Renewable Energy, Solar Power, Wind Power, Green Energy

Energy is what makes the world go around. Without the continuous supply of energy that most of us take for granted, things would quickly grind to a halt. We are dependent on energy for our very survival. Heating our homes, transportation, communication, health – even our daily food supply – all depends on energy. But while energy delivers much that is good, it is also a primary factor – arguably the primary factor – in the destruction of the world's life support systems. From smog, to acid rain, to climate change, to nuclear radiation, the effects of our current energy habits are fundamentally destructive, threatening our and all future generations.

This page is intended as an introduction to sustainable energy in Canada and the world. Within the links below you will find many ideas for things you can do – as a homeowner, student, teacher, activist or business person. There are many benefits: you can save a lot of money; live more securely and independently; adopt a simpler lifestyle; find a new job or career; and contribute to creating a healthier, more sustainable world.

But why does mainstream business and politics only give lip service to renewable energy, while continuing to invest billions in oil and nuclear? What is the honest, sustainable approach? Read this article, Sheer success with energy, by David Suzuki and Faisal Moola.

– Peter Blanchard (contact)

Featured Books & Articles (many more articles can be found in the links directory, above)

Lights Out! The End of the Oil Age – "On a cold, wet night there's nothing better than coming home to a warm house, making a hot bowl of soup and then, after dinner, curling up under a reading lamp with a good book. But what if there was no gas to make the soup or run the furnace? What if there wasn't any oil to transport the dinner ingredients to you? No sweat, you may be thinking, I'm pretty hardy. If you really believe that, then I challenge you to sit in the dark for 15 minutes. It's no fun. As that little mind game shows, trying to imagine life after fossil fuels isn't easy. Hydrocarbons are the very lifeblood of modern, industrial society. They are so fundamental to our existence that their role in creating our quality of life often goes unexamined. What our great grandparents would have considered luxuries we think of as necessities. But as even a casual look at history and a quick review of physics reveal, we are living an aberration." Full Story: www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=18421 (Jason Mark, AlterNet, April 14, 2004)

Stormy Weather: 101 Solutions To Global Climate Change (book) – Climate change: why is it happening? What can we do about it? The world's scientists have arrived at a strong degree of consensus that climate change is for real, and that it poses a growing danger to humans, nations and ecosystems. Unless something changes, our emission of greenhouse gases will cause continued rising temperatures, continued melting of the world's ice-caps and glaciers, and more severe droughts, storms and floods, and other unwanted occurrences. By 2040, if current emissions continue, the whole of the Arctic summer ice-cap will have melted away, causing the effective extinction of the polar bears. To many people, the problem seems hopelessly complex and confusing. To Guy Dauncey, however, it is bewilderingly simple. All we need to do is use our energy twice as efficiently; use it more sustainably; live more sustainably; and switch from fossil fuels to solar, wind, other renewable energies, and hydrogen. One thing is very important, however: everyone must be involved, from families, schools and colleges to citizens organizations, small businesses, towns, cities, utilities, corporations, and governments. Looked at positively, it will be an exciting transformation. It will also end the need for the Middle East's oil, and the complex politics of terror that this has created. By Guy Dauncey, Climate Change Specialist and author of the books "Stormy Weather: 101 Solutions to Global Climate Change" and "Earthfuture: Stories from a Sustainable World" www.earthfuture.com/stormyweather/ www.earthfuture.com

Power Shift (report & presentation) – Canada has the ability to cut its greenhouse gas emissions in half using current technology, according to new research results released in Ottawa today [Apr 17, 2000]. davidsuzuki.org/Campaigns_and_Programs/Climate_Change/News_Releases/newsclimatechange04170001.asp Download (PDF) or order the report (by mail) for free: www.davidsuzuki.org/Publications/Climate_Change_Reports/default.asp#Powershift or www.torriesmith.com/power-shift.cfm

The Low-Emission Path to Innovation & Efficiency – Canadians can save $200 billion on energy bills by surpassing Kyoto targets says a new study from the David Suzuki Foundation and the Climate Action Network of Canada. The report is in stark contrast to claims from powerful business interests that the Kyoto targets are unrealistic and too expensive. The report explains how Canada can dramatically cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 50 per cent by 2030, while creating jobs and cutting energy costs at the same time. "It’s a straightforward approach that is based on existing technologies and practical, proven energy efficiency techniques," said Ralph Torrie, the report’s author and one of Canada’s leading sustainable energy experts. [Oct. 2002] www.torriesmith.com/Kyoto_and_Beyond.cfm www.davidsuzuki.org/climate_change/Kyoto/Kyoto&Beyond.asp www.climateactionnetwork.ca

Petrotyranny (book) – Don't be fooled: CNN may not report it, but it's major oil companies that are