Renewable Energy Beneficial for the Environment or Not

HUM/111 CRITICAL AND CREATIVE THINKING Renewable Energy Beneficial for the Environment or Not? Global warming is something that we all hear about and something that might concern most of us. Carbon is something that is already in our atmosphere and we need it to help keep out harmful radiation from the sun, but too much of it in our atmosphere can be very harmful to the planet. Too much carbon in the atmosphere reflects light and heat back down to earth, letting little escape, therefore heating the temperature of the planet and causing the green house effect or global warming.

The big debate in recent years has been how to handle the energy crises. Our country alone uses a huge amount of oil and other natural resources, and “Not only are these high levels of consumption causing equally high levels of pollution, but the world's fossil fuel supplies are quickly being used up. For example, [the] total oil supply is estimated at between 2,000 and 2,800 billion barrels. About 900 billion barrels of oil have already been consumed, 28 illion barrels of that just in the year 2000. ” (Langwith, 2009) We may be running out of our natural resources.

and when we do burn them we are polluting our planet. Scientists’ and politicians have been working out ways to help protect our energy and our planet bye finding new ways to power our world. However, this is not just a scientific and political problem; this is something that affects every one of us. Domestic oil and natural gas has become very expensive over the past few years.

Paying for higher gas has caused many families to look for ways to cut back. Some argue that the country must decrease its dependence on oil and invest in alternative sources of energy, such as wind and solar power. Using wind to create power is something that is said to be so much better for the environment because it burns no fuel and emits no carbon or other toxins into the air that is harmful to the planet. Others argue that changing to new power sources is unnecessary, expensive, and no better for the environment.This side argues that wind power might not emit harmful gasses into the atmosphere, but the amount of land needed to hold the number of wind turbines is enormous. To meet “2005 US electricity demand of about four million megawatts per hour with around-the-clock-wind would have required wind farms covering over 780,000 square kilometers, about the size of Texas plus Louisiana.

” (Ausubel, 2009) We would have to decide whether or not the positives outweigh the negatives. If I had to make the decision on which way to go I would go with renewable energy.Both sides make important points and this is not a decision that would be made lightly, but if our atmosphere is damaged beyond repair then there will be no planet to live on therefore what does it matter if we take up an area the size of Texas and Louisiana? I think the best decision would have to be renewable energy because it is the lesser of two evils. On one hand we are hurting the environment by taking up so much land, but with the damage we are doing to our atmosphere by burning our natural resources may kill our planet, or at least the life on it.

The perceptual blocks and habits that hinder my thinking when looking at the opposing view and while I’m defending my own are stereotyping, emotional, intellectual, expressive, and cultural. In a debate, I tend to automatically apply labels which block me from truly seeing the problem from the point of view of other people involved. When in a debate I want people to like at me and think, that guy knows what he is talking about, and that can get me into trouble because I will stick with my opinion no matter what.I have a fear of making mistakes or looking foolish, and sometimes that will cause me to not make a decision at all. My cultural blockage is the one that has the biggest effect on my ability to think critically because it is what I was taught growing up. We are all brought up in an environment, and we all pick up habits from that environment, and some of those habits can create a bias in us that makes it extremely hard to see things from other peoples points of view.

I think that the biggest problem that hinders a persons thinking is a person’s bias. If a person is not using critical thinking then they just go by what they know and how they feel and stick to their own views, but when you are a critical thinker you are looking at something from as many angles as you can and blocking out your own views. Being a critical thinker means that you are a more open minded person. Working on my critical thinking skills is one of the most important things I can do to improve my thought process.

We can also be misled by perception because it is what our head tells us we already know and therefore we do not need to think about it to much. I know that the fumes given off by burning fuels is harmful to the environment and the atmosphere and therefore I will automatically agree that we need to move towards renewable energy without even thinking of the consequences’ of the alternative. The goal of every one of us should be to become more open minded and a better critical thinker so that we can make better decisions that could effect the survival of our planet and the life on it.We have these habits and perceptual blocks that sometimes stop us from making the best decisions for ourselves, but we need to learn to move past them so that we can be more informed and more open minded.

We need to be installing these traits in our children because they are the ones that will be making the decisions in the future. Teaching our children critical thinking skills at a young age will help them to move this world in the right direction, opening them up to different views and allowing them to make better decisions than we have. Reference Ausubel, Jesse H. Renewable Energy Is Not Beneficial for the Environment. " Renewable Energy.

Ed. Jacqueline Langwith. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Renewable and Nuclear Heresies.

" International Journal of Nuclear Governance, Economy and Ecology 1. 3 (2007): 229-235. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 17 Mar. 2013.

"Renewable Energy Is Beneficial for the Environment. " Renewable Energy. Ed. Jacqueline Langwith. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009.

Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Chapter 1: The Development of Energy. " Science Clarified. 2007.

Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 17 Mar. 2013.