By: Micahel M., Blogger, Yellowlite, Inc.
The first Earth Day was a culmination of an increasing awareness by a ‘60s generation that the environmental degradation taking place around America and the World threatened their futures and the futures of generations to come. Burning rivers; the human and ecological threats of pesticides and chemicals that were exposed in Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring; oil spills; toxic air, water and soil pollution: all man-made calamities that finally came to light and led to a national, and ultimately, to a planetary awakening that such poisonous behavior could no longer be tolerated if life on Earth were to survive.
Officially, Earth Day began in 1970 with, then U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, Gaylord Nelson’s federal proclamation that April 22nd would be a national day of “environmental teach-ins.” The idea quickly spread and now there are over 180 countries world-wide who “celebrate” Earth Day, and in many cases, Earth Week, every year.
Why “celebrate”?
The expansion of consciousness that took place on that fateful spring day in 1970 turned out to be the first brick laid on our road toward energy independence. Just a few years later, President Jimmy Carter installed solar panels on the White House, thus beginning an era of growth for alternative energies like wind, bio-fuels, hydro-electric and solar. In case you’ve never ridden on a brick road, it’s not a smooth ride, and so, a few years later another president ordered the White House solar panels to be taken down.
Once again, our national energy policy vehicle was being driven down a different; some would say even bumpier, road. Our drivers since, have taken several wrong turns and driven us down several dead-end roads, but finally we’re back on that bumpy road toward energy independence. Yes, it is still bumpy, but we now have a strong coalition of drivers that are working together and demanding that we not stray far from the road leading to our goals of furthering the objectives that Senator Nelson laid out in his speech in Denver, Colorado on our Nation’s initial Earth Day observance that objective was and is, “to put Gross National Quality on a par with Gross National Product.”
We, in the Solar Energy Industry are members of that coalition and we’re proud to be doing our part. We now have over 440,000 solar electric systems operating in the U.S. that provide enough electricity to meet the demands of over 2.2 million homes. According to the National Renewable Energy Labs in Colorado, each of those systems, over their lifetimes, will reduce the amount of sulfur dioxide being dumped into our air by more than a ton, nitrogen oxides by two-thirds of a ton and carbon dioxide, the primary greenhouse gas by approximately 200 tons. That’s a lot of pollution that we won’t have to breathe. Additionally, solar now provides over 142,000 living-wage, non-outsourcable jobs in the U.S. So, yes indeed, they are plenty of reasons to celebrate Earth Day.
Earth Day sales promotions from YellowLite Solar.
YellowLite is celebrating by extending Earth Day to the end of April by offering a $500 discount to anybody that contacts us before May 1st and who gets a new YellowLite solar system installed by September 30, 2014.
Help us celebrate Earth Day by calling 216-333-1364, or filling out a request a quote form now to schedule your free solar analysis.
P.S. For our friends, who already have Yellowlite systems, please let your friends know about our offer and we’ll give you a $500 referral reward for any of them that go solar with YellowLite.
Still wondering if Solar Power is right for you? Find out with our investment and sunlight guides.
