How are we going to face up to energy crisis?

As the world economies battle for air, all of us are facing challenging times. But what lies behind the crisis, and what about beyond it?

Beneath the surface of world instability bubbles a much more fundamental issue. How are we going to face up to the earth’s energy crisis? And at what cost do we ignore that question?
When we are fighting for basic economic survival it is hard to look beyond our front door, but we must. If we are to have a world worth handing on to our children, we must have the courage to look beyond oil and conventional fossil fuelled power solutions. We must also fight against the cynicism that questions global warming and we must fight against a lethargy that says it is too late or that isn’t our problem. It is not someone else’s problem.

We all have a chance to make a difference to our struggling planet, and it is our generations time to stand up and be counted. I want to do exactly that. I want my children in the future to know that I didn’t stand back and observe, but rather I made steps, however small they were, to bring about change.

I read recently how European Union officials say they’re considering an ambitious plan to draw energy from the sun that beats down relentlessly on the Sahara. They say that by building a solar power plant the size of Wales (a small area, compared to the vastness of the Sahara that is almost as large as mainland USA) and laying down high-voltage transmission cables, the EU could potentially capture enough clean energy to power the entire continent. Wow! Why aren’t they building this now?

It’s very hard for any one of us to save the earth alone. I understand that. But this is about a determination to contribute.

Telegraph