Conventional and alternative energy sources.

1. Fossil Fuel – The long term sustainability of fossil fuels is none existent due to the millions of years it takes to create and the current rate of consumption. According to the projections we’ll run out of fossil fuels within the next 100 years.
2. Solar – This technology has long-term sustainability due to the use of sunlight a free renewable resource. Today Solar technology works even in climates that don’t receive high levels of constant sunlight.
3. Hydroelectric – This is a great sustainable resource for power production. Like in the case of the Hover Dame mass amounts of power can be produced without long-term environmental effects. The down falls to this technology is the building cost and geographical location where they can be built.
4. Nuclear – This new energy source to produce power is efficient in concept but produces a large amount of highly reactive waste. Currently the United States is not equipped with the disposal facilities to handle the bi product of Nuclear power. This in my opinion make it a none sustainable resource.
5. Wind – This power is sustainable in locations that offer a constant source of wind. Large scale power production from wind is still on the expensive side but as the technology goes it will become increasingly more cost efficient.

The Union of Concerned Scientists has created a clean energy blueprint. One component of this blueprint is efficiency standards on furnaces and automobiles. The CAFE standards for automobiles stipulate that a company's cars must average a certain fuel mileage. The diagram below illustrates the effects of the new standards proposed in the blueprint. Look at the savings in millions of barrels per day and compare those values to our daily consumption of petroleum (175 million barrels for North America).

By looking at the diagram below and comparing current usage to savings under the clean energy blueprint there would be substantial savings of oil. With the current consumption of oil at 175 million barrels a day the clean energy blueprint would save an estimated 230 million barrels of oil in the year 2008.

The clean energy blueprint also finds that the US can meet at least 20 percent of its electricity needs by renewable energy sources-wind, biomass, geothermal, and solar-by 2020. This would reportedly save the US consumers $440 billion by the year 2020. By the clean energy blueprint this would also reduce the need for 975 new power plants and reduce the need for natural gas by 31% and coal by 60%.

The clean energy blueprint is a large undertaking and would require multiple industries to participate. This could be difficult due to the changes could eliminate the need for their industry.

References

ucsusa.org. Retrieved November 9, 2008, from www.ucsusa.org Web site: http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/solutions/big_picture_solutions/clean-energy-blueprint-a.html

Retrieved November 9, 2008, from ian.umces.edu Web site: http://ian.umces.edu/