https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9f/NesjavellirPowerPlant_edit2.jpg/1599px-NesjavellirPowerPlant_edit2.jpgAlmost 100% of the energy consumed by every habitant in Iceland comes from renewable energy sources. Most of them are powered by a special dam built on the edge of the waterfalls – keeping in mind the prevention of natural beauty of the environment where the adequate waterfalls are present, no more than 10% of them are being transitioned into natural powerplants. The waterfalls are caused by glaciers covering almost 11% of the island – very active volcanic zones cause meltdowns, which then run from the mountains.
Another as much important source is geothermal energy, which brings the habitants a variety of benefits. Starting with basic home electricity, through heating sidewalks to melt the snow and ice, to food processing and fish farming. What is more - Blue Lagoon, the world-famous SPA, started as a simple place for gaining new energy from geothermic saltwater. After finding out about the health benefits of the water, it evolved into a great vacationing/healing place, bringing the inhabitants and tourists another great facility to visit and take advantage of.
On the other hand, Iceland was not always as green as it is now – in the 1970s all the electricity was powered mostly by fossil fuel-powered mechanisms. Nevertheless, the oil price fluctuations and the economical need for sustainable, static price sources of energy, not the danger of the choice of powering to a climate change caused them to switch to renewable energy sources. Starting with local entrepreneurs like farmers using the geothermal water to heat up their farms in a very primitive way, followed by investing in drilling technology and hydro projects that attracted much bigger investors led to the current state of energy usage among every person living in the Arctic Circle area.
https://miro.medium.com/max/4800/1*-BIEjgVf5myx7z-JCg8DSw.jpeg
Is it possible for other countries to follow Iceland? In the long-term – yes. We can learn that the most important factor is to establish a valid and stable correlation between the investors, local entrepreneurs, and the government in the early stage of transition. What is more – legal and regulatory framework of the government speeded up the process of getting money to fund the important for the new technologies scientific projects and raising awareness among people living in said country, which is the fundament of new green initiatives that actually have an impact on the choice of energy supplementation.
Iceland, taking the position of the industry leader, still enthusiastically contributes to development of green technologies, and shares their knowledge and experience among other countries.
Sources:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iceland,
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geothermal_energy,
Questions:
1. Is it possible for your country to increase the percentage of green energy sources?
2. Do you think that switching 100% to renewable sources will cause an economic crisis among fuel industry leaders?
3. How do you contribute to preventing climate change?
Comments
It is possible but p0lish goverment makes it hard so not many people want to get involved in it. Many people with their own homes invest in photovoltaics but it is only small percentage.
2. Do you think that switching 100% to renewable sources will cause an economic crisis among fuel industry leaders?
Nope, fuel will still be used for other stuff and it is impossible to go full 100%. Many cars, even in the future will use fuel at least in some part.
3. How do you contribute to preventing climate change?
I try to not use plastic bags when buying food. I don't have car or chimney so I believe it also counts :D. I also buy recycled stuff, right now I'm fascinated by garbage bags made from garbage! It so fancy in my eyes I switched fully to them.
I've heard some rumors that the current government promises a nuclear plant in place of Bełchatów coalmine till 2050. The investment is still a early proposal, but it's nice that there is (very slow) movement towards a greener energy future.
2.
I think that the countries that became wealthy by having oil are rich already and they mostly invested that money wisely, so they should be fine.
3.
I try to.
It is probabable scenario I think. The participation of the fuel industry in a global economy is significant, switching quickly fully to renewable energy sources could be possibly dangerous for our economy.
I tend to use renewable energy, we have some solar panels installed and planning to install wind turbines also.
Each EU country will sooner or later have to give up using non-ecological energy. Many of the promises of Polish politicians that we heard during the last elections are not possible. Nevertheless, I am sure that despite the fact that Poland bases its energy economy on coal, it is possible to switch to renewable energy sources without lagging behind other European countries.
That's likely to happen, they'll be furious. However, for many years both companies and entire countries have been preparing for such an eventuality. Change is inevitable if we want to breathe non-toxic air. I do not feel guilty about taking away millionaires and billionaires their source of income when it is so harmful to the entire planet.
