Experts stress the need to make renewable energy a priority

A discussion setup by the Environmental and Energy Study Institute stressed the importance of renewable energy in the near future. Renewable energy experts met today to discuss whether or not renewable energy can meet the challenges of climate change and be put into effect to make a difference, nationwide by 2030.

Experts working with wind, geothermal, hydro, solar and biomass energy discussed the situation of each energy source. Currently these renewable energy sources make up very little of the electric energy being used. Renewable energy makes less carbon dioxide emissions and helps with the environment overall, better than the current coal or gas energy.

Renewable energy is expensive and capital-intensive and renewable resources are geographically remote, which makes them expensive to start up. These renewable energy companies need to get Congressional backing and are looking for extensions on current Production Tax Credits (PTC).

There needs to be stable, long-term policy that promotes investment and ensuring a prepared market in the future, one expert said. The experts stressed the necessity to get the economy in a position to be prepared for the future, extend PTC, and create national goals for policies and energy stability for the future.

USGS discusses impacts of climate change on coastal areas

The U.S. Geological Survey held a briefing today on how science can address climate change on vulnerable coasts. Various environmental experts gave presentations to a full and attentive audience about how to anticipate and address climate change on coastal areas.

Robert Thieler of USGS said that the current climate change situation can “reasonably be described as a crisis,” and that as people move closer to the coast, the coast is also moving closer to them due to rising sea level and beach erosion.

Todd Davison of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Ocean Service spoke about the economic implications of rising sea levels. He said that 14 of the nation’s 20 largest cities are coastal, which means they have a significant investment in infrastructure, commerce, and other economic areas.

Braxton Davis from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control emphasized the need to devise adaptation strategies for climate change scenarios now in order to be prepared to deal with threats when they arrive, and said that any environmental information must be scaled down appropriately for communities to utilize on a locally relevant level.