CAN AND SHOULD SOLAR REPLACE FOSSIL FUELS?

FOSSIL FUELS

• Almost everything is powered by fossil fuels
• The United States is a top importer of oil
• Oil based electricity is always on tap
• The burning of fossil fuels damages the environment
• The top economies spend 452 billion every year to subsidize fossil fuels.

SOLAR

• Clean and sustainable
• Very little environmental harm
• Solar can cost around $0.029 per kWh compared to fossil fuels $0.05
• Solar power can be improved because it’s is a technology while fossil fuels plateau

RESOLUTIONS

• The US should provide more of a tax break for using solar than they already do and place tariffs on oil imports so that the price rises incentivizing the conversion to clean solar energy.
• The US has a moral obligation to keep its lands clean and have a way to power the next generations without polluting the environment as badly.

SIGNIFICANCE

• This is significant because the burning of fossil fuels affects all of us
• Affects the cost of energy both monetarily and environmentally

DEBATABILITY

• Most people would prefer fossil fuels because it is always on tap and meets extreme demand for energy.
• Some people argue that the environmental cost is too great for fossil fuels and we should convert to solar because its cleaner and cheaper.

DURABILITY

• we use oil and there is only a limited amount of it left which we will run out of in the future.
• The world will always need energy

TIMELY

• the burning of fossil fuels affects ecosystems and the atmosphere.
• There is only so much oil left to burn.
• The earth is getting warmer because of some of the greenhouse gases released when burning fossil fuels.

JURISDICTION

• the government regulates electric companies and the subsidies that they receive and they government has the ability to increase tax breaks for solar powered companies and homes.

THE NEXT 50 YEARS

• if the world keeps using oil as much as it does there will be little to none left
• The environment will suffer and we will continue to burn holes in the ozone layer by burning fossil fuels
• The cost of solar will decrease and the price of fossil fuels will increase because of lack of supply.

QUESTIONS

• Do you think that we should switch to solar?
• How could the government create more of an incentive to switch to solar?