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Why Do We Need Solar Energy?

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Why Do We Need Solar Energy?
Why Do We Need Solar Energy?

With the world's natural resources depleting rapidly, humans must find a way to compensate. This society has milked oil, coal, gasoline, lead, uranium, and many other of these reservoirs in our Earth for hundreds of years and much has been done. Asphalt was used for our roads and highways, coal was originally used for heat before there was oil, and even water was used as a form of electricity on many rural farms. Luckily, more companies around the world are waking up to the fact that these resources will not be around forever, and that in the near future, other forms of energy will take heed. Solar energy, or energy powered by the sun, is one of the most promising. Since the sun's rays create so much for the wildlife that surrounds us, why can't it do the same for people? It can, and as many industries are finding out, will be around long after the other resources are gone. What is solar energy? To fully comprehend this, background information must be presented. How did we get to the point we are at now? Most people look to the 1973 oil embargo, where Arab delegates announced they'd no longer be shipping petroleum oil to countries, such as the U.S., who had supported Israel in their conflict with Egypt. About the same time as this was announced, members of OPEC agreed to quadruple world oil prices. Focus then turned to solar energy. With barely any oil being imported, the Federal government started putting close to $400 million per year for research on solar energy. The facts were and still are ever-present: oil, coal, and nuclear energy are depletable, causing a massive amount of pollutive particles to go up into the air, which in turn causes a bounty of problems. On the other hand, solar energy is clean and renewable with no bad after effects. The actual definition of solar energy is "energy from the sun that's converted into thermal or electric energy." The terminology used when discussing solar energy may be

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