Directions: Using information from the article, answer the following questions. 1.) Why did it take so long for Lime Village, Alaska to get electricity? _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ 2.) What is the name of the Department of Energy’s plan to install over one million solar roofs by 2010?_______________________________________________ 3.) How are today’s windmills different from the ones used in the past? _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ 4.) What percentage of Denmark’s energy comes from wind power?_______________________________________________ 5.) What is the key to making sure that Earth’s future is bright? _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ Name: ________________________________

A new kind of light is shining in Lime Village, Alaska. Last month, for the first time ever, all 50 residents of the tiny village got electricity. Until then, the light shining in Lime Village came mainly from candles, lanterns, the sun, the moon, and the stars. Why did it take so long for Lime Village to get plugged in? The reason is that most electricity comes from power plants that burn oil, gas, coal or other fuel. But Lime Village is too isolated to receive regular deliveries of fuel. So the Alaskan government came up with a bright idea: build a power plant that turns sunlight into electricity. If the equipment continues to work, light bulbs, radios and TV sets in other remote Alaskan communities may soon be powered by the sun. Sun, Wind and Power Tapping into the sun’s power is a tricky business. Because scientists are still trying to figure out the best way to do it, solar power can be expensive. But new, cheaper ways to use the sun are on the horizon. In Japan, companies have introduced a type of house that has special roof tiles that absorb sunshine. These tiles can produce enough electricity for an entire family and do it at a lower cost than the less efficient solar panels found on some American homes. Because the houses are environmentally friendly, the Japanese government wants more of them built. About 70,000 of these homes are expected to go up over the next several years. Use of solar power is hotter than ever in the U.S. The Million Solar Roofs Initiative, sponsored by the Department of Energy, aims to install solar-energy systems in more than a million buildings by Unlike solar power, wind energy often costs no more than traditional fossil fuels. Windmills have been used as a power source in the Netherlands for hundreds of years. But today’s windmills are sleeker and more powerful than the old- fashioned wooden mills. “They have new, high- tech blades that catch the wind more efficiently and special computers transform the wind in ways we can use it,” says Jim Marston of the Environmental Defense Fund. This year the country of Denmark is getting 6% of its electricity from wind power. Plans to add more windmills in Europe and Asia are under way. Giant windmill “farms” are sprouting up in windy states like California and Texas. Energy’s New Dawn Choosing wind or solar power is the key to making sure that Earth’s future is bright, says environmentalist Nancy Hazard. “We have to be working toward a world where our energy needs are met by renewable sources,” she says. “Creating that vision and really going for it--that’s how we’ll get energized!”