When you watch a sunrise, you aren’t simply watching a star; you are witnessing what the alchemists sought after for centuries- the transmutation of matter.

Under enormous heat and pressure, beneath the golden plasma that we see and know so well, hydrogen nuclei fuse together, forming helium and releasing a massive amount of energy.

We receive this energy on earth as the warmth and light we are so familiar with.

Almost all energy on earth originated from the sun.

Carbohydrates, kilowatts, and wind gusts have their origin in the core of the sun.

Heat from the sun moves air and water across the planet.

Renewables like solar, wind, and hydroelectric are the well known products of the sun’s fusion energy.

But there are other sources of energy that have a less apparent origin in the sun.

The not so renewables- the gasoline in your car and the coal burned in power plants is packed with energy that originated in the core of the sun.

Coal and gasoline are the product of plants and algae from millennia ago. They used energy from the sun’s light to fuel carbon fixation- taking carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and converting it into organic molecules.

The earth has been powered by the sun’s energy for billions of years, with much to spare.

Every person, plant, and animal is fueled by the sun.

Campfires and eighteen wheelers, waterfalls and hurricanes are all made possible by the fusion energy of our nearest star.