The burning of fossil fuels is causing climate change. Fact. Not a made up belief. Anyone who denies this has a very odd relationship with the truth. 

Another fact is that solar energy is clean, renewable, and the technology is improving annually. However fossil fuel fans continue to try and cling to the status quo by spreading lies about solar. Here’s eight of the most frequent anti-solar arguments and why they are just plain wrong.

1. “Solar Panels Are Inefficient” 

THE CLAIM: Solar panels only convert 17-20% of the sunlight that hits them into electricity,so it is hardly worth it, right?

THE TRUTH: Those figures are being blown away by new advancements in solar panels. Bifacial panels increase efficiency by an additional 30-40% , and multi-junction PV cells can increase efficiency by up to 45%. Systems that track the sun are striving for even greater efficiency.Unlike fossil fuels, which have been inefficient and decades, solar technology is developing quickly. 

2. “They’re way too expensive to install”

THE CLAIM:  The average U.S. homeowner would have to spend $18,600 for a 6.5-kiloWatt solar panel system. 

THE TRUTH: Cost is influenced by your location, and after construction, solar upkeep is as low as $140-180  annually. The average system can save $46,000 over a 25-year period. To further seal the deal, a 30% federal tax credit is available through December 31st, 2025. Unlike fossil fuels, which simply keep raising prices for the same filthy product, solar is an investment that pays off – beautifully.

3. “Solar takes up too much land and harms ecosystems.”

THE CLAIM: Big solar farms sprawl across the land, displacing wildlife.

THE TRUTH: This concern applies mainly to utility-scale solar farms, but it is entirely avoided with residential solar and other small-scale installations. Rooftop solar panels fit neatly on existing buildings—such as homes, schools, and businesses—without disturbing natural habitats. 

Additionally, solar panels can be installed on farm buildings, field edges, parking lots, and other already developed or low-impact areas, minimizing ecosystem disruption. Unlike fossil fuel extraction, which has been destroying habitats for over a century, solar energy can be integrated into our landscapes thoughtfully to protect wildlife and natural ecosystems.

Solar panels used in farming, a practice known as agrivoltaics, provide multiple benefits beyond just energy generation. The panel offers shade that protects plants from heat, reduces water loss, and can even boost yields. They also help capture rainwater, conserve resources, and provide farmers with extra income, all while supporting biodiversity and soil health.

4. “Solar panels contain dangerous materials” 

THE CLAIM: Mining for the minerals that solar panels need to work like lithium, cadmium, gallium, and other materials pose environmental and health risks, plus manufacturing panels emit carbon and silicon dust.

THE TRUTH: While mining minerals like lithium, cadmium, and silicon for solar panels does carry some environmental and health risks, these impacts are manageable and minimized through strong regulations, safety standards, and recycling programs currently in place in many states. 

In contrast, fossil fuel extraction and use cause ongoing pollution and emissions with far fewer safeguards or recycling solutions. The solar industry continues to improve sustainable mining practices to reduce environmental harm while supporting a cleaner energy future.

5. “Solar doesn’t work when the sun’s not shining – it’s intermittent energy!”

THE CLAIM: Solar is unreliable because weather, the seasons and night time make its energy intermittent!

THE TRUTH: Er have you heard of something called storage batteries? While solar energy does indeed depend on the sun, advanced battery storage systems store excess power generated during sunny periods, ensuring reliable electricity day and night.  These batteries can power homes and businesses for hours or even days during cloudy weather or outages, making solar a steady and resilient energy source. 

Plus there is another little thing called  grid connection. Grid connection means your solar panels are linked to the public power grid so you can draw power when your panels aren’t producing. With net metering, you can even sell extra energy you make with your solar panel – for credits or cash, and your utility will pay the difference when you need more power. 

While the sun may take pauses, your electricity does not, and the “always on” nature of fossil fuels results in an unending flow of ugly pollutants.

6. “Solar energy benefits from government subsidies that tip the scales in its favor”

THE CLAIM: Government funding for renewable energy technology, such as solar energy system technology, distorts the energy market and therefore takes away citizens’ freedom to buy from a free market.

THE TRUTH: While the solar industry does benefit from government subsidies—such as the federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC) that offers a 30% credit on installation costs through the end of 2025—these incentives help offset the high upfront costs and accelerate the transition to clean energy. President Trump has cancelled these incentives however in favor of the fossil fuel industry.

In 2022, the United States and the European Union provided $760 billion and $310 billion respectively in subsidies, to the fossil fuel industry. Even though their pollution is driving climate change. Subsidies for solar and renewables are investments in a sustainable future, that just helped to slightly level the playing field against the entrenched fossil fuel sector that has long benefited from decades of financial and policy support without accountability for environmental costs.