I am a technology enthusiast, but I also research very carefully the risks that it can bring. Most of my home is equipped with smart devices. One of the many functions is energy saving. Light bulbs, underfloor heating, blinds for windows, computers and TVs are set to automatically go to sleep when no one is home. Automatically changing lights and adjusting their brightness are imperceptible in the long run, and you save electricity. The difference in the bill before these improvements were made is over 40%.
I hope it is possible! Otherwise, we would be doomed! There are plenty of ways, solar and wind energy, just to name a few.
On the other hand, I've heard many sceptical opinions about renewable energy sources, that they might not be as sustainable and long-term as they are presumed to be.
Do you think that switching 100% to renewable sources will cause an economic crisis among fuel industry leaders?
I'd say that it won't. It seems to me that the industry leaders are the only ones that can lead to desirable change. It won't happen with individuals or a small start-up. If we want to change as fast and painlessly as we can, the biggest companies have to switch to renewable sources.
Of course, individual changes are important because they create an incentive for big companies to change.
How do you contribute to preventing climate change?
First of all, I try to commute by walking, riding a bike or use public transport.
The second thing is diet. I don't eat meat which, as far as I know, is one of the biggest gas emission sources.
The third thing is trying to create as little as possible of waste. I don't but water in plastic bottles etc.
Summing up, it seems to me that diet and transport are the biggest factors, so I try to be conscious of my choices.
2. This is a good question as to whether switching to 100% renewable sources will cause an economic crisis among oil industry leaders. I think they may feel a huge crisis at first, but over time they could switch to renewable energy sources.
3. I make no contribution to the prevention of climate change. I have no conditions for this.
I believe that Poland should increase the share of green energy. Since the new year, the law on wind farms has changed, apparently Orlen is to definitely invest in this type of power plant. Additionally, the construction of such facilities is to be facilitated. This type of ecological electric power plant is very popular in Germany. Poland should increase the share of green energy, but we should not give up coal, as we have large deposits of it.
2.Do you think that switching 100% to renewable sources will cause an economic crisis among fuel industry leaders?
I think not. Fuel industry leaders will either become leaders in renewable energy production or change industries. Already now the fuel leader - Saudi Arabia invests a lot of money to make the country the financial center of the world.
3.How do you contribute to preventing climate change?
I take several actions:
- I save electricity,
- I am saving water,
- I sort garbage
- I try not to buy plastic bags,
- I do not buy bottled water
I think it's not too much, but still a small part :)
I sure hope that switching to renewables and nuclear would cause a crisis among the leaders of the fuel industry, mainly because said industry needs to be phased out of existence. It was already allowed to prosper at the cost of our health and future for far too long, we've known about increasing average temperatures since late 19th century, and about global warming as such since early 20th. The fuel industry has buried the science for the sake of their own profit for too long. If we had allowed for a greater proliferation of nuclear power, a technology which we've had for more than seventy years, we wouldn't be facing as severe a climate crisis as we are now. That this would've had to have happened at the cost of the oil and coal industries is a wholly good thing.
Personally, I do about as much as I can without it disrupting my life significantly. I try to conserve electric power and not replace working appliances, but ultimately there is little we can do as individuals. Action needs to happen at the state level, and in the biggest countries of the world. Even if I chose to live off the grid as a green eco-hermit, the positive change that would have on the climate change processes would be completely negligible. And while millions choosing to do the same would have a compound effect, most people are not willing to significantly disrupt their own life. Nor should they be, not when most of the global CO2 footprint is an issue cause by bad choices of state-level actors in regards to power generation, and of bad choices made by corporate actors who inherently hold far more power over captive consumer bases than any group of organized, environment-conscious individuals ever could.
2. Hopefully, at least among the conventional energy fuel industry leaders. Today we know, that in many cases they have known about the detrimental effect that fossil fuels have on us and climate. I think it's only fair for them to bear consequences. They could also transit to renewable energy and help us all, presumably such transit should be less expensive than building an renewable energy company from the ground up.
3. In whatever way I can, really. I'm trying to use energy-efficient products and not waste any electricity/water when I'm doing anything. I also strive to reuse everything I can in order to, in a way, reduce the manufacturing footprint of everything I make use of. The same principle applies to easily recyclable materials, utilizing some of the elements manufactured earlier reduces the strain produced by the second batch. This all will not matter however, if industries and government don't do something fast.
2.Do you think that switching 100% to renewable sources will cause an economic crisis among fuel industry leaders?
3.How do you contribute to preventing climate change?
