In an effort to combat global warming, Al Gore has called on the U.S. to end its addiction to fossil fuels by transitioning to 100% clean energy within a decade. Is this our “man on the moon” moment, or an unrealistic pipe dream only made less likely by the current economic calamity?
Clean technology experts and advocates lauded Gore’s goal as “ambitious” and something to strive for, but also said it’s widely unlikely to be achieved given a wide range of obstacles, including the credit crunch, cost of renewable energy, manufacturing constraints and other headaches.
“It’s taken us 200 years of world wars, industrial revolutions and Baby Boomer generations to become a coal-dependent nation and it probably can’t be undone in 10 years,” said Eric Wesoff, a senior analyst at Greentech Media.
According to the Energy Information Administration, just 7% of the nation’s energy supply in 2007 was derived from renewable sources and 8% from nuclear power. ...