Japanese Tsunami Inspires Expanded Adoption of Solar Panels in Germany

In March of 2011, a devastating earthquake - the most powerful known earthquake ever to have hit Japan - triggered a tsunami whose waves  reached heights of up to 133 feet and traveled up to six miles inland. The devastation caused by the tsunami affected thousands and caused serious damage to most of what stood in its way. 

At the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant complex, the destructive power of the waves rendered the backup diesel generators used to cool the reactors useless.  It also and caused three large explosions along with radioactive leakage at three of the six reactors in the complex.  The disaster at the plant inspired the German government, a leader in solar panel and solar energy adoption, to move toward a safer and more eco-friendly model for their country’s energy needs.

Germany’s Initiative

Since the 2011 Japanese tsunami, the German government has implemented the following measures to move more towards a reliance on solar panels.

• An initiative to close all nuclear power plants in the country by the year 2022.
• Close eight out of the seventeen in the country immediately. 
• Replace the eight closed nuclear power plants with renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and biomass. 

Results

Just over a year after the introduction of the proposed changes in Germany, the initiative’s huge success is becoming a reality.  The country has seen a number of successes.

• On May 26, 2012, solar generators broke a world record by generating twenty-two gigawatts per hour. 
• In this time, solar energy generated the same amount of energy that twenty nuclear power plants at full capacity would have.
• Solar energy also met nearly fifty percent of the country’s midday electrical needs. 
• The twenty-two gigawatts per hour resulted in an increase of eight gigawatts per hour from a year ago (when fourteen gigawatts per hour were generated).

The impact traditional sources of energy have had so far on the planet - and the need for more cost-efficient ways of producing energy to power our daily lives - have generated a growing awareness in the importance of adopting renewable energy sources. Beyond nations with large-scale projects, private citizens around the world have also shown interest in having a lesser impact on the environment and eliminating electric bills. 

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Solar Energy decreases Florida University footprint

In order to minimize its impact on the planet and generate a smaller ecological footprint, Florida Gulf Coast University, located in South West Florida, has with a 15-acre solar field, which was inaugurated in 2009. The solar photovoltaic array, which according to FGCU, not only decreases it’s sole reliance on Florida Power & Light Company by 18 percent, but it also produces 85 percent of the energy utilized to operate it’s Engineering and Business School buildings, as well as AB-7, their newest science laboratory and classroom building for the College of Arts and Sciences. 

Florida Gulf Coast University’s commitment to renewable energy is also channeled by further solar panels, which are utilized to heat the water in two freshmen residence halls and provide the energy needed to operate many of the schools trash compactors. An increasing environmental awareness, along with the savings solar panels generate by eliminating electric bills and increasing property values have recently fueled interest in this source of alternative energy not only by those in charge of large projects such as FGCU’s, but also by homeowners interested in such benefits for themselves.

Considering companies offering solar solutions such as Solaire Energy Systems, which offers San Diego solar panels and all the benefits that come from them, can get you started in reducing your ecologic footprint and saving considerable amounts of money in the long run.

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Handling the Effects of Globalization

Globalization, the process of international integration through the world’s markets and businesses, allows many countries to enjoy cheaper goods and services, and a greater variety of products. At the same time it promotes economic growth in both developed and developing countries.. However, at the effects of globalization the gap between the wealth and the poor has become more extreme on a national and international level.

Not only are the workers in poor countries who are being paid low wages at a disadvantage, there are also many people in developed countries who believe that they are being left behind the rich who are capitalizing on low-wage and good markets and selling to developed countries. Now the question becomes how do we handle these issues in our own country and when dealing with others countries?

According to Richard Allen Epstein, an advocate of the roles of an eminent domain and partial taking attorney in the United States, and author of Private Property and the Power of Eminent Domain the redistribution of wealth is a proper function of government.

In the United States, for example, the Occupy Wall Street (OSW) is an ongoing protest movement against social and economic inequality, greed, corruption, and the power and control of corporations over the government. The protestor group’s slogan 99% represents the income inequality and the unequal distribution of wealth between the 1% wealthy and the rest of the population--- a pattern that is felt around the globe. While they have an importance cause and take a strong stance, it will take more than protestors to change how the world is currently operating.

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The Time for Solar Energy Is Now

Le Corbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright, two founding fathers of the modern architecture movement, believed that the structure of society was in desperate need of a transformation and that this change could only be made through dramatic adjustment. According to Le Corbusier, “Architecture or Revolution” were the only two options. Le Corbusier believed that “revolution can be avoided” by using architecture as the fundamental tool of restructuring society. 

Almost a century later, we are in an era where development and energy consumption is expanding at a rate that estimates and predictions are foreseeing a global energy crisis in the very near future. According to the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, estimates of oil reserves left in the world reach 1.3 trillion barrels, which is enough at present rates of consumption to last another 40 years. A world without any oil will certainly lead to a very large revolution. 

Great alternative energy solutions, such as San Diego solar energy systems, exist, however, governments and citizens are not looking to these solutions fast enough. Forty years is not a lot of time!

The way we build and engineer our homes and our cars can dramatically change and revolutionize the way we live and consume. There is no better time to re-think and restructure how we live and to use innovation and engineering to get us there. 

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