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A
clean, infinitely renewable source of energy
Humans
have been harnessing the sun's power since the dawn of
their existence. Drying food products has been a means
of preservation in the majority of cultures around the
world for eons. Besides for drying food, solar energy
has been used for a variety of other uses. As the industrial
revolution progressed, however, more people became dependent
on the fossil fuels coal, natural gas, and oil for their
energy needs.
Most electricity in the United States is now generated
by burning these fossil fuels. Because there is only a
limited supply of these fossil fuels, they are referred
to as "non-renewable energy." Moreover, burning
these fossil fuels is producing pollutants that increase
global warming and pollute the water and the air in our
watershed. Increasingly, however, people are starting
to use clean energy sources that do not pollute; some
of these "new" energy sources are even infinitely
renewable such as sunlight and wind.
Using
sunlight as a source of energy can range from the very
simple to the very complex. Hanging clothes out to dry
requires little other than a line strung between two solid
objects. Solar cooking can range from laying thin slices
of food on dry rock, to building a solar stove, to using
the solar power in your house to operate your kitchen
stove.
Picture:
A solar box cooker.
To see the original image and to make a solar cooker yourself,
visit the Solar
Cooking Archive
.
Photovoltaic
systems, more commonly known as solar cells, convert light
energy into electricity and can be used for a range of
applications, from powering small hand-held calculators,
to pumping water, to providing electricity for running
large appliances.
Picture:
A solar
panel. Picture
courtesy of the U.S. Department of Energy. To
the original photo.
Using
renewable energy is a good idea and because the sun will
be around for another five billion years or so, you might
want to check out some of the references below.
References
and further reading
Watershed
Radio's Solar Library
gives another example of using solar energy.
Smithsonian's
on-line exhibit on solar energy.
Learn more about solar power in general.
Solar
Cooking Archive.
Information about solar cooking. The site includes plans
for building solar cookers.
Solar
Buildings.
Learn more about using solar energy for house building
and heating, a website
sponsored by the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Network (EREN) and the U.S. Department of Energy. The site
includes information about the U.S.
Department of Energy Photovoltaics Program.
National
Renewable Energy lab.
Information about renewable energy sources, a website
from the U.S. Department of Energy's premier laboratory
for renewable energy research & development.
Solar
Electric Light Fund.
The Solar Electric Light Fund provides a sustainable solution
to rural energy and communication needs.
There
are various national and international organizations that
promote solar energy:
