Events of the decade on the scientific front

Alternative Energy

From its power sources to its cars, the nation got a glimpse of what a post-petroleum world might be like.

“Peak oil” entered the lexicon; petroleum is finite. Officials also are increasingly concerned about global warming emissions related to burning fossil fuels.

So the decade has seen a boom in renewable energy, which in 2008 provided 7 percent of U.S. energy needs.

Solar power, still in its infancy, accounts for just 1 percent of that, but with strong state subsidies, New Jersey ranks second in the nation in solar. Pennsylvania is stronger on wind power, but New Jersey may be first in the nation to have offshore wind farms; three are planned.

For some petroleum substitutes, the road has been rocky. Natural gas is seen as a “bridge” fuel between oil or coal, and is plentiful in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus shale formations. But extracting the gas has environmental consequences that officials are still wrestling with.

Philadelphia Inquirer