[Peace-discuss] One hour of sunlight = !

[Chuck Minne]

        Week of May 26, 2007; Vol. 171, No. 21 , p. 328 
      Reaching for Rays  Scientists work toward a solar-based energy system  Aimee Cunningham
  In the bright blue skies that he enjoys from his academic perch in southern California, Nathan S. Lewis sees the answer to the world's energy needs. "The sun is the champion of all energy sources," says Lewis, a chemist at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. "More energy from the sun hits the Earth in 1 hour than all of the energy consumed by humans in an entire year."                 Solar cells cover the roof of the Highlands Patrol Headquarters building at the Aspen Mountain Resort in Aspen, Colo. Scientists are seeking to improve such technologies so that sunlight, the most abundant of all renewable energies, can be a major source of power.
National Renewable Energy Laboratory

  Lewis and other scientists consider the sun's rays the optimal means of satisfying the planet's substantial—and ever-growing—energy habit. In 2001, the world consumed energy at an average rate of more than 13 trillion watts (terawatts, TW), according to the Department of Energy. Taking into account population increases, worldwide economic growth, and conservation and energy-efficiency measures, some researchers predict that the global energy-consumption rate will double by 2050 and triple by the end of the century.   Of that 2001 energy consumption, 86 percent derived from coal, oil, and natural gas. However, evidence tying global warming to the carbon dioxide that these fossil fuels pump into the atmosphere continues to grow (SN: 2/10/07, p. 83). "As we go hunting around for how to replace fossil fuels, solar is the one place where we can see a truly abundant and renewable resource," says A. Paul Alivisatos, a materials scientist at Lawrence Berkeley (Calif.) National
 Laboratory and the University of California, Berkeley.   Among non-fossil fuel choices, the sun offers by far the deepest energy reserves. To achieve energy generation of 10 TW through nuclear power, a 1-gigawatt electric-power plant fueled by nuclear fission would need to be built every one and a half days for the next 45 years, says Lewis. The remaining exploitable hydroelectric resources around the world could contribute less than 0.5 TW, according to the United Nations. And the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that the total amount of extractable wind power available worldwide is 2 to 4 TW.   The sun, however, showers Earth with energy at a rate of 120,000 TW, notes Lewis. Added together, the other energy sources "aren't even close to the amount of energy the sun gives," he says. 



  
   
  But judge for yourself, don't be afraid, Watch This or This
   
  

       
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