The world is at a serious risk as Germany, who is looked
upon as the lead engineer for renewable energy, is relocating villages to
create massive strip mines where they can extract Brown Coal for energy. Brown
Coal was used as early as 1934 and lasted until the end of the Cold War, and
has the lowest grade of coal with the highest carbon dioxide emissions per
kilowatt-hour produced. Now, Germany is pushing to have 80% of power as
renewable energy by 2050 using subsidies such as solar and wind power, which
make up roughly 25% of their electric power today (US is 12%). Experts believe Brown Coal mining is being used now because Germany’s energy revolution pursuit might not be going as planned, and there
may be more coal needed to supply the demands. For example, Germany’s nuclear
power industry will be shut down by 2022, and this decision was announced in
2002, but not fully agreed on until after the Fukushima disaster in 2011. Although
natural gas produces lower carbon dioxide emissions, through an economic
standpoint, it is not feasible for Germany to use this because Brown Coal is
significantly cheaper. However, it is estimated that Brown Coal supplies may
run out in 10-15 years. Thus, it is essential for Germany and other countries
to research for alternative renewable energy that will no longer harm to environment.
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