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Essay on Solar Energy and Climate Change

Sustainable Development in different spheres of life and work has been in the limelight for the last thirty years. A notion of sustainable development is characterized as an integral economic, technological, social, and cultural development adapted to the environmental protection need, which enables present and future generations to satisfy their needs and improve their quality of life. Sustainable development focuses on maintaining the existing ecosystems and making fair use of the Earth’s natural treasures. This idea is thus directed towards the enhancement of the quality of life and environment. In another way, we can say that Sustainable development means sustainably sustaining nature by man and its use to the degree of its reproduction. The natural resources of energy contain crude oil, coal, timber, and water. Renewable sources of energy include wind, Sun, and geothermal energy. The cleanest source of energy is the sun whose irradiation is free of charge and more or less accessible to the whole Earth and the Solar system. Therefore, it is essential to consider the relationship between energy and sustainable development. To explore, how the world should continue to evolve without destroying the earths resources and recommending long-term environment policies to achieve sustainable development, the Brundtland Commission submitted a report in 1987. In this report, this commission defined the goal of sustainable development as meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.1

Why are we having a problem meeting our needs without undermining future generations’ needs and what role do chemists play? Part of the answer may be how we conduct research, how we believe in scientific tests, and how new chemicals and processes are being promoted. As scientists and responsible citizens, we need to address this misalignment of the scientific method with economic metrics by thinking of a sustainable future as we make decisions, a result that can only be achieved if the values of sustainability are rooted in our mindsets and processes of thinking.

Green chemistry is a change in philosophy that minimizes risk by reducing or eliminating the use or production of hazardous substances in chemical product design, manufacture, and application.2 Green chemistry is a tool for creating a sustainable mindset and future by challenging chemists to integrate ecological thinking into both experimental and material design. An additional tool is education. We have to begin to create a sustainable mentality in future generations by educating future scientists and citizens on the relation between sustainability and climate change.

To discuss, the dire need for sustainable development and to fight the implications of climate change, A fundamental action program, Agenda 21, also known as the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development was passed in 1992, at the UN Conference on Environment and Development, which was held in Rio de Janeiro. Agenda 21 contains four parts and 40 chapters, which consider the attitudes of the international community on different questions of environmental protection and development in the world.

The first part of Agenda 21 deals with social and economic issues. The second part of Agenda 21 deals with the protection and management of development resources. The third part of Agenda 21 contains the role of significant social groups. The fourth part of Agenda 21 deals with means for the realization of Agenda 21.3

What is solar energy? and how it is helpful for sustainable development – SOLAR ENERGY A source of light to fight climate change

Sun is one of the stars, among 400 billion stars in the Milky Way Galaxy. More than 99% of the whole matter in the Solar system is contained by the Sun. The temperature on the surface of the Sun is 5500 °C. The energy of the sun is generated in its nucleus, particularly through the thermonuclear reaction of hydrogen fusion into helium. This energy is then transmitted from the nucleus to the suns surface in the form of electromagnetic waves and further on in the surrounding space. From it, only the half-billionth part of the Sun’s energy reaches the Earth. The only two components of the Sun irradiation reach the Earth. One comes directly from the surface of the Sun (direct irradiation) and the other is generated by the Sun irradiation dissipation on the impurity particles in the atmosphere (diffuse irradiation). Sun energy is clean, inexhaustible, and can be transformed into other forms of energy: thermal, electric, chemical, mechanical, etc.4

Solar energy is an inexhaustible and freely accessible energy source, The more energy, that comes from the sun, in 60 minutes each day, is used in 1 year by all humankind activities. The herculean task of today is to capture and utilize solar energy, for sustainable development on a large scale.

If we think carefully, about where the world has to stand in terms of the use of energy and where it will be in 2050 supposing continued sustainable development, we have to face a formidable challenge of where that energy will come from if our energy profile is to be more CO2-neutral. We need to look beyond something incremental because the extra energy required is greater than the amount of all the energy produced at the moment. Solar energy is emerging, as the best replacement for conventional energy to fight climate change. Over the past few centuries, human activities have been a cause of great concern for our environment. The depletion of forest covers from the earth, the burning of fossil fuels to produce energy, and the clogging of the atmosphere by the expulsion of chlorofluorocarbons these activities have led to irreversible climate change. The effects of climate change are now quite visible some of them are the winter seasons duration has reduced, glaciers are melting in different parts of the world, and weather patterns are changing frequently.

