We sing in time.

And I think it’s because I’ve stopped worrying about what I want in life and got it (or am in the processing of getting it). Life is awesome right now and I’m thankful for everything. That’s all. 

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Pretty much the culmination of everything I’ve learned this year, in one little paper!

Connor Mullen

5/1/2011

POLS 2998

Professor Boyer

POLS 2998 Final Exam

Humanity is suffering from many shortages, but environmental problems is not one of them. Its solutions are widespread; some require the inevitable reformation of culture, others can be solved by governmental supported research and development. The development and subsequent distribution of widespread sustainable energy belongs to both of these categories. The solution is within reach, and the current generation may yet see the emergence of energy that is both environmentally and economically friendly. The development of renewable clean energy is, however, at the mercy of human behavior, both in terms of politicians that will develop supporting legislation and entrepreneurs that will transform it from a niche alternative to a mainstream imperative. The success of these initiatives is variable, dependent on successful policy being passed at the appropriate levels in ways that, simply put, will actually work.

Idealistically speaking, clean energy policy should originate at the national level of government. The phrase “sustainable energy policy” is a very broad term, but in this context it refers to policy that would support the development and widespread implementation of clean energy technologies including but not limited to solar, wind, hydroelectric, and geothermal power. It is critical for this policy to originate at the national level because it will be supported by fiscal policy that will not be as strong on other levels. After all, sustainable energy is not only an environmental issue, but an economic one as well. The current business structure for energy production does not provide a way for clean energy to become inexpensive. Oil is much cheaper than clean energy technology, and most consumers will opt to save as much money as possible by choosing the cheaper option. The International Energy Agency estimates that while world governments spent 557 billion dollars on fossil fuel subsidization, only about 44 billion dollars was used towards subsidization of clean energies (Renewable Energy World 1). Likewise, American oil companies reap in billions of dollars in profits from government mandated tax breaks, all money that could potentially be used by the government on clean energy subsidies and sustainable energy research and development (Synder and Rubin 1). How can we expect clean energy prices do decrease when there is such little support in comparison with the oil industry? Sustainable energy policy must originate on the national level because that is where the potential to change this pricing situation lies. Sustainable energy is currently expensive for two main reasons: a lack of demand from consumers and a lack of governmental support in the form of subsidies and tax breaks. The low demand means low profit margins, low amounts of firms in the clean energy market, and limited amounts of research and development being conducted. Likewise, the absence of significant government support creates serious financial difficulty for clean energy consumers and producers. Consider the affect that this could have on American politics. If a full scale sustainable energy policy were to originate on the national scale, the congress could pass a fiscal policy to slowly shift the many tax breaks given to oil companies to sustainable energy firms while providing price subsidization to consumers who choose these forms of energy. After all, the governmental is already very generous in providing all of these things to oil companies and the consumers of oil, so is it really that unreasonable for the same policies to be applied to sustainable energy?

National policy creation is needed so that the short term and long term interest of citizens can be juxtaposed effectively. On the short term, creators of the policy needs to recognize that the main roadblock to sustainable energy development is cost. Consumers are hesitant to support the development (through consumption and investment) of clean energies because it is impractical for everyday purchase.. They may support the reasoning for these technologies, but consumers usually choose the option of spending less over spending more. There may be a moral imperative to use renewable clean energy, but when factors like family support and mortgage payments are considered, buying electric cars and installing solar panels because a little unreasonable. The solution lies not in telling consumers what they should do, but providing a realistic way for them to do it. If national governments were to support subsidies for consumers and tax breaks for sustainable energy firms, the unaffordable will become the mainstream.

In the end, it all comes down to making clean energy affordable. Tax breaks to sustainable energy firms would provide those firms more money to invest into research into development, which will bring about cheaper, more efficient, and more effective technologies. The firms will then be able to sell these at a lower price, as the technology will have become more accepted and finally have moved away from the fringes of the technological community. At the same time, the subsidies on the purchasing of these clean energies will significantly lower costs. Even if we cannot reduce clean energy prices down to the level of oil, we may reduce them until the point where there is only a marginal difference between the two, a point at which households could manage the small additional cost of clean energy as worthwhile because of the positive environmental effects. Consumers would also be able to take comfort in the fact that, unlike oil, sustainable energy prices will continue to fall as the industry grows. As more and more consumers use sustainable clean energy, the aggregate demand for the product will increase. As demand increases, more firms will be able to enter the market, which will further bring down costs and provide a variety of options for consumers to choose from. By this point, consumers will no longer have to make the impossible choice between maintaining a level of lifestyle and choosing clean energy; by this point, clean energy will not be an “alternative” part of a lifestyle, but a lifestyle within itself. Unfortunately, real world problems can’t be solved with simple academic theories and a sophomore political science student’s naïve knowledge on national political systems. There are a large range of extraneous factors that prevent this from happening, from political bias to interest groups to sheer misinformation. Is may be possible to solve this problem with a national policy, but that doesn’t mean it’s realistic. At least not yet.

