Fossil Fuels are the Past Solar Power is the Future

We have depended to fossil fuels for quite some time now, and indeed without them we would still be living in the dark and commercialisation and industrialisation would not have taken place. We could even say that fossil fuels are the true foundation of the world’s economy.

However, the same energy source that built our cities is also the reason why our problem with global warming and climate change is worsening rapidly.

The extensive burning of fossil fuels over the years has released enough greenhouse gases to finally manifest its harmful effects in our planet to levels where scientists no long debate that global warming is a reality. At the rate that we are burning fossil fuels and the amount of carbon dioxide that is releasing into the air we will increase Earth’s temperature by 3 to 6 degrees within the century, which will have devastating effects on our climate and way of life. Some major concerns include a rise in sea levels by over 1 meter due to the continued melting of ice caps around the world, which will be enough to decimate many habited regions.

The figures of a 3-6 degree temperature rise may not sound too alarming, but the fact is that even slight differences in Earth’s perfectly balanced climate and ecosystem would spell disaster for many of its inhabitants.

Governments around the world are recognizing that now is the time when we must put fossil fuel dependence behind us, which requires the dawn of a new era of energy production.  Fortunately technology has now progressed to the point to allow us to harness solar power effectively enough to replace dirty fossil fuels with a clean and renewable energy source.

Though there other renewable energy sources presently under use and further development, like wind, wave power and geothermal energy, not much is currently comparable to the potential and versatility that solar power offers.

Solar panel technology in widespread use today is predominately photovoltaic; the discovery of solar panels which are able to break down light energy from sunlight once they are placed into the building blocks of solar arrays and solar panels.

 Although in use for some time, it is recent developments which have improved the efficiency of solar energy output that has allowed breakthroughs which have seen usage increase exponentially in many countries like Australia. Now that governments are finally taking steps to put a price on carbon in an attempt to offset the country’s emissions, it will greatly encourage investment in more large scale renewable energy production like large scale solar farms.

The Australian government also has in place comprehensive solar schemes and rebates to assist households in making the switch to solar power as it will aid in the essential decentralisation of energy production and free people from rapidly rising electricity costs, as well has help to reduce the country’s carbon emissions.

Solar power is unquestionably the future;  the technology keeps getting better and more affordable, and breakthroughs in both the technology itself down into the manufacturing process arebeing continually discovered and developed from all parts of the globe.