Alternative Energy

Table of Contents

Introduction
Pros
- Pro 1: Alternative energies not only can but must replace fossil fuels if we want to continue living on Earth.
- Pro 2: Many countries are already operating on significant renewable energy sources.
- Pro 3: Nuclear energy, a low-carbon source of alternative energy, is the quickest way to end dependence on fossil fuels.
Pro Quotes
Cons
- Con 1: Natural gas, a fossil fuel, is an appropriate and necessary bridge fuel to meet net-zero emissions goals.
- Con 2: The idea that renewable energies will fill the energy needs of large countries anytime soon is ridiculous and hinders realistic change for the better.
- Con 3: Nuclear energy is too dangerous and ineffective to be a serious solution to global warming.
Con Quotes
Top 10 Pro and Con Arguments
- 1. Alternative Energy
- 2. 100% Renewable Energy
- 3. Green New Deal
- 4. Net-Zero Carbon
- 5. Nuclear Energy
- 6. Fossil Fuels
- 7. Clean Coal
- 8. Natural Gas
- 9. Fracking
- 10. Carbon Pricing
Alternative Energy Sources Explained
- Biomass
- Geothermal
- Hydroelectric
- Nuclear
- Solar
- Wind
United States Energy Use by Source
- Fossil Fuel Energy Use
- Renewable Energy
- Nuclear Energy
- Sources for United States Energy Use by Source
State-by-State Energy Use
- 2018 State-by-State Fossil Fuel Energy Consumption
- 2018 State-by-State Nuclear Energy Consumption
- 2018 State-by-State Renewable Energy Consumption
- State-by-State Population v. Energy Consumption
- Sources for State-by-State Energy Use
Historical Timeline
- 2000 bce–1499
  - 2000 bce - Chinese First to Use Coal as an Energy Source
  - 200 bce - Chinese Develop Natural Gas as an Energy Source
  - 200 bce - Europeans Harness Water Energy to Power Mills
  - 1st Century - Chinese First to Refine Petroleum (Oil) for Use as an Energy Source
  - 10th Century - Windmills Built in Persia to Grind Grain and Pump Water
- 1500–1799
  - 1590s - Dutch Build Windmills for Multiple Uses
  - 1600s - Development of Coal Coke in England Aids Iron Production and Helps to Pave the Way for the Industrial Revolution
  - 1700s - Coal Begins to Displace Use of Other Energies
  - 1712 - First Steam Engine Developed in England to Pump Water Out of Coal Mines
  - 1748 - First Commercial Coal Production in the U.S. Begins in Richmond, Virginia
- 1800–99
  - 1800 - Process of Electrolysis Discovered
  - 1821 - First Natural Gas Well in the U.S. Is Drilled
  - 1830 - Coal Becomes Primary Locomotive (Train) Fuel in the U.S., Displacing Wood
  - 1830s - First Coal Powered Iron Forges Are Developed in New England
  - 1830s - Ethanol Blend Becomes Popular Lamp Fuel in the U.S., Displacing Whale Oil
  - 1838 - First Hydrogen Fuel Cell Developed to Generate Electricity
  - 1850s - Windmill Becomes Popular Water-Pumping Tool of Western Homesteaders and Railroad Builders
  - 1859 - First Commercial Oil Well Drilled by Edwin Drake in Pennsylvania; Kerosene Begins to Displace Other Lamp Fuels
  - 1860 - First Solar Power System Developed in France to Produce Steam to Drive Machinery
  - 1862 - Abraham Lincoln Enacts an Ethanol Tax to Help Finance the Civil War, Severely Hampering the Ethanol Fuel Industry
  - 1870 - John D. Rockefeller Forms Standard Oil and Develops Petroleum as a Major Energy Source in the U.S.
