| Sumario: | A new energy economy is highly desirable, but stakeholders must be aware that energy transitions have always been lengthy processes. To call for America's complete transition to renewable energy within 10 years is to ignore historical precedent. Since the beginning of its commercial production, it took oil approximately 50 years to capture 10 percent of the global primary energy market, and the analogical span for natural gas is almost identical. Meanwhile, market penetration by non-conventional fossil fuels and renewable energy sources remains extremely low, while the cost and effort of creating delivery systems for such energy sources is high. Commitment and determination can accelerate the transition to renewable sources, but the transition will take decades, rather than years.
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