BOBO's NOTE

For the first four months of this year the US produced more energy from renewable sources than coal. It’s for the first time in over 135 years.  (Then what source produced the most energy 135 years ago? Wood!) Nobody has expected this day would come so soon. A decade ago, nearly 50% of the nation’s energy was provided by coal. It was the major source of the nation’s energy production. What was the other half?  The other half of the energy resources included  natural gas, wind, solar, hydroelectric dams, and geothermal. These renewable resources were comparably expensive than the cost of coal so people didn’t use them much.  What has caused this transformation (coal to renewables) in the energy industry?  It has been mostly driven by the decline of the cost of renewable energy. It has gotten much cheaper to produce electricity from renewable resources than from coal. So many plants use renewable sources to produce electricity. The cost of building power plants th...

1. What is Earth Day? People all over the world made one special day to help keep Earth clean and healthy. It’s April 22, Earth Day. On Earth Day people around the world find ways to help keep the environment healthy in many ways. They plant trees and pick up trash. They turn off all the lights for an hour and have a car-free day. On a car-free day people walk or move around by riding bicycles instead of driving cars.       2. Why did people make Earth Day?   In 1969 there was a large oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. Black oil spread all over the ocean and covered the ocean, rocks, and beaches. The animals and plants that lived in the ocean, on rocks, and on the beaches got badly hurt. Their bodies were covered with black oil. They couldn’t move and breathe. People got infuriated by this accident and wanted to do something special to protect the environment. That’s how Earth Day first started. The first Earth Day was celebrated on April...