Solar Energy Essay -- A Level Essays

Solar Energy Why do we build passive solar homes? Most people familiar with the subject of alternative and renewable energies would reply with a variation of many answers to this question. â€Å"To act locally in an ever expanding global market.† â€Å"The solar panels or photovoltaics will pay for themselves in a given amount of time depending on the system implemented.† â€Å"I would build a passive solar house to take myself entirely off the grid.† These answers seem to be common when it comes to the world of alternative energies. Although the majority may reply to this question with similar answers there has to be a flip side or different view on any topic including renewable energy. â€Å"Green building,† or building with natural supplies is yet another way to recycle the earth’s minimal resources. Combining green building and solar passive idioms is nothing new to the alternative energy market, but it does raise a few different questions about the role of humans co-existing with nature and their living spaces. This paper will discuss the aesthetic values of living in tune with the earth through passive design. For thousands and thousands of years, man lived on the earth as we still do today. Nomadic peoples resorted to hunting and gathering, which gave way to organized agriculture that developed in Mesopotamia. The major step that propelled us into our present day lives was the industrial revolution. Now as â€Å"evolved† creatures we have fallen prey to the technological advances and have come to depend on them, especially with our ever-increasing population on earth. Environmental degradation, over population, war, and economic decay have become mainstays on our agenda as world citizens. These issues must be dealt with o... ...g close to the earth, foraging for food, walking to my destinations and relying on my fellow man for help when I was in need taught me something. Living close to the earth is and will always be the answer to our questions. Passive design and solar technology is just the next step. Most of the technology that has been brought about in the past century or so has been done so under a roof or in the shadow of the industrial revolution. We need to implement the ideas of passive solar upon all people. This would in turn create alternatives to what people had originally thought in the past. Where can we find or develop new â€Å"green† ideas as opposed to other technologies that separate us from nature. A new way of thinking must come about for the good of all mankind. Bibliography Chiras, Daniel. The Solar House. Chelsea Green Publishing Company. Canada. 2002.