Our beautiful planet, billions of years old, is the only home we know and have for now. Its history has been marked by turmoil and constant change, but the last 10,000 years are known as the Holocene epoch. A period where the conditions on Earth have been perfect for the sustainability of living organisms, making it one of the most stable periods of our planet’s long history.
The beautiful conditions we’ve been enjoying since allowed human civilization to thrive in harmony with the natural changes occurring regularly. It allowed us to precisely navigate the night sky and, therefore, the oceans to make the best use of the ocean’s tides and migration of animals. We’ve thrived in this epoch and achieved amazing things, conquered milestones, and even went to space. Yet, the last 100 years have been a challenge for our planet more than the past 10,000 years together. Pollution, global warming, the intense use of fossil fuels, the waste we’ve been producing, and the species of animals that went extinct tell us something. Our planet is sick. It needs time to readapt, recover, and become again its old self.
The only way to do so is by changing our perspective altogether. At one point, we’ll have to accept the fact that the way we keep the world going now is not sustainable in the long run. One small step in that direction is to change the fuels we’ve been using. Renewable energy might be just the thing we need as a species, not only to survive but to thrive as well. In the text below, we’ll discuss why it’s imperative to make the shift and how to do it.
Mitigating Climate Change
The burning of fossil fuels creates a chain effect that puts a fair amount of distress on our planet’s fragile ecosystem. Fossil fuels are a primary driver for the greenhouse effect, as gas and carbon emissions are slowly causing the rise of global temperatures, melting the ice caps and causing sea levels to rise, animal migrations to change, and disrupting fragile ecosystems that solely rely on our planet working like clockwork. Transitioning to renewable energy can have a tremendously positive effect on the planet as it reduces carbon emissions and instead utilizes the power of the planet itself. Solar, wind, and hydraulic power are becoming the forerunners for sustainability.
Reduced Air Pollution and Health Risks
As opposed to fossil fuels, renewable energy sources produce almost no waste or emission, making the air we breathe safer. The air pollutants accumulating together with sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter are becoming more and more associated with different widespread illnesses, such as a higher risk of developing lung cancer at a young age, together with allergies, cardiovascular problems, and other conditions. The pollutants are a result of coal-fired power, but renewables are game changers and can greatly improve and lower the risk of sickness associated with bad air quality.
Enhancing Energy Security
One interesting take on the whole matter is the security of nations and their countries if they solely rely on fossil fuels and energy sources that have a certain expiration date. Dependence on these fuels for energy production can have devastating outcomes for the well-being of millions if the global fuel trade changes due to geopolitical factors, price volatility, and possible disruptions of supply. Several major crises in the past 60 years have been linked to fuel supply as nations are building their whole economy and infrastructure around these temporary sources of energy. For example, renewable energy trends in the UK and other countries of Europe have allowed them to become more independent, offering greater energy security and resilience to shocks in the global energy market. Hydro, wind, and solar production in the UK increased by 2 percent per year. This sudden rise and shift to more sustainable options give the nation great energy security. In the long run, the country can plan major development projects as the path ahead seems steady.
The same can be applied to all countries making the change and choosing more eco-friendly options, saving the planet while saving themselves at the same time.
Creating New Economic Opportunities
Another thing to consider when it comes to countries’ renewable energy shifts is the chance to open new job opportunities and many new branches of the economy, strengthening our society as a whole.
Imagine all the creations, innovations, and investments in clean energy technology. Not only does it create completely new jobs, but it also allows existing companies to add to their rich plethora of inventions. Take, for example, the car industry, which is always associated with fuel burning and carbon emissions. Newer models are going in a different direction with hybrid vehicles or fully charged electric cars. This and many other examples show how the shift can be beneficial and useful.
Fostering Technological Innovation
We mentioned how the shift to renewable energy sources can create new job opportunities and enhance a country’s economy. That is possible because the whole shift is a technological marvel. Though we as humans have been known to tame the wild and utilize the gifts our planet gave us, the innovations are preceding even our expectations. We are making groundbreaking findings in energy storage, grid integration, and efficiency, and all this allows us to have a cleaner future.
Preserving Ecosystems and Biodiversity
Perhaps the most important reason why we should make the shift to renewable energy sources is because our beautiful Earth can only take so much. After a certain point, the amount of damage we do might become irreversible, and though nature has its ways to rejuvenate itself, we as a species don’t. It is not only our survival but rather the survival of natural habitats. Deforestation, emission of gases, and pollution are causing devastating effects on more species than we can count. Polar caps melting, for example, has quite an effect on polar bears as their natural environment changes, making finding food harder for the species each year. The migration of whales, for example, and their sonal navigation can be disrupted by all the noise oil rigs have been causing. All these factors make it hard for other species to survive and exist.
The longer we wait, the slimmer the chances of reversible damage. Renewable energy is the future, a slogan we often see and hear, but many feel as though there is nothing much we can do about it. Many believe that our whole system has become so reliant on fuel sources such as gas and oil that we don’t know how to make the change. But, we forget one thing: humans have an amazing instinct to adapt. Let’s give it some thought: the pyramids were built without the help of fuel-powered machines. Human ingenuity can find ways to make it possible, but it’s just a matter of time and will.
