Photovoltaics - The alternative to life in a greenhouse Gary Starr The summer of '88 brought the worst drought North America has had in 50 years. Crop losses were in the billions. Forest fires blazed throughout the Northwest, the Great Plains and Yellowstone National Park. On the other side of the globe, China was also experiencing horrendous drought and related crop damage conditions. Over a million people were hospitalized, and hundreds of other died from the heat. Was it a mere coincidence? Or a warning: A warning that nature was rebelling? Until this year scientists have been cautious about attributing rising global temperatures to the greenhouse effect, a predicted warming of the earth caused by pollutants. But this summer a Congressional committee was told by NASA scientist Dr. James E. Hansen that NASA was 99 percent certain the warming trend was not a natural variation, but was caused by a buildup of manmade gasses in the atmosphere. He also pointed out that this decade has seen the four hottest years of the last century and the first five months of 1988 were the warmest on record. The warming trend appears to be accelerating, and unless we stop it, higher world temperatures by as much as 10 degrees, melting of the polar ice caps, and the rising of the oceans all seem likely in the next century. The primary culprit appears to be carbon dioxide. Since the industrial revolution an estimated 185 billion tons have been injected into our atmosphere. The prescription to slow and reverse this dangerous trend is simple, although it is not an easy pill for industrialists to swallow. Slow down the burning of fossil fuels: coal and oil. Scientists and policymakers are investigating plans such as substituting natural gas when possible, since it emits half the carbon dioxide of coal. Stricter emission standards and conservation are also being evaluated. Also the environmentalist's nemesis -- nuclear power -- is back on the table since it produces no carbon dioxide. However, there is another power source that does not produce carbon dioxide and is renewable: renewable at the beginning of each day, and pollution-free when utilized. This power source is photovoltaics, or solar electricity, the conversion of light into electricity. You may have heard the myths that photovoltaics are still too expensive, that they're not efficient enough, or that the technology is still 20 years away. Wrong. The technology to build low-cost photovoltaics is no longer on the horizon -- it's here. These solid state devices which change light directly into electricity have the ability to allow significant change to occur. At today's efficiencies a piece of desert land about 2 miles square could host a solar electric generating plant with the power production capacities of a large nuclear or coal plant. Misinformation combined with corporate greed has held back the full potential of this non-polluting energy source. If the masses could be educated on the true economics of energy, they would realize that reducing our dependency on fossil fuels would not only slow and reverse the greenhouse effect, it could also move us away from the dangerous dependence on foreign oil. The general economy could also benefit from photovoltaics as research has consistently shown that investment in solar technologies results in many more jobs than investments in conventional fossil fuels. Another obstacle to curbing fossil fuels use is political. Just as poorer countries are becoming industrialized, there is pressure from the rest of the industrialized world to stop the use of these carbon dioxide producing fuels. It appears that the countries which caused the greenhouse effect now want limits on energy consumption by those struggling to become industrialized. Such limits could cripple the growth of their economics. Perhaps an equitable solution would be for the wealthy countries to transfer benign technologies such as photovoltaics to poorer countries, free. The motive could be completely self interest. The more the world acts in concert to reduce fossil fuel emission, the less everyone will suffer. The cost of a major move away from fossil fuels to photovoltaics could be insignificant. A one-time investment of less than $1 billion would allow photovoltaics to become cost effective with nearly all other forms of energy. This figure is less than half of one percent of our current annual defense budget. What better way to feel secure than secure the future of the health of the earth? Photovoltaics are today a viable, cost effective alternative for many conventional fuel applications. And with the proper backing of governmental agencies and the investment community this benign power source could be competitive with all methods of power generation and save us from the prospect of living in a greenhouse. Gary Starr is President of Solar Electric Engineering, Inc. and author of "The Solar Electric Book", which is available for $11.95 plus $2.00 shipping and handling (California residents add 6% sales tax) from Solar Electric Engineering, Inc., 175 Cascade Court, Rohnert Park, CA 94928.