Can We Have Our Cake & Eat It Too? Leadership, Energy, & the Environment

---

In October of 1879, Thomas Edison invented the light bulb. This invention forever changed the course of human history. Since then, technology has taken off and is now so rooted in modern civilization that it is difficult to imagine spending even fifteen minutes without a cell phone or computer. Our primary energy consumption has increased nearly 3 fold since 1950, and it is hard to imagine that we will ever recede to those levels due to technology and population increases. As our energy consumption has increased over the years, so has environmental damage and climate change. We are in a very important stage of our history. We have an opportunity to move forward and continue to create a future where we generate energy without adding to climate change or pollution. It is time to rise to the occasion and begin to make that future a reality.

So how do we create energy that we need to power our devices and lives while being responsible and doing less damage to our planet? The answer is complex and requires excellent leadership to carry it out and influence others to do the same. One of the largest challenges about energy generation, pollution, and climate change is that most of the consequences are not instant. It is easy to put off issues that aren’t immediate in order to take care of current problems. But how will our decisions today affect our children and grandchildren? Leaders need to be able do what is right, not what is easy. We need to set the right direction: taking care of the needs of the present, while looking forward and anticipating the needs and issues of the future. Energy is both a present and future need with present and future consequences.

We need to use a diverse mix of energy sources, with a real emphasis on renewable sources. We need leaders who understand that we need to increase our renewable energy generation in a big way and that all energy is a double-edged sword. In 2015, 10% of US energy came from renewable sources. There is a way to create energy and profits while doing the right thing for others and our environment. As current and/or future leaders of organizations, companies, towns, states, and countries, we need to apply the same ideology of great leadership, vision, and responsibility to energy generation. It is time to rise to the occasion and find ways to create the energy we need while decreasing the harm we do to the environment and people that live in it.

Traditional sources of energy, like coal and gas, are a part our current energy portfolio used in order to create the amount of energy that we need. However, they will continue to do harm to the environment and people, increase the damage done during energy generation and consumption, become scarcer, and will eventually run out; we can only use oil and coal for so long.

Natural gas is a step in the right direction and is seen as a more favorable and less environmentally harmful option, since it burns much cleaner than gas or coal and is a cost-efficient source of energy. However, hydraulic fracturing, the main process used in extracting natural gas, produces large amounts of waste and slurry, which is difficult and expensive to properly dispose of. We need to switch our focus towards more renewable and environmentally friendly methods of energy generation.

Nuclear is another method to create large amounts of energy. Nuclear power generation does not create any greenhouse gas emissions. Nuclear has two major disadvantages: safety/security and nuclear waste. As we saw with meltdown of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in 2011, there can be major safety issues if things go wrong. There is also the issue of what to do with the nuclear waste.

Luckily, there are several different methods of producing renewable energy, each with its advantages and disadvantages. This is why we need a combination of several methods of renewable energy generation on a large scale basis. Renewable energy, such as wind and solar, is already known to most people. Wind and solar have the capability of producing quality energy without CO2 emissions, mining, or hydraulic fracturing. However, like any other form of energy generation, they also have their draw backs.

Wind energy has the capability to transform wind into usable energy with no environmental waste or CO2 produced. This makes wind a very important part of large scale renewable energy generation. It is important to keep in mind that wind energy cannot operate 24/7, due to issues like extreme weather and bird concerns. Also, wind energy cannot be produced in certain areas of the country because of a lack of wind.

Solar energy has the ability to transform the sun’s radiation in to usable energy across the US, making it another important large-scale renewable energy generation source. The challenges facing solar are that it is expensive, PV solar has about 15-16% efficiency, and it takes large amounts of land for commercial use.

Other forms of renewable source include geothermal (in which thermal energy from the earth’s crust is used to produce energy), hydropower (which uses water to produce energy), biomass (which uses renewable sources like algae to produce energy), and biofuel (which consists of burning renewable fuel sources to produce energy). All of these methods are very exciting, but are not yet as scalable and efficient as wind or solar energy. We need to focus on all forms and energy and find ways in which to make these methods become a larger part of our renewable energy portfolio.

We all want leaders that have a clear and inspiring vision to make things better in our lives. More importantly, we need leaders that can take their vision and make it a reality. Energy is so important to our everyday lives, as is clean air and water. With the right vision and leadership, there is no need for us to have to decide between having energy and being environmentally friendly. We can do the right thing for our generation and for future generations. We can profit in the present, generate large amounts of energy, and deal with climate change. We have the resources and methods to create renewable energy on a large scale, across the world. Some of these methods are not currently as cost-effective as we would like. It is important to remember that humans are innovators and inventors. There will be better ways to create larger amounts of scalable renewable energy as time goes by. As leaders and future leaders, we need to turn our attention and focus to energy and our environment.

The dichotomy between energy generation and the environmental issues is not a problem that is easily solved. But we are on the right track. As leaders and future leaders, we need to care more about energy and find ways to increase use of renewable energy. As technology and generation methods improve, renewable energy needs to and will become a much larger portion of our energy picture. Renewable energy, in its current state, will not be enough to give us all of the energy needed to run our country and lives. But we need to continue to value renewable energy and look for ways to innovate and create new methods of energy generation. As Thomas Edison stated, “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time”.