Power to the Sun

Finding sustainable energy sources to replace the shrinking amount of oil has become a major concern and priority for many nations.  While countries continue to import and export millions of barrels of oil every year there is still an increase in demand for alternative energy sources.  A very popular choice is solar power, due to its regular availability and reliability.  According to statisticbrain.com, 75 million barrels of oil are saved and 35 million tons of carbon dioxide is not inserted into the air due to all of the solar power users worldwide.  The country with the most solar power in megawatts (MW) as of 2012 is Germany with 9,785 MW; the United States is in fourth with 1,650 MW.  We have not even begun to tap all of the solar power potential that is available across the globe and many more countries are starting to commit to building and supplying more solar power.  In a recent article published by Green Prophet http://www.greenprophet.com/2012/07/algeria-wind-solar-plants/, four countries in Northern Africa, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia are planning to build solar plants.  Algeria however is making the biggest contribution out of all of these countries, hoping to produce 650 MW of solar power by 2015.  This amount of energy would place Algeria in sixth place out of all of the countries in the world who are producing solar power.  However their plans do not stop here, they have stated that they want to be producing 22,000 MW by 2030.  This is a staggering amount of solar energy! More than twice the amount that Germany is producing right now.  Algeria should serve as an inspiration for other nations because even with a precarious government they are still committing to an immense project that will have a significant impact on the solar power world.   

We are not going to be able to switch from oil to alternative sources of energy in a few years; our society is too dependent and it is going to decades.  How often do you think about the gas you are using when you are driving?  It is so ingrained in our society that many people do not give any thought to how much gas they use and the emissions they are producing. Even though I try and be very conscious about the environment I still find myself taking unnecessary trips in the car.  Little things such as riding a bike or carpooling will go so far in helping wean our country and world off of oil.  Imagine if gas prices were $12 a gallon, how motivated would you be to take public transit, carpool, or buy an energy efficient car?  Start small, take one day a week and try to drive and use less gas.  It sounds insignificant, like it won’t do anything, however change starts at the bottom.  One of my favorite quotes by St. Francis of Assisi is very applicable in this situation,

“Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”  

-NP