Solar is civil defense.
A small solar electric cell can power the flashlight, radio, and extra set of batteries
we are all supposed to have on hand in case of emergency.
Add a hand-cranked or a foot pedalled generator
and you can have emergency survival power
day and night from sunlight or human muscle.
Solar is civil defense.  
Let's begin to use it.

Here are a couple that I wrote over twenty years ago:

After you've tightened up all the windows for winter -
caulked and weatherstripped,
put storm windows on the outside
or inside or both -
think of the sun.
A south-facing window is already a solar collector
and every sunny day is free heat.
With night insulation
you can save the heat you collect during the day.
A sunny window can be a greenhouse, too,
for flowers
or food.
Think of the sun.

A south-facing porch can become a sunspace
and help heat your home on sunny winter days.
You can transform your porch inexpensively
with plastic or glass.
Add plants and a sunspace becomes a greenhouse.
Water, stone, or chemical heat storage
can keep your greenhouse warm into the night.
A greenhouse is a fine place for a solar water heater too,
even a hot tub.
Think of the sun.

Over the years, I've even produced a couple of these spots on my own.  They aren't very good but should give you an idea of what I'm driving at.

Solar History

One Square Foot of Sunlight

Homefront Advantage

Publicizing practical and immediately useful energy ideas could change the whole energy "debate" (and I use that term very loosely) in this election year.  Now, if only somebody who actually had the skills to make decent video would pick up on the idea.

More at
Advertising Attitude Versus Practical Solutions
Your Southernmost Window

Crossposted to dailykos