The Sunlight Budget of Earth

Earth receives vast solar energy, mostly absorbed as heat or reflected to space. Only 0.5% is captured by photosynthesis, split between wild plants and phytoplankton. Human agriculture and solar power use 11% of what wild photosynthesis captures. While small, humans compete with nature for land, water, and nutrients, not sunlight. This explains agriculture's ecosystem disruption despite using little solar energy. Expanding solar farms through methods like agrivoltaics could minimize environmental impact while utilizing Earth's abundant solar potential.