American Analysis: American Energy Will Save the Environment

American Energy Will Save the Environment

"We are the first generation to feel the effect of climate change

and the last generation who can do something about it".

President Barack Obama

Climate Change is an existential threat to some and a hoax to others. From my perspective, I am not intelligent enough to presume certainty, nor do I have enough elements of judgment. Any guessing could be right or wrong, but can any of us afford to be wrong on this one?

Humanity is in a proverbial Catch-22: the burning of fossil fuels is the only immediate answer to the global energy demand, and the green revolution is not yet ready for prime time. Future energy developments like Fusion, Hydrogen Cells, miniature nuclear reactors, and unimaginable scientific surprises … are close but will not arrive on time.

Meanwhile, a new crisis is brewing under the radar. The world is rushing to develop artificial intelligence, and guess what? We now need to double energy production everywhere. Microsoft is buying the controversial Three-Mile Island Nuclear Plant just to supply some of its computers. How fast can we now build nuclear plants in America? How fast can China, India, Russia, Europe, and the rest of the nations catch up?

We must accept that a voracious consumption of energy in all its forms is inevitable around the world and that fossil fuels are the only immediate answer. However, not all fossil fuels are the same. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), natural gas is a relatively clean-burning fossil fuel; burning natural gas for energy results in fewer emissions of nearly all types of air pollutants and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions than burning coal or petroleum products to produce an equal amount of energy. Ergo, the more natural gas we produce, the less coal and oil the world will burn. It is the sensible first step to doing something significant in the international struggle to reduce environmental damage.

We have the most natural gas to supply the world, and we can bring it to market faster than anyone else. Let’s do our part to protect the planet. We can and should become the dominant energy source on Earth. The inherent economic bonanza will expand our ability to gradually balance our national budget, reduce our national debt, reconstruct our physical and human infrastructures, and much more …