Diversity in Use of Renewable Energy to Achieve Sustainability

 Diversity in Use of Renewable Energy to Achieve Sustainability

It is very critical to focus on diversity in the use of renewable sources of energy for sustainable development. In 2016, the global employment in the renewable energy sector reached 8.3 million people. However, with such a massive number, the female workforce in renewable only constitute about 20% globally. Research on minority cultures such as the Aboriginal, nor the mature aged workers participating is limited.  The renewable energy industry is emerging and growing tremendously and is anticipated to lead in diversity (Ekpeni, Benyounis, Nkem-Ekpeni & Olabi, 2014). However, if the industry does not prioritize gender equality now, it will ultimately perpetuate gender inequality. Additionally, the minority ethnic groups such as the Aboriginal, and the unemployed special ability workers and mature aged workers could follow the same suit.

As most racial and equity across the globe are contentious, civil rights and minority groups usually promote clean and renewable energy sources rather than using fossil fuels.  The utility of renewable energy does involve not only utility-scale wind and solar energy but also small scale generation such as solar panels.  Access to renewable energy sources such as solar rooftop energy is less available to low-income households due to initial cost despite the perception that it is a sound investment with long term gains (Surie, 2017). In the United States, African Americans, Hispanic Americans twice likely to rent the households than White Americans. The household status as a renter cannot allow them to install renewable solar equipment such as solar panels as a homeowner can only make such a decision. Additionally, the existing solar rooftop policies in homeownership result in disproportionate participation in high minority communities.

The emergence of clean and renewable energy over the past decades has become a turning point not only to workers but also advocate. In the year 2017, the green energy job opportunities in solar and wind increased by 15% and 7%, respectively (Gielen, Boshell, Saygin, Bazilian, Wagner & Gorini, 2019). Although green energy jobs have been increasing over the last couple of years, equity is a concern. The biggest question is whether the minority groups have equal access to the majority to take advantage of new career opportunities, especially in an environment where Hispanic Americans and African American unemployment is higher than the rest of the other population.  In the year 2016, the number of African Americans in the solar sector comprised 6.6 % alone, even though they comprise 13.3 % of the entire United States population.

In the renewable energy industries such as solar industry, the whites are more likely to occupy high wage-earning jobs. Most of the renewable energy sources companies lack the employee diversity tracking system and lacks strategies to increase the representation of minority groups of people. In the wind energy sector, African Americans are only about 8% (Gielen, Boshell, Saygin,  Bazilian, Wagner & Gorini, 2019). Equality, Justice in Environmental, and non-renewable energy organization. Pushing for diversity in the energy sector has become an issue for decades, and is the key component in environmental justice.  The issue of having too little minority representation, discrimination based on gender and age sums all the quest for justice and equality in renewable sources of energy.

There is an opportunity for enhancing diversity in the renewable energy industries. As a result of increased confidence and investment, the level of renewable energy activities has increased tremendously. As such, there is a shortage of qualified electricians to undertake the jobs on offer. Demand for renewable energy such as solar is increasing, and the level of opportunity for new entrants in the market is anticipated to increase. Going forward, the best approach to solve the above diversity issue in use of the renewable resources for sustainability include; ensuring the minority ethnic groups have an equivocal and advocate for their issues to the environmental and energy advocacy groups. Without such dialogue to point out disparities that minority groups experience when it comes to access and utilization of renewable energy sources, and green jobs, then there is no progress in such areas.

Ethics in Use of Renewable Energy to Achieve Sustainability

Energy production and use offer a wide range of moral, ethical issues.  There are four options for energy globally, and each option raises a significant ethical dilemma. Continued utilization of fossil fuel raises various ethical concerns, including our responsibility for future generations. Fossil fuels are non-renewable resources, so the oil, coal, or gas burned at present is forever lost to future generations. Fossil fuel products, including greenhouse gas emission, pose serious health hazards not only to the current generation but also for future generations. Nuclear energy, on its part, poses major ethical issues.  Nuclear power production and disposal of nuclear wastes generate toxic wastes, which jeopardizes the health and safety of individuals over thousands of generations (Owusu & Asumadu-Sarkodie, 2016). Additionally, the introduction of nuclear technology required for the generation of nuclear energy poses ethical concerns of world security and peace.

Renewable energy sources such as geothermal, wind, solar, hydropower, among others, are usually regarded as alternatives to fossil fuels. However, it, too, poses various ethical concerns.  In the short run, renewable energy sources will be more expensive than fossil fuel or nuclear fuel energy (Helder, 2015). The resultant price differentiation implies that the cleaner and safer energy sources will only be available to individuals and countries while the developing nations and individuals will continue to depend on more polluting and dangerous sources of energy, such as fossil fuel. As such, the rise of questions concerning fairness and equality in the distribution of renewable sources of energy is a must. Moreover, the development of renewable energy sources may need governments across the globe to subsidize and offer incentives, which furthers raises the questions of equality, fairness, and freedom.

Replacing fossil fuel with hydropower incorporates dam construction. Flooding displaces the rural population, destroys wildlife habitats, destroys the forest, and alters the sediment transport and deposition patterns as well as interfering with the fish populations (Sovacool, 2013). The process of constructing dams releases amounts of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. Most of the dams have a short lifespan, so their decomposition raises huge environmental questions. Geothermal, solar, and wind energy may have the potential of generating a substantial amount of energy but can result in alteration of natural scenery or the aesthetic view of the environment. While the development of tidal and wave energy sources have the potential of enhancing the local population’s energy supply, the issue of distribution and storage of the energy remains unsolved. It may also have aesthetic and environmental issues.

