Governments Should Implement Policies to Encourage the Use of Renewable Energy Resources Instead of Fossil Fuels to Conserve the Environment of a Country

Global warming is a severe problem facing the world today. Based on the 2007 Fourth Assessment Report (AR4 2007) by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), as Earth’s climate began to change due to the rise of global temperature, there will be an increased tendency for drought, melting of ice sheets in Greenland or Antarctica and this will pose a major threat to human existence. The greenhouse effect is much to be blamed for global warming as carbon dioxide accumulated at the atmosphere will prevent most of the outgoing infrared radiation at the atmosphere from escaping into outer space. The main source of carbon dioxide emission is the burning of fossil fuels to generate energy in order to meet our daily requirements. Although the dependable energy supply by fossil fuel is essential in our every day life, because of its adverse effect is why the government should implement policies to encourage the use of renewable energy resources to conserve the environment.

Fossil fuels like coal, petroleum, uranium, natural gases are non-renewable energy sources, which mean these resources cannot be re-made or regenerated. In contrast to that, renewable energy resources like hydroelectric energy, solar energy, wind energy, and geothermal energy do not deplete, or it will take a substantially long time to deplete them as it can be replenished by nature.

Statistics has shown that there is an increase in the investment of renewable energy over the pass few years, in 2007 more than $100 billion was invested in renewable energy (Renewables 2007 Global Status Report 2007, p. 16). Even China which has overtaken the United States as the world’s leading producer of greenhouse gases (cited in Joseph Kahn and Jim Yardley 2007 p.1). is switching to renewable energy resources(Renewables 2007 Global Status Report 2007, p. 8). The main reason for the switch to renewable energy is because it is environmentally-friendly and it will not affects the balance of the ecosystem. Take solar power for example, solar panels do not produce smoke, carbon dioxide or other chemical pollutants. There is no pollution and it does not contribute to the greenhouse effect. Whereas mining and transporting fossil fuels may cause environmental issues and dangers to organisms including us human. Mining of coal can ruining landscaping and sometimes causes death to coal miners (fuel Sources cited in the_elmel 2006, p. 1). The transportation of crude oil may lead to oil spill if safety precautions are not taken, like the recent oil spill in South Korea on 9th December 2007, which caused an environmental disaster, kills many aquatic and living organisms in the sea (Choe Sang-Hun 2007). In short, renewable energy is eco-friendly with its clean source of power, it will not cause any possible environmental disaster.

Apart from that, the use of renewable energy also boosts the economy of a country. As the world facing an energy crisis, energy prices have increased greatly during the past year. To utilize the situation, renewable energy produced by a country can be exported to other countries to generate more income. Scotland has begun to exporting green energy using underwater cables (cited in West 2006) to other countries like Norway and the United Kingdom. This will give a country to create huge economic benefits. Furthermore, it will also help boost the eco-tourism in the country and increase the country’s revenue, which also boost the economy of the country. La Gracioca, Santa Isabel and San Francisco del Mar located in Guatemala, America is equipped with solar power system and wind turbine to generate electricity for the locals as it is a vital protected area where several aquatic and marine species live (Using Renewable Energy to Promote Ecotourism). The communities also attract visitors to Guatemala and at the same time help boost the country’s economy. The incomes generated by exporting renewable energy can be use to compensate the initial investment and also can be used to develop other sectors of the country.

Furthermore, using renewable energy does