7. “The Government has favorites – not fair – boo hoo”

THE CLAIM: It’s unfair to favor one energy source over another.

THE TRUTH: For decades, fossil fuels have received strong support, and their lobbyists have obstructed the advancement of renewable energy. 

In 1975 and 2005, the American Petroleum Institute rejected proposals that would have increased clean technology and efficiency.  Calling solar “favored” ignores the reality that the energy playing field has never been level — and it’s fossil fuels that have been winning by unfair rules and sneaky tactics. 

8. “Oil companies are investing in clean energy anyways”

THE CLAIM: Fossil fuel companies are part of the solution .

THE TRUTH:  According to a  2023  assessment by the International Energy Agency (IEA), fossil fuel companies invest only about 4% of their capital spending—around $30 billion—in clean energy, which accounts for a very small fraction of the global clean energy investment. 

Many of the “green” programs promoted by oil companies are criticized as greenwashing: involving more talk than substantial action. Simply labeling an oil company with a solar or a clean energy logo or over using the color green on the PR – does not change the fact that the industry’s core investments and profits still heavily depend on fossil fuels. But funding is pouring into solar. Overall, real no- fossil fuel related global clean energy investment reached a record $1.8 trillion in 2023, vastly outpacing fossil fuel spending. 

Solar is the Future – Sorry Fossils!

The majority of arguments against solar ultimately fall flat when confronted with the facts, and the difference between solar and fossil fuels is clear. Want to take a deeper dive – read our Explainer- Can The World Run On Sunshine?

Fossil fuels leave behind oil spills, poisonous air, and an unaffordable climate bill.  They are also messy, finite, and expensive for the environment and our finances. Solar energy is more cost-effective, greener, and always evolving with new technologies and increased efficiency. Solar also does not pollute our air and water, unlike all things fossil fuel.

We have a brighter alternative just above our heads every day, so why continue to pay the ugly price of gas, coal, and oil when the sun won’t be sending us a bill anytime soon?

To keep America’s water and air clean we need a strong Environmental Protection Agency, but the present administration has other ideas. Read our EPA statement on their latest attacks on clean air and clean water here, and take action.

If you care about the environment, and are in the U.S., we need your voice. Add your name to our public comments on the EPA’s intentions to gut the agency’s ability to regulate pollution due to climate change, also known as the Endangerment Finding.

This article is available for republishing on your website, newsletter, magazine, newspaper, or blog. The accompanying imagery is also cleared for use. Please ensure that the author’s name and their affiliation with EARTHDAY.ORG are credited. Kindly inform us if you republish so we can acknowledge, tag, or repost your content. You may notify us via email at davies@earthday.org or fielder@earthday.org. Want more articles? Follow us on substack.

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OPINION

I grew up attending Catholic private schools, marching for life, and even advocating for pro-life beliefs in conversations with Virginia delegates. I know what it means to stand up for the sanctity of life, to believe that every human being has inherent dignity from conception to natural death. 

But in all those conversations about protecting life, I rarely heard anyone mention the air we breathe, the water we drink, or the planet we leave behind. That needs to change. Many pro-lifers fight to protect life, but what will happen if the planet is no longer able to support it? 

Abortion still dominates the conversation, despite the fact that climate change threatens the exact lives that pro-lifers are trying to protect. Shouldn’t the goal of respecting and conserving life be equally centered on preserving the environment?

If we are truly pro-life, we must also be pro-environment.

Recently, President Donald Trump announced his plan to revoke the Environmental Protection Agency’s  (EPA) authority to take action on climate change. This move isn’t just about bureaucracy or regulations, it’s about dismantling one of the few agencies tasked with protecting the health of millions of Americans. Climate change isn’t some abstract issue for future generations to worry about. Its effects are already here, harming real people, right now.

Consider this: according to the World Health Organization, air pollution is responsible for an estimated 7 million premature deaths annually across the globe. In the United States alone, studies show that pollution from fossil fuel combustion is responsible for 350,000 premature deaths annually. These are not just numbers, they are lives lost to preventable causes.

If we claim to care about life, how can we turn a blind eye to policies that poison our air and water?

Babies Suffer Most

It’s not just adults who suffer. According to the National Library of Medicine, air pollution may indirectly harm lung development by causing low birth weight, early birth, or improper immune system development. 

