Solar Power and the New Localized Economy

The era of cheap energy is coming to a close. Due to higher and higher fuel costs, it will no longer make sense to mine iron ore from South America and ship it to Japan in order to mill steel and then ship it to the U.S, versus using steel made in our country. Nor will it make sense to ship refrigerated food from China, or fruits and vegetables from other far flung parts of the world for our consumption. Oil prices, even if from domestic or Canadian sources, reflect world market costs and pressures, making the geographic location of the oil wells irrelevant.

The future will be more about a localized economy, not cheap products from China that used to be viable due to cheap fuel, nor electricity that is carried over a grid from hundreds or thousands of miles away, even if sourced from cheap coal--the reality of pollution from coal and huge container ships is that they harm our environment and our health, making them anything but cheap or efficient. A localized economy will mean new, alternative energy sources, locally grown food, a return to domestic manufacturing and jobs that left our shores.

Solar power is a great example in a new, localized economy. Clean, renewable power, sourced from domestic solar panels, will be located right where the power is needed most--on top of large factories and warehouses and on the roofs of our homes. We will have the option of driving electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles that will be charged from our local, homegrown power source. Solar power fits the model of the new way forward, just as manufacturing, farming and distribution on a localized level will be the most efficient approach in a world of expensive, dirty and dwindling non-renewable energy sources. Solar power is the right way for today and tomorrow, for us and for our children.