According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), in 2011, petroleum constituted about 36% of total US energy usage. Many people say that we need to convert to wind and solar . . . NOW! However, according to the EIA, renewable energy only constitutes about 9%, where 35% of that is hydro-power, and wind and solar constitute 13% and 2% respectively. What . . . in . . . the . . .world! If we converted entirely to renewable energy sources, it would not be able to keep up with our infrastructure.
How can we lessen our dependency on oil? Well, another important energy source is natural gas, which constitutes about 26% of total US energy usage. I think that it is a good substitute because it can be used as an automotive fuel, and it burns cleaner than gasoline. Natural gas has a high energy yield and emits less carbon dioxide than oil and coal, which will help decrease greenhouse emissions. In the near future, the US should ban fracking due to its environmental impacts and because the supply of natural gas is already so abundant that fracking is not needed for the time being.
Now, there are drawbacks. Natural gas is still a non-renewable fuel that emits carbon dioxide and contains methane, which is a potent greenhouse gas. Also, it is explosive and requires pipelines to transport it.
We have gradually become dependent on oil, and it will take time to get off of that dependence. We should not abruptly change our energy usage to renewable sources because that transition would be costly and could hurt our economy. By using natural gas as transition fuel, we can economically become a cleaner world. Yet, we shouldn't become dependent on natural gas 50 years from now. What I'm saying is that we should allow natural gas to take the place of oil, so that renewable sources have the time to become more economically viable and efficient.
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