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Kelly Hartzell Pd. 3 3/1/12

"More gas, conservation seen limiting carbon emissions" by the CNN Wire Staff []

__Summary__ According to the Energy Department in late January of this year, carbon emissions will continue to decline the next 15 years. Ever since the economy slumped in 2007-2009, carbon-dioxide emissions have been decreasing. Energy Department acting administrator Howard Gruenspecht says this is most likely caused by "increased energy efficiency throughout the economy, updated assessments of energy technologies and domestic energy resources, the influence of evolving consumer preferences, and projected slow economy growth." Because of this, the use of fossil fuels as energy sources is expected to decrease around 6% going into 2035. The study also found that "increased domestic production, improvements in automotive mileage standards, and higher international crude prices" will drive the need for imported oil down leading into 2035. A final shocker in the article is that the report speculates the U.S. will export oil starting around 2021.

__Relevance__ Carbon emissions, the "combustion of carbonaceous fuels, principally wood, oil, coal, and natural gas," (Wikipedia), lead to higher levels of carbon dioxide, which is a primary greenhouse gas in the atmosphere today. The burning of fossil fuels began during the heavy industrializing in the Industrial Revolution (Industrial). Since machines were doing what people used to, more energy had to be made to keep those machines operating. This resulted in the burning of fossil fuels, which is still happening today. Throughout the Industrial Revolution, all of the energy which was made generated pollution at the same time. This pollution was not only being let right into the air, but also in the form of run-off into the surrounding water and land (Industrial). As a result, many areas were either ruined or overinhabited (ThinkQuest). Newly created industrial cities became overpopulated, creating massive amounts of waste that had no where to go. Farmers began taking up more land, ruining animal habitats (ThinkQuest). Overall, the Industrial Revolution is directly linked to the beginning of the deteroration of the environment that the present is just now starting to fix.

__Explanation__ This article is completely related to the theme of Environment. The burning of fossil fuels spurred high levels of carbon dioxide to be released into the atmosphere, around 390 ppm to be exact (Wikipedia), resulting in excessive amounts of greenhouse gases. This is a large amount of air pollution. This pollution comes from cars, factories, and energy-generating facilities like nuclear plants. All of the pollution created led to a recent panic known as global warming. As dictionary.com states, global warming is an increase in the earth's average atmospheric temperature that causes corresponding changes in climate and that may result from the greenhouse effect. All of this air pollution, along with economic panic, is making the general public cut back on their uses of fossil fuels, whether it be to save the environment or to save their money. People are conserving fossil fuels by only driving places when necessary, carpooling, or by finding other ways of travel, such as public transportation on buses or trains. The type of cars citizens own can help conserve, too. More and more companies, such as Nissan, are creating cars like the Leaf that are charged in your garage and run solely on electricity. Other companies, like Chevy, created the Volt, which runs on both electricity and gas at around 35 MPG. These kinds of cars help save the consumer money, as well as protecting the environment by having to use less gas. This article is tied deeply to both ends of the stick: pollution and conservation.

__Questions__ 1. Where is the U.S. getting the resources to be an oil exporter by 2021? Will the drilling sites include on-shore drilling as well as off-shore drilling? 2. How have carbon emissions been decreasing steadily for the past four to five years? Are there less cars on the road and less factories in business? 3. If natural gas is expected to give coal a rhn for its money in the energy producing business, how is it determined that coal will remain the number one fossil fuel for energy generation? 4. What would air pollution levels be it everyone owned hybrids, like the Volt? 5. Are countries other than the United States coming up with ways to limit air pollution/carbon emissions?

__Works Cited__

"Greenhouse gas - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." //Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia//. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2012. [].

"Industrial Revolution Pollution." //Industrial Revolution in America: The American Industrial Revolution.//. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2012. [].

"More gas, conservation seen limiting carbon emissions - CNN.com." //CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News//. N.p., 23 Jan. 2012. Web. 1 Mar. 2012. [].

"Results of the Industrial Revolution." //ThinkQuest : Library//. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2012. [].