Solar Power:
A Way to Save the World
Can climate change be reversed? That is the question that could save our planet. My solution to the problem is solar power/solar energy. Solar energy is a technology that is currently available around the world. If you are not familiar with how solar power works, first sunlight must reach the top part of the solar panel. Then one of the solar cells, the little blue squares, absorbs the sunlight into one of its crystals. These crystals have bonds in them made up with electrons, once the sunlight reaches the crystal it makes the electrons more active. When the electrons get really active that is when they make a current and can be converted into energy (Scientific American). One of the advantages of solar power is the lack of Co2 emitted into the atmosphere. They can also double as roofs so that the solar panels do not have to take up extra space. Solar power, while advantageous, does possess flaws. While oil, coal, etc. can run in almost any condition solar power can only run at its peak efficiency on sunny days, but even though they can only run on certain days they still can help save the environment. This is not the dilemma though, the dilemma is what’s going to happen to our planet if we keep using nonrenewable fossil fuels, the solution is solar power.
Global warming is slowly killing our planet. Currently, we use many fossil fuels i.e. coal, oil, and natural gas. These resources are called nonrenewable resources, because there are only a finite amount on Earth. Aside from the fact that we only have a limited amount, those fuels also pollute the Earth with a harmful gas called Co2. Currently the areas most affected by this gas are Greenland and Antarctica. Greenland has been losing around 281 gigatons of ice every year since 2002, whereas Antarctica loses around 118 gigatons every year (NASA). To put that in perspective 1 gigaton is equal to one billion tons.(Kyle) That means every decade year in total we lose 399,000,000,000 tons of ice in just two places (Kyle). This is because of the human race using our fossil fuels to power our machines, homes, computers, etc, but these are only some effects of pollution.
As we continue to use fossil fuels our world becomes increasingly closer to death. Since 1880, the overall temperature of our planet has increased by 1.7 degrees fahrenheit (NASA). Our carbon dioxide level has gone up by 406.17 parts per million, this is the current record and it is still climbing rapidly (NASA). This means as the years go by not only is our planet dying at a steady rate it is dying faster every year. In 1884 almost none of our planet was above the global average, now most, almost all of our planet is over the global average (NASA). We need to stop this growth and solar power is the solution.
Solar power is not the only thing that reduces our fossil fuel use. Wind power and Hydroelectric/Water power also do not emit any Co2 and are renewable resources. Wind power uses wind to drive a shaft that rotates to power a generator (Department of Energy). This method of creating electricity is much less complicated than solar power, meaning less things can go wrong. Another pro to wind power is that it outputs no Co2 emissions. Hydroelectric power uses the same principle for it’s energy. Water flows in through an intake valve and spins a turbine which creates the energy that runs through the power lines (USGS). The advantage to hydroelectric power is that it creates a lot of power quickly and is a typically consistent power source that does not depend on many variables i.e. (time of day, weather, etc.). Like solar power, they also possess disadvantages. Wind power relies on an abundance of wind consistently in order to create electricity, but in areas where a person might want to live, a lot of wind is not abundance. Depending on the size wind turbines can also be quite large. Hydroelectric power, on the other hand, can be very expensive to install and relies on the fact that there is a large body of water nearby. Water power also destroys the environment around it, it can change water temperature, destroy agricultural land, and even kill the fish in the rivers (Energy Information Administration). This destroys the idea of water power being “green” because of its destruction of the ecosystem around it. Solar power, however, doesn’t have these drawbacks.
Solar Power is one of, if not our best, renewable resource. It combines size and being user-friendly. Solar power is relatively portable compared to hydroelectric and wind power, it also requires less variables than that of wind power. Typically they are much smaller than both other renewable energy options. One of the only problems is that it requires sunlight to work meaning, it can not create energy during the night. Another issue is the cost of solar panels, the national average for solar installation of a solar panel system of 5kW, kilowatts, is around $10,000 to $13,000.(EnergySage) The solution to these difficulties is the use of batteries which can store the solar panels power throughout the night and the fact that electrical bills are not needed once a full solar system is installed, meaning it can pay for itself (NPR). Solar power is the key to saving our planet.
Solar power is the way to save our dying planet, Earth’s death is imminent.While wind power and water power work, they do not have the advantages that solar power does. With it’s size and eco-
friendly benefits solar power is the simple solution. Solar power is the answer and we are the ones
that have to do something about it. This is not some fantasy, we will die if we continue down our
path, and soon. Everyone needs to help and solar power is the key to the door of salvation. Save our
planet.
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