Recognizing that fossil fuels are a depleting source that harms our planet and our people is not a new concept. In Georgia specifically, natural gas and coal made up 54% of the state's electricity generation in 2024, while renewables only made up around 12%. This is all despite the fact that we need to increasingly rely on more sustainable sources. But first, let's take a look at how renewable energy sources work, as well as their ramifications.
The four most common renewable energy sources today are in wind, solar, hydroelectric, and bioenergy. They pose benefits over unsustainable sources because they have more abundance of supply, are more ethically supported by governments across the globe, produce less emissions, and generally tend to be less expensive.
However, something that must be kept in mind when advocating for renewable energy is that it's not completely perfect. In Georgia, the energy and power industry was historically built around coal and natural gas, which makes the current infrastructure difficult to work around. Additionally, the increased construction of renewable energy sources that we are advocating for will need to avoid tampering with or destroying wildlife habitats and ecosystems.
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