The development of technology and the inventiveness of some human beings, despite such ominous signs, still give us hope for saving our planet- the Earth. Solar Energy is one of the best hopeful solutions to fight climate change. When solar energy continues to grow each year, the estimates have already surpassed the predicted values. Around 177 GW of installed capacity, was available, as a reference, in 2014 but approx 402 GW of installed capacity became available worldwide in 2017. In just 3 years, this increment occurs about 130 percent of production. (Figure 1)5

A large chunk of households are choosing to install solar panels in their house to help reduce their energy costs. More widely, solar power is also a great option for sustainable and green energy. Solar electricity is not only helping to reduce power bills; it also has enormous benefits for our planet.

Some of the key advantages of solar energy on the environment include:

Using less water:

Water has become one of our most valuable natural resources. We live in the driest area of the earth, and we run the risk of fresh water running out shortly. The conventional production of electricity is using thousands of liters of water every year. Water is used for fuel processing and refining, cooling generators, and fuel transporting through pipes. Nevertheless, generating electricity by solar panels doesn’t need water at all. For the production of electricity, the operation of solar photovoltaic cells requires no water at all, which reduces the burden on this valuable resource. The only water, needed, is rainwater for the cleaning of the panels naturally.

Reducing air pollution

The air, we breathe, will support or hinder our well-being and health. The generation of electricity from fossil fuels emits harmful carbon dioxide and methane gases, which affect the quality of the air, we breathe. Daily inhalation of poor-quality air can have dire consequences for our health. Air pollution causes many diseases like as bronchitis, headaches, pneumonia, anxiety, asthma allergies, and even some types of cancers. Using the sun, to produce more and more energy, means less toxic pollution from the burning of fossil fuels. No harmful emissions are generated by producing energy, from solar panels, and if more households and businesses rely on solar power, means less toxic pollution in our environment from fossil fuels.

Helping to slow climate change

The release of toxic gasses, such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, into the environment not only leads to air pollution but also contributes to an increase in the greenhouse effect. While the greenhouse effect is a natural process, that warms the surface of the Earth to a sustainable temperature, human activities, such as fossil fuels burning, have increased the number of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. This has culminated in the increased greenhouse effect, which warms our planet faster than ever before. This also has been caused by a variety of devastating weather events in recent years, such as cyclones, floods, hurricanes, extreme heat, and drought. Generating energy from solar panels generates no greenhouse gasses whatsoever, and thus, if widely used, it can help to reduce the implications of climate change. With solar power, there is no fuel burning and no emissions from energy production.

Reducing the carbon footprint

Solar energy is one of the cleanest energy sources and it is an extremely efficient and sustainable way for our household. As one of the most commonly available, affordable, and feasible solutions for renewable energy, solar panels are one of the main drivers for reducing carbon emissions worldwide. Solar panels use no water to generate electricity, they don’t release harmful gasses into the atmosphere and their energy source is plentiful and, best of all, free also. With even a small system installed on every house, we can help in reducing our households carbon footprint and contribute to sustainable development.

Reducing our reliance on fossil fuels

The availability of solar energy is massive; if we could harness all the sunlight that falls on Earth for just one hour, we could use that energy to power the whole planet for a year. The sunlight, which is used in the development of solar energy, is free and there is lots of it. On the other side, our earth is running out of fossil fuels. Reducing our dependence, on these finite resources and taking advantage of an ample, free energy source, such as sunlight, would mean lower energy prices, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and a better, more stable future environment. Solar energy can help in reducing our dependence on fossil fuels and in lowering energy prices, for years to come.

What are the implications if we do not act to curb carbon emissions?

Increasing global temperature of the earth

According to NASA, the Earth’s temperature has risen 1°C since 1900. When global temperature increases beyond 2°C, however, there would be no moving back, and the consequences of climate change will be unavoidable. The increasing of the earths temperature has several dire consequences for our planet.

This graph illustrates the change in global surface temperature relative to 1951-1980 average temperatures. Nineteen of the 20 warmest years have occurred since 2001, except 1998. The year 2016 ranks as the warmest on record.6

Rising water levels

One of the most dramatic implications is the rising levels of water. The latest reports from NASA, on Greenland and the Arctic, have shown that continental-size ice sheets are melting down due to the excess heat, and they have decreased by almost 10 percent, over the past 30 years. All this melting ice goes to the ocean and is causing a rise in the sea level. Unfortunately, in recent history, 2015, 2016 and 2017 have been reported as the hottest years, which is bad news for the above-mentioned islands ice that has been steadily melting for the past decades.

Longer and harder droughts

In addition, other effects of climate change are leading to longer and harder droughts worldwide, which also contribute to less productive and less nutritious crops. With the increase of the Earth’s population, drought seasons will have a huge impact on our nation’s food supply and rising food prices.

Destruction of the ozone layer

The destruction of the ozone layer is also a side effect of climate change. The opposite process occurs in the stratosphere when heat concentrates further in the atmosphere. When the stratosphere cools down, and the atmosphere heats up, there is a dynamic effect of heating-cooling, which causes loss of ozone. Because of this loss of ozone, the ozone layer is depleting and leaving the Earth wide open for ultraviolet radiation, to hit our atmosphere. This regularly occurs in the ozone hole in the South

Heat waves

The heat waves are also, a direct result of climate change as well. These heat waves cause wildfires more frequently, longer droughts, and deaths. Heat waves are considered one of the major causes of death from natural disasters, primarily due to heat strokes, caused by the fact that the human body is unable to cool down because of the high humidity in the atmosphere. The radical changes in the global temperature also cause storms, hurricanes, hailstorms, sandstorms, and snowfalls.

Benefits/advantages of solar panels-

1. Solar panels generate renewable energy

Fossil fuels are energy sources that exist at high-pressure levels because of decomposed animal or plant matter that accumulates underground, over thousands of years. Despite their abundance, however, they remain exhaustible energy sources. And it takes millions of years, to build up the amount of fossil fuels, that we will be consuming in 200 years. The reserves, which remain for Global fossil fuel are estimated to be 50 years for oil, 53 years for natural gas, and 114 years for coal. When we equate this, with the 1 billion years of renewable abundant solar energy, which we still have ahead of us, it sounds like there’s no point to keep pushing on these limited energy sources those will be over, in just a century. Because solar energy is inexhaustible, there is no need in the future to replace it with another resource, ensuring a safe and clean source of energy for the coming centuries. Solar energy alone is sufficient to provide almost 100 times the consumption of the world’s total energy, which could be supplied using only 1 percent of the Sahara desert surface area.

2. Solar panels are recyclable

Solar panels have the great advantage of being recyclable, collecting primarily aluminum, glass, and some minerals such as silicon, copper, and polymers. It translates into less burning and more materials that can be used for other uses and the manufacture of new or refurbished solar panels particularly.

3. No gas emissions

The production of solar energy benefits our environment and there are virtually no attributed gas emissions during electricity generation. That means no carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, or nitrogen oxide is needed to produce energy that would affect human health.

4. More solar energy – less fossil fuels

While the planet making the transition to an almost full renewable energy market, there is a need to ensure electricity supplies, that are different from fossil fuels. When consuming solar energy, means we don’t create greenhouse gas emissions to produce electricity, but it also means offsetting the output of electricity from other fossil power plants, reducing the greenhouse gas from both perspectives.

Portable solar panels can also contribute to reducing carbon emissions, as every small drop in energy not taken from fossil fuels, is good for the environment and climate change. In addition, portable solar panels have very significant uses in rural areas where electricity access is limited.

References:

United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development. Our Common Future (The Brundtland Report); Oxfords University Press: Oxford, 1987; p 8.
Anastas, P. T.; Warner, J. C. Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice; Oxford University Press: New York, 1998.
Agenda 21: Programme of Action for Sustainable Development: Conference on Environment and Development: Agreements, (United Nations, 1993).
Pavlovi T. M., Radosavljevi J. M, Pavlovi Z. T, Kosti Lj. T, (2006), Solar Energy and Sustainable Development, Facta Universitatis: Physics, Chemistry and Technology, Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 113-119.
Climate Change Report (2020), Report on How Solar Energy Can Help Combat Global Warming, Aniket.
Global Climate Change, https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/global-temperature/, Date accessed 08/03/2020.

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