Our world is fragile, and human activities are threatening the survival not only of ourselves, but every living thing. We have a responsibility to the generations to come, and to ourselves, to make sure we preserve this unique world.
My inspiration for this post comes from a project I’ve gotten involved in. It’s nothing too exciting, but I can’t go into detail. It got me thinking about how we here in Britain, might affect our world, and all of the ramifications of that. One thought that struck was around fracking. Fracking is quite literally the fracturing of rock, to release the shale gas inside, and new UK PM Liz Truss (and former employee of energy firm Shell) wants to unleash this, as a means of tackling the UK’s serious cost of energy crisis.
Interestingly, one of the government’s own advisers does not believe that fracking will have any noticeable impact on our energy prices. All it will do is hasten climate change, and it will help to line the pockets of the already-filthy rich energy companies. There is another set of options, which would be cheaper, and better for the planet. Renewable energy sources, and also possibly nuclear power, can provide viable alternatives to coal, gas and oil, and whilst some of the technology is not quite there yet for these systems, it will get there. As with a lot of things, it comes down to the political will.
There is mounting evidence that economies built around renewable energy will have advantages over those that cling to fossil fuels. Renewables are fast becoming the cheapest form of energy, and they have the potential to save the global economy $12 trillion, if a carbon zero world can be achieved by 2050. In the US, the green economy (which incorporates renewables) employs ten times as many people as the fossil fuel industry. It makes sense to go green, and put into place measures to reduce carbon footprints, not only from the perspective of the planet’s health, but from economic perspectives too.
2
0
20
I leased solar panels for our roof 10 years ago (for a 20 year pre-paid lease). Now after the spring equinox thru the fall equinox we pay as little as $50 per month to our local energy company Excel even when we use air conditioning. They also buy electricity from us when we are not using all of our solar energy. I was able to do this because one of my uncles left me $10,000 I was not expecting. Solar panels are cheaper now but a lot of the cost is still in having them installed. In the winter the south side of our roof does not get much sun because our home is so close to our neighbors. Solar energy already works we just need to find a way to get people the money to get started.
I agree. I cannot get over the government here, and their wishes to push energy bills even higher, and to invest in fracking, at a time when renewable energy is clearly the best way forward.