On Monday, August 21, 2006 Governor Schwarzenegger signed a bill requiring that by 2011, construction companies offer solar cells on new homes throughout California. I, a Californian, am proud that on top of Hollywood and Silicon Valley, California is expected to get the distinction of being the third largest producer of solar energy in the world behind Japan and Germany. But at the same time I ask, are we content to just be the THIRD largest? I for one know we can do better if we want. And why wait five years? You can change the future NOW, and I’ll tell you how!
The sun working to improve life:
The power grid is worked even harder during the summer than any other time of the year. During the summer is when the most blackouts happen. This can be a problem for those of us living in warmer climates. Did you know that you can help protect against blackouts, reduce your energy bill, and even add a decorative touch to your building using solar cells? The city of Santa Monica, California is an example of such use of solar cells. Not only have they reduced their use of outside energy by about half, but their ingenious placement of solar panels in architecture is pleasing to the eye. And if you ever suffer from a hot car after leaving it in a parking lot on a sunny day, good news: there is a solution for that, too. The Metrolink train station on La Sierra Ave. in Riverside, California is an example of such a solution. There are awnings constructed over the parking lot, which contain solar panels and look cool. That solves the problem of hot cars while helping make more power.
The implications on the welfare system:
I think we could use some of the welfare budget to install solar cells on existing buildings instead of having extra refrigerators and other appliances just lying around in storage. In addition with current energy-saving appliances and practices, adding the ability to produce power to homes would significantly reduce power consumption in relation to the total amount of power produced. In the more power-conscious houses, the addition of solar cells may even cause a net excess of electricity, which would allow the owner to sell energy to the electric company and therefore help the household turn a profit on electricity. A home’s ability to raise money for the people occupying it would be a great boon to that family, helping them to improve their image, buy gas for their car, or pay to use the public transit system which in turn helps them get a better job and not need that welfare money.
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