Costa Rica- Leading the Renewable Energy Movement

 Costa Rica has managed an incredible ecological feat – it has been able to produce all of its electricity from renewable resources for 75 days straight!  So far in 2015, the country has not had to rely on burning fossil fuels to supply the grid with electricity.  To date, no other country has been able to rely strictly on renewable resources for its energy consumption for this long a stretch of time.

Costa Rica has been able to accomplish this milestone largely due to the fact that heavy rains have allowed its hydroelectric power stations to produce a bumper crop of electricity, which has led to almost all of their 2015 energy demands being met.  The remainder of the country’s grid requirements have been met through the use of wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal energy programs. Costa Rica has been committed to the use of greener energy sources and is determined to become a carbon-neutral country by 2021.  They currently supply 94% of its power from renewable resources, with 68% sourced from hydroelectric power plants.

Costa Rica is not the only country to maintain a green focus.  The European Union has put forth renewable energy goals for 2020, but Sweden, Bulgaria, and Estonia have managed to meet these goals eight years ahead of schedule.  One would hope that the U.S. would be inspired as a leading nation to make a commitment to a greener focus.

Should the U.S. attempt to foster programs to increase our use of renewable energy resources?

How can we as individuals lower our overall energy consumption?

What is the best way to raise awareness about renewable energy resources?

Something for the Pain

The recent indictment of a Philadelphia pain management practitioner has placed the issue of opioid addiction and dependency at the forefront of local news. This doctor has been accused of prescribing and/or dispensing oxycodone and Xanax to his patients, generally without the requirement of a physical examination. As a result of this irresponsible behavior, he currently faces over 200 counts of distributing oxycodone. If convicted, he could anticipate a punishment of decades in prison, substantial fines, and criminal forfeiture.

Unfortunately, this case is not unusual in our society, and it will likely not be the last of its kind. According to drugabuse.gov, the amount of prescriptions for opioid medications has rapidly escalated from approximately 76 million in 1991 to almost 207 million in 2013. The United States is the largest global consumer of opioids, accounting for nearly 100 percent of the world’s supply of hydrocodone (e.g., Vicodin) and 81 percent of the world’s supply of oxycodone (e.g., Percocet). The New England Journal of Medicine notes that 60 percent of opioids that are abused are directly acquired through a doctor’s prescription.

These statistics raise the daunting question of what alternatives can be utilized to more effectively help those in pain. It is also worth questioning if the dissemination of addictive medications is the most responsible and humane way to treat pain. For more information, we recommend that you read A Nation in Pain: Healing Our Biggest Health Problem, written by Judith Forman.

Do you think there should be a system in place to better control the prescription of opioids?

As a society, are we less able to effectively handle pain?

How do we prevent the unnecessary dispensing of prescription drugs?

What do you think about the legalization of medical marijuana?

Spilling Danger

CEC continues its concern for the environment in 2015. In addition to being green efficient internally, we believe it is important to share information to keep ecological awareness alive and positive change happening.

In order to keep up with our country’s need for fossil fuels, energy companies have resorted to the use of oil pipelines. Two spillage incidents occurred on January 17, 2015 leading many to question the safety of this method of obtaining and transporting oil.

A recent article from The Huffington Post states that residents of Glendive, Montana were alerted that high levels of benzene, a cancer-causing chemical, were found in their public water supply following a spill that occurred in the Yellowstone River.  The CDC stated that although the benzene levels did not pose any long-term health risks, they were not safe for short-term consumption. Government officials and Bridger Pipeline Company leaders (the owner of this portion of the pipeline) have yet to effectively recover the crude oil, most of which appears to be trapped beneath the ice-covered river.

The second incident was discovered near Williston, North Dakota, where 3 million gallons of brine leaked into the water system.  Brine is an unwanted byproduct of drilling that is much saltier than seawater and may contain petroleum and residue from the fracking process.  The full environmental impact of this spill may not be realized for months.

It is worth noting that the steps taken during the refining process of converting crude oil to usable fuel have many concerned as well. If a similar leak were to occur at one of the many refineries along a pipeline’s route through our country, there could be further consequences.

It is clear that if we are going to rely on pipelines as a method of obtaining and transporting fossil fuels, we need to be more responsible in their usage, starting now.  As larger pipelines are considered, it is imperative that we develop environmentally conscious methods to monitor the safety of these devices or our waterways will continue to be contaminated.

How has your office been able to lower energy consumption?

Have you contacted your government leaders regarding your concerns?

Should we be spending more time and money on alternative methods of energy development?