The effects of climate change are becoming impossible to ignore. Rising sea levels are swallowing up land and houses. Forest fires threaten communities all year long. Droughts are creating water shortages. As communities are destroyed, livelihoods are ruined and wildlife and plant life die from the effects of climate change, it is becoming clear to even the most skeptical that we have to do something.
Battling climate change is proving to be the fight of our lifetimes. There are a lot of unknowns when it comes to climate change, and it can be overwhelming to consider what your personal role should be when it comes to making changes in energy consumption. The science regarding solar energy is clear, however. It is one of the most powerful weapons we have to fight against pollution and climate change because it is clean, uses less water and is available to everyone. Also, solar power is becoming more affordable as it gains in popularity.
Solar Power is Clean
Solar power is one of the cleanest forms of power on the planet. We still get most of our energy from burning fossil fuels, and there are some serious side effects. Solar power has zero emissions, will reduce your carbon footprint and is better for your health.
Zero emissions
After the initial manufacturing process, there are zero emissions from the process of turning the sun’s light into electricity. No harmful gases are released into the earth’s atmosphere and there are no dangers of explosions or radioactive waste created during the process of harnessing solar energy.
Reduce your Carbon Footprint
This means that we can reduce our carbon footprint, which is the total amount of greenhouse gases that are associated with our activities and energy needs. There are many ways to reduce your carbon footprint. As an individual, using solar energy is one of the top actions you can take to reduce your personal impact on the environment.
Better for your Health
Solar power is better for your health. Burning fossil fuels isn’t just hard on the planet, it is hard on everyone. Burning fossil fuels has been linked with respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, including asthma, strokes, heart attacks and emphysema. The air pollution caused by fossil fuel energy is also being connected to autism and Alzheimer’s, as well as early death.
When public health costs are factored into the equation, the costs of burning fossil fuels is much higher than we initially perceive it to be. And with the rising effects of climate change, such as smoke from fires and extreme heat, there are other health factors to consider.
Solar Power Uses Less Water
Water may have seemed like an abundant resource to many Americans even just a few decades ago, but it has become increasingly clear that water is a limited resource. As our populations grow, our need for good, clean drinking water increases.
Anything that pollutes our water sources or damages our water systems and ecosystems threatens our water supplies, which are used for drinking, irrigation and more. Water pollution and drought also impact wildlife and plant life, and may be threatening some species with extinction.
The statistics comparing the water usage of each method used to make electricity are shocking, no pun intended. Even hydroelectric power “uses” a lot of water when the amount of evaporation of water in the reservoirs is taken into consideration.
Renewable energies like solar energy are the lowest in water usage, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, and it isn’t even close.
Solar Power is Available to Everyone
The sun is available to everyone on earth, whether they live in the city or the country and whether they are rich or poor. Even though solar power is limited to daylight hours and solar systems can be complex to set up, it is a resource readily available to all. Every other type of energy is limited in availability and other forms of energy require mining, drilling and complex procedures that make them unavailable except through a power grid.
Solar Power is Becoming More Affordable
Solar power won’t just save the planet—it can help save your wallet. Solar power is overall less expensive than it used to be and it is now considered to be the cheapest form of electricity in the world, according to the International Energy Agency’s conclusion in the World Energy Outlook 2020.
As non-renewable types of energy continue to get scarcer, their price will rise with their demand. Solar power is likely to continue its trend in becoming more affordable. In fact, the Department of Energy has announced initiatives to lower the cost of solar power by 60% by 2030.
This is the Way
As the costs of producing power through fossil fuels and other non-renewable types of energy mount, the benefits of solar power look better and better. It is becoming easier to imagine a future where producing energy from sunlight is the way we provide a legacy for our children and grandchildren to enjoy cleaner living, free of the threats we are currently facing from climate change.
