As quoted in the article, Cheryl LaFleur, a former chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, says that the United States now has the renewable energy technology and resources to reach the net-zero target by 2050. Advantages of renewable energy include an abundance of free, low-carbon footprint wind and sunlight, use of already disturbed lands, income to farmers and increases in local tax base. Disadvantages include visual and noise pollution, extended permitting process and high cost of transmission lines for distant wind and solar farms to where the energy is needed.
From Nov. 1 to Nov. 12, 2021 in Glasgow, Scotland, more than 100 heads of state, including President Biden, plus diplomats and activists are meeting to set new targets for cutting emissions from fossil fuels in the hopes of preventing the average global temperatures from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius compared with levels before the Industrial Revolution. The question is: does the U.S. have the will to expand its wind and solar footprint in order to reach this goal?
Here are some of the student headlines that capture the stories of these maps: “Green Work Makes the Dream Work! How Green America Will Be in the Future!” by The Montessori School of Shreveport, Louisiana; “Catching the Wind and Sun for a Better Future” by Hudson of Portland, Oregon; “Can America Tolerate a Bigger Solar and Wind Farm Footprint?” by Karen of Iowa; “Wind and Solar Power: The Best Things In Life Are ‘Free’” by Joey of New Hampshire; “The Power of the Sun and Wind Against Climate Change. Which Will Win?” by Emma of California; and “Stopping the Climate Calamity: How Many More Solar and Wind Farms Do We Need?” by JJ of Eleanor Roosevelt High School in New York City.
You may want to think about these additional questions:
-
Read The New York Times article “What Is COP26? And Other Questions About the Big U.N. Climate Summit” to learn more about the United Nations global warming conference in Glasgow that is running Nov. 1 to 12, 2021. Here are the links to New York Times graphs showing projected global carbon emissions and carbon emissions goals by country.
-
Look at the above 2050 map. What wind or solar locations are designated for your state? Has there been discussion in your area about either wind or solar farms? What are the reasons your area is appropriate for wind or solar farms? If there have been objections, what have they been? What is your opinion about reducing greenhouse gases by operating these farms in your area?
-
There are many factors that determine the economic, technological, and …….
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/28/learning/whats-going-on-in-this-graph-nov-3-2021.html