Pickerel, K. (2020, October 21). New research shows U.S. solar installations increased 3,000% in one decade. Solar Power World. https://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/2020/10/ new-research-shows-u-s-solar-installations-increased-3000-in-one-decade/

 

This article reflects on the changes in renewable energy production–specifically solar power–in the United States in the past decade. It states that since the start of the decade in 2010, the United States has tripled its production of wind power and increased its production of solar power by 30 times. Utility-scale battery storage has increased 20 times since 2010, meaning the country’s ability to store renewable energy has increased 20-fold as well. Also, the article specifies that California, North Carolina, and Arizona have added the amount of solar power to their energy grids while Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas have increased their wind power more than other states in the past decade. Finally, Rhode Island and Massachusetts improved their energy use efficiency the most.  

 

While reading this article I was shocked by how much the United States was improving its use of renewable energy because I had previously believed that the country was improving very slowly if at all. Furthermore, before reading this article I thought only a select number of states were making efforts to reduce their environmental impact, so I was surprised to learn that many states from every region of the country were taking major steps to switch to renewable energy. With this being said, the cooperation of states to reduce our environmental impact must increase in the coming years if we wish to successfully curb climate change. If this national effort to reduce the carbon emissions from energy production is key to environmental science because if this does not occur, it will be nearly impossible to fully combat climate change because it is the one of the largest contributors to the issue. Therefore, the switch to renewable energy is linked to environmental science because without it, every aspect of the environment will see dramatic changes due to climate change.