07/25/2008 01 05 PM PST
Incentivizing the general public to combat climate change.
With the skyrocketing energy prices and the credit crunch affecting more and more of us, it is no wonder that we are becoming more reluctant to act even if we don’t fool ourselves into a false skepticism about the human causes of global warming.
In hard times people will look to any excuse to either avoid or even acknowledge their responsibilities if it costs them. Global warming, or more accurately, climate change is a fact Even though we in Western Europe are not feeling the full force of it yet, it does not mean it is not happening. The evidence is growing, yet, as it is said, “There are none so blind as those who will not see.”
Mother Nature has been around for billions of years and will always survive. What is not certain is our survival. We are talking about saving our home - the planet earth. We should make sure that our home is still habitable not only for our children but their children too.
In short, we have to reduce our carbon footprint and our ever-increasing reliance on fossil fuels. High oil prices of recent years will go a long way to achieve that in part, this is a simple case of economics in action, but this will take too long. Rather than implicitly punishing us through global economic forces, possibly strengthened by green taxes the best way to achieve our goals of continued human civilization would be to harness those same economic forces and incentivise the general public to take action.
There are people and organizations out there that are just doing this. If you have an opportunity to install a large wind farm in your local community, you can set up a Community Sustainable Energy Company. This is an idea used in Holland and elsewhere to galvanize and reward communities. However we may not all have such opportunities afforded by strong local community spirit or abundant local renewable energy resources. Another novel way is to harness the power of the internet and join the global community. For example, there is a company called Solar Energy4All, who are offering people the opportunity not only to save on their electricity bills but at the same reduce the amount of CO2 being emitted into the atmosphere, by installing solar photovoltaic systems in areas where sunshine is in ample supply. You can buy their Solar energy Certificates for as little as a good meal out €55, which entitles you to the electricity generated by a solar PV module in say sunny Greece to be set off against your electricity bill no matter where you live. So it’s like living in southern Europe in terms of solar energy, only sadly without the direct benefit of their climate. Mind you, if we don’t act soon, the UK’s climate will start to resemble that of the Mediterranean – which sounds nice, but takes no account of the enormous global economic disruptions that will also happen.
As electricity generation is responsible for nearly 40% of all CO2 emissions, it’s a great start. And it’s a start that we can all make to our individual and collective benefit. Don’t wait for the politicians to solve this – show the politicians that this is really a case of power to the people.
So why not visit their website, www.solarenergy-4all.com do yourself a favor, do mother nature a favor and above all do your children a favor.
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