MAY 22

Solar Power is cropping up in some weird places. While it'll take some time for sunlight to become the fuel of the future, already solar power is being adopted by individuals and communities you might not expect.

The city of Rizhao, for example, is a poor coastal city in China. While the per-capita income is significantly lower than surrounding cities, almost every flat surface is covered in solar panels. Of course, these aren't the electricity-creating kind, they're the hot-water-creating kind. 99% of the hot water in the city comes from roof-top solar, and all the streetlights are powered by photovoltaics. Though it's a poor city, Rizhao has turned solar power into an economic engine while becomming one of the ten cleanest cities in China.

And then there's the Amish. You wouldn't think that the Amish would be early adopters of anything (as many of them aren't ready to embrace innovations such as buttons on pants) but solar seems to be right up their alley. Amish families are the leading per-capita adopters of solar in Pennsylvania. Their values of self-sufficiency and moderation are served perfectly by the panels.

So, as it turns out, poor people in China and the Amish are leading the way into the future. It's about time we caught up.

Via Green Options
and Wired Blogs

Comments (5)

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the vast majority of solar water heating
written by Mank, May 23, 2007

http://www.ren21.net/globalstatusreport/gsr4c.asp

http://www.china.org.cn/english/environment/168626.htm

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written by alex muller, May 23, 2007

Hey I was wondering what anyone thought of this article: http://thenewsroom.com/details...s?c_id=adm It's kind of interesting and it makes you think about global warming from an economic standpoint. Do you think anyone in the United States government might be into this type of thing? How does stuff like this affect the energy crisis?

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Green in China
written by Zach, May 24, 2007

I just got back from China a few days ago and got to spend some time in some more rural areas and I wanted to post about some of the things I saw.

The solar roof heaters are everywhere. I'm not sure how well they function, but I'm willing to be there's a connection between it being cold and rainy and me not having hot water. http://www.flickr.com/photos/7...511452748/

Gas is cheaper than the US, but they make a lot less money and with so many people energy is at a premium so there are a lot of obvious power saving ideas. I didn't see a single incandescent bulb, all CFs. A lot of escalators only work when people are standing on them, etc.

I liked this, a nice example of recycling. This farmer suspends an oyster from each of THOUSANDS of used soda bottles and sold pearls nearby. http://www.flickr.com/photos/7...511452746/

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written by C. Talltree, May 28, 2007

The AMISH, eh? That's wonderful! Bless them for leapfrogging most folks in technology, especially in something as environmentally-friendly as solar.

I wonder what applications they use their solar for though, does anyone know? Heat, light, engines? Solar-powered buggies? Knowing them, I'm sure they have strong limits on its use, at least for now. Please, post or write if you know though!

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Possible Amish uses for solar electricit
written by Dale Kaup, February 22, 2009

Amish youth have some of the same niceties every other American youth enjoy. They may use solar to charge up their MP3 players. Some have music in their horse-full carriages. And speaking of pimping their ride I bet no Escalade has bigger diameter wheels with less rubber than the Amish.

It's only after they turn 18 or so that they have to give this stuff up.

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