The sun is a series of continuous contained nuclear reactions.  As elements fuse together a massive amount of energy is released.  A small fraction of this energy rains down on earth everyday.  It's enough energy to sustain life and more.  The energy has two options as it showers our planet, get converted or get absorbed.  Absorbed energy can sit around as heat and is the genesis of the global climate crisis.  The absorbed energy is supposed to leave the earth as infrared energy, but as CO2 levels increase, less can escape.  Converted energy is either made into chemical potential energy (plants) or can be made into electricity.

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As a planet, we want to maximize the amount of sun energy that is converted while balancing the amount that is trapped.  We need to keep some of the heat, it keeps us alive.  But we are keeping too much and the excess energy is risking the collapse of our ecosystem.  The sun isn't something to fear, but it's definitely something to respect.  If we can figure out the right balance, the sun is our best friend.