Solar will soon be our top energy source

The world's supply of fossil fuels is nearly depleted and the next phase of world energy production comes next. This is one of the prime motivators for renewable energy proponents. But climate scientists urge us to adopt clean energy sources now because the alarming sea ice melt in the Arctic tells us that the dire warnings of climate change were not strong enough. Global warming's effects on the planet are severe enough that we can't wait any longer. The only solution is to adopt clean energy technologies and keep on improving on them.

The future of solar energy is now

Solar and wind power are quickly becoming cheaper and more abundant than fossil fuels. Soon renewable sources will completely replace fossil fuels worldwide. This will be decided primarily by lawmakers, some of whom have been accepting money from fossil fuel industry lobbyists for years.  Some ignorant policymakers continue to press for more oil and gas production, even in sensitive areas like the Arctic. The rising tide of solar photovoltaics and wind energy gives the only realistic opportunity of avoiding dangerous climate change. There are no environmental replacements to fossil fuels, and it is difficult to envision any response to climate change that does not involve solar and wind energy. Are other renewable energy sources on the way to help mankind with their horrendous energy problems? What if there was already an inexpensive alternative energy source that hasn't been fully adopted yet? There is and it's called solar energy.

Benefits of solar power

The earth will have sunshine and wind for billions of years to come unless the current world cycle is abruptly ended. Most of the world’s population lives at low latitudes (less than 35°), where sunlight is abundant and shows little fluctuation between seasons. Wind energy is also widely available, particularly at higher latitudes and in coastal and desert areas. Solar and wind have minimal environmental impacts and water requirements. The raw materials for PV – silicon, oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, aluminum, glass, steel and small amounts of other materials – are in unlimited supply.

We need total replacement of fossil fuels as soon as possible

Total replacement of all fossil fuels requires solar and wind collection devices covering much less than one percent of the world’s land surface area. A considerable percentage of the collectors are installed on rooftops and in remote and arid regions, thus lessening competition with food production and ecosystems. The more widely solar and wind generation are distributed across the world, the less the prospect of wide-scale disruption from natural disasters, war, and terrorism. The solar thermal industry is hundreds of times less than the fast-growing PV industry (because of higher costs). Hydropower, geothermal, wave and tidal energy are only significant possibilities in some regions but there is hope that technology will give a lift to these nascent technologies.

Biomass energy is not efficient and its requirement for soil, water and fertilizer place it in conflict with food production and ecosystems. Nuclear is too expensive, and its construction rates are too slow to catch PV and wind. There is no safe way to store the wastes generated by nuclear power and there is no safe level of radiation. The disasters at Chernobyl and Fukushima should shame all nuclear proponents into utter silence. To promote nuclear energy, you would have to ignore too many facts, which is the same problem faced by fossil fuel producers.

There has never been a better time to install a solar power system!

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