What Does Being Energy Independent Mean to You?
A city can be energy independent; a company can be it; a project can be it and even a house can be it, but what does being energy independent mean to you exactly? Does it mean that you live off the grid and don 't have any utility bills? Or are you free of high energy cost because you follow tips on energy efficiency and use solar energy for night time lighting? The yard looks pretty, but is it enough to classify yourself as being energy independent?
What Is Energy Independence?
Energy independence (EI) is another way of saying that you 're energy sufficient. It 's the idea that the US would supply almost all of its own need for energy. In either case, as individuals, we may have different ideas as to
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We, the people in the US, are particularly overflowing with coal. It 's very cheap to make and to use. Burning coal however, produces high amounts of greenhouse gases unlike nuclear power or natural gas.
Chris Nelder, author and energy analyst, says that -
“Part of the reason why we’ve failed to reach energy independence for the last many many decades is because economic growth goes hand in hand with energy consumption,” says Nelder. “And our economy runs on fossil fuels. We need oil for transportation we need natural gas for things like fertilizer, and petrochemicals. And we need coal for things like steel.”
Another issue with energy independence is that we tend to use more than is initiated at home. When referring to natural gas and oil, over half comes from the American soil and the other comes from overseas. Wind and solar energy only make up two percent of the electricity outgo and the smart cars are not as popular as manufacturers hoped. For these reasons, being energy independent is not as easy as one would