Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Solar Powered Zoo

IMG_7511I went to the Cleveland Zoo last week and was thrilled to see that they are powering their speakers with solar panels. I love to learn about animal conservation, and to see energy conservation in use at the same time!

Solar is a renewable energy and is pollution free when used. Contrary to popular concerns, solar will still provide benefits when the sun isn't shining... When it is sunny, you're usually at work, and not using a lot of energy in your home, so the energy is stored for later use. When your solar storage runs out, you're back on the "grid" until the sun shines again. Imagine the $$ this could save.

Germany is currently leading the rest of us in solar power generation. (Germany is not exactly the sunniest place on Earth.) "It was not fear of power outages, high gas prices or tripled power bills, but economic incentives that jump-started the solar revolution in Germany...Producers of renewable energy get 43 cents for each kWh (kilowatt per hour) of solar power generated and 7 cents per kWh of wind energy generated." They're leading the way. I hope we follow soon!

Tip of the day: Reduce junk mail by visiting the Direct Marketing Association's "remove me" site.

No comments: