LTE in the VDT today. -jsq

For millennia humans gazed into the sky and marveled at birds
sailing through the air. While some imagined a day when we would be
able to fly, others said it could not be done. Likewise the idea of
infinite, clean energy might seem unattainable to some, but the
progress we have seen in recent years is astonishing.

Since the discovery of fire we have used wood for a source of
energy. Because timber is a product of photosynthesis and thereby
the sun’s solar radiation, the era of wood for energy might be
considered our first solar age.

It took until the 18^th
century before the use of fossil fuels became
noteworthy due to the Industrial Revolution. This was our second
solar age, relying on ancient pockets of sunlight (coal, oil,
natural gas) which formed 300 million years ago.

Now we are entering a third solar age, and this time we are directly
harvesting the sun’s energy. The amount of solar radiation we
receive on our planet in just one hour could cover global energy
needs for a full year.

The stories of human flight and renewable energy are actually
intertwined: they said it could not be done, but in 1783 a hot air
balloon took flight in France; they said it could not be done, but
in 1903 the Wright brothers made their first flight in North
Carolina; they said it could not be done, but the first manned
mission to the moon succeeded in 1969 when Neil Armstrong climbed
down a ladder and stated “that’s one small step for man, one giant
leap for mankind”; they said it could not be done, but in 2013 the
first solar-powered plane flew across the US.

Just as we are able to fly, the development of clean sources of
energy will be the lunar landing of our generation. It might take
some of us longer to understand what Thomas Edison said in 1931
(“I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source
of power! I hope we don’t have to wait until oil and coal run out
before we tackle that.”) but eventually there will be no
denying that solar (plus wind, hydro, geothermal, etc.) works, and
that our independence from dirty fossil fuels is just around the
corner.

2013 has been a stellar year for both solar and
wind
as worldwide
installations skyrocketed, increasing renewable energy production,
offering hundreds of thousands of jobs, and keeping environments
safe. The newest solar plants are able to provide energy 24/7 with
the help of salt batteries; advances in solar nanotechnology
continue to break efficiency records; new batteries are improving
our ability to store energy; solar electricity hit grid parity with
coal (as it did with nuclear in 2010).

In the spirit of the Wright brothers, Thomas Edison and Neil
Armstrong,

let’s embrace the Third Solar Age.

Dr. Michael G. Noll, President

Wiregrass Activists for Clean Energy