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BY TOM KAY ECOMALL http://ecomall.com

OUR MATERNAL STAR

The Thermonuclear Sun is our maternal star. It is responsible for 
photosynthesis and
life. All the food we eat is yesterday's sunshine! The universe is cold. 
If it weren't for
solar energy, the earth would be a frozen, dark rock. The wind from the 
sun powered
Christopher Columbus' ship. All buildings use passive solar energy on a 
sunny winter
day. 

The hot Sun gives light and life. It is an inexhaustible supply of 
pollution-free power.
The ancient Egyptian Pharaohs solar heated their palaces by capturing 
solar energy in
black pools of water by day and draining the hot water into pipes in the 
floor of the
palaces at night. 

Affluent ancient Greeks designed their homes orientated to the sun to use 
winter
sunlight for heating. Large south-facing windows were used to collect 
solar heat, which
was stored in massive walls and floors for gradual release throughout the 
night. The
overhangs would heat the homes in the winter and shade out the sun in 
summer. 

In 1874, August Mouchot, a French engineer, concentrated solar energy 
onto a boiler
and used the steam produced to operate a 1/2 horsepower engine used for 
pumping
water in Algeria. In 1887, a parabolic solar collector was used to 
concentrate the sun's
energy to run a steam engine that ran a printing press. 

In 1901, A.G. Eneas built a solar engine to pump irrigation water in 
Arizona. The
Arizona Republic, a Phoenix newspaper, carried this description in its 
February 14, 1901
issue, "The unique feature of the solar motor is that it uses the heat of 
the Sun to
produce steam. As "no fuel" is cheaper than any fuel, the saving to be 
effected by this
device is evident. When the solar rays have heated the water in the 
boiler so as to
produce steam, the remainder of the process is the familiar operation of 
compound
engine and centrifugal pump. 

The reflector somewhat resembles a huge umbrella, open and inverted at 
such an angle
as to receive the full effect of the Sun's rays on 1,788 little mirrors 
lining its inside
surface. The boiler, which is thirteen feet and six inches long, is the 
focal point where
the reflection of the Sun is concentrated. If you reach a long pole up to 
the boiler it
instantly begins to smoke and in a few seconds is aflame. From the boiler 
is a flexible
metallic pipe that runs to the engine house near at hand. The reflector 
is thirty-three and
a half feet in diameter at the top and fifteen feet at the bottom. On the 
whole, its
appearance is rather stately and graceful, and the glittering mirrors and 
shining boiler
make it decidedly brilliant." 

In Egypt in 1912, Shuman and Boys used the sun to generate a 60 
horsepower engine
for a irrigation project. They built a 220 foot long parabolic trough 
collector which, in
principle, is still in use today. In 1939, the first modern attempt to 
heat houses with solar
energy started with a model home built at MIT. Solar energy is not new 
and is a well-
proven technology. To quote Sir George Porter, "If sunbeams were weapons 
of war, we
would have had solar energy centuries ago." 

Solar energy has been suppressed for too long. The question is, who will 
own the sun?
Some might say that "power corrupts" was written about man's control over 
other men
but it also applies to his control over energy resources. Solar energy 
put to full use
would help to give the world energy independence, minimizing dangerous 
pollution levels
and our dependence on fossil fuels. 

Who would think, in this age of environmental concern, that some people 
can still feel
that solar energy does not work. 

Some people feel solar will be practical when all the oil runs out. This 
is not true!. Solar
is cost effective right now, especially when you consider the cost to our 
health from air
pollution, solar is just as competitive as any other energy source. 

There are over one hundred thousand solar powered homes in the world. 
These
pioneering home owners can now cut their ties to the utility grid and 
become their own
power company. Solar is a stand alone micro-utility - nobody owns the 
sun!. Its energy
falls in all our back yards. Solar energy is decentralized, there are few 
economies of
scale in the collecting of solar energy. Therefore, many small collectors 
are just as
efficient as one large one. 