  - 1876 - First Demonstration of Generating Electricity Directly from Sunlight in a Selenium Solar Cell
  - Sept. 4, 1882 - First Electric Plant Built by Thomas Edison in New York
  - Sept. 30, 1882 - First Commercial Scale Hydroelectric Plant Goes into Operation in Appleton, Wisconsin
  - 1888 - First Windmill to Generate Electricity Developed in Cleveland
  - 1892 - World’s First Geothermal District Heating System Built in Boise, Idaho
- 1900–50
  - 1900 - First Diesel Engine to Run on Vegetable Oil Demonstrated at World’s Fair in Paris
  - 1901 - Birth of the Modern Oil Industry: Lucas Gusher and the Discovery of Texas’s Vast Spindletop Oil Field
  - 1905 - Albert Einstein Publishes First Theoretical Paper Describing the Photoelectric Effect
  - June 8, 1906 - The “Free Alcohol Bill” Is Signed to Promote the Use of Alcohol as an Alternative to Gasoline
  - 1906–08 - Studies on Alcohol Fuel (Ethanol) Find Advantages over Petroleum Fuels Such as Gasoline and Kerosene
  - May 15, 1911 - U.S. Supreme Court Orders Dissolution of Standard Oil Trust for Engaging in Monopolistic Practices
  - 1921 - World’s First Geothermal Power Plant Is Built in California
  - 1924 - First Federal Law Established to Control Pollution from the Oil Industry
  - 1927 - First Commercial Wind Turbines Sold to Generate Electricity on Remote Farms
  - 1930s - Alcohol Fuel Production Promoted to Combat the Great Depression
  - 1935 - Hoover Dam, the World’s Largest Hydroelectric Power Plant, Is Built
  - 1938 - Natural Gas Act: First Direct Federal Regulation of Natural Gas Industry
  - Dec. 1942 - First Controlled Nuclear Chain Reaction
  - 1946 - Atomic Energy Act of 1946: U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) Created
- 1951–99
  - 1950 - Petroleum Becomes Most Used Fuel in the U.S.
  - 1950s - Natural Gas Becomes a Major Fuel in the U.S. with Extensive Construction of Natural Gas Pipelines
  - Dec. 20, 1951 - First Nuclear Power Reactor to Generate Electricity Built in Idaho
  - 1953 - First Silicon Solar Cell Developed at Bell Laboratories
  - Aug. 30, 1954 - U.S. Congress Passes Atomic Energy Act of 1954
  - June 1956 - M. King Hubbert Develops the “Hubbert’s Peak Theory” for Measuring Oil Supply; Peak of U.S. Oil Production Correctly Predicted
  - Sept. 2, 1957 - Price-Anderson Nuclear Industries Indemnity Act of 1957 Passed to Stimulate the Development of the Private Nuclear Energy Industry
  - Dec. 2, 1957 - First Commercial Nuclear Power Plant Begins Operation in Shippingport, Pennsylvania
  - 1958 - First U.S. Satellite in Orbit Utilizes Solar Cells for Power
  - 1960s - General Electric (GE) Develops Hydrogen Fuel Cells to Generate Electricity for Apollo and Gemini Space Missions
  - 1960 - First Commercial Scale Geothermal Electric Plants in the U.S. Built in California
  - Sep. 10-14, 1960 - Formation of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Baghdad, Iraq
  - Jan. 28, 1969 - Santa Barbara Oil Spill Draws National Attention
  - 1970 - Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 Passed to Allow the Leasing of Federal Land for Geothermal Energy Development
  - 1970s - Solar Cells Begin to Lower in Price and Become Cost Effective for Use on Land
  - 1970 - Oil Production Peaks in the Lower 48 States
  - 1973 - OPEC Oil Embargo Against the U.S. Causes Gas Shortages and Rationing
  - Nov. 16, 1973 - Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act of 1973 Passed to Increase Domestic Oil Supplies in Wake of Oil Embargo
  - Oct. 11, 1974 - Congress Creates the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to Replace the Atomic Energy Commission
  - 1975 - Federal Involvement in Wind Energy Development Advances Wind Energy Technology
  - 1975 - Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) Standards Set by the Energy Policy Conservation Act
  - Dec. 22, 1975 - Formation of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve; President Gerald Ford Signs into Law the Energy Policy and Conservation Act
  - 1977 - Formation of the Solar Energy Research Institute
  - Apr. 18, 1977 - President Jimmy Carter Delivers Energy Speech Arguing for Conservation and Alternative Fuels
  - Aug. 3, 1977 - Federal Surface Mining Control Act Signed to Lessen Environmental Impacts of Surface Coal Mining
  - Aug. 4, 1977 - Department of Energy Organization Act Is Signed, Creating the U.S. Department of Energy
  - 1978 - World’s First Solar Powered Village: Tohono O’odham Reservation, Arizona
  - Nov. 4, 1978 - Solar Photovoltaic Energy Research, Development, and Demonstration Act of 1978
  - Mar. 28, 1979 - Three Mile Island Nuclear Accident in Pennsylvania Creates Widespread Public Opposition to Nuclear Power
  - Dec. 1980 - World’s First Wind Farm Built in New Hampshire
  - 1981 - Solar One: First Large Scale Solar-Thermal Power Plant Begins Operation in Daggett, California
  - 1981 - Construction Begins on the World’s Largest Wind Farm in California’s Altamont Pass; Bird Deaths from Wind Turbines Number in the Thousands
  - 1982 - First Complete Decontamination and Decommissioning of a Nuclear Reactor in the U.S.
