| Converting our homes or businesses to solar | | | | damaging ever environmental catastrophe is the |
| power, or some other alternative energy source | | | | BP oil rig failure which spewed millions of barrels of |
| will greatly aid in preserving our fragile earth. This | | | | crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico and onto the |
| will be done in the following three ways. First, no | | | | shores of Louisiana. If we were producing |
| burning of fossil fuels. Second, no oil spills to clean | | | | electricity with solar power instead of purchasing |
| up. Third, no ugly coal strip mining. This article will | | | | electrical power made by burning oil, we would not |
| discuss how by converting our homes or | | | | need so much oil to be pumped out of the ground |
| businesses to solar power, it will help to aid in the | | | | and transported around the world. This would |
| preservation of our mother Earth. | | | | greatly reduce the chance of oil spills. |
| - No burning of fossil fuels. There are a couple of | | | | - No ugly strip mining for coal. One of the ways |
| conventional ways to produce electrical power. | | | | to gather the enormous amounts of coal that we |
| They are Hydroelectric power plants, where | | | | need to burn to generate our electrical power is |
| water flowing downhill turns a turbine which | | | | the method known as 'strip mining' or "surface |
| generates electric power, or Steam Turbine | | | | mining". A US environmental impact report stated, |
| power plants. Steam turbine power plants use | | | | "Surface mining of coal completely eliminates |
| super-heated steam to turn turbines which in turn | | | | existing vegetation, destroys the genetic soil |
| cause a generator to produce electric power. The | | | | profile, displaces or destroys wildlife and habitat, |
| fuel used to run steam turbine electrical | | | | degrades air quality, alters current land use, and to |
| generators are predominately coal, oil or a nuclear | | | | some extent permanently changes the general |
| reactor. Neither of these three energy options are | | | | topography of the area mined. Permanent |
| good for the environment. Electrical power plants | | | | Regulatory Program Implementing section 501(b) |
| spew millions of tons of pollutant particles into our | | | | of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act |
| air on a daily basis. These pollutants have been | | | | of 1977: Environmental Impact Statement. US |
| blamed for many detrimental environmental | | | | Dept. of Int, 1979.This sounds pretty awful, and |
| problems, including contributing to global warming. | | | | this is our governments definition of strip mining. |
| There is no doubt that the burning of fossil fuels | | | | If we were not burning so much coal to produce |
| to generate electrical power is detrimental to our | | | | electricity, we would not need to resort to these |
| clean air quality. | | | | barbaric land wasting mining methods. |
| - No oil spills. Oil has to be pumped out of the | | | | If we as individuals took an action to either |
| ground and transported to the place where it is | | | | greatly reduce our consumption of electrical |
| needed to be burned to convert it to electrical | | | | power, or to use a substitute means to create |
| power. There are many points during the oil | | | | electricity, such as converting our homes to solar |
| production and oil transportation that accidental | | | | power, we would not need to pollute our air with |
| spills can happen which cause widespread | | | | burned fossil fuel particulate matter, we wouldn't |
| environmental catastrophe. A few examples are | | | | have our oceans and coastlines ruined by noxious |
| the Exxon Valdez tanker oil spill where millions of | | | | oil spills, and our land destroyed by the ravages of |
| gallons of crude oil were dumped upon the coast | | | | the surface coal mine. |
| of Alaska. The most recent, and possibly most | | | | |