A Blue Planet That Could Be Green

DISCLAIMER: I've never been under the delusion that this blog is impartial or unbiased in any way. I've always been one to proudly form my own opinions. I work to keep an open mind, realizing my own limitations in areas of study and life experience. I'm limited by my time on this earth, and the fact that I am only one person. It would be incredibly crass of me to insinuate that I could ever speak for everyone. If you ever think I do present that way, I assure you the words I speak are backed with observations of many other people. Oh, and the unspoken certainty that I can always be wrong in any generalization ever made. Which is more or less spoken now. 

So. Uh. Here comes an opinion. I did my research to form it. Please do so as well to form your own.

We'll start this off with a statement that I believe global climate change is real. Perhaps 'believe' is the wrong word - though it seems as if irrefutable facts can be dismissed at the convenience of other people's wishes when it comes to science. I'm looking at you, people who think the earth is flat. Humanity as a collective has not been the kindest to our planet, and that's putting it politely. It's a disheartening issue to face, too. While one individual isn't going to make all the difference in aiding ozone regeneration or preventing oil spills, a growing number of individuals will. 

The biggest hurdle is that standard human activities aren't the true devastators. Large companies that profit from reckless fracking and burning coal will push the use of these resources, and make them cheaper, more accessible. The concept of sustainable, renewable energy will be ridiculed and mocked for as long as it's not immediately helping the competitors. 

Reducing use of fossil fuels and reliance on green energy is still hotly contested for some reason. The arguments against are baffling to me. So even if the world is perfectly fine, and the long-term consequences are not nearly as severe as the research shows, what is bad about using renewable energy? Oh no, the globe is healthier anyway? The air is cleaner, the cost of energy is reduced? Gosh, you're right, that would be awful, I'd hate to see quality of life improve around the world for nothing. That's sarcasm, dearest.

Ah, but the renewable resources, they don't supply reliable energy, right? It was the problem Germany faced, when having a day of 90% green energy in May of this year. Because the problem of energy regularity hasn't been solved, the overproduction of dirty (coal-burning) energy to compensate greatly increased the country's carbon emissions. It becomes a problem of storing and maintaining steady energy sources, rather than fluctuating. 

It's not an easy problem to fix. If it were, it'd be done already. But I believe (and it's the correct use of the word this time) that it is possible. And I know it's worth it. Sure we can just figure out the complexities of terraforming other planets and simplifying space travel, but I think our own planet is worth treating well before we all just... hypothetically abandon ship.