  - Apr. 26, 1986 - Largest Nuclear Accident Ever Takes Place at Chernobyl in the Former Soviet Union
  - Mar. 24, 1989 - Exxon Valdez Disaster in Alaska Becomes the Largest Oil Spill in U.S. Waters
  - Jan. 23, 1990 - Congress Passes Act to Stimulate Development of Hydrogen Power
  - 1994 - U.S. Begins Importing More Petroleum Than It Produces
  - Apr. 1996 - Solar Two Plant Demonstrates Low-Cost Method of Storing Solar Energy
  - Oct. 9, 1996 - Hydrogen Future Act of 1996 Is Passed to Further Expand Hydrogen Power Development
  - 1997 - EV1 Electric Car Is Made Available to the Public for Lease; Lease Program and EV1 Later Dismantled by GM
- 2000–present
  - Feb. 2003 - President George W. Bush Unveils the Hydrogen Fuel Initiative to Promote Hydrogen Fuel Cell Development
  - Feb. 27, 2003 - Plans Announced to Build FutureGen, the World’s First Zero-Emissions Coal Power Plant
  - Nov. 9, 2005 - U.S. House Prevents Drilling for Oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
  - Nov. 17, 2007 - IPCC Report Concludes Climate Change Is Happening and Is Mostly Human Caused
  - Feb. 2008 - First Commercial Cellulosic Ethanol Plant Goes into Production in Wyoming
  - Oct. 7, 2008 - National Biofuel Action Plan Unveiled
  - Dec. 22, 2008 - Worst Coal Ash Spill in U.S. History in Kingston, Tennessee
  - Feb. 17, 2009 - American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 Contains Billions of Dollars for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Developments
  - Apr. 22, 2009 - First Framework for Wind Energy Development on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf Announced
  - May 5, 2009 - President Barack Obama Issues Presidential Directive to USDA to Expand Access to Biofuels; $786.5 Million in Biofuels Funding Announced
  - May 27, 2009 - U.S. Announces $467 Million in Recovery Act Funding for Solar Energy and Geothermal Energy Development
  - Oct. 27, 2009 - U.S. Invests $3.4 Billion to Modernize Energy Grid
  - Apr. 20, 2010 - BP Oil Rig Explodes and Causes Largest Oil Spill in U.S. History
  - Mar. 11, 2011 - Earthquake off Coast of Japan Damages Six Power Plants at Fukushima Daiichi; Nuclear Crisis Eventually Reaches Level 7, the Highest Level Possible
  - Sep. 1, 2011 - Solar Power Company Solyndra Declares Bankruptcy after Receiving $528 Million in Federal Loan Guarantees
  - Feb. 9, 2012 - U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Approves New Nuclear Power Plants for First Time Since 1978; Two New Reactors to Be Built in Georgia
  - Mar. 27, 2012 - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Announces First Clean Air Act Standard for Carbon Pollution from New Power Plants
  - Apr. 17, 2012 - EPA Issues First Clean Air Rules for Natural Gas Produced by Fracking
  - June 25, 2013 - President Obama Releases His Climate Action Plan Including Increased Use of Renewable Energy and Carbon Pollution Restrictions for Power Plants
  - Sep. 20, 2013 - EPA Issues New Proposed Rule to Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions from New Power Plants
  - Feb. 13, 2014 - Ivanpah, the World’s Largest Concentrated Solar Power Generation Plant, Goes Online
  - May 9, 2014 - President Obama Announces Solar Power Commitments and Executive Actions
  - June 2, 2014 - EPA Proposes First Rules to Reduce Carbon Emissions from Existing Power Plants
  - Sep. 22, 2014 - Rockefellers and over 800 Global Investors Announce Fossil-Fuel Divestment
  - Aug. 3, 2015 - President Obama Announces Clean Power Plan, Imposing the First Nationwide Limits on Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Power Plants
  - Mar. 28, 2017 - President Donald Trump Signs Executive Order to Begin Reversal of President Obama’s Clean Power Plan
  - July 31, 2017 - Two Nuclear Power Reactors in South Carolina Abandoned before Construction Completed
  - Dec. 22, 2017 - Tax Bill Opens Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for Oil Drilling
  - May 9, 2018 - Solar Power to Be Required on All New California Homes by 2020
  - Mar. 22, 2019 - New Mexico Commits to 100% Renewable Energy for Electricity by 2050
  - Sep. 20, 2019 - Three Mile Island to Close, Site of Worst Commercial Nuclear Accident in U.S.
