In the debate between Professor Andrea Larson and U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander called Is Renewable Energy Green? , I would have taken the side of Lamar Alexander. Both sides make valid points when talking about renewable energy as the future, especially analyzing the pros and cons of using wind mill farms to harness power for the United States.
Senator Lamar Alexander uses the essay “Energy Sprawl or Energy Efficiency: Climate Policy Impacts on Natural Habitat for the United States of America” to help address the issues of using certain types of renewable energies in a large scale as a solution to America’s energy shortage. He continues to address the varying amounts of land that will have to be used just to harness the renewable energy. The wind turbines can be over 50 stories high creating disturbances in the local environment such as loud noise, wasted space, and intense lighting. It is estimated that a 1.5 megawatt wind turbine will take up around 90 acres of land and, according to the reading, 186,000 1.5 megawatt wind turbines are required to represent 20% of America’s electricity. In other words wind turbines are not the answer to America’s electricity production due to the overall land consumption of these turbines. Also wind is only available where it wants to be available. In the mid-west, where there is room to make a wind turbine farm, wind can be unpredictable and sometimes barely there. Like it says in the reading, along the coast is obviously where there is a large amount of wind but it is also where there is a large amount of people and animals. Placing wind turbines in those areas is highly unlikely because of the complexity and congestion of the surrounding environment. I also like how in his argument he gives suggestions such as energy conservation, generate electricity on developed sites, carbon regulation flexibility, and careful site selection.
Lamar Alexander mentions how using nuclear power will take a lot less land to produce 20% of America’s electricity, claiming a million megawatt hours of electricity can be produced on just one square mile of land using nuclear power. I do think that nuclear power can be a viable option for the United States if it is done safely to minimize waste and radiation as much as possible. Works Cited
Easton, T., Larson, A., & Alexander, L. 2014. Is Renewable Energy Green? In Easton, T. (ed.) Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Environmental Issues, 16th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.