Imagine your children living in Beijing and being able to see the Forbidden City from their apartment window. The sky and water as clear as a polished off crystal. There would be no more need to buy water as you would be able to drink from the tap. Little children would be able to watch the moon through their telescope and laugh at how it looks like cheese. Your children’s electrical bill would have been lowered giving them the money to support you. This is no longer a dream, this will be reality. Alternative energy can and will effectively replace our long-hated fossil fuels.

First off, the threats to a country’s energy is everywhere, from natural disasters to terrorism, to faulty infrastructure and the irresistible urge for fuels that destroy the environment. Not to mention that the supply and demand is controlled by the international market place, so even if a country like the US reduce their dependence on the Middle East, then it will affect the amount of US imports. In fact, a disturbance in the output anywhere (e.g. an attack on an oil pipeline in Niger or a hurricane in the Gulf) can affect the oil supplies everywhere (ProCon). One way of changing this terrible loop is by using regulations and tax policy to create motivation and give the governments a chance to change to a greener alternative that is also more sustainable. Because of the fact that countries like the US cannot meet the needs of its citizens’ growing need for non-renewable energy sources, it will become less secure due to its dependence on foreign sources for the US’s major portions of its supplies, regardless of what it believes about drilling. Our lifestyle of unhealthy energy consumption will create a race among the countries for more of these fossil fuels. Of course, one way to avoid mutually assured destruction is to simply start converting to renewable energy sources.

Not only can alternative energy increase a country’s independence and security, but solar power can is an economical alternative to fossil fuels. Although oil prices are dropping, the Deutsche Bank believe that normal electricity will rival solar electricity in increasingly more markets. This is due to the fact that the cost of solar panels is dropping, and they are getting much easier to install. This solar power only costs $0.08-$0.13/kWh, this is 30-40% below the average cost of fossil fuel on many of markets worldwide. By 2015, the ratio of solar electricity wholesale to coal-based wholesale was 2:1, compared to 2011, which was 7:1. From 2008 to 2015, the overall CAGR of solar panels has decreased by about 15% (Deutsche Bank on ProCon). In March of 2017, there was a poll conducted on what the peoples believes to renewable energy is. There are seven in ten who would prefer that alternative energy be developed more versus oil, gas, and coal. 59% of the people believe that protecting the environment is more important than using fossil fuels (Huffington Post).

Last, but not least, hydrogen could dominate over electricity in the US. First of all, Hydrogen is most commonly produced with an electrolyzer, which is a device that uses electricity to separate the hydrogen and oxygen in water and it is an emission free way to carry energy. The renewable energy is connected with transportation, stationary, and portable energy needs by hydrogen. For example, hydrogen could be utilized to turn renewable resources into fuel, which is then used for vehicles. One of the main goals in the renewable energy world is to be able to power transportation with hydrogen that is both renewable and emissions free. You might ask questions like these: but what if the sun isn’t out? How will solar power produce power? Well, this is answered by hydrogen-based energy. Hydrogen can increase power reliability when stored in a battery. If hydrogen was produced during the time when solar panels don’t work, then it would provide constant power using fuel cells and engines.           

But why should I generate electricity twice? Wouldn’t it be easier to simply generate the electricity once? These are the questions that are asked by most people when they hear of hydrogen electricity. This is because the normal electricity can only be stored in plain old batteries, which are a nuisance when it comes to transport and recharging them. Hydrogen, however, can be stored at a much lower cost. (ProCon) Conventional combustion engines only get around 15-20 percent of all the energy in gasoline. The normal power grid only has a 33 percent efficiency, but hydrogen fuel cells can give 40-65 percent of the stored hydrogen electricity (Amory Lovins, RMI).

There are 7 billion and 600 million people on the planet. ABC News predicts that the world population will stop at 9 billion people by 2070. After the population stops growing, it will actually start to decline (ABC News). Overpopulation will be one of the few things we would have to worry about by then. We would only be able to see a few meters ahead of us, need masks to prevent from breathing toxic air, and the prices of clean water would rise tremendously. This is why we must start using alternative energy. Not to mention the fact that it can increase a country’s security and independence. We could finally get rid of electricity, and replace it with hydrogen, and we could power said hydrogen with solar energy. Think about the world that your children want to live in: a world with clear blue skies and the sound of bird chirping or a world with constant gray skies and no visible trees for countless kilometers.

                                                                      MLA

Works Cited

Abraham, David, MA. "Will Alternative Energy Development Increase US Energy Independence and Security?" ProCon, 20 11 2008. Accessed 27 Oct. 2018.

"Can Solar Energy Ever Fully Replace Fossil Fuels?" EcoMarkSolar, 21 Apr. 2016. Accessed 18 Oct. 2018.

Cohen, Steven. "Why Renewable Energy Will Replace Fossil Fuels." Huffington Post, Oath, 17 July 2017. 3. Accessed 18 Oct. 2018.

Onion, Amanda. "Study: World Population to Stop Growing." ABC News. Accessed 31 Oct. 2018.

Shah, Vishal, and Jerimiah Booream-Phelps. "Is Solar Power an Economical Alternative to Conventional Energy?" ProCon, 22 July 2015. Accessed 29 Oct. 2018.

"Should Hydrogen (vs. Electricity) Be the Dominant Energy in the US?" ProCon, 3 Feb. 2009. Accessed 29 Oct. 2018.