One method to the world becoming more sustainable is the use of solar energy. Solar power is a process of taking renewable energy from the sun and turning it into electricity or power run sources. A method of this is the use of solar panels on houses or buildings. These panels take in the sunlight and are able to turn the natural resource of the sun into electricity, which is cost saving and way more environmentally friendly. The amount of greenhouse gasses such as CO2 getting released into the atmosphere is substantially brought down from the use of solar energy. A way to explain how much improvement that solar panels are doing is to say that each car emits 4.7 metric tons of carbon dioxide every year. It is proven that a solar panel system can offset the emissions of one car per year. The amount of CO2 emissions by a single vehicle may not sound impactful, but just think if everyone was aware of the benefits of having solar panels, then thousands to millions equivalent of one car can be impactful through reducing greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. This is basically saying that through solar energy, one car per year can be taken off the road theoretically, benefiting the environment hugely.
Through looking at the current exponential growth of solar energy and wind energy, both renewable sources, the market share grew, “at a compound average annual growth rate of 15% from 2015-2020. If exponential growth continued at this rate, solar and wind would reach 45% of electricity generation by 2030 and 100% by 2033.” If by 2030 there is 100% use of renewable sources of energy, then the environment and atmosphere would benefit through the lack of greenhouse gasses being emitted. With the rising awareness of how the atmosphere is effected through CO2, if more people can implement using solar or wind energy, not only would families have a ton of money on their electricity bills, but also will benefit the environment. How can anyone be against these two huge benefits?
References:
https://news.energysage.com/much-solar-panels-save/
https://www.wri.org/insights/growth-renewable-energy-sector-explained
I think comparing solar to car emissions was a great way to think about the benefits of solar power. Car emissions are one of the biggest factors when looking into CO2 emissions so any way to offset this would be great. I wonder if there is a system that connects solar power to electric charging stations?
This idea of a small but continuous positive change is really important. While like you said, offsetting CO2 emissions of 1 car per year with solar might not sound like a lot, over time this number will add up and when coupled with other sustainability efforts, hopefully make a big impact.