  - Apr. 15, 2020 - Oil and Electricity Demands Drop during COVID-19 Pandemic
  - Apr. 2020 - Big Banks Refuse Funds for Some Fossil-Fuel Projects
  - Sep. 23, 2020 - California to Ban New Gas-Powered Cars by 2035
  - Dec. 9, 2020 - New York Says Employee Pension Fund Will Divest from Oil and Gas Companies if Not Aligned with Paris Agreement
  - Feb. 8, 2021 - Global Oil Prices Recovered from COVID-19 Pandemic
  - Mar. 29, 2021 - Biden Administration Announces Offshore Wind Initiative
  - Apr. 2021 - Indian Point Nuclear Plant to Close
  - Apr. 22, 2021 - Biden Administration Pledges to Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 50% to 52% by 2030
  - May 11, 2021 - U.S. Approves First Major American Offshore Wind Project
  - May 18, 2021 - International Energy Agency Calls for No New Fossil-Fuel Projects
  - Sep. 21, 2021 - China Announces End to Building Coal-Burning Power Plants Abroad
  - Nov. 9, 2021 - Major Automakers and Countries Pledge to Phase Out Gas-Powered Cars
  - Nov. 9, 2021 - Rolls-Royce Announces Plans to Build Nuclear Power Plants in Britain
  - Dec. 15, 2021 - New York City to Ban New Natural Gas Connections
  - Dec. 15, 2021 - Biden Administration Orders Government Fleets and Buildings to Use Alternative Energies by 2050
  - Jan. 27, 2022 - Over 80 Million Acres of Oil and Gas Leases Canceled in Gulf of Mexico
  - Apr. 7, 2022 - Stanford University Engineers Create Solar Panels That Generate Electricity at Night
  - Apr. 2022 - American Lung Association Says Switch to Zero-Emission Transportation and Noncombustion Electricity Could Save 110,000 Lives
  - May 19, 2022 - Biden Administration to Fund $3.5 Billion in Carbon Dioxide Removal via Direct Air Capture
  - Aug. 25, 2022 - California Bans Sale of New Gas-Powered Cars by 2035
  - Sept. 20, 2022 - World’s Largest Wealth Fund to Decarbonize Holdings
  - Mar. 28, 2023 - European Union Countries Agree to Phase Out New Gas-Powered Cars by 2035
  - Mar. 31, 2023 - California to Require 50% of All Heavy Vehicles Sold in State Be Electric by 2035
  - Aug. 14, 2023 - Montana Judge Rules in Favor of Youth: State Violated Their Constitutional Right to Clean Environment
  - Dec. 13, 2023 - Nearly 200 Countries Agree to Transition Away from Fossil Fuels
  - Dec. 15, 2024 - Tankers Dump 2,400 Metric Tons Oil in Black Sea in Accident
  - Jan. 3, 2025 - House Speaker Mike Johnson Declares Support for More Oil Drilling
  - Jan. 6, 2025 - Biden Administration Blocks New Coastal Oil Drilling
  - Jan. 20, 2025 - President Trump’s Day One Executive Orders Include Energy and Environmental Actions
Discussion Questions
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