Changing energy infrastructure requires us to deal with a whole lot more than just national economic policy. Policy relating to the development of clean energies is theoretically at maximum effectiveness if created at the national level, but the numerous roadblocks preventing that mean that it would take far too much time. It is unrealistic to say that any larger organization would be effective at accomplishing the same feat, because supragovernmental bodies lack the authority to effectively enforce policy. Once again, it all comes down to economic reasoning. The United Nations, for example, could call for a new era of “transformative technology progression” aimed at a full scale adoption of wind power, but they cannot make it any cheaper. They cannot change the way that people save, think, or transact, and all of these behaviors must be change before real policies can be enacted.

Although they are the most powerful sovereign bodies, national governments may not be the most effective policy making group because of the previously mentioned roadblocks that the policy would inevitably encounter. Like most issues, clean energy policy is not going to be black and white, and neither are the bodies that will produce it. The reality of politics dictates the most effective location for the policy to be combination of regional (State Government in the United States for example) and governmental policies. National policy may be the most effective, but there must first be action taken to overcome roadblocks and make this a realistic option. Regional policy creation, with the intention of a national policy emerging, will allow governments to more effectively cater to grassroots support and individual constituent interest in clean energy. They would do using the same methods that national governments would have used to handle the issues: through tax breaks to firms, subsidization to consumers but also through the additional engagement of small scale information plans that would not effective if implemented on the long term.

Policy origination through regional governing bodies means that the policy is no longer an “all or nothing” concept. Wealthier regions will have more success with these policies at first, as their constituents will be wealthier and thus more able (though not necessarily more inclined) to consume renewable energies. Regional policies will not be as effected by the deterrents that hamper national policy creation, and it will be much easier for these tax breaks and subsidies to be introduced on a small scale. Just as with the national policy, firms will be able to invest in research and development while increasing production, and the market growth will still result in the spread of clean energy. The difference is that the smaller scale requires less people (and potentially less opposition) to make a decision, and it focuses on more concise and less diverse groups of individuals. The benefits begin to multiply as clean energy firms get picked up by these states, as they will find that they can sell their goods for cheaper and cheaper. While this is happening, regions that were originally unable to support the higher costs of clean energy may be able to. The hopes are that these improvements in technology and increases in demand will expand exponentially to a point where national discussion of policy will actually yield results. When this point is reached, national objectives can be carried out, and this policy can progress from a theoretical discussion to a change that will effect not only our environments, but our wallets and our standards of living.

There has never been a “standard” way to produce policy, and no amount of discussion of theory, history, and human behavioral will provide the perfect solution. With issues as critical to our survival as a species as the widespread development of clean and cheap sustainable energy, we are not only encouraged to find the solutions that will work, but obligated to. Doing so involves holding true to the end goal while using the means that will actually make things happen, even if these can be discouraging and slow at times. This is the reality that we face today. Would it be ideal if a sustainable energy policy could be immediately created at the national scale? Absolutely! The reality is that will not happen on it’s own, and no roadblocks can be overcome if we try to do everything at once. By originating clean energy policy at the regional level, we can sew the seeds necessary for the eventual passage of a national clean energy policy that will bring about sweeping reforms in ways that we cannot yet imagine. Until that day happens, we have to keep working with the belief that this goal is only a matter of when, not if. We have to keep believing that each new person that is introduced to clean energy discussion or chooses to utilize wind power is another piece of the foundation that will support the changes to come. By distributing policy over regional and national levels in a sequential manner, we may at last remove the differences between what is and what should be.

Sources:

1. Fossil Fuel Subsidies Outpace Renewables. Renewable Energy World. July 2010. http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2010/07/fossil-fuel-subsidies-outpace-renewables

2. Jim Synder and Richard Rubin. Baucus Targets Billions in U.S. Oil Tax Breaks as Gasoline Prices Increase. Bloomberg News. April 29^th 2011.http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-29/baucus-targets-billions-in-oil-tax-breaks-as-gas-prices-rise.html

3. Many of the theories discussed in this final were concepts I learned from my Macro Economics lecture, which I feel are very relevant and necessary to finding solutions for these problems. I did not cite the specific concepts because this was information that is taken to be general knowledge, however I am more than willing to provide the sources/notes from which I received my information should you ask to see it.

“[Updated 12:22 a.m. ET] Osama bin Laden’s body was buried at sea according to Islamic law because no country was willing or able to take his body for burial on land, senior Defense officials said.

“When there is no land alternative, Islamic law dictates that the body be buried within 24 hours, and that was the basis,” one official said. “

A second senior Defense official said there was no country willing or able to accept the body for burial, and U.S. forces “took pains to observe Muslim law.”

“Today’s religious rites were conducted on the deck of the USS Carl Vinson in the Arabian sea. The ceremony started at 1:10am and finished at 2:10am ET,” the second official said. “Procedures for Islamic body were followed. The body was washed and placed in a white sheet. A military official read prepared remarks, which were then translated into Arabic by a native speaker. The body of Osama bin Laden was placed on a flat board, which was then tipped up, and allowed to slide into the sea.”

- cnn.com

This is just a remind to do an entry about post grad/summer plans for coming years that I came up with with Pat at the gym today. Yup.

Haven’t really been able to write much. I’ve got 3 finals on Tuesday and then my Stats final on Saturday, so I’m really cramming for those. So yeahhhh… see you all tuesday evening?

that-is-a-boss-zefron-poster:

forty-ninedaysbefore:

jessxd:

omfg

LMAO MEGAN

4,000+ NOTES 

megan gjahjkslkfhlgadj

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Wind Power =)