1.For sure it is possible to increase the percentage of that but in case of Poland, I think this percentage would be really small – unfortunately. I believe that polish people still don’t understand how important is to stop using nonrenewable source of energy.
2. I don’t think so, maybe it is some kind of manipulation petrol oil corporation for stopping development of technology for renewable source of energy.
3. I don’t, maybe not enough. Beside trying to but less plastic bootless and using my own bag for shopping, I’m afraid that is all what I'm actually doing for that.
Thank you for your opinion!
To be honest I have never heard about garbage bags made from garbage before. It is really amazing :D
I have already googled it and I will buy some of these garbage bags soon.
Thanks for your comments on this topic!
I think all of you have similar opinions - so do I.
It is really amazing that you try to prevent climate changes in these ways.
I also don't buy water in plastic bottles and I have energy-saving devices. Unfortunately I often travel by car, but I will try to switch to a bike :D
It is certainly possible, but many people in power do not see such a need. Additionally, in Poland we have a very strong mining union, which makes these changes more difficult.
2. Do you think that switching 100% to renewable sources will cause an economic crisis among fuel industry leaders?
It seems to me that it is not possible. Probably in the future, fuels from non-renewable sources will be used less often, but will not disappear completely.
3. How do you contribute to preventing climate change?
I'm not doing anything extra ordinary. I practically do not use plastic bags. I don't buy water in plastic bottles and sort my garbage very carefully.
Thank you for your comment.
I agree with your opinion - I hope that Poland will some day mostly switch to renewable energy sources.
I have the impression that the topic of smog and other pollutants is being discussed more and more every year. However, it is still not enough. I believe that society's approach to the problem should change - many people do not care about the environment at all.
Our politicians don't want us to think that green energy is a good alternative for Poland, because coal mining is a big source of income, but I believe that it is indeed possible for Poland to increase percentage of green energy sources.
2.Do you think that switching 100% to renewable sources will cause an economic crisis among fuel industry leaders?
It would definitely hurt their pockets, but fuel isn't used only for making electrical energy, you can use fuels in cars, aircrafts etc. It might cause crisis among them, but after some reductions they would stay in the business.
3.How do you contribute to preventing climate change?
I use mostly public transport, and if I can, I just walk to my destination. It might sound stupid, but I also don't eat as much beef as typical Polish person. I stick to chicken, which is much more environmental friendly.
It would be possible i guess to create more green energy in poland but unfortunatelly we have strong coal lobby which wont allow to reduce usage of the coal.
2. Do you think that switching 100% to renewable sources will cause an economic crisis among fuel industry leaders?
Rapid change probably would cause an economic crisis in a way. But slowly turning it off and letting fuel industries to change and adapt wont. I think it even may boost an economy of many.
3. How do you contribute to preventing climate change?
Im trying to reduce useage of energy as much as i can. Im turning off lights when im leaving the room, turning off electric devices when i left home for a longer period of time, i segregates garbage, not using my car to often.
I don't think that's a problem. The sources of ecological energy are constantly growing. Driving to the seaside, you can see many wind farms. We find hydroelectric power stations in other places. It looks pretty good, and our government is partially financing the possibility of installing solar panels.
2. Do you think that switching 100% to renewable sources will cause an economic crisis among fuel industry leaders?
It will surely cause quite a stir and some companies will collapse. However, it seems to me that most fuel companies will adapt to the new realities and will start providing electricity instead of fuel. I am convinced that all companies work out a plan B long before it is fully electrified.
3. How do you contribute to preventing climate change?
I sort the garbage and make sure that no polluting smoke comes out of both the house chimney and the exhaust pipe of the car. Besides, whenever possible, I avoid using disposable plastic bags and drink water from one bottle many times. I care about the environment in many possible forms, but it is hard for me to remember everything now. Good manners of caring for the environment are my natural reflexes and I don't even think about them.
Not much of real green energy, maybe some wind plants, but mostly we could've use atom power which is much cleaner then other sources of energy, baby steps for our lost in time country.
2. Do you think that switching 100% to renewable sources will cause an economic crisis among fuel industry leaders?
Definitely, why does not free and green powers sources are that expensive and not popular.
3. How do you contribute to preventing climate change?
I'am not preventing climate change because it's not that easy for us, normal people. Whole our actions could be stopped at higher and management level. For example not treating segregated trash properly by trash company.