The health implications of this exposure on unborn babies is  especially important as air pollution during the prenatal period may interfere with organ development and organogenesis, the critical process where organs are formed. This would not be the first time that environmental pollution had catastrophic effects on infants. In Flint, Michigan, an entire generation of children was exposed to lead-contaminated water. Even low levels of lead in blood are associated with developmental delays, difficulty learning and behavioral issues, according to the CDC. The science is clear: environmental harm directly threatens the health and development of unborn and newborn children, and adults. 

Being Pro-life Shouldn’t End At Birth

When hurricanes fueled by rising sea levels destroy homes, when wildfires made more intense by climate change force families to evacuate, when rising temperatures increase the spread of diseases like West Nile Virus, these are life issues too.

 In fact, the National Medical Association has called climate change “the greatest public health challenge of the 21st century.”

But it is the most vulnerable who pay the highest price. Low-income communities and communities of color  are disproportionately affected by environmental degradation. The unborn, the elderly, and those with preexisting health conditions are at greatest risk. As pro-life advocates, we should be the loudest voices standing up for those who cannot protect themselves. That includes the victims of environmental injustice.

I’m not writing this from a leftist point of view. I know how quickly conversations about the environment get dismissed as partisan politics. But protecting life has no political party. When Pope Francis wrote Laudato Si’, his encyclical on the environment, he called on people of all faiths and political backgrounds to recognize that “the earth herself, burdened and laid waste, is among the most abandoned and maltreated of our poor.”

We must understand that dismantling the EPA’s ability to regulate emissions is not pro-life, it’s anti-life. Weakening environmental protections is not just about rolling back regulations; it’s about rolling back the future of every child we claim to protect.

I’m not here to argue, but to find common ground. If we are united by a belief in the sanctity of life, then we should be outraged when policies disregard the health of our children and grandchildren. Pro-life values demand consistency. You can’t defend life in one breath and support policies that threaten it in the next.

We can’t afford to be selective in our defense of life. The same passion that drives us to protect the unborn should drive us to protect the earth they will inherit. What’s the point of saving a life if we’re willing to destroy the world it lives in?

It’s time for a new kind of pro-life movement. One that sees the environment not as a political talking point, but as a sacred duty. One that understands that caring for creation is not separate from caring for life, it is the foundation of it.

So the next time a politician promises to “protect life,” we must ask: Whose life? And for how long? Because life doesn’t end at birth, and neither should our efforts.

If you agree, make your voice heard – tell the EPA we expect them to protect clean air and clean water for all living things by adding your name to our public comments urging the EPA not to revoke the Endangerment Finding, which gives the agency the authority to regulate pollution.

The post Stripping the EPA’s Ability to Regulate Emissions is Anti-Life appeared first on Earth Day.

Whether in elementary school or university, all parents want their children to get the best and safest education. What if improving schools were as simple as planting trees? 

Many schools already know the benefits of planting trees, but action is what matters. Elementary students in Berkeley, California, have taken the first step in branching out towards greener schools with their “pocket forests”. “There is something we can do about climate change as kids and part of that is planting trees,” said Indy Stone, a fifth-grader at Cragmont. “We’re doing something great for the planet, and what’s even better, we’re doing it as a community.”

Today is Schools Tree Day – the perfect time to note the unexpected benefits trees bring to the world of education, from boosting academic performance and mental health to enhancing physical safety. 

Here are 5 often overlooked ways planting trees in schools can help your child succeed:

1) Nature’s Secret to Academic Success

Trees may make paper, but can their presence of trees really help boost test scores? As it turns out, they can! A study by ​​Chicago Public Schools proved that tree cover and other vegetation on school grounds boosts academic performance (about 36.9% in math and 1.8% in reading). Most children from the study came from low-income households, which typically puts them at an academic disadvantage due to limited access to school supplies and support both in and out of school. However, they still found a positive correlation between tree cover on school grounds and increased test scores. This study identified trees as the true academic boosters, even in contrast to wealthier neighborhoods or schools with other greenery like grass and shrubs. 

The takeaway? Planting trees in urban schoolyards could be a powerful, more economical approach than high-tech solutions to help students succeed.

2) Student Focus and Wellness 

Have you ever felt a calm come over you when you go outside and take shade under a tree? Well there is a reason for that. It turns out that a single tree standing right outside the classroom window may be one of the most effective ways to enhance students’ mental well-being.

According to Penn State Extension, regular exposure to green spaces has been shown to reduce mental exhaustion, improve focus, alleviate symptoms of ADHD by up to 38%, and decrease cortisol levels—the body’s main stress hormone. Children who spend time in nature report feeling happier and more confident, as well as having better emotional control, less anxiety, improved quality of sleep, lowered blood pressure, and increased immune system functioning. Given that mental issues rank among the main causes of students missing class time, that is an important concern in education quality.

