Nathan Smith

ENG 1201

Prof.Kretzer

3/21/2021
What energy sources are most efficient and best to use for the U.S ?

There are many different types of energy sources to be harnessed on planet

Earth, although only a few reign supreme and are most commonly used by us. Fossil

fuels are the most commonly used form of energy, The only problem with that is there is

a limited amount and also it is very hazardous to our environment and atmosphere. That

is why we must explore other solutions to heal and power our planet.

To break down the percent usages of these different types of energy in the U.S.

Most of the energy we use originates from nuclear reactions from our Sun. based on

sources from the National Academies of Sciences, 39% of U.S energy from all sources

is used to generate electricity. In 2015 roughly 81% of energy usage in the United

States was fossil fuels,including most of the electricity, 20% of our electricity was

generated by nuclear fuel, and about 10% of our energy came from renewable energy

sources, like wind,solar, and hydro(“The National Academies Presents: What You Need to

Know About Energy.” Our Energy Sources) . There are more emerging technologies that

will become more widespread in the future but are not commonly used now such as

Biofuels,Nuclear fission and Hydrogen Fuel Cells.

Fossil fuels are the most commonly used form of energy in the world, fossil fuels

include oil,coal and natural gas, these energy sources are non-renewable. According to

NS Energy out of all the fossil fuels used 39% of it is Oil, 28% is Coal and 22% is Gas.
These sources of energy are used at a much higher rate than others yet are incredibly

harsh on the atmosphere and are driving us towards destroying our Earth. For this

reason we must rely on other types of energy that are renewable and safe for the

environment. We won't be able to get our fossil fuel consumption to 0 perhaps ever but

we can use less to save the planet.

Renewable energy sources are the best for the environment and often the

cheapest source of energy to use, not including the government subsidies that you can

qualify for switching to green energy. Duke energy states that “17% of energy usage in

the U.S was renewable-nearly twice the 9% recorded in 2009, We are expected to

exceed 30% in the next 10 years, by 2030.”. The top 5 renewable energy sources being

used in the U.S today are in the following order: Wind, Hydropower, Solar, Geothermal,

and finally Emerging & Emissions Boosters.Wind energy provides electricity for about

7% of the U.S, with 60,000 turbines across 41 states( “Top 5 Commercial Renewable

Energy Sources.” Duke Energy). Wind is the most commonly used form of renewable

energy and it will only expand,expected to account for nearly half of renewable energy

in the next ten years. The second most commonly used form of green energy is

Hydropower, the United States has 2500 dams in 41 states and two territories, this

provides 22 GW of hydropower stored for the U.S. “Two of the world's largest

hydroelectric dams are the Three Gorges Dam in China, which generates 22.5

gigawatts of energy and the Itaipu Dam on the Brazil/Paraguay border, which generates

14 GW. The largest dam in North America is the Grand Coulee Dam in Washington

State, which generates only about 7 megawatts.”(Deziel 9/9/19 Rivers and Streams).
Solar energy is the third most commonly used energy source is the U.S accounting for

6% of our energy. Researchers estimate that our solar energy usage could go up by

nearly 700% in the next 25 years. The next energy sources used by the U.S are

Geothermal and Emerging renewables and emissions reducers, both if these are fairly

new methods of energy and lack much widespread usage but are sure to have a role in

the future.

According to Enova Energy Group although only 41% of the U.S electricity uses

coal it accounts for 80% of our plant carbon emissions, burning these harmful fuels can

lead to smog, acid rain, soot, and global warming. Not only that but coal also produces

carbon emissions during every stage of its production process, from the mining to the

transportation and burning. Natural gases are another fossil fuel used that stays true to

its name and is awful for the environment and releases harsh pollutants, natural gas fuel

can be found by fracking which is an awful way to destroy your environment,

Unfortunately we are very dependent on this so we can not stop right away. Nuclear

energy is incredibly efficient and almost the perfect energy source to use to power our

country, the only downfall is that it can be very dangerous if mishandled such as

chernobyl and also we have no way to dispose of the nuclear waste other than to store

or bury it. Geothermal and Solar energy are the cleanest sources of energy we can use

on Earth. Geothermal energy is captured by capturing the heat of rocks beneath the

earth's crust and turning it into steam energy with water. This is a very clean energy but

can only be used in certain parts of the world. Solar energy can be captured with solar

panels, this allows the collection of the Sun's energy to be stored, while this is a very
clean and safe energy source it also depends on where you live in the world and if your

panels can get direct sunlight for long enough to store enough power to power your

house/lifestyle.

As long as fossil fuels are the most used source of energy for the U.S and the

world the more trouble our planet will be in and the closer we get from tipping over the

point of no return and we just permanently start killing our planet. Fossil fuels are not

renewable so we could use it all up, they are killing our planet and polluting our

environment, also when irresponsibly used can be very dangerous. Although when we

start tal;king about renewables again they bring so many positives. Renewable energy

create 5 times more jobs than fossil fuels according to the US department of energy

All in all as a country we must fight to better our environment and save our planet

from being destroyed and becoming uninhabitable. This starts with decreasing our

usage of fossil fuels and boosting our usage of renewable and safe energy, I don't

believe as a country we would be able to handle dropping all of our fossil fuel usage

tomorrow, but we could speed up our transition into the future of energy. Climate

change is happening across the world right now, whether you believe it is man-made or

not it is undeniable our planet's climate is changing and we must try to combat this.
 Work Cited

Deziel, Chris. “What Are the Major Energy Sources on the Earth?” Sciencing, 9 Sept.

2019, sciencing.com/major-energy-sources-earth-6317720.html.

“Energy Sources.” Energy.gov, www.energy.gov/science-innovation/energy-sources.

Enova Energy Group, www.enovaenergygroup.com/which-types-of-energy-source-

produces-the-most-pollution/.

Patti, Aubrey. The Future of Energy, 1 Mar. 2016,

futureofenergy.web.unc.edu/2016/03/01/energy-sources-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/.

“The National Academies Presents: What You Need to Know About Energy.” Our Energy

Sources -, needtoknow.nas.edu/energy/energy-sources/.
“The World's Most Used Energy Sources.” NS Energy, 18 Dec. 2015,

www.nsenergybusiness.com/news/newsthe-worlds-most-used-energy-sources-4757903/.

“The World's Most Used Renewable Power Sources.” Power Technology@2x, 5 Mar.

2021, www.power-technology.com/features/featurethe-worlds-most-used-renewable-

power-sources-4160168/.

“Top 5 Commercial Renewable Energy Sources.” Duke Energy, www.duke-

energy.com/renewable-energy/resources/top-5-renewable-energy-sources.