In both of our required readings the idea of using solar energy is developed. The sun supplies more than enough energy everyday to meet current needs so it seems natural for humans to use solar energy. But then I started to imagine a world in which all energy is solar energy…
Just because solar energy would replace petroleum based energy does not mean that it will change humans’ greed and excessive use. I just imagined solar panels everywhere and no light shinning through. People trying to obtain as much space as possible in order to utilize it for collecting sunlight. Solar energy will/has the potential to become just as capitalistic as petroleum energy.
Humans need to change our way of living and control our energy use. I had never thought about how addicted humans are to energy. People all the time are walking around with energy plugged into their ears via IPODs. We use batteries so that we can take energy around with us and we move and travel. I had never thought about energy in this sense even though I use my IPOD everyday.
I believe that the solution is not substituting one source of energy to another source but to re-evaluate energy use all together. I am not saying that converting to solar energy is bad by any means; I am just saying that we cannot stop there. We need to take solutions to the next level and change our mindset and way of life.
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I really appreciate this post, because what you are saying is true. Even within the proposals to green and sustain the earth, many are doing this in order to maintain our current system. The idea that humans are addicted to energy is incredibly interesting and something that I would like to explore further. And the capitalization of solar energy is also a disturbing thought- this is a bit hyperbolic, but it's almost like people would be buying parts of the sun. How would we go about helping people change mindsets and ways of life when the use of energy is so ingrained into our society?
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