H A R N ESSING ENERG Y H A R NESSING E N E R G Y BY DIANE BAILEY SOLAR POWER CREATIVE DIGITAL
I N T R O D U C T I O N PEACE AND WAR WEALTH AND POVERTY PROGRESS AND SETBACKS HISTORY HAS BROUGHT HUGE SWINGS IN THE HUMAN CONDITION AND WITH EVERY CHOICE PEOPLE MAKE THERE IS THE POTENTIAL TO MOVE FORWARD OR STEP BACKWARD AT THE CORE OF THIS CONTINUAL STRUGGLE HAS BEEN THE QUEST FOR ENERGY ENERGY GAVE HUMANS POWER AND MOTIVATED THEM TO DO GREAT THINGS WITH BOTH POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE EFFECTS WITHOUT ENERGY PEOPLE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO DRIVE CARS OPERATE COMPUTERS OR POWER FACTORIES WARS ARE FOUGHT TRYING TO DOMINATE SOURCES OF ENERGY FORTUNES ARE MADE AND LOST DEPENDING ON HOW THAT ENERGY IS MANAGED THE LAWS OF PHYSICS STATE THAT ENERGY CANNOT BE CREATED OR DESTROYED THAT IS TRUE BUT ENERGY CAN BE HARNESSED AND DIRECTED IT CAN BE WASTED OR IT CAN BE COAXED INTO EFFICIENCY CIVILIZATIONS AND TECHNOLOGIES HAVE LEAPED FORWARD AND SOMETIMES BACKWARD AS HUMANS HAVE TAPPED INTO EARTH’S SOURCES OF ENERGY Solar technology allows humans to tap into the sun’s energy 4
The sun is our planet’s oldest largest and most reliable source of energy But even though people have used the sun’s power heat and light to keep warm for thousands of years modern solar energy is still not widespread The sun leaves its bright mark every where it seems except in the power we use for our daily needs That is changing as solar power systems are spread all over the world In some places it’s just a few solar panels on the roof of a home In others it’s thousands of mirrors lined up across a sunny desert generating electricity for thousands Fossil fuels are becoming scarcer more expensive and are caus ing more problems But the sun shines every day In the future the solar industry could shine too 5
