The role of solar energy in curbing global warming

Global warming is being induced by several large-scale human activities. In addition to burning fossil fuels for energy, for example, large-scale deforestation for livestock production is a major dilemma. It’s true that renewable energy alone can’t stop global warming, but every attempt we make now will help the environment in the future. Renewable energy is one of the most powerful solutions to global warming and should be pursued as forcefully and quickly as possible if we want to have any hope of stopping critical climate change. Many of the world’s nations will be powered by clean, renewable energy by the middle of this century. Some industry officials have predicted that approximately 100% could do so by 2050. If these nations would install the technology to make the change happen, tens of millions of jobs would be generated. While the job boost may be a major reason to be confident about such a transition, however, and low-cost renewable energy will mean lower energy costs than if we didn’t have solar and wind power, the core purpose for renewable energy’s development and increase today is to help stop global warming. The other advantages of solar are perhaps even more compelling.

Climate change is becoming a clear and present danger

Climate change is occurring, despite the rhetoric of the global warming deniers. Some of the key signs it is occurring have been presented on the US EPA website: “Average temperatures have risen across the contiguous 48 states since 1901, with an increased rate of warming over the past 30 years. Eight of the top 10 warmest years on record have occurred since 1998. Average global temperatures show a similar trend, and all of the top 10 warmest years on record worldwide have occurred since 1998.”

Another important indicator related to increasing the heat on the planet is in the water. “Ocean surface temperatures increased around the world during the 20th century. Even with some year-to-year variation, the overall increase is clear, and sea surface temperatures have been consistently higher during the past three decades than at any other time since reliable observations began in the late 1800s.”

These are just two of several representations. Climate change deniers point to some arbitrary statistics as alleged evidence that the overall warming isn’t happening, like pointing out small areas where there is still sea ice, but they are only focused on the outliers, not the overall trend. The rate of sea ice melting is the fastest its been in 1500 years. In 2016, more coral perished in the Great Barrier Reef than in any previous year. There are also many other signals that warming is not only occurring but is already significantly disrupting the climate. The overuse of fossil fuels is a principal cause of climate change, and this fact has been reinforced based on theory and empirical evidence many times over.

The solar energy transition

Germany has been a global leader in the expansion of solar and wind power, and yet even with its commitment to them, climate change emissions have not decreased dramatically. The reason for this situation is that the country demands more renewable energy to replace its current over-reliance on fossil fuels. However, it’s not because renewable energy installed isn’t working properly. Rather, it’s that Germany chose to phase out nuclear energy immediately rather than phasing out fossil fuels more quickly. Renewable energy has mostly been replacing nuclear energy which is a great benefit due to nuclear's horrible safety and financial record.

Although Germany has developed its renewable energy production significantly over the last 12 years or so, there still isn’t enough energy so coal power plants there proceed to burn huge amounts of coal and spew out foul air pollution. However, parts of Germany have already attained a rate of 100% renewable energy.

Here in America, solar panel costs have fallen and there's no longer any excuse to avoid putting solar panels on your roof. If you have the money to invest in solar, it will pay off handsomely in the near and distant future. Please see our solar blog for more information.

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