Energy Sources (Global Warming we have a problem)

I will be traveling to Costa Rica soon and therefore I am currently taking a class to learn a little about Costa Rica before I travel there and I have learned some interesting things to say the very least. I also recently have been researching the main source of energy usage in the U.S. and the contrast is pathetic. I am assuming that some of you may have seen the billboards around that have pictures of the coal workers that say something like powering American lifestyle. It is pathetic but true the U.S. is predominantly powered by the coal we mine. Coal which is we are currently in a finite supply of we cannot just simply make more when it is all gone.

I do not know if you believe in global warming but I personally do and burning all of this coal is just simply wasteful. I have had an internship previously with a conservation company and there I learned that the way we burn coal not only releases gases that tribute to global warming but we do it in such a way that we do not get nearly the amount of energy that is possible to get from the coal that we burn. What is even more, there are alternative methods to burning coal.

People somehow think that we are not run primarily on coal because there is wind power, solar energy, and water power as well however, what they do not realize is that it is not put into effect nearly as much as could be possible. In some places, it barely even counts for 1% of the energy used.

This is how I find Costa Rica magnificent they have rainforest in the area and obviously have to be very conservative. There have been many environmental agencies that have gone bankrupt protecting the natural beauty of the land. However, what truly amazes me is their lack of waste truly. They do not drive cars very much because of the rocky landscape and because there is nowhere very far that they need to travel normally. Besides that, they do not mine the oil in the area because it would disrupt the beauty of the rainforest. Here is the kicker though they are run primarily on hydro energy or water. They create so much that it is actually one of their exports.

As Americans it is commonly the misconceptions that because we were born and raised American that we are so superior to everywhere else in the world especially when we look at third world countries however the startling truth for some of us is that we are not. Europe and china are so far ahead of us in fashion, technology, and conservation efforts that it is not even funny. They understand that Hummer’s are one of the most retarded cars ever to be made they actually prefer to get the smallest cars available gas savers. Costa Rica even for being a country of little money has a literacy rate of around 98% can we boast anything so significant?

The only thing that I can say that is pathetic is something I learned in a workshop about stereotypes the only thing Americans have that no other country has in such surplus is wealth. However, what I was told was that if there were 100 people that represented all the countries in the world and six of them were wealthy or had all of the money of the 100 people all six would be Americans. Pathetic is not it.

Tell me your opinion what can we do to leave all of this coal for energy behind? What are your opinions about this information? How do you feel about the U.S. now? Did you know any of this before you read this? Do you feel as though you are very ethnocentric in your views of the U.S. compared to other countries?