The schoolyard itself is not exempt from the advantages. According to research from the University of Illinois, schools with trees and plants rather than concrete or lawns tend to have more engaged classrooms with better student attentiveness and less behavioral issues. At a time when schools are struggling with a mental health crisis from high levels of screen time and post-pandemic academic recovery, we can see we need to plant more trees.

3) Shade that Saves

A parent’s top priorities for their child to be healthy, and the secret might be growing right outside their schoolyard. Research on Texas schools revealed that children are able to be more active and play longer under the natural shade of trees, especially during scorching hot days. Trees don’t just provide shade, they invite kids outside, making playtime cooler and more enjoyable as temperatures soar.

According to a national study of 5,723 urban areas in the United States, low-income neighborhoods were, on average, 1.5°C (2.7°F) hotter than wealthier ones and had 15.2% less tree cover. Children are more susceptible to heat-related illnesses, asthma , and decreased physical activity as a result of the increased heat, especially in schoolyards without shade.

In all neighborhoods today, heatwaves are getting worse and air quality is a growing concern. Planting trees isn’t just about beautifying neighborhoods, it’s a vital step toward creating safer, healthier spaces where children can thrive.

4) Growing Green Minds

Early exposure to trees influences children’ actions as well as their emotions. Students in Hungary who grew up near trees exhibited noticeably greater environmental attitudes than their peers. These children were more likely to care about, act upon, and support the environment in addition to having greater knowledge of sustainability. Early connections like this are crucial to building green muscle memory. Children learn that they can take action on climate change, not just read about it. In turn they begin to view themselves as environmental stewards as well as learners.

Programs like Project Learning Tree use forests to teach critical thinking, ecological literacy, and environmental responsibility, reaching over half a million educators since 1976. Project Learning Tree (PLT) is a leading environmental education program for PreK–12 students that uses forests to teach sustainability, science, and critical thinking. An initiative of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, equips educators with hands-on lessons that inspire students to explore nature, understand environmental issues, and become future environmental leaders. It’s active in all 50 states and several countries worldwide.

Schools can help ecosystems as much as nature helps humans. Trees and vegetation provide essential habitat and food for many species. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency states that even tiny green spaces, such as those found in schoolyards, are essential for maintaining habitat connectivity. Schoolyards are essential urban waystations because pollinators depend on flowering trees and foliage plants for nectar and pollen. These tree-lined hallways provide migratory birds with a foothold despite urbanization by serving as rest and refueling stops during long journeys. Shaded, vegetated areas of school landscapes provide cover and nesting opportunities for small mammals like squirrels and rabbits.

With these green habitats supporting life, students can then, in turn, learn about the animals they see on a daily basis. Animals ignite cognitive curiosity in children and can improve their social skills, learn how to care for and nurture animals, and even carefully look at themes involving authority and exposure. Trees support life and learning!

5) Rooted in Community 

Partnerships are what keep different initiatives together. A local business and a tree planting group could, for example, sponsor tree planting days as part of their partnership. These partnerships increase effect and multiply resources. The combined effort of several sectors is frequently greater than the sum of their individual contributions.

Juliana Urtubey, a teacher at Crestwood Elementary in Las Vegas, created a school garden to help Latino families and English-speaking staff overcome their linguistic and cultural barriers. Families, particularly those with Spanish-speaking parents, felt valued and involved in the garden, which developed into a common area for education, art, and community. The garden brought 200 people together to help build the garden, improved relationships, promoted trust, and even changed teachers’ perceptions of the community through bilingual communication, inclusive events, and culturally appropriate vegetation and murals. The project contributed to the transformation of the school culture into one of joy, respect, and belonging.

Adopting greener schoolyards gives our kids more than just shade; it lays the groundwork for better education, better health, and deeper connections with the natural world. This list is just one example of how EARTHDAY.ORG supports how trees can transform more than just landscapes, but minds too. To learn more about the root when education meets action, explore our Climate Education page for tools to bring climate literacy into your school community. If you are looking to take some tree action of your own, join us by supporting The Canopy Project to help reforest the planet. Together, planting trees today cultivates a thriving, healthier, and more sustainable tomorrow for our children and the planet.

This article is available for republishing on your website, newsletter, magazine, newspaper, or blog. The accompanying imagery is also cleared for use. Please ensure that the author’s name and their affiliation with EARTHDAY.ORG are credited. Kindly inform us if you republish so we can acknowledge, tag, or repost your content. You may notify us via email at davies@earthday.org or fielder@earthday.org. Want more articles? Follow us on substack.

The post From Saplings to Scholars: 5 Ways Trees Lead Students to Success appeared first on Earth Day.