By Steven Wishnia
September 29, 2011
Renewable energy is essential if we are to avert disastrous climate change caused by carbon-dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels. Yet despite significant recent growth, less than 2 percent of the about 4 trillion kilowatt-hours of electricity the U.S. generates a year comes from solar or wind power. More than two-thirds still comes from coal, natural gas or oil, and 20 percent from nuclear power. Meanwhile, the world’s total reserves of oil, gas, coal, and uranium are expected to run out by the end of the century, especially as electricity consumption increases.
So what are the obstacles to converting the U.S. electrical system to renewable energy? They are a mix of technological, economic and political factors.
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