Fossil fuels powered the last century. Why the concern now?
Except for hydropower from our nations dams, all of our energy comes from a limited and shrinking reserve of fossil fuels coal, oil, natural gas, and from uranium. Just as these supplies are shrinking, demand is soaring not only here in the United States, but in countries like India and China. As their economies continue to grow, their energy needs puts them into head-on competition with the United States in world energy markets. We have already felt the impact as our energy costs respond to this supply-demand dynamic. The use of fossil fuels releases CO2, SO2, NO2 and smog into the atmosphere. After 150 years of intense fossil fuel consumption, the planet is showing its inability to continue absorbing greenhouse gases at this rate without overheating. The ten hottest years on record have all occurred since 1984. In short, the era of fossil fuels is necessarily a finite one. We have the opportunity to transition into a new era where human activity is powered by an energy source that is
