If the United States of America were to invest the money it spent on the Iraq War ($452,673,414,399) on solar-based energy solutions, they could have met 6% of their annual energy needs. The United States has more than enough rooftop space available for solar panels to meet their electrical needs twice over. Their planned military budget during the next five years is $2.75 trillion ($2,750,000,000,000), or 36% of their electrical usage if spent, instead, on solar panels.
Changing to CFLs, as some posters noted, is a good start but can lead to squandering the savings through other means (leaving lights on, cranking the heat, and such). Instead of worrying about what other people might do, take action yourself. Start simply; although laudable, dramatic lifestyle changes are difficult. Easy ways to help the environment are listed online:
From http://davidjarvis.ca/essays/solar-power.shtml ...
If the United States of America were to invest the money it spent on the Iraq War ($452,673,414,399) on solar-based energy solutions, they could have met 6% of their annual energy needs. The United States has more than enough rooftop space available for solar panels to meet their electrical needs twice over. Their planned military budget during the next five years is $2.75 trillion ($2,750,000,000,000), or 36% of their electrical usage if spent, instead, on solar panels.
Changing to CFLs, as some posters noted, is a good start but can lead to squandering the savings through other means (leaving lights on, cranking the heat, and such). Instead of worrying about what other people might do, take action yourself. Start simply; although laudable, dramatic lifestyle changes are difficult. Easy ways to help the environment are listed online:
http://davidjarvis.ca/essays/environment.shtml
I submitted this site to Slashdot on 2005-10-13 and it was rejected. I then submitted it to Digg where it was voted to the front page.
Why would an article that was rejected back in mid-October suddenly make to to the front page of Slashdot so soon after it was dugg?