As nuclear fallout continues to grow worse in Japan, and
concerns about health issues associated with coal-fired power
plants increase, the question of the moment is how we can meet
our energy needs without destroying ourselves and our planet. In
a blog post on Sungevity’s website this week, Erica Etelson
points out that covering an area just slightly larger than
California with solar panels would provide enough power for the
entire world. Covering an area the size of Kentucky would handle
all of the United States’ power needs. “We have the technology
to relegate dangerous 20th-century fossil fuels to the history
books,” Etelson writes. The following graphic illustrates
Etelson’s point.