I was reading about a solar company developing solar material out of aluminum foil, which is very light and can be applied to many surfaces. That versatility could be very key for the solar industry, as those heavy, expensive solar panels are not suited for every house or every person. Given our proximity to a large aluminum company, I started thinking about whether they supply aluminum to some of these companies. It would be a bit ironic in a way, given the antiquated way in which power is created to produce aluminum--a very energy-intensive industry. Coal is the power source of choice for this aluminum maker, given that it is cheap, accessible and can produce lots of power. The downside, of course, is all of the pollution and carbon-dioxide associated with this form of energy, a key problem in curbing global warming. I suppose we must not forget that there is no guilt-free power source, even if it be from the sun. Solar power relies on other industries, some of which in turn, rely heavily on fossil fuels. The hope would be that all of the clean power generated from these aluminum-foil solar materials would off-set all of the carbon produced from the production of the foil in the first place. Or perhaps, recycled aluminum, which is must less energy-intensive since it does not involve starting all over with raw materials, can be used for the solar foil. In any event, what would really make me thrilled would be if solar power could power the aluminum industry to make more products for the solar power industry. Perhaps then, we could really call solar power completely renewable and clean. I love the idea of solar power, but I would love it that much more if we could make some headway in powering the industries producing its materials from something other than fossil fuels.