Reporter talks energy

The Quality of Student Life Committee (QSLC), in conjunction with the Office of the Dean for Student Development (ODSD) and The New York Times, continued its Be Current campaign with a presentation by Times reporter Matthew Wald on the economic feasibility of renewable energy in the near future.

The QSLC hopes to improve student awareness of ongoing national and world issues that occur beyond the walls of Boston College every day. Part of its initiative includes the distribution of The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and most recently, USA Today, through a subscription paid for by a small slice of every student's activities fee. The Be Current campaign brings knowledgeable and prominent figures to campus to discuss these hot topic issues with students.

As a reporter for The New York Times, Wald has been writing about environmental topics intermittently since 1979, and spends most of his time at the Times Washington Bureau in Washington, D.C. On Monday, he took time to speak with students about the problems facing the future of renewable energy in the United States and worldwide.

While there are pieces of evidence to suggest the world is moving toward renewable energy, Wald is pessimistic about making such green initiatives work in the United States' current economy.

"I'm pleased to see this trend coming back, though I don't think we're much smarter about it than we ever were," Wald said.

Wald provided some statistics to emphasize the limited extent of renewable energy possible in the current economy: the United States uses 100 quadrillion BTUs of energy per year, and only 70 billion, or one-tenth of 1 percent, are provided by solar energy; one-third of 1 percent by wind, and roughly 1 percent by bio-fuels.

The remaining energy output comes from nonrenewable resources, making the switch to a more environmentally sustainable global economy seem a daunting task. Like Wald said, the main factors holding back the integration of renewable resources in our economy are cost and availability.

As a comparison, Wald noted that the average cost of one kilowatt of energy using nonrenewable resources costs approximately 11 cents, whereas the same amount of energy fueled by solar power would cost upward of 47 cents. The difference adds up quickly, Wald said.

Furthermore, our government has slowed down the introduction of these renewable sources into our economy, as Congress continually fails to put a price tag on carbon dioxide, Wald said.

"If I were to run or build a solar, nuclear, or coal plant, I'd want to know what carbon would cost," Wald said. "But Congress hasn't been able to get its act together for the past two years."

The availability factor is also a major impediment, as many of these alternatives are unreliable as permanent and consistent sources of energy. Wind, Wald said, is cheaper than natural gas, and should be the economic choice; however, the wind blows when it wants to, making it too unpredictable to be the main source of energy.

"It's a very steep hill to climb," Wald said. "And it has to be climbed by market economics."

The United States, Wald said, cannot continue down its current path, especially because of its prominent stance within the global economy. Wald said that many smaller countries, namely Denmark, have been able to avoid or "lie" about their renewable energy use by hiding behind bigger nations and their renewable efforts, comparing these countries to fleas on the backs of elephants.

"In the United States, we can't pull the same trick," Wald said. "We are the elephant."

Another problem with alternative sources, Wald said, is that some are not as renewable or environmentally sustainable as we may think. Bio-fuels and ethanol for cars, for example, require more energy to make (the way they are made now) than they save on output. Wald's argument was not entirely negative; he said progressive change in the future is possible, but the U.S. economy has simply prevented it from getting there.

Until the government takes some sort of action on renewable energy legislation, little change can be made, Wald said, and little can be assumed about what is to come for energy efforts in the future.

"Part of the solution will be renewable," Wald said. "But I'm here to tell you with confidence: I don't know what's going to happen next."