Environmental issues?

Question

The U.S. continues to increase the use of coal and petroleum even though many alternative energy sources are available. Discuss the reasons for this behavior.

Answer 1

I would guess it's because it's cheap, easy and convenient - at least in the short term any way. But it's also proved itself to be a shot in the foot for the US.

America is one of only two countries that hasn't ratified the Kyoto Protocol - an agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions; the other country is Australia. So whilst the rest of the world are developing new technologies and making impressive scientific advances the US is getting left behind and becoming increasingly insular.

To cite a couple of examples - the Japanese and French are leading the way in fuel efficient vehicles, American motor manufacturers such as Ford and GM have not made any improvements in fuel economy. Consequently worldwide sales of Nissan, Honda, Citroen, Peugeot etc have increased significantly much to the detriment of Ford, GM etc who have seen a 24% reduction in vehicle sales.

Similarly, around the world new technologies have and are being developed as alternatives to fossil fuels and there are massive international markets for these goods and services. America is losing out in a big way and it's the countries that are adopting environmentally sound programs that are doing well.

I think where the US has gone terribly wrong is by politicising environmental issues, this has caused much controversy amongst it's citizens with many stating that the need for alternative energy sources is a scare tactic and not backed up by any real evidence. The US is the only country where this is happening, around the world politicians didn't much involve themselves with environmental issues and let their citizens make up their own minds based on the science that was available. Consequently the rest of the world is now pushing it's politicians and industries to 'go green' and they are responding.

Answer 2

the only reasons i can think of is the consumers. Though there are more energy sources available to us, we would have to make major changes that the average person cannot afford. Sure, we could switch over to ethanol, rather thas gas, but you would have to have a car that can burn it efficiently.