Los Angeles enjoys more than 300 days of sunshine a year, enough to power most of the city’s homes, businesses, schools, congregations, factories and warehouses with solar energy. But right now, L.A. is not taking advantage of this immense blessing: the city gets less than 2 percent of its power from the sun.
The profound human tragedy that unfolded in the Philippines is yet another reminder of the dangers posed by global warming. Although scientists have not determined if this storm was magnified by climate change, it is clear that a warming world will bring more and more extreme weather, including disasters like Typhoon Haiyan.
"The sky's the limit on solar energy," said Michelle Kinman, clean energy advocate for Environment California, one of the group's 29 state affiliates. "California's progress should make us confident that we can do much more."
California is among a dozen states that have excelled through political will and public policy at producing solar power and should be examples for others on how to shift to renewable energy, according to a report released Tuesday by the group Environment California.