Our country is currently suffering from an energy point of view, we have been sourcing energy from inefficient sources for years now and the damage it is doing to the country has started to become evident. Renewable energy is the only way to stop, or at least slow down, the inevitable decline of our ecosystem. I think the next big step forward for renewable energy is implementing off-grid communities that use renewables as their primary energy sources, so we can potentially escape the energy rut we're stuck in. America is wasting its limited resources, such as coal and nuclear, when in reality we could be using renewable sources that will never run out. Most citizens of our country have never thought about where instilling this new way of using energy in off-grid communities will inevitably increase the living status of those living in cities and other well-populated areas. Shifting to renewable energy sources could dramatically reduce pollutants currently released into the atmosphere from coal mines and other harmful energy options, increasing the supply of renewable energy would allow us to replace carbon-intensive energy sources and reduce U.S. global warming emissions significantly… a national renewable electricity standard of 25% by 2025 would reduce CO2 emissions from power plants by 277 million tons per year by 2025, the equivalent of the annual production of 70 typical (600 MW) new coal-fired power plants (“The Benefits of Renewable Energy Electricity generation accounts for more than a third of U.S. global warming emissions, most generated by coal-fired power plants… In contrast , most renewable energy sources produce few or no global warming emissions (“Benefits of Using Renewable Energy”). Harvesting would also be reduced by the switch, which would in turn improve the forest and ecosystem surrounding these power plants. Animals will also benefit from the switch to clean energy. It is often reported that animals are constantly being displaced and injured by the different forms of energy we currently use. Andrew B. Gill conducted a study and wrote a journal article on the conservation of wildlife and their habitats; the results of his study were conclusive on the need to do something to change the current state of our energy