There’s a very encouraging article by Clifford Krauss in today’s New York Times about the long-term viability of today’s high interest in renewable energy and green technologies. As the article notes, high oil prices in the 1970s led to similar discussions about alternative energy, but that talk quickly faded as oil prices fell, and it was back to fossil fuel business-as-usual in the 1980s and 1990s.
Fortunately, we don’t appear to be in for a repeat of that situation. According to the article, which is based upon a new study by Cambridge Energy Research Associates, “Multiple factors will continue pushing the world toward greater use of alternative energy sources like sun and wind power, regardless of what happens to oil prices. ‘The focus today on clean energy is not a bubble or passing phenomenon,’ the report says. ‘Unconventional clean energy is now poised to cross the divide and move from the fringes of the energy sector to the mainstream.’ What makes today different from the 1970s is growing apprehension about global warming as a threat to political security and the environment, according to the report. That is pushing governments to demand, and subsidize, greater use of alternative energy.”
Climate change and energy issues are of increasing importance to voters nationwide, and politicians on both sides of the aisle are taking notice and working on policy solutions. It’s good to see that interest in these issues might not be just another passing fad, but the onset of a new green revolution.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 6th, 2008 at 5:15 pm and is filed under Alternative Energy Technology, Climate Change . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
