Power to the people! No, this post isn't about urban warfare or even milder forms of civil unrest. POWER refers, in this case, to the energy that we all consume every day of our lives, derived mainly from electricity, oil and gas. Now, in previous posts, I have waxed lyrically on the dangers of burning fossil fuels, which is where most of our energy comes from, on climate change. The excessive emission of carbon dioxide is creating a 'blanket' around the planet, which is causing global temperatures to rise with disastrous effects on the environment. It is very easy to be negative and become somewhat depressed when articulating the causes of climate change, particularly when we know that politicians the world over, with their short-term agendas, have no real interest in upsetting the fossil fuel bandwagon.
This post is going to be far more positive about the future because I now realise all is not lost. Take a look at this illustration:
The three squares superimposed on the Sahara Desert, represent the areas of solar panels that would be required to meet the total energy demands of The World (largest square), The European Union (middle square) and Germany (smallest square). This shows how CURRENT TECHNOLOGY can supply power to the world WITHOUT BURNING FOSSIL FUELS. I stumbled upon this very powerful illustration when finding out more about DESERTEC. This is a project supported by a foundation of the same name and the consortium Dii (Desertec industrial initiative) created in Germany as a limited liability company. The project is creating a global plan for renewable energy particularly by constructing solar installations on sun-rich, almost uninhabited, desert sites. It makes sense doesn't it? All our energy originates from the sun, the star at the centre of our solar system, formed over 4 billion years ago, which generates masses of energy by nucleur fusion. Just look how much energy is available from the sun each year, compared with other forms.
So there we have it, the solution to the world's current and future energy demands is there before our very eyes and it does not require huge investments into new technology. It's available now - take a look at www.desertec.org. There are those who say the renewable approach is not viable for economic reasons. Well I have a simple response to that argument - BULLSHIT! Money is a wonderful human-made method of doing transactions. It means, for example, I don't have to exchange a chicken for a pair of shoes. But it is just a method of doing transactions and shouldn't be used as an excuse for NOT doing transactions. The supply of petrol has a finite life - maybe 50 years. So even $1,000 a gallon would not be unreasonable for a commodity where the future demand will far exceed the potential supply. What does this do for the economic argument for renewable energy?!
Well done DESERTEC and, of course, all the other similar projects. I now see the light at the end of the tunnel. Power to the people!
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