An article on the Bloomberg.com website explores how the United States is starting to approach energy self-sufficiency with rising oil output, developing shale gas fields and growth in renewable sources.
“U.S. communities routinely use zoning laws to control where businesses may operate in a neighborhood. Now there’s a move to zone the ocean. A number of coastal states and the federal government have fledgling plans to coordinate competing uses for their off-shore waters.” Quoted from Voice of America.
The Energy Information Administration has an article that explores the sources of primary energy in the United States. Primary energy includes petroleum, natural gas, coal, nuclear fuel, and renewable energy.
Myanmar suspended construction of a $3 billion dam on the Irrawaddy River because it would cause environmental and social damage. The dam was to provide electricity to China.
The Wall Street Journal has a very interesting article titled: “Inconvenient Truths About ‘Renewable’ Energy”. The article takes a detailed look at the renewable sources of energy and how realistically they can be scaled and sustained.
The Grand Millennium Dam will be a hydropower plant in the Nile River basin that will generate 5250 megawats of electricity. The project has generated disagreements on how irrigation water will be shared and who will benefit from the generated power. It will be one of the largest dams in Africa.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories has a very interesting chart that maps energy sources such as natural gas, solar and coal with energy uses such as electricity generation, residential, transportation, etc. Check it out.
The United States has a greater fuel diversity today than at any time in its history. There are also more options available for future growth, yet this is also a time of great concern about energy choices for the future.
In a TED: Ideas Worth Spreading talk, Mark Jacobson and Stewart Brand debate the question: “Does the world need nuclear energy?” They both attack the question by considering the alternatives.
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