Benefits of solar in addition to significant financial savings:
1. Reduces Air Pollution
Fossil fuels create a lot of pollutants. If you’ve ever been to California, New York, China, or anyplace whose geography consists of mountains and valleys, you’ve seen what dirty air looks like.
2. Reduce Water Usage
Solar panels create energy without water nor a negative impact on the ecosystem. In fact, the US Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy believes that solar energy systems could help drop water consumption in at least 36 states. This would help solve our water scarcity issue.
3. Reduces Dependence On Nonrenewable Energy Sources
First and foremost, those nonrenewable energy resources create a lot of the pollutants that negatively impact our air quality. Second, nonrenewable resources are nonrenewable because they will, eventually, run out. The sooner and more fully we can make the transition to renewable energy, the better for both the environment and our species.
4. Improves Humanity’s Health In The Long-run
We’ve mentioned how the US Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy believes that a solar energy system can help us reduce water scarcity, but in that same report, the office also estimates that cleaner air could have a positive effect on mankind’s health. In fact, they estimate that we could save more than 25,000 lives. That’s because with cleaner air comes cleaner lungs.
5. Helps Fight Climate Change
Last but not least, there’s the issue of climate change. The continual dump of pollutants and additional CO2 into the air, costs our planet. It makes it harder and harder for the environment to clean the air. As the carbon count continues to increase, so will our retention of heat from the sun. These changing air conditions will continue to have an effect on different climates, causing some to warm, others to cool, and causing weather patterns everywhere to become more sudden and volatile.
Solar energy is one of the ways we can try to prevent the effects of climate change. By reducing our CO2 emissions, and releasing fewer pollutants in the air, we can all do our part to slow down climate change.