Saving Earth: Alternative Green Eco-Energies

Nowadays, governments are facing obstacles concerning the fossil products’ depletion and the CO2 emissions which are harmful for the environment. For this reason, countries need to find alternative renewable resources to generate electricity helping to diminish the exploitation of fossil fuels (Canadian National Energy Board, 2009). Even though Costa Rica lacks knowledge and experience to integrate eco-energies into national consumption planning, the country must continue modifying policies to introduce the nation as an exporter of renewable energies in benefit of the economy, invest on research programs about renewable resources to protect the environment, and implement education methodologies to facilitate the learning process in the use of friendly energies.

Admittedly, fossil fuels have always being the strong arm of the economies of nations around the world. Energy consumption reaches about two to three percent per year worldwide (Lee, 2006). Moreover, the continuous growth of population and big cities forces to increase the extraction phase of underground resources. Due to this great demand, the production process to obtain energy from fossil fuels is faster and becomes less expensive. Fossil rate costs are significantly low in benefit of greater oil importers such as Asia, Africa and Latin America because international commissions regulate and control the price of fuel imports and exports in the international market (Bilgen, Kaygusuz and Sari, 2004). However, in the last three decades, conflicts in the Middle East have caused instability and insecurity about oil exports provoking energy crisis worldwide. Consequently, the price of petroleum constantly rises debilitating the economies of most countries specially the ones of developing countries which spend more money in fuel imports compared to the earnings of product exportations. In addition, competitive capacity diminishes as long as market fluctuates (Canadian Energy Board, 2009 and Lee, 2006).

In spite of the tradition to use fossil fuels for energy consumption, several nations fight against the inflation of petroleum prices looking for alternative friendly energies that will bring back wealth to their economies and will preserve ecosystems. Alternative resources provide safeties forms of supplies and larger capacity for internal consumption. For instance, eco-energies have the advantage that they can face depletion due to its renewable capacity and characteristic. This situation helps countries to depend less on imports and to become active exporters of products as well as of renewable energy entering international market (Bilgen, Kaygusuz and Sari, 2004). In addition, eco-energies are not harmful for the environment. Pollutant residues can be restored as in the case of biogas. Another example is the use of solar photovoltaic cells which produce electricity, but the cells do not pollute air (Scott, 2008). Green energies have the advantage to follow health and safety procedures which are the main concerns of health departments.

Costa Rica already makes efforts to be part of the countries with opportunity to export eco-energies due to the rich land and abundance of natural resources. Law 7447 regulates policies, guidelines and both national versus overseas energy consumption (Hartley, 2005). Likewise, the free trade agreement gives Recope, Ice, and transnational companies the opportunity to cooperate about creating more projects for exploitation and energy consumption similar to the Miravalles geothermal project. Costa Rica must still continue improving and modifying guidelines and policies to fit international measures to introduce the country as a potential competitive exporter of renewable energies (Hartley, 2005). Similarly, the country should invest more money on research programs to use renewable resources to protect the environment. As a matter of example, since 1996 proposals to change the flow of cars downtown into the use of electric train and buses are waiting for both approval and funds from MOPT and City Hall (Nación, 1996, p.5). Even if the idea to reform traffic circulation of public transport cooperates with the concept of clean cities free from noise and air pollution, there should be more commitment from authorities. Furthermore, Costa Rica should implement education methodologies to facilitate the learning process among citizens in the use of eco-energies. The first attempt was carried out several years ago with a community in the city of Heredia. The Escuela Laboratorio school planned to promote cooking with solar energy and purify water with solar distillatory. The experiment succeeded; however, the lack of interest of media to help schools and governments promote responsible use of natural resources abandoned the desire to explore more on the benefits of the use of eco-energies (Benavides, A. and Coto, Juana., 2000).

To conclude, making efforts to continue the change of national policies into an awareness to preserve nature does not mean to deteriorate the transition process towards progress. Costa Rica is one of the countries in transition to stop import of fossil fuels for national consumption into a friendlier form of eco-energies supply. The agreement signed by Al Gore and the country’s president, José Figueres, is an effort to convince other nations around the world to commit in the search of solutions to avoid the evident abuse of natural resources and the careless production of polluting material for the environment. Costa Rica is already part of those nations involved in the preservation of natural resources without compromising the nation’s growth and development.

Jennifer Obando