"Solar
cell breaks the 40% efficiency barrier" , "Australia to build a 154 megawatt
solar plant" , "Wind power installations have a record year" , "Virgin
Group pledges $3 Billion to renewable energy" , "Wal Mart pledges to sell
100 million compact flourescent bulbs."
These are just a few of the headlines that summarize the continued growth
of renewables around the world. Yet globally, solar, wind and geothermal
remain less than 2% of global power production. The trend is positive
— and it's not fast enough!
Buried in the back pages newspapers and magazines are stories that reveal
similar excitement in linking power grids between nations. In the past
month, reports on international interties are seen between Thailand
and Laos, Afghanistan
and Tajikistan, South
Africa and Botswana, and Belarus
and the Ukraine. Many of these are developing nations, and after
years of study, these countries now realize the mutual benefits of cross-border
electrical trade. The trend is again positive — and not
fast enough! Dozens of nations remain isolated, often in the dark
— like energy islands.
You are the hub of your own network — of business associates, friends
and e-mail groups. What's wanted and needed is to accelerate these positive
trends and create a surge of clean development. The challenges
of climate change and global poverty requires us to go beyond these good
deeds. What if all nations cooperated in the development of abundant
renewable resources, and then traded that clean energy across borders?
Let's celebrate what's working — and do
it even faster.
In partnership for the planet,
