(Source: http://i-solarpanel.yolasite.com/) Happy 2012 everyone! A new year means fresh energy, and new goals. With respect to this blog it means more posts of interesting ideas and concepts and perhaps deeper discussions of ideas previously mentioned. To start the year, I thought I would quickly make a mental note to myself about something I just listened to on "Deutschland Radio - Umwelt und Verbraucher" which translates into "German Radio - the Environment and the Consumer". Side Note: It's interesting that in the US, environmental protection and sustainability are often mentioned in conjunction with energy-independence, and security of the country while in Germany often times environmental protection and protecting the consumer are linked more often. Anyway, the topic of discussion was what to do with solar panels after their useful time is up. The German and European answer: Come up with legislature that require solar panel manufacturers to take b