Is Solar Suburbia the Way to Power Modern Cities?
I saw this article on Scientific American's website and found it most interesting. The author cites a few studies that say putting solar panels on suburban houses and installing charging stations for electric cars would create enough energy to not only power said houses but charge their electric vehicles. WITH SURPLUS to put back into the grid. The point of the article is that if we support urban sprawl rather than curb it (by designing tighter city centers to cut down on fossil fuel consumption) then we can power metropolitan centers with energy from suburban neighborhoods. Read it for yourself, and make sure you take a look at the comments as well.
This isn't the first time I've heard this notion. I read somewhere that if we put a solar panel on every roof in America, then our energy problems would be over. (I wish I could find that article again, but I can't. I want to say Robert Redford said it some years ago. Sorry.) I think this idea warrants some consideration. If we can then have plug-in stations in every parking spot/garage, then we've effectively eliminated the vast majority of dependence on fossil fuels.
We could also get rid of our electric bills. Wouldn't that be nice? I understand that we'd still need someone to facilitate the grid, but that grid would depend on property owners. It wouldn't be the other way around.
I know this is pie-in-the-sky kind of thinking. Money makes the world go 'round... not common sense. The wealthiest people in the world have vested interests in oil and energy. I bet they are actively working to keep ideas like this squashed.
Getting rid of dependence on fossil fuels... now THAT'S cutting the crap.
