San Diego solar boom

Solar energy is soaring in Southern California -- surging past wind and hydro as the Golden State's top renewable energy source. On a recent visit to San Diego I was amazed at all the new rooftop solar. It seemed like every other home had solar panels on the roof, a noticeable difference from the last time I went out West a few years ago. It makes sense that San Diego would be the epicenter of America's solar boom given how much sunshine the region is blessed with all year round.

Is Obama Serious About Climate Change Action?

President Obama speaking recently at the Solar Panel Field at the Copper Mountain Solar 1 Facility in Boulder City, Nevada, the largest photovoltaic plant operating in the country.

(Cross-posted at Winning Progressive)

When it comes to climate change action, the Obama Administration is feeling the heat. Literally. All the president needs to do is step outside the White House doors and spend some time in the Rose Garden to feel Washington’s warmest winter on record. And cities across the United States have been experiencing record high temperatures this winter. Obama’s campaign headquarters is in Chicago, where the Windy City last Wednesday hit a high of 87 degrees Fahrenheit. The next day the temperature at O’Hare Airport was 83 degrees, capping nine straight days of record-breaking or record-tying high temperatures in Chicago.

While there is a difference between daily weather changes and climate patterns over time, the “summer in March” has climatologists concerned. “Global warming boosts the probability of really extreme events, like the recent U.S. heat wave, far more than it boosts more moderate events,” climate scientists Stefan Rahmstorf and Dim Coumou wrote recently in the RealClimate blog.

Photos: Wind and Solar Power in Europe

A recent trip around Europe via high-speed rail revealed a landscape dotted with enormous wind turbines and solar installations. But no country on the continent has made a greater push towards renewable energy than Germany. In Germany there are residential rooftop solar installations all across the country thanks to feed-in tariffs from the German Renewable Energy Act of 2000. Besides Germany, I also saw lots of wind farms in the United Kingdom, France, Spain and other European Union nations.

Here are solar and wind photos from Germany and Spain.

EUROPE SOLAR AND WIND

GERMANY

SPAIN

Photos: Solar Power in Israel

Did you know that the United States consumes 4.40 trillion kilowatt hours of electric energy per year? That is nearly a trillion more kwh than China. Did you also know that the average American hot shower consumes 4000 watts per day? That makes hot showers the highest power activity most Americans undertake in a day. (Thanks to the website Power SuperSite for this information.)

But what happens when you live in a country where water and fossilized energy are in short supply and your oil-rich neighbors are your sworn enemies? You reclaim water, become more energy efficient and look to the sun, wind and other renewable power sources to meet your energy needs.

Welcome to Israel, where solar water heaters are used in over 90% of homes. But rooftop solar water heaters didn't just happen because Israeli citizens suddenly decided to do the right thing. After the energy crisis of the 1970s, the Knesset in 1980 passed a law requiring the installation of solar water heaters in all new homes.

More from Wikipedia:

"As of the early 1990s, all new residential buildings were required by the government to install solar water-heating systems, and Israel's National Infrastructure Ministry estimates that solar panels for water-heating satisfy 4% of the country's total energy demand. Israel and Cyprus are the per-capita leaders in the use of solar hot water systems with over 90% of homes using them.

The Ministry of National Infrastructures estimates solar water heating saves Israel 2 million barrels of oil a year."

Here are photos of solar water heaters in Israel.

ISRAEL SOLAR WATER HEATERS

KIBBUTZ LAHAV

MITZPE RAMON

JERUSALEM