OPINION: Solar energy surges in developing nations

Larry Kirkland (letter to the editor, Daily News, Feb. 28) continues to be totally immune to fact checking his own claims. This pertains to his beliefs that the Bible is true in all that it says (rebuttal at bit.ly/4oJrqc5, chap. 6) and that climate change is not scientifically grounded.

Climate deniers such as Kirkland must be cheering the EPA’s decision to scrap the “endangerment finding” of 2009, which declared that “greenhouse gas emissions were a threat to public health.” However, Stanford University environmental scientist Chris Field, who was the lead author of the finding, has responded that the EPA’s action was questionably legal and it did not address the overwhelming evidence against the dangers of CO2 emissions.

Kirkland argues that developing countries should stick with fossil fuels because their pursuit of green energy is a big mistake. In what follows, I will show that Kirkland is flat-out wrong, and just a bit of internet search would have shown him so. He could have also read my column on solar power (Daily News, Feb. 18, 2025).

I have had five research trips to India and each time I return, its major cities are ever more covered in poisoned air. Currently, 18 of the 25 most polluted cities in the world are found in India. The principal causes are vehicular exhaust, diesel generators during blackouts, and coal-fired power plants. The leading cause of death for Indian children under the age of 5 is complications due to air pollution.

To solve this horrific problem, India became a founding member of the International Solar Alliance. It has established a World Solar Bank with the motto “One Sun, One World, One Grid.” Enough sun falls on the Earth’s surface in one hour to provide enough power to service all the world’s economies for one year.