energy sources

Tourism and greenhouse gas emissions

January 17, 2025 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Tourism is a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for about 9% of the global total. Over the past 15 years, its emissions have grown more than twice as fast as those of the rest of the global economy.

Unless the tourism industry finds ways to slow down its growing emissions, those emissions will continue to increase by 3 to 4% each year, meaning that they will double every 20 years. The major drivers behind tourism’s growing emissions have been slow improvements in tourism-related technologies coupled with the rapid growth in demand.

Transportation is tourism’s main source of greenhouse gas emissions. Planes and cars generate the most carbon dioxide but there are contributions from tour buses, boat rides, ferries, and trains as well. The increasing demand for international travel has been the largest contributor to the growth of tourism-related emissions. But just as people’s homes generate emissions from energy use, so do hotels and other lodging used on vacations.

The United States, China, and India are responsible for 60% of the total increase in tourism’s carbon footprint. Generally speaking, it is the world’s wealthiest nations that have the most tourists exploring the world.

Researchers from Australia’s University of Queensland recommended several measures to slow the growth of tourism’s carbon emissions. These include reducing long-haul flights, imposing carbon dioxide taxes, setting carbon budgets, and the use of alternative transportation fuels. At the local level, tourism businesses making use of renewable energy sources and electric vehicles would help.

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Tourism leads the pack in growing carbon emissions

Photo, posted September 14, 2014, courtesy of Gary Campbell-Hall via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Renewables Could Take Over By 2035 | Earth Wise

July 15, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

A study by UC Berkeley looked at the prospects for renewable energy sources to become the primary source of energy in the United States over the next 15 years. Even though fossil fuels continue to fill that role at present, the plummeting costs of alternative energy sources – primarily solar and wind power – are making them increasingly attractive on the competitive market.

These cost reductions have occurred much faster than what was anticipated even just a few years ago. According to the study, it is technically and economically feasible for renewable sources to provide 90% of our electricity by 2035.

The Berkeley researchers took the available data on renewable energy and created two scenarios for the next 15 years. The first has energy policy remaining as it is now, without ambitious policy changes that encourage the growth of renewable energy. In that scenario, they estimated that 55% of the US energy infrastructure would come from renewables. That amount will not produce the change needed to meet Paris Climate Agreement goals but would simply come about because of the dramatically lower costs for renewable energy.

The second scenario includes state and federal governments leading the way to finance and facilitate the energy reform needed for a greener 2035. It also relies on the large-scale use of grid-scale batteries to store the energy collected from solar and wind installations for when it is needed.

Which scenario is more realistic will depend on several major influential factors, notably the trajectory and consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the results of the November elections. These things will have a huge impact on the future of our energy system.

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Report: By 2035, 90 Percent of the US Could Be Powered by Renewables

Photo, posted May 25, 2019, courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

The Potential For Offshore Wind

December 10, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

According to a new report from the International Energy Agency, offshore wind technology has vast potential for meeting our energy needs. In total, offshore wind has the potential to generate more than 420,000 terawatt-hours of electricity each year, which is more than 18 times the global electricity demand that exists today.

Based on current policy targets and plummeting technology costs, offshore wind could increase 15-fold by 2040, becoming a $1 trillion industry and eliminating 5 to 7 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.

Offshore wind today generates just 0.3% of the world’s electricity, but its’ use is growing rapidly. The industry has grown nearly 30% a year since 2010, and 150 new offshore projects are currently in development around the world. The leading countries are in Europe – especially in the UK, Germany, and Denmark – but China is greatly expanding its offshore capacity and the US, India, Korea, Japan, and Canada are also expected to make large investments in offshore wind going forward.

Offshore wind is in a category of its own because it is considered a variable baseload power generation technology. This is because the hourly variability of offshore wind is much lower than solar power or onshore wind. Offshore wind typically fluctuates far less from hour-to-hour than the other variable energy sources.

Technology improvements and industry growth are driving steep cost reductions for offshore wind. The cost of offshore wind is expected to be cut in half in the next five years, dropping to $60 per megawatt-hour, which is on par with solar and onshore wind and cheaper than new natural gas-fired capacity in Europe.

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Offshore Wind Has the Potential to Fulfill Global Electricity Demand 18 Times Over

Photo, posted August 9, 2016, courtesy of Lars Plougmann via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Support For A Green New Deal

January 23, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Shortly after the November election, activists held a sit-in at Nancy Pelosi’s office calling for a Green New Deal – a plan to transform the U.S. energy economy in order to mitigate the effects of climate change as well as address various issues of economic justice. While a number of Congress people have pledged to back the creation of a select committee to develop such a plan, it remains a political football and it remains to be seen whether anything will come of the idea.

There appears to be much less reticence on the part of voters, at least according to a survey conducted by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication at the end of November. The survey gave a brief explanation of the Green New Deal and asked respondents “How much do you support or oppose this idea?”

The result was that 81% of registered voters either “strongly” or “somewhat” supported it. Support was stronger among Democrats at 92%, but a majority of Republicans were also in favor. Some 57% of self-identified conservative Republicans even thought it was a good idea.

The Green New Deal would accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy. The goal would be to generate 100% of the nation’s electricity from renewable sources within the next 10 years; upgrade the nation’s energy grid, buildings, and transportation infrastructure; increase energy efficiency; invest in green technology research and development; and provide training for jobs in the new green economy.

Even though most Americans have strong support for the ideas of the Green New Deal, it is quite uncertain whether such an initiative could become a reality, given that very influential special interest groups – notably the fossil fuel industry – will be fighting it tooth and nail.

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81% of Voters Support a Green New Deal, Survey Finds

Photo, posted March 19, 2012, courtesy of Kate Ausburn via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

A Water-Based Battery

January 3, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The transition from fossil fuel-based power plants to clean, renewable energy sources is accelerating as both wind and solar power get cheaper and increasingly become cost-competitive with traditional power sources. The biggest stumbling block both energy sources face is that they cannot always supply power on demand but require the sun to shine and the wind to blow.