The Green Party and Cleaning Up Ohio's Environment

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The Green Party and Cleaning Up Ohio's Environment

THE GREEN PARTY SOLUTION

The obvious answer to fossil fuel depletion and climate change is to simply substitute alternative energy sources for oil, natural gas, and coal.

However, this solution quickly bogs down on two fronts. First, there are no alternative energy sources (renewable or otherwise) capable of supplying energy as cheaply and in such abundance as fossil fuels currently yield in the time that we need them to come online. Second, we have designed and built the infrastructure of our transport, electricity, and food systems – as well as our national building stock – to suit the unique characteristics of oil, natural gas, and coal. Changing to different energy sources will require the redesign of many aspects of those systems.

The energy transition cannot be accomplished with a minor retrofit of existing energy infrastructure. Just as the fossil fuel economy of today systemically and comprehensively differs from the agrarian economy of 1800, the post-fossil fuel economy of 2050 will profoundly differ from all that we are familiar with now. This difference will be reflected in urban design and land use patterns, food systems, manufacturing and distribution networks, the job market, transportation systems, health care, tourism, and more.

It could be argued that these changes will occur in some fashion whether we plan for them or not, that it is only necessary to wait for the market price of fossil fuels to reflect scarcity, with higher costs forcing society to adapt. However, lack of government planning will result in a transition that is chaotic, painful, destructive, and possibly (if the worst climate forecasts are realized), unsurvivable. A passive approach to the fossil fuel depletion problem would lead to social, economic, and political costs of unprecedented scope. Bold action is required.

We need to reduce our overall energy consumption, and restructure our economy to run primarily on renewable energy – and the federal government must lead the way.

The Green Party calls on the United States to take the following actions, including Requirements for Energy Transition.

1. Move decisively to an energy system based on wind, solar and geo- thermal power.

The development of earth-gentle, alternative energy sources must be a cornerstone of any plan to reduce our national reliance on conventional fossil fuels and build a sustainable future. Many alternatives being pushed by policy-makers currently – including nuclear power, coal, industrial-scale biofuels, and low-grade fossil fuels such as oil shale and tar sands – suffer from serious drawbacks, including low energy profit ratios, high environmental impacts, or a limited resource base.

Greens advocate renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, and advanced geothermal as the long-term solution to the nation's and the world's energy problems. However, further research is needed into new energy storage technologies, as well as new photovoltaic materials and processes, and new geothermal and tidal power technologies. While much of this could be accomplished by the private sector, the economic crisis is likely to delay or undercut needed funding, increasing the need for government support.

2. Electrify the transportation system

America's existing investment in highways, airports, cars, buses, trucks, and aircraft is enormous. This system is almost completely dependent on oil, and it will be significantly handicapped by higher fuel prices, and devastated by actual fuel shortages. The electrification of road-based vehicles will help; however, this strategy will require at least two decades to fully deploy. Meanwhile, road repair and tire manufacturing will continue to depend upon petroleum products, unless alternative materials can be found.

Even if it is electrified, a ground transport system consisting of trucks and private automobiles is inherently energy intensive compared to public transit alternatives and non-motorized alternatives. The building and widening of highways must therefore come to a halt, and the bulk of federal transportation funding must be transferred to support electrified and non-motorized infrastructure and services. Meanwhile, the existing fleet of private automobiles must be put to use more efficiently through carpooling, car-sharing, and ride-sharing networks.

3. Begin the phase-out of nuclear and coal power plants.

All of the processes associated with nuclear power are dangerous, from the mining of uranium to the transportation and disposal of the radioactive waste. Radioactive waste produced by nuclear power plants will remain toxic to humans for more than 100,000 years, and there is no way to store this waste safely.

The plain fact is, there are no technological quick fixes that can effectively isolate nuclear waste from the biosphere for the durations of its hazardous life. Therefore, rather than producing more of this waste, it is essential that the generation of nuclear wastes be halted. The enormous and long-lasting health and environmental dangers alone make nuclear power unfeasible. Cost in dollars is another huge factor, with each new nuclear power plant expected to cost at least nine billion dollars.

Rather than building more nuclear power plants, the Green Party of the United States calls for a moratorium on new nuclear power plants, the early retirement of nuclear power reactors, and the phase-out of technologies that use or produce nuclear waste, such as nuclear waste incinerators, food irradiators, and all commercial and military uses of depleted uranium.

Coal is particularly damaging to the environment. In the absence of commercially viable "clean coal" carbon capture and sequestration technology, coal is not environmentally sustainable.

4. Plan for decentralized, bio-regional electricity generation and distribution.

Regional utility companies are already beginning to invest in renewables and "smart grid" upgrades, but the work is going much too slowly to avert looming power supply problems. Moreover, the credit crunch will likely slow the work that is currently under way.

Therefore the federal government must step in to set goals and standards and to provide public investment capital. This effort must not favor commercial utilities over municipal power districts; indeed, the devolution of control over power systems to the community level should be encouraged, as decentralized power systems are likely to be more resilient in the face of now-inevitable power disruptions.

Keeping electricity production close to areas of greatest consumption demand will cut down on losses due to transportation, assure citizens greater control of their power grids, and prevent the massive ecological and social destruction that accompanies production of electricity in distant, mega-scale projects.