Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
7. Climate
Combined with wind and energy efficiencies, solar is our best fix for climate change. I
hopebynowyouunderstandthisthreatandthemoralimperativetoreduceglobalwarm-
ing, so I won't dwell on the need to get back to a safe level of carbon dioxide in the
atmospherebymidcentury; ratherI'llassumethatthat'sthegoalandthatourcivilization
will come to its senses. Our best option to achieve this target comes from accelerating
energy efficiency and demand-side management to reduce our use of electricity while
displacing the supply coming from stored solar power in the form of fossil-fuel steam-
based power plants with wind and solar electricity. It's the only broad formula that gets
us to safe carbon levels, which also allows us to maintain our quality of life and spread
electricity services to the billions of people without it.
Residential solaradoption iscritical tothesuccess oftheRooftopRevolution because
it can help people understand how electricity works and what they can do to control it.
This is the truly emancipatory potential in solar power to overthrow ol' King CONG. As
socialpressuregrows,governmentswillacttoemploylocal,cleanenergy.It'saboutpos-
itive energy policies, not politics.
8. Popularity
I'm of Irish descent, and for me there's no greater blessing than the famous Irish one:
to have the sun shine warmly upon my face. So it is for most people, and so it is that
when they can use the sun to power their homes and their lives, and discover how easy,
affordable, and moral it is to do that, they'll spread the word. They'll tell their family,
friends, and neighbors about it—over the fence, during backyard barbecues, and via so-
cial media—and these people will become energized themselves. There's a domino ef-
fectstatistically evidentinneighborhoodswherehomeshavealreadygonesolar,andthis
willperpetuate withtimebecausesolaradoptioniseasy,it'stherightthingtodo,andit's
better for all.
9. Defense
Ifpopularityistoofruityajustificationforyou,howaboutsomecold,hardmilitarybrass
for a reality check? The Department of Defense (DOD) and our armed services love sol-
ar power. The DOD's clean-energy investments grew more than 300 percent from 2006
to 2009 and are projected to continue at that clip through 2030. What's in it for them? A
safe, ubiquitous supply of sunlight—available from the United States to the mountains
of Afghanistan and the deserts of Iraq—that doesn't need to be transported in vulnerable
truck convoys or shipments and which, indeed, can reduce the “need” for a global milit-
