Powerful people have woken up from slumbers as they see how risky it’s to drill oil from offshore oil rigs since BP spill. People now know that oil drilling isn’t the only answer! Yes, it’s true that higher risk sometimes invites higher reward, but what if we don’t have to risk in terms of offshore pollution such as oil spill, funding the unfriendly countries with outrageous money that could be spending at home, and procrastinating in innovation to not move a nation forward where promising alternative energies could be developed.
Perhaps, not all alternative energies are resourceful and clean, and we should stay away from such just as we would’ve wanted to do the same for the traditional crude (maybe not completely as it’s a balancing act). This is why I think we have to be careful about our choices on energy. Traditional oil is limited in term of resource, and it’s hard to find and harder to drill than ever before, companies such as BP have to drill deeper in bodies of water where the risk of oil spill is higher.
Oil sand isn’t cleaner since the process of making liquid fuel from it can emit 10 to 45% more green house gases than conventional crude. Energy is so important to an economy, it’s a logical strategy for our nation to strive in finding more ways of creating energy — the more choices the better. Bill Gates and other powerful people are voicing that our nation has spent so little money in research and development for alternative energy in a way that when moving forward, our nation may face a devastating energy crisis.
Alternative energy can invoke new sciences, new job careers, new resources to fuel our economy, cleaner environment, and so on. I don’t see why we only have to drill, we can do so much more by going green. Even if going green is not our true intention, doing it can actually create more jobs. As we’re cutting down the exploitation of oil (gradually to an acceptable level), and producing more alternative energies, we are doing a big favor for our mother nature. Greener energy provides cleaner environment where healthier living can be achieved for all. Source.
Vinh Nguyen
