| You probably know the sun generates more than | | | | sulfur to lead and mercury. Even the newer plants |
| 10,000 times the amount of energy the entire world | | | | coming on line, which reduce toxins dramatically, still |
| consumes annually. Yet, this "free" energy has | | | | produce massive quantities of CO2, a greenhouse gas |
| remained greatly untapped. Conversely, the | | | | and a direct cause of global warming. Natural gas is |
| environment is being degraded by our current energy | | | | far more benign but still produces large quantities of |
| choices. The positives for using solar panels are | | | | CO2 when used to produce electricity. How much |
| obvious, but what few know is how it also helps our | | | | CO2 is released - a 5-kilowatt solar system will |
| environment. | | | | prevent the release of nearly 10,400 pounds of CO2 |
| First lets look at what we are using currently to meet | | | | every year for the life of the system. The average |
| our energy needs, coal and nuclear energy, and how | | | | home uses 8,000-kilowatt hours per year. A coal |
| ecologically damaging they are. | | | | power plant producing that much electricity emits about |
| To start, most existing coal plants release many | | | | 18,000 pounds of CO2 per year. |
| different toxins directly into the air we breathe, from | | | | |