a failure or too risky (Elliot 29). Economics has also been a problem. During the mid-70s energy crisis, nuclear power failed to meet up to expectation. Also, many believe it to be too dangerous because of incidents such as Chernobyl and the Three Mile Island caused from nuclear accidents. In the year 2000, at best, nuclear power contributed about 7 percent of the worlds primary energy (Elliot 30). Long-term questions about nuclear power remain unclear. Nuclear fusion remains a long-term possibility, but remains untested commercially. Ever since the early 1970s, research on solar power and other forms of renewable energy has increased and led to large-scale usage around the world. By 1995, there were around 4.5 gigawatts of wind turbine generating capacity in place around the world (Elliot 31). Renewable energy encompasses forms of energy such as sunlight, wind, waves, and tides and can never be used up, unlike fossil fuels and nuclear energy. The World Energy Council has suggested that, given the necessary support, renewables could supply up to 30 percent of world energy by the year 2020 and perhaps 50 percent by the year 2100 (Elliot 32). Although safer for the environment, renewables are costly in the beginning and are out of the reach of many poor countries financial capabilities. Global warming is a hot issue, to say the least. It is causing the earth to reach unsafe levels in which we might all someday be affected by. The topic remains a large one for debate among the scientific community, but no matter what the latest theory, we must change our ways. We must decrease our use of fossil fuels and increase our use of renewables if we want to make it as a civilization for many years to come. This is something we must do. This is a world issue that must be addressed be all. If its 90 in Seattle in Ap...