Solar photovoltaic cells, which are a wafer-thin chip of plastic or glass 
that converts
sunlight directly into electricity, were first used in 1958 on the 
Vangard satellite and
have been solar powering our telecommunication industry ever since. 
Television
programming is constantly being beamed around the world using solar 
powered
satellites, creating a global village powered by the sun. 

Ever since the first Vangard satellite, our world has been 
revolutionized! A revolution
powered by solar energy. Did you ever stop and think that by using a 
telephone or
watching your TV you are using solar power? Solar photovoltaic cells have 
helped in
man's quest in the exploration of the universe by powering the first 
space craft to leave
our solar system and enter intergalactic space. 

All most people know about solar photovoltaic cells is that they are 
these little chips on
top of their calculator. Those unbelievable little chips keep on powering 
your calculator
year after year. What a miracle of technology! With solar powered 
calculators there is
no need to buy batteries. Solar powered calculators should certainly 
prove beyond a
shadow of a doubt that solar energy works. 

To understand the economics of solar you must first understand life cycle 
costing, which
says solar becomes practically free after it pays for itself with money 
saved - that is,
money you would have paid your local utility or oil or gas company. Life 
cycle costing
means that within the life of the system, solar equipment lasts for 
twenty years or more.
Solar is certainly economical. Solar offers long-term savings - buildings 
have a higher
resale value with solar, as conventional fuels become scarcer and more 
expensive. Solar
save money and conserves energy. Solar is ecological, safe and clean. 

With ecological destruction of the environment such as Three Mile Island, 
Chernobel
and the Exxon Valdez oil spill catastrophe in Alaska fresh on the 
public's mind, today's
outcry for solar and other non-polluting forms of renewable energy is 
quite
understandable. The environmental movement is a reaction to the current
life-threatening situation. The harmful effects of air pollution cause 
acid rain and cancer.
The burning of fuel contributes to the overall warming of the Earth know 
as the
"Greenhouse Effect." 

Solar (hot water) thermal flat plate technology is a well-proven art that 
is viable
throughout the U.S. for heating the water for showers/baths, dishwashing 
and other
120-180 F home/ commercial/ industrial application. 

Everyone should understand that solar energy works and it works well in 
all climates.
Did you know that there are now more than 200,000 residential and 15,000 
commercial
passive solar buildings in the U.S.? 

Solar homes are cheerful, comfortable, and beautiful places to live. The 
architectural
landscape of the U.S. is going to change. A new industry needs support 
based not only
on economy but on sanity; doing the right thing for our future. 

It is interesting to note that many of the solar collectors in use are 
over twenty years
old, still working well and have paid for themselves many times over. A 
perfect example
of this is 421 Hudson Street building in the middle of New York City. 421 
Hudson Street
has two hundred solar thermal collectors on its roof. It is a shining 
living example of
what solar can do. Installed in 1976 with the support of a sixty percent 
government tax
incentive, 421 Hudson Street was the largest solar system of its kind in 
New York City.
The system is able to preheat water from 55 degrees to 80 using solar 
energy, saving
money for the building's residents. This system has been working 
perfectly for over 19
years, paying for itself several times over. 

The solar tax credits of 1976 were ended in 1980 by the Reagan 
administration, (which
also removed perfectly good, working solar panels from the White House) 
seriously
hurting the growth of this new industry. This caused the solar industries 
to almost die,
resulting in the loss of 35,000 jobs and holding up solar energy's life 
saving benefits for
years. There is an opportunity here to start the solar industry up again. 
All is not lost
yet. Show your support for bringing back President Carter's solar tax 
incentives. Ask
President Clinton to reinstate the solar hot water heating system that 
was taken off the
the Executive Office Building. 

    E-MAIL THE PRESIDENT: ASK HIM TO ADD SOLAR PV
(PHOTOVOLTAICS) SYSTEMS & HOT WATER SYSTEMS TO THE WHITE
HOUSE AND OTHER FEDERAL BUILDINGS (SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR
SOLAR!) 

PLEASE SUPPORT THE SOLAR STRUGGLE, SO THAT IT CAN TAKE ITS
RIGHTFUL PLACE AS THE BEST LONG-TERM ENERGY SOURCE FOR OUR
PLANET!