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Solar EnergyNote: this section of the site was developed by students of Lonnie Gamble's September 2006 class, Energy Use by Man and Nature. "Every day, the sun provides 14,000 times the energy required by man." 
Fairfield gets abundant amounts of sun energy. People are often surprised that Fairfield, IA. gets as much sun energy as Hilo, Hawaii. All the energy we use comes from the sun. For example, millions of years ago plants photosynthesized, decomposed, and formed carbon and hydrogen deposits in the earth that we now use as coal and oil. We spend millions of dollars extracting these deposits in order to use their energy. However, each year the sun provides 14,000 times more energy than the total amount of energy used by man!!So, why don't we harness the current production of light and warmth instead of tapping out the earth and our wallets? Check out the above links for more information. If we harness just a small percentage of the sunlight available we can save the world from mass destruction under an oily liverbag explosion!  "The Sun provides approximately 1000 watts/meter² on Earth's surface." This video (a commercial made for a German solar energy company) is a great illustration of the vast amount of energy that is democratically distributed and delivered for free to Earth from the Sun every day. Solar Commercial |