From Wikipedia, under “Solar Energy.”
The total solar energy absorbed by Earth's atmosphere, oceans and land masses is approximately 3,850,000 exajoules (EJ) per year. In 2002, this was more energy in one hour than the world used in one year.The amount of solar energy reaching the surface of the planet is so vast that in one year it is about twice as much as will ever be obtained from all of the Earth's non-renewable resources of coal, oil, natural gas, and mined uranium combined.
------------------------------------------------------------
When you put a solar panel on the roof of your house, it receives energy from the sun all day, but it only receives its peak energy for the time the sun is directly overhead.
Now imagine if everyone in town put up a solar panel, and connected their panels together. The panels on the east side of town would first reach their peak production, then the midtown panels, followed by the panels on the west side. People on the east side of town would still be receiving peak production while the sun is over the west side with their houses all connected.
Now imagine if everyone across the state did this. Panels in lower usage rural areas would still produce the same energy as a panel in the city, and this array of panels across the state would follow the sun and share the power.
Now imagine if we had panels all around the world. All these panels interconnected, such that the one sliver of the Earth’s surface that is directly under the sun at any time, would be providing power to the rest of the world. All of humanity, working in concert so that every single human being has access to as much abundant, clean, pollutionless energy as they want. And it won’t require digging under the Gulf of Mexico, or the Great Lakes. It won’t mean shearing off the top of nature’s majestic mountains. It won't mean risking nuclear meltdowns. It won’t mean the primitive burning of carbon to foul our air. It would be a moment of true elevation for all of humanity.
To me, that is a beautiful thought - the Earth spinning silently in space, as the mirrored surfaces underneath gather the bountiful, life-giving sunlight to power all of mankind’s needs. But I suppose it would also make me a socialist, or communist or Marxist or whatever other monikers are carelessly thrown around with little understanding of what they really mean. I imagine some would deem me un-American to envision a future in which private companies are not making a profit off of energy, but rather it’s just given away. You may say I’m a dreamer.
The light of the sun, a gift to us all that belongs to no one.
The total solar energy absorbed by Earth's atmosphere, oceans and land masses is approximately 3,850,000 exajoules (EJ) per year. In 2002, this was more energy in one hour than the world used in one year.The amount of solar energy reaching the surface of the planet is so vast that in one year it is about twice as much as will ever be obtained from all of the Earth's non-renewable resources of coal, oil, natural gas, and mined uranium combined.
------------------------------------------------------------
When you put a solar panel on the roof of your house, it receives energy from the sun all day, but it only receives its peak energy for the time the sun is directly overhead.
Now imagine if everyone in town put up a solar panel, and connected their panels together. The panels on the east side of town would first reach their peak production, then the midtown panels, followed by the panels on the west side. People on the east side of town would still be receiving peak production while the sun is over the west side with their houses all connected.
Now imagine if everyone across the state did this. Panels in lower usage rural areas would still produce the same energy as a panel in the city, and this array of panels across the state would follow the sun and share the power.
Now imagine if we had panels all around the world. All these panels interconnected, such that the one sliver of the Earth’s surface that is directly under the sun at any time, would be providing power to the rest of the world. All of humanity, working in concert so that every single human being has access to as much abundant, clean, pollutionless energy as they want. And it won’t require digging under the Gulf of Mexico, or the Great Lakes. It won’t mean shearing off the top of nature’s majestic mountains. It won't mean risking nuclear meltdowns. It won’t mean the primitive burning of carbon to foul our air. It would be a moment of true elevation for all of humanity.
To me, that is a beautiful thought - the Earth spinning silently in space, as the mirrored surfaces underneath gather the bountiful, life-giving sunlight to power all of mankind’s needs. But I suppose it would also make me a socialist, or communist or Marxist or whatever other monikers are carelessly thrown around with little understanding of what they really mean. I imagine some would deem me un-American to envision a future in which private companies are not making a profit off of energy, but rather it’s just given away. You may say I’m a dreamer.
The light of the sun, a gift to us all that belongs to no one.
Comments