3 of 7

Write now Article Tools

In economics and business, the term supply and demand is used to market and price products. However, when it comes to society the term can be rephrased as supply to survive. This phrase becomes a reality, especially in the world of science. When a life threatening disease starts spreading, life itself is at the mercy of it. If no solution is found, the consequence can be deadly. We are seeing the same effects in Africa with AIDS today. These are somewhat rare cases though. Scientists are making giant breakthroughs in all fields and society reaps all the benefits of the discovery. Inventions like these could be cars, airplanes, skyscrapers and modern medicine. In spite of all this, society is about to experience another catastrophe. The world is dependent on oil and there is no use in denying that oil supplies are dwindling. For this very reason, if I could make on scientific discovery, I would create a very efficient solar panel so that society can utilize ! the enormous amounts of energy that come from the sun.

People, governments and the general society are already worried about the shortage of oil and what will happen if we do not find alternative power sources. Hybrid cars are becoming more popular, a solution that will only delay the problem and, get our generation "off the hook." While hybrid cars are a good idea, it is not a solution. Wind power is also becoming more and more popular, though environmentalists are protesting it because of the large amount of land windmills need to take up. Wind power is not efficient and a lot of places do not experience much wind at all. We have also experimented with nuclear power, but until we find a clean solution to nuclear waste, that is not a plausible solution either.
The answer lies within the suns energy. Every year, tropical oceans soak up 560 Trillion Gigajoules of energy. There is so much potential energy available, is must be used. Primitive uses of solar energy are occurring today. Examples are most seen in houses where solar panels are put on the roof to help light and heat the house. However, solar panels are very expensive and not very efficient; only usefully converting 7% of the energy. If I were able to invent a panel that would be 75-90% effective, it could change how the world is powered. By using power from the sun, we would have a huge energy source that would be available to everyone in the world. Wars concerning oil would cease and the controversies about the United States soaking up all of the world's energy would also end. I would love to be the one whom creates a panel that is fairly cheap and very proficient. Discovering something useful in the field of science is a wonderful accomplishment for oneself, bu! t it is even better knowing that you have the potential to help any (or all) of the world's 6.5 billion people.

Learn more about this author, Matthew Parish.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about Tips for switching to cleaner energy sources?
We want to hear your view. Write now!