Less than fifty years ago it would have been hard to imagine a home that was powered by the sun. It would have been even less possible to imagine a backpacker who used a slim and collapsible solar panel mounted to their backpack to power a GPS unit. Today, we are all ready at that point. We have been rapidly assessing the alternative energy sources that will eventually free us from the use of coal, nuclear, oil and gas energies and we have been implementing them in a staggering number of ways.
Among the most popular and well-developed of the alternative energies are those using the sun and those using wind. Solar technology has all ready allowed for the creation for entire power plants that use fields of collectors and concentrated beams of sunlight to produce enough electricity to power entire towns. We have also witnessed the creation of solar chargers that are installed in the same fashion as traditional roofing shingles and which can offer homeowners electrical services throughout the entire day and well into the night. This is all a far cry from the enormous roof-mounted panels of thirty years ago, which provided hot water and some electrical service.
There are also wind-based power plants utilizing enormous windmills or âturbinesâ and these exist in remote mountainous areas as well as in offshore locations.
Interestingly, many people in the United States have started to really assess what is now called the âcarbon footprintâ. This is a calculation based on the amount of non-renewable energy used by an individual in any given year. This includes their home electricity and heating as well as their automobile fuel consumption and a number of other âconsumerâ data. With this fairly accurate data, many consumers are working with alternative energy groups to purchase âcarbon offsetsâ. These are funds donated directly to the groups working in the world of alternative energy. For example, a family of five will use all relevant data to figure their approximate carbon footprint in a single year. The carbon offset group assigns a dollar value to this amount, which the family may contribute in full or in part to the agency. They, in turn, pour the funds directly into the development of a wind farm or solar power plant. In this way, many consumers are able to cancel out their consumption while also contributing to the future renewable energy solutions.
Of course it doesnât end with wind and sun. There are hydro (water based) technologies still to be explored and there are even alternative fuels already at work â including the Biofuels used in many modern cars and vehicles
Jonathan Gal is a solar lighting expert and owner of YCA Solar Lights, an organization dedicated to promoting clean, energy efficient solar lighting technology. To find out more about how solar technology is changing the way we live, especially with respect to lighting, you are invited to visit Jonathan’s Solar outdoor lighting site.
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