen sixfold;
production of fuel ethanol from crops
have more than doubled; and biodiesel
production has expanded nearly four-fold.
Annual global investment in “new” renewable
energy has risen almost six-fold since
1995, with cumulative investment over this
period nearly $180 billion.
The report explained that if the U.S. is to
join the world leaders in renewable energy
– among them Germany, Spain, and Japan
– it will need world-class energy policies
based on a sustained and consistent policy
framework at the local, state, and national
levels.
DOWNLOAD THE RENEWABLES
REPORT AND LEARN MORE
To download the complete report, visit
www.americanenergynow.net.
For more information about the two publishers
of this new renewable energy report,
visit www.worldwatch.org and www.americanprogress.org.
The Worldwatch Institute
is said to be an independent research organization
that focuses on innovative solutions
to global environmental, resource, and
economic issues. The Center for American
Progress bills itself as “a nonpartisan
research and educational institute dedicated
to promoting a strong, just and free
America that ensures opportunity for all …
to find progressive and pragmatic solutions
to significant domestic and international
problems and develop policy proposals that
foster a government that is ‘of the people,
by the people, and for the people.’”
38 October 2006 — Rapid River ArtS & CULTURE Magazine— Vol. 10, No. 2