Why Solar Energy Is So Important To Our Planet
Every second the sun produces enough power to fulfill our entire planet’s energy demands for 2 hours. Harnessing this solar power is one of the keys to resolving the climate crisis we are facing. The good news is that over the past 19 years, we have increased our use of solar energy 300-fold! However, solar energy still only provides less than 2% of our energy needs.Fortunately, decreases in hard costs – the solar cells – and soft costs – labor and permits – are decreasing, while the efficiency of solar panels is increasing. In coming years, this trend will continue. One result will be an increase in the amount of energy which can be harvested from a solar cell, and a decrease in the cost of solar energy. Engineering will be key in better converting the sun’s rays into solar energy, more efficiently.
Learn how this technology works, in a way everyone can understand.
See how FIELD is helping with solar energy.
A century ago, US policy was to extinguish all wildfires as soon as possible. It took decades to realize that this was interfering with the nature’s ecosystem, where wildfires can have beneficial effects. Indeed, some species of plants are dependent on fires. Now, the focus has shifted from suppressing fires to managing fires.
The planet is experiencing significant events at an unprecedented pace. Weather extremes – including hot, cold, storms, and more – are becoming the norm, including record temperature highs, lows, and precipitation in many locations. Global temperatures are rising. Wildlife habitats and populations are shifting. Sea levels are rising.
The science is in! Here’s the (scientific) scoop, in language everyone can understand, regarding:
The Los Angeles Department of Transportation recently received a $6 million grant to continue its quest to have an all-electric bus fleet by 2028. This money will be used to create one of the nation’s largest electric vehicle (EV) charging systems, with 104 new EV chargers throughout the city.
The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland resulted in a landmark agreement among most of the world’s nations to achieve 100% zero-emissions vehicles by 2040, and sooner for some countries. While the U.S. and China, the two largest car markets, were NOT part of this agreement, the state of California was.
We all see news stories about major wildfires that go from completely uncontained, to 10%, 30%, and eventually, completely contained. But how does this happen? What are the important decisions and tradeoffs firefighting management must make in containing fires and minimizing the loss of property and human life – while keeping the firefighting crew as safe as possible?
The U.S. has over 10,000 landfills that are now closed. Until now, the land they occupy was doomed to be virtually useless, and a potential eyesore, for eternity. But now, communities are repurposing these closed landfills, turning them into solar energy farms. The existing closed landfills alone, were they to harness solar energy, could produce an additional 70% of the country’s solar energy.
Renewable energy, also called clean energy, is considered by most to be the most important step toward stemming the effects of climate change. You know those windmill farms you periodically see off of the highway? Well, globally their green energy production has risen 22-fold in 16 years. New techniques will hopefully reduce the number of birds and bats they kill.
Minority and underserved populations tend to have below-average health, across many metrics, and therefore stand to benefit the most from workplace wellness programs. Yet, data shows that they are the least likely to participate in such programs. These wellness programs have been shown to significantly improve health while reducing costs for workers, employers, and society.
Racial minorities, ethnic minorities, and those with low socioeconomic status aren’t getting sufficient exercise, according to recent research. These people face institutional, societal, and environmental obstacles to getting a recommended amount of exercise. However, each of these barriers can be overcome given the knowledge and family/community support often found in these communities. 
ESL students learn English to better assimilate into their new country. But almost as important to the assimilation process is knowing and understanding what is going on in their new city, state, and country. But it can be daunting for ESL students to find good, easy-to-understand sources of news, read them, understand them, and come to their own conclusions about them.
Since 1986, American taxpayers could e-file their taxes with the IRS. Yet, in 2021, 90% of immigration forms cannot be filed electronically. In 2017, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) spent billions to digitize filings, but failed to implement it!
Several hundred thousand children of US immigrants, who are in the US legally now, with valid visas, face the real possibility that on their 21st birthdays, their visas will expire. The work visas their parents obtained to gain legal entry into the US only cover them as children. So, when these kids turn 21, they will no longer have a valid visa, and may face deportation.
ICE has legal limits as to how long they can hold immigrants. But they routinely violate these limits, sometimes because the countries they seek to deport immigrants to will not accept them. Read about the numerous, long-term, severe harms caused to immigrants in indefinite detention, and what can be done about it.
We all know that visa applications, like many other government processes, are fraught with bureaucracy. However, a recent poll of the nation’s immigration attorneys reveals visa applications routinely being denied for reasons which border on the absurd. Here are a few examples:
During COVID, U.S. visas issued to immigrants have dropped 77%. Visas issued to non-immigrants have declined even further – 83%! This is having a huge impact on US citizens, residents, and businesses who need immigrants to come to the U.S. This impact affects family reunification, businesses’ ability to attract foreign talent, and much more. This also affects the agricultural community – from the standpoints of farms, farmers, and their families.
Nine years ago President Obama signed a law to permit Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) - often known as “dreamers”, to remain in the U.S., obtain a valid social security number, get educated, drive, work, and live their lives – and live their lives free from fear of deportation.
Most of the immigrants FIELD serves, as well as their families, can be helped by having a good, accredited immigration attorney. Immigration attorneys can help immigrants get to America, stay in America (legally), work in America, get educated, get benefits, obtain citizenship, and even open a business. They literally provide a new lease on life to millions of U.S. immigrants from Latin America and elsewhere.
Increasingly most of your favorite sports teams are powered by immigrants, many of them Latin American. Whether it’s the MVP of the recent NBA finals, Dodgers stars, or players on most pro and even college teams, immigrants are making a huge impact on sports and our lives. Many of them and their families came from agricultural or other impoverished backgrounds.