Americans Are Flipping The Switch On Fossil Fuels. Here's Why.

The Nation: Why Are Americans Switching to Renewable Energy? It’s Cheaper.

Renewable sources of energy only account for 13 percent of the electricity generated in the US, but it appears that more and more Americans are switching to green sources of energy, reports Tara Lohan for The Nation. The reason? Fossil fuels are more expensive.

Earlier this year, a spokesperson for the city of Georgetown, Texas stated the city was abandoning fossil fuels in favor of wind and solar power, saying price was the deciding factor. States, too, are making the switch. In 2013, Iowa got 27 percent of its electricity through wind; the following year, California got 5 percent of its electricity from solar power.

"I have this feeling that we are on the cusp of a new energy paradigm and things are changing so rapidly,” said Deborah Lawrence, head of the Energy Policy Forum.

Technological advances -- fracking, for instance -- have made it easier to extract fossil fuels, but constructing and operating wells is increasingly expensive. Production of oil has been on a steady decline as once-vast resources are exhausted.

Scientist have advocated for a shift towards renewables for years given that fossil fuels contribute to environmental damage.

“Gone are the days when solar panels were an exotic plaything of Earth-loving rich people,” Tom Randall writes for Bloomberg Business.

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