Did you know that 12 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States come from commercial and residential sources? What we choose to heat and power our homes and offices makes a real impact on the increasingly serious climate crisis. Read on to find out what solar energy is and how it can help us to save the environment.
In a response to the global emergency that the climate crisis poses, more and more innovative ways have been invented to help us save the environment. For example, a popular replacement energy source in recent years is solar energy.
Read on to find out what solar energy is and how it can help us to save the environment.
What Is Solar Energy?
Solar energy, for those who don’t already know, is a renewable energy source that comes from the sun. Solar panels soak up the sun’s rays and convert them into electricity. This can be used as an alternative to fossil fuels, like coal, gas, and oil.
Solar panels have become a popular investment in recent years, not only for their sustainability benefits, but also because using specialist solar energy companies, like Blue Raven Solar, can save you money on your energy bills.
There is an ever-rising demand for solar energy, particularly in the United States and Europe. This means that solar technology has been refined and developed to be even more efficient and affordable. It’s the most popular form of consumer renewable energy in the Western market.
How Can Solar Energy Help to Save the Environment?
When it comes to sustainable living, it’s important to do all we can to reduce how many fossil fuels we use. All of them are limited natural resources that produce greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide.
These gases are contributing to the greenhouse effect. As a result, the global temperature of our planet is on the rise, having a series of knock-on effects that are exacerbating the climate crisis.
Solar energy is a fantastic alternative. In fact, estimates from 2018 state that solar power offsets 70 million metric tons of carbon dioxide each year. You could get the same effect by planting 1.2 billion trees.
At a time when the climate crisis has never been more urgent, find out how solar energy can help you and your household go green.
Decrease Greenhouse Gas Emissions
By providing an alternative to burning fossil fuels for energy, solar energy reduces the amounts of greenhouse gases emitted. Because these emissions increase our planet’s heat retention, this helps to stabilize global temperatures.
If we don’t act to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, global temperatures will continue to rise. Polar ice caps will continue to melt, destroying habitats and raising global sea levels. More and more coastal communities will face a risk of flooding.
What’s more, rising temperatures are making formerly habitable environments increasingly hard to live in. The people who suffer most from this often live in developing countries, such as Africa and rural Asia.
To protect the delicate ecosystems around the globe, it’s imperative we take every action possible to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Reduce Air Pollution
What’s more, reducing the fossil fuels we use also helps to keep the air in our communities cleaner. Fossil fuel power plants release plenty of harmful gases that create smog and pollute the air we breathe.
These pollutants are breathed in by humans and wildlife and even seep into natural water sources. In big cities or industrial areas, pollution can cause permanent damage to wildlife and ecosystems, as well as related health issues in humans.
Solar energy does not produce any pollutants, so is a much less harmful alternative to produce energy to power our homes and other buildings.
Conserve Natural Resources
We know that using renewable energy sources helps to reduce how many natural resources we use around the world. You might be wondering, however, ‘what is renewable energy?’
Renewable energy refers to any energy that comes from replenishable sources, such as sun, wind, tidal, or other energy sources. These sources are in opposition to fossil fuels, which are natural resources that have a finite supply and will run out.
By conserving not just fossil fuels, but also water and other precious resources that we’re running out of, we conserve the lifespan of our planet and wildlife.
Animals and plants often have no other option than to use natural resources. Human technology enables us to make sustainable choices, for the good of mankind and the planet.
Put Waste Energy to Good Use
In particularly sunny areas, the sun’s rays are constantly producing energy that is otherwise going to waste. The waste products of heat and light, when not harnessed in solar panels, fade away and are no good to anyone.
By collecting the energy in solar panels, we can make the most of the renewable natural resources available to us. The urgency of the climate crisis is getting greater by the day. We can’t waste any more time and resources because time is running out fast.
So long as we have sun, we have reliable energy through solar panels. That makes it an excellent sustainable solution, as there’s less need to have a back-up option that might use fossil fuels.
The more reliable our sustainable solutions, the wider they will be used and the better they can do for the environment.
Keen to Learn More?
Solar energy is an efficient and increasingly more affordable step you can take to do your part to save the environment. The more we do to reduce our individual impact, the more it adds up and helps reduce the human influence on the environment that is felt around the world.
Keen to find more ways you can go green? Browse through our lifestyle section for more sustainability-focused articles.