The potential of renewable energy sources to attain sustainability is affected by increasing awareness of some consequences of rapid development and deployment. The production and utilization of biofuels are currently linked with the increase in global food prices, which stimulate fear over malnutrition and famine in developing countries (Fitzpatrick, 2016). As the production and migration of renewable energy sources at a low cost goes global, industrial labor unrest has started. Additionally, the renewable energy sources are part and partisan of land-related conflicts. In some places, some of the villagers are shot to death simply by protesting over lack of compensation for lands lost to wind power plants.  All of these drives us to an immense ethical dilemma. How will we balance the short-term costs incurred by the disadvantaged, poor, and developing nations over the long-term benefits of shifting towards a sustainable society and safeguarding the environmental society?

Social Ethics in Use of Renewable Energy to Achieve Sustainability

The use of renewable energy sources for sustainability provides major economic benefits, especially for investors. Still, when we utilize such resources, we should consider the impacts it has on the environment and society to achieve sustainability.  Some of the social impacts of renewable energy sources include visual impact, the right to own property, respect given to minorities, human rights, and food security. The use of renewable resources for sustainability, for instance, biomass, raises ethical issues, especially the method in which it is produced. Wind turbines, hydropower dams, and intensive energy crop cultivation stretch over large areas reducing the feeding areas and jeopardizing food security.  Biofuels production increased global food prices resulting in hunger and malnutrition in developing countries. It is noble that human beings need a theory of good to guide us on how we fulfill our needs and do well for other people.

In social ethics, the two major ethical dilemmas involve two questions, the question of our responsibilities to the future generation and the question of justice in the present. These issues can be summed based on the utilitarianism theory and deontological theory.  The utilitarian theory proposes that an action is good if it brings benefits and offers happiness to the greatest number of people. So the use of renewable energy sources for sustainability may be great for the investor through profit generation, can reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, or offer an alternative for hydrocarbon. However, in some geographical areas, some of the people do not need fuel and electricity, but rather need food for survival. So what can we do in such situations? What can we do to ensure fundamental human rights are not violated.

Environmental Ethics in the Use of Renewable Energy to Achieve Sustainability.

Although renewable energy sources are an alternative source of clean energy, it has some severe environmental impacts raising environmental ethics dilemma. Some of the ecological impacts include ecosystem disturbance, species distinction, habitat disturbance, and compromising the natural scenery of the environment. The deontological approach proposes that any action should be per moral principles and duties. At times ethics inform people to do contrary things even if the intended effect would bring more significant benefits. Deontological ethics proposes that humans must respect each other people’s rights, treating them as ends themselves and not the means to our end of collective action. There is a need for environmental ethics to care for nature and the environment (Owusu & Asumadu-Sarkodie, 2016).  These make humans access the effects of obtaining renewable energy sources could have on the happiness of the people. Interventions designed to change the environment should be subject to assessment to assign the value for each factor. Even in conditions where the value is perceived to be utilitarian, environmental ethics is needed to balance the social, economic, and fairness in terms of collective development.

Towards Equitable, Fair and Just Use of Renewable Energy to Achieve Sustainability

There is a growing need to ensure fairness, equality, and justice when it comes to the access and use of renewable resources. The inequalities and inequality witnessed in the sector are a result of lagging back on the headline goals of sustainable development goals (Hall, 2013). Equality is a moral principle of treating every individual as equal.  The identified areas of consensus in the use of renewable energy include; equal life chance, equal concerns for people’s needs, and meritocracy.  For renewable energy sources, some of the principles have been utilized to ensure fairness and equitable distribution and access to energy resources. First, there is a universal offering of renewable energy services for fair treatment. The governments subsidize some of the renewable energy programs in minority and rural communities with low levels of income (Burke & Stephens, 2018).  The second principle is the target action for vulnerable populations. Several governments across the world have increased their spending in favor of the disadvantaged population and or people. The third is redistribution, through the lowering of taxes on renewable energy electricity, progressive taxation, and encouraging downstream action to reduce inequality. Finally, challenging of embedded power imbalances.

Although the right of an individual can stand in social-economic development, it should be taken into consideration. All deeds done ought to ensure the fundamental human needs of all inhabitants in the world, even if the gain is a loss on the other part. It is unethical to put economic progress of developed nations, which are enjoying a state of happiness and well-being above the basic needs of the people in developing countries. The ethical principle of equality posits that all human actions ought to satisfy the requirements to achieve a similar social situation for all members of a society (Hall, 2013).

References

Burke, M. J., & Stephens, J. C. (2018). Political power and renewable energy futures: A critical review. Energy research & social science, 35, 78-93.

Ekpeni, L. E., Benyounis, K., Nkem-Ekpeni, F. F., Stokes, J., & Olabi, A. G. (2014). Energy diversity through a renewable energy source (RES)–a case study of biomass.

Fitzpatrick, J. J. (2016). Environmental sustainability assessment of using forest wood for heat energy in Ireland. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 57, 1287-1295.

Gielen, D., Boshell, F., Saygin, D., Bazilian, M. D., Wagner, N., & Gorini, R. (2019). The role of renewable energy in the global energy transformation. Energy Strategy Reviews, 24, 38-50.

Hall, S. M. (2013). Energy justice and ethical consumption: comparison, synthesis, and lesson drawing. Local Environment, 18(4), 422-437.

Helder, M. (2015). Renewable energy is not enough: it needs to be sustainable.

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Owusu, P. A., & Asumadu-Sarkodie, S. (2016). A review of renewable energy sources, sustainability issues, and climate change mitigation. Cogent Engineering, 3(1), 1167990.

Sovacool, B. (2013). Energy and ethics: Justice and the global energy challenge. Springer.

Surie, G. (2017). Achieving sustainability: insights from biogas ecosystems in