Green Energy
The Copenhagen Climate Conference was a depressing affair. I fear there will never be a political solution for this problem until there is a profitable corporate angle. I don’t mean ‘Cap and Trade’. That’s a political, regulatory solution. I mean a technology that works and someone who has the creativity and drive to run with it. Something truly innovative unlike ‘clean coal’, a resurgence of nuclear power or ethanol, all of which are variations on the current technologies which must be phased out, not altered.
This morning, Deutche Welle featured an upbeat report on solar penetration in Germany. Apparently, companies are working round the clock installing solar panels in Germany. When asked about competition from China, the expert said that competition is good for commerce and brings down prices. This is great, as far as it goes. Germany is pretty small, but it’s a start. I was just thinking that you don’t see so much of this in the US when they went on to feature the Denver Airport, which is also using Solar Technology, along with recycling and pipelines from fuel tanks to replace trucks. Another great project.
What I’m wondering about is the Sahara. People are impoverished there. Countries on the North Coast of Africa and the Middle East often have problems with power outages and shortages. What if someone started a huge solar farm as a power source in the Sahara. It could be a jobs program, provide power for a large part of the world currently dependent on oil and gas. If solar technology needs refining to get enough power out of this scenario, fine. Let’s support the research.
By the way, who owns the Sahara? Do individuals own parcels of it or is it just owned by the countries that have territories within it? This is a frontier, and a rich one at that, in solar energy. And perhaps, if the panels were placed correctly, they would create some shade and allow other forms of usage of the land.
I’d like to see some real creative thinking on this issue. When we do, the problem will swiftly be solved. Let’s hope it happens before we wreck the planet.