EARTH DAY: RESTORE OUR EARTH WITH RENEWABLE ENERGY
Every year, people around the world celebrate Earth Day to raise awareness about climate change. Read on to learn about how renewable energy plays a part in restoring our earth and what you can do to reduce your carbon footprint.
Read time: 3 minutes
What is Earth Day?
Earth Day was first celebrated on April 22nd 1970. On this very first Earth Day, 20 million people gathered in the streets of America to protest the industrial revolution. An environmental movement was born as a result. Since then, billions of people have come together to celebrate Mother Earth and help raise awareness about climate change and other environmental degradations that have broken our natural systems. ‘Restore Our Earth’ is the theme for this year’s Earth Day, acknowledging the emerging green technologies and innovative thinking that can restore the world’s ecosystems. It is up to each and every one of us to Restore Our Earth, not just because we care about the natural world, but because we live on it.
How do renewables fit into Earth Day?
That being said, renewable energy plays a huge part in restoring our Earth because it is these green technologies which will eventually reduce our dependence on coal and other harmful fossil fuels. We all know that using coal is not great for the environment; in fact it is the biggest source of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the world, so it’s a big problem when it comes to climate change. The bulk of this CO2 comes from burning it for heat and electricity, but we now know that we don’t need to rely on coal for this anymore – we’ve got clean energy.
By 2030, 75% of the UK’s electricity must come from renewable energy to achieve the goal set in the 2015 Paris Agreement. The UK has begun to fill in this gap with 42% of electricity being generated by renewable energy in 2020. On top of that, the UK hit a milestone on their journey to a greener Britain, going 67 days without using coal-fired power for the first time since the industrial revolution. So on this Earth Day, let’s take this opportunity to reflect on how we can reduce our own carbon footprint and contribute to the restoration of our earth’s fragile ecosystems.
Go Solar
Consumer demand for renewable energy sources is one of the most immediate actions you can take to lower your carbon footprint and restore our earth. Installing solar PV panels on an average UK home could reduce your carbon emissions by 1.3 to 1.6 tonnes per year depending on where you live in the UK. Pair them with BPE’s PVDivert and you can get free hot water for your home and potentially take ⅓ off your annual gas bill. As solar panels use renewable energy to provide electricity to your home, it emits zero emissions and has no negative impact on the environment. You can learn more about the PVDivert and its environmental benefits here.
Invest in Energy Storage
As we experience more extreme weather around the world, the number of natural disasters triggered by this and climate-related events has risen almost 35% since the 1990s. The United States suffers from power outages more than any other developed country. In a 2017 report, it was reported that there were 3,571 total outages in 2015, lasting 49 minutes on average. More recently, Texas suffered a power outage which left millions without power because of a severe winter storm in February 2021. Technologies like battery energy storage can provide vital backup power when a power outage occurs. BPE’s Energy Storage Systems allow electricity to be stored for later and used when it’s needed. This creates efficiencies and capabilities for those who own energy storage systems, including the ability to reduce your greenhouse gas emissions. You can learn more about BPE’s Energy Storage Systems here.
Celebrate Earth Day with BPE
With more than 1 billion people due to celebrate Earth Day this year, make it your mission to complete at least one of these 51 actions and tips to help Restore Our Earth in some way. You can learn more about how to get involved at earthday.org.
Want to learn more about adding solar and storage to your home? Contact us at hello@badgerpowerelectronics.com to get started.