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| A one-kilowatt PV system each year prevents: - 1,800 lbs. of coal from being mined
- 3,600 lbs. of CO2 from entering the atmosphere
- 5.3 lbs. of mercury from contaminating the atmosphere
- 1,260 gallons of water from being polluted
Within 15 years, renewable energy could be generating enough electricity to power 40 million homes and offset 70 days of oil imports. Replacing one incandescent light bulb with an energy-saving compact fluorescent bulb means 1,000 pounds less carbon dioxide is emitted to the atmosphere and an average of $67 dollars is saved on energy costs over the bulb's lifetime. (U.S. Environmental Protection  Agency and Alliance to Save Energy) Just by using "off the shelf" energy-efficient technologies available today, we could cut the cost of heating, cooling, and lighting our homes and workplaces by up to 80%. (U.S. Department of Energy and Maryland Energy Administration) By taking appropriate energy-saving measures the United States can have an energy system that reduces costs by $530 per household per year and reduces global warming pollutant emissions to 10 percent below 1990 levels. (Energy Innovations report)
 The earth receives more energy from the sun in just one hour than the world uses in a whole year. Per capita Canada consumes the most energy in the world, the United Sates ranks second. America has 5 percent of the world's population and consumes 26 percent of the world's energy. World energy consumption is expected to incre ase 40% to 50% by the year 2020. Developing countries use 30% of global energy. Economic growth in China and India will rapidly increase that percentage in the next 10 years. The World Bank estimates that investments of $1 trillion will be needed in this de cade and upwards of $4 trillion during the next 30 years to meet developing countries' electricity needs alone. Global mix of fuels—fossil fuels (78%), nuclear (4%), renewables (18%) America uses about 15 times more energy per person than does the typical developing country. In 2010 U.S. residents consumed an average of 12,133 kilowatt-hours of electricity each, almost nine times greater than the average for the rest of the world. Residential appliances, including heating and cooling equipment consume 90% of all energy used in the U.S. residential sector. Total U.S. re sidential energy consumption is projected to increase 17 percent by 2015. (U.S. Energy Information Administration) Solar Energy demand has grown at about 30% per annum over the past 15 years. Photovoltaic prices have declined on average 4% per annum over the past 15 years. - On average, 16 million tons of carbon dioxide are emitted into the atmosphere every 24 hours by human use worldwi
 de. (U.S. Department of Energy) - The United States is the world's largest single emitter of carbon dioxide, accounting for 23 percent of energy-related carbon emissions worldwide. (U.S. Department of Energy)
- Carbon emissions in North America have increased 38 percent since 1970. They are expected to grow another 31 percent by the year 2020. (U.S. De
 partment of Energy) - An average of 23,000 pounds of carbon dioxide are emitted annually by each American home. The equivalent of two cars driven 20,000 miles each. (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)
About 81 tons of mercury are emitted into the atmosphere each year as a result of electric power generation from coal. Mercury is the most toxic heavy metal in existence. (U.S. Environment al Protection Agency) Approximately 30,000 lives are cut short in the U.S. each year due to pollution from electricity production. (ABT Associates study) - The
 United States consumes about 17 million barrels of oil per day, of which nearly two-thirds is used for transportation. - The United States imports more than seven million barrels of oil per day.
- Americans use a billion gallons of motor oil a year, 350 million gallons of which end up polluting the environment. (Department of Energy and Maryland Energy Administration)
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