The US Department of Energy estimates the amount of solar energy produced in one hour, is roughly equivalent to the amount of energy the entire country uses in one year. Solar power is an abundant and renewable source of energy. Efficient in both large-scale corporate applications, and in small residential situations, solar power is also malleable enough to be used either alone, or in conjunction with local utilities.

It’s irrational to think the world can continue its overuse of fossil fuel based products, and not see some kind of detrimental affect on both the planet and the economy. Harvesting fossil fuels has wreaked havoc on the environment, so has the refinement process, and both create an unavoidable pollution.

Toxic waste litters the landscape, killing wildlife and plants around the world. Our air is full of pollution and carcinogens that causes disease and death in vulnerable populations worldwide, nitrogen oxide that increases ground-level ozone, sulfur oxide which causes acid rain, and carbon dioxide…a green house gas which contributes greatly to the green house affect. Our dependency on fossil fuels means a dependency on unstable governments and the continued threat of war. The American people have spent billions of dollars to defend our access to fuel and gas.

All of this could be minimized drastically, if not eradicated all together, with the use of solar power. Costs for operating solar power are generally limited to the installation process and purchase of equipment. The abundant incentive programs offered by state and federal agencies generally offset that. Customers can potentially recoup as much as 30% of their costs in tax credits.

A cleaner environment could potentially mean fewer health problems. This alone could save the world’s population billions of dollars in fewer medical and insurance expenses, less missed work, and less loss of life.

By converting to solar-based power, a completely renewable and self-sufficient energy source, we could alleviate the burden we place on the environment. Equally important is the financial burden of fossil fuels. The extraction and refinement process is costly, but the dwindling sources have caused prices to soar.

Solar power is a renewable resource that costs very little to generate. Once the product is in place it requires very little maintenance or upkeep. An increase in solar power use could create countless jobs across the country. The development of improved technologies would open up thousands of positions and the design and installation of systems could do the same. Landowners would also benefit financially from the use of their land for solar and wind caching equipment. In developing third world countries, the use of solar power would prove a more cost effective solution to the standard utility grids they’re lacking.

Lastly, the world as a whole has spent an exorbitant amount of money on environmental cleanup. Solar power produces little if any pollutants and wouldn’t require constant cleanup.