Public policy & economic justifications for renewable energy

We lie at a unique place in history, one where humanity\u27s drive to industrialize has created an environmental crisis that may threaten the very existence of the planet. The new challenges posed by environmental crises are becoming shockingly apparent. Scientists are discovering, and illustrating to policy-makers, new ways in which we are destroying the earth and its surrounding atmosphere. Although these kinds of revelations are by no means new, the scale of destruction in these scenarios is immensely greater. Warming of the atmosphere due to the greenhouse effect, depletion of the ozone layer, destruction of forests, acid rain, air pollution, and many other problems are often discussed in policy-making arenas and throughout the associated literature. Energy is intimately intertwined in all of these issues. Any comprehensive attempt to deal with these challenges necessitates a change in consumption of fossil fuels. Such a change must involve greater energy efficiency in the short term and a move to renewable energies as the foundation of our economy. Renewable energy should be seen as more than just an environmental policy, but as an energy alternative which permeates all levels of the economy. This paper will attempt to combine reasons given from a public policy standpoint with economic justifications for the transition to renewable energy, and finally offer a solution to fuel this process successfully