PV Gap

Marsha Said:

Does Solar energy form emit greenhouse gasses or other polluants?

We Answered:

Solar energy creates pollution in the creation of the actual solar cells. However, this pollution is much less than normal methods of producing power (see first link).
The energy created by solar power is pollution-free as it works on the photo-electric effect, which just pushes electrons around rather than emitting anything (see second link).

I'm also assuming you're talking about photo-voltaic solar cells. They do have other, newer cells that simply focus sunlight to heat water, and I'd imagine the pollution is similar to photo-voltaics, though I have no link for those types and that's probably not what your teacher means.

Dwight Said:

What are the short and long term effects of solar energy?

We Answered:

There are tons of sites. Here is probably one of the best:
http://www.nrel.gov/solar/
This is the goverments NREL site, for National Renewable Energy Lab. Its pretty technical. For more laymen terms and information try this:
http://spheralsolar.com/solarpowerlearni…
They sell stuff but the learning center is free.

Hope this helps

Bryan Said:

how easy or difficult is it to obtain Solar energy?

We Answered:

The largest solar collector is our plants.The sun's energy is stored in the plants leaves and seed.

Marsha Said:

What is a creative way to begin my report on solar energy?

We Answered:

In 1931, not long before he died, Thomas Edison told his friends Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone: “I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don’t have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that.”