The Deepwater Horizon disaster — which spilled an estimated 4.4 million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico over the 5-month long ordeal — is a tragic and visible reminder of our nation's toxic love affair with petroleum-based fuel.
According to the U.S Department of Energy, oil supplies more than 40 percent of our total energy demands and more than 99 percent of the fuel we use in our cars and trucks.
But America's growing thirst for the black goo comes at a hefty cost to both our economy and environment. We spend more than $13 million per hour (that's $200,000 per minute) on foreign oil, based on estimates published by the Natural Resource Defense Council.
And then there's the big, pink elephant in the room (or is it the giant drowning polar bear?) — Global Climate Change.
The best scientific evidence shows that global climate change is caused by burning fossil fuels (oil, coal, and natural gas), which emit carbon dioxide (greenhouse gases) into the atmosphere. The carbon gases act like a bubble around the Earth, trapping heat in, and in turn, causing temperatures to rise on the planet's surface. This phenomenon can be observed through shrinking glaciers, thawing of permafrost, rising sea levels, lengthening of growing seasons, and yes — growing numbers of dead polar bears.
It's not all bleak, however.
Over the last five years, countries around the world, including the United States, Spain, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, and China have been investing in clean and renewable energies in an effort to lower carbon emissions and transition to a more sustainable power source. Renewable energy is energy that that comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, tides, and geothermal heat. Unlike oil, these energy sources are in endless supply (although highly unpredictable) and carbon-neutral.
See what happens when human-engineering teams up with Mother Nature to produce some of the most innovative renewable energy plants.