Progressive environmental alarmists are wrong about climate change. Their solutions propose aren’t feasible. They’re steadfastly committed to renewable energy; however, they fail to acknowledge the volatility of these energy resources. Since solar and wind energy can only be harnessed in particular weather, the energy needs to be stored in batteries. The problem with that is we do not have the technology to store large amounts of energy for long periods of time. Until that technology exists, we have to look elsewhere for reliable sources of energy.
Some members of Congress have pushed for increased utilization of nuclear energy. While this idea has merit considering the efficiency of nuclear energy and its lack of emissions, it’s far from a perfect solution. Nuclear energy is expensive; a single gigawatt factory costs over $5 billion. For reference, a gigawatt natural gas plant costs 500 million. This doesn’t mean nuclear energy isn’t a viable source of energy for the future, but it does mean that until it gets cheaper to produce, it is not an option.
This brings us to an unconventional but historically successful solution: natural gas. In 2019, the United States emitted 32 percent less CO2 than it did in 2005. The main contributing factor to that stunning decrease was the rapid shift from coal to natural gas. Natural gas emits significantly less CO2 than coal, while also not having the concerns with storage capacity that wind and solar power do. With the current trend of decreasing coal production, natural gas is the obvious replacement. This means we can stay energy-independent while also reducing emissions.
We must also look to foreign energy sources to reduce emissions on a global scale. The United States should seek to make agreements with other nations to export natural gas to decrease reliance on coal. As Congressman Crenshaw explains, countries like India and Indonesia are heavily reliant on coal. As a result, these high-population countries are massive polluters, so a natural gas export plan has the potential to significantly reduce global emissions.
Moreover, the United States must fund new technologies that make natural gas more environmentally friendly. Several innovations in natural gas technology have decreased emissions in the industry. Technologies like carbon capture have the potential to become more widespread, with a Texas company, NET Power, gaining the ability to capture CO2 and use it to power their facility. Not only that, newer and more efficient natural gas plants have led the way in CO2 savings through innovation in fuel-mix and carbon capture technology. This type of innovation will drive emissions down while also being a reliable source of energy.
This will not be the final solution to climate change, especially as other sources of energy, including nuclear power, become more feasible. Reliability is necessary to meet our energy needs and natural gas can do so while also reducing emissions.
Time to get serious about climate change and pump more natural gas.
Ayaan Karan
Ayaan Karan is a student at California High School. Ayaan regularly writes opinion pieces on political issues for his school newspaper, The Californian. His interests include law, economics, and politics.
The views expressed in this article are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Lone Conservative staff.
@kingalayaan