Renewable or Non-Renewable ResourcesThe United States has 4% of the world's population, but as a country it consumes 25% of the world's oil. The United States and Western Europe are obsessed with a standard of living dependent on energy consumption maintained by burning fossil fuels. These non-renewable resources continue to be depleted, despite the fact that solar energy, wind energy, hydropower, biomass and many other renewable resources are available and accessible. Switching to these renewable energies would put an end to the massive release of CO2 and other pollutants into the air we breathe. Acid rain, oil spills, global climate change and other environmental disasters may have a chance to subside. Besides its impact on our health and that of the planet, dependence on fossil fuels has other potentially disastrous implications. Just as worrying as the environmental consequences for Western oil-dependent economies is the fact that, in the near future, more than half of the planet's oil reserves will be owned and controlled by a handful of countries in a politically unstable Middle East. . This will mean, and has undoubtedly meant in the recent past (Operation Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom), that the US military will go to these Middle Eastern countries to ensure that the management of oil resources is as desired. American companies. This dependence and the imperialism that results from it seem stupid and completely unnecessary when there are other types of sustainable resources right here at home. An example of the true suitability of renewable resources is wind power, the fastest growing energy resource; consumption increased from 10 megawatts in 1980 to 15,600 megawatts in 1999. If Wyoming alone were to cover just 1......... middle of paper ......th 21st century. Alternative Energy Institute, Inc, Chapter 2Joesph Kahn. The United States is preparing to oppose the international plan for cleaner energy. New York Times, July 14, 2001Chiras, Daniel. The Solar Home – Passive Heating and Cooling. 2002, p. 237Wyoming Wind Resources, accessed 09/11/03 @ www.eere.energy.gov/state_energy/tech_wind.cfm?state=WYCaveli, Damien. The United States of Oil, 2001, accessed 09/11/03 @ http://global search.ca/articles/CAV111A.htmlBrown, Eric. An Introduction to Solar Energy, accessed 9/15/03 @ http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/feneric/solar.html Greer, Bloyd. An Overview of Hawaii's Photovoltaic Experience, accessed 01/10/03 @ http://state.hi.us/dbedt/ert/pv_overv.htmlKelly, Rick. Bush grants permanent legal immunity to American companies that plunder Iraqi oil. International Committee of the Fourth International (WSWS), August 19, 2003