YWACC's Original Proposal

Explore the foundations of our organization created in 2017!

Environmental Problem

Climate change is a major issue that threatens the future of humanity on Earth. Over the last 150 years there has been a warming trend originating from the burning of fossil fuels. As the Earth gets hotter, the ice caps will melt, sea levels will rise, and oceans will become more acidic. NASA states that, “The heat-trapping nature of carbon dioxide and other gases was demonstrated in the mid-19th century. Their ability to affect the transfer of infrared energy through the atmosphere is the scientific basis of many instruments flown by NASA. There is no question that increased levels of greenhouse gases must cause the Earth to warm in response.”

The largest problem with many nonrenewable energy sources is the amount of CO2 they produce. The amount of CO2 in the atmosphere has risen in recent decades due to rapid industrialization. Dangerous levels of CO2 in the environment is a main cause for global warming and climate change. If carbon dioxide emissions are not reduced, global temperature will increase more rapidly in the future.

Nonrenewable energy also is often bad for animal habitats. Drilling for oil frequently damages marine and land ecosystems, threatening animals that live those areas. Oil is one of the most widely used sources for energy worldwide. As the world consumes more energy, wildlife ecosystems are are damaged. Other sources of energy, such as coal, harm the atmosphere by creating air pollution, which is also dangerous for humans who are forced to breathe in bad air. In places like China, toxic smog has killed thousands in recent years.

Nonrenewable energy sources are the most widely used forms of energy in the world.

Coal, oil, and natural gas are all considered nonrenewable sources. They take millions of years to develop under Earth’s surface, and at the rate they are being used they will all eventually run out. Expanding the use of sustainable energy can help prepare for the time when humanity will no longer be able to depend on these sources. Renewable energy, such as wind or solar, can be cleaner, more efficient, and better for the environment.

One reason that nonrenewable energy is more widely used than renewable energy is due to the fact that it is often much cheaper. The oil drilling industry makes billions of dollars each year, and people use oil to power their transportation and heat their homes. The transition to sustainable energy will not be an overnight process, and it will likely take decades to achieve a world mostly powered by renewable sources. However, many cities have vowed to make efforts to go mostly or all solar powered. Reykjavik, Iceland, is powered almost entirely by geothermal power. In the coming years, more and more places in the US and around the world will likely increase their use of sustainable energy.

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Possible Solutions

The most common type of renewable energy is hydroelectric power. Energy is produced when water from a reservoir flows through a turbine, which activates a generator. Hydropower expels minimal pollution, and the water needed to run the plant is supplied naturally. Hydropower does not completely come without costs, as it can disturb fish or wildlife habitats. It can be costly to install, and requires a running stream nearby.

Solar energy is also another form of sustainable energy that is gaining in popularity. Solar panels generate energy by collecting photons from the sun. In recent years, solar panels have become cheaper, making them a more affordable option for both businesses and residential homes. On the downside, solar panels can be very weather dependent, as their efficiency level depends on the amount of sunlight received. They can also take up a lot of space. Despite all of that, some of the benefits of using solar panels include a low maintenance cost and a reduced cost in energy bills.

The most prominent effort to increase the use of sustainable energy, or to reduce the effects of CO2 emissions overall, would be government acts such as the Paris Climate Agreement, that ensure that all participating governments are actively trying to reduce their CO2 emissions. There has also been an increase in the number of areas that are now completely or primarily powered by renewable resources. “Data ...found that 101 of the more than 570 cities on its books sourced at least 70% of their electricity from renewable sources in 2017, compared to 42 in 2015.” (The Guardian).

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Action We’re Taking

According to a report from 2017, renewable sources contributed to only 10% of all energy in the U.S. (“Renewable Energy Record Set in U.S.” National Geographic). As small as that number is, it was the highest percent of energy produced by renewable sources ever in the United States where renewable energy is easily dwarfed by other sources such as oil and coal. Increasing the use of renewable energy could have many benefits for the environment and improve the future here on Earth. As previously mentioned, they don’t have the carbon footprint that other energy sources, such as oil, have. Renewable energy sources are also more reliable in the long run, because they will never become unavailable. They also will increase public health, as reduced pollution is better for our air.

The action we want to take is to write up a detailed proposal and gain support to advocate for more renewable energy sources to be installed at Porter’s, or even further our cause statewide. Renewable energy is sometimes dismissed as impractical or overly expensive, but the benefits of switching to sustainable energy far outweigh the downsides. At Porter’s, solar panels were recently installed on the Pool and Squash building. However, Connecticut is one of the states using the least amount of renewable energy. The EIA ranks Connecticut 40th out of the 50 states, with only 4.2% of energy in Connecticut being supplied by renewable sources. Our goal is to increase that percentage by raising awareness about the benefits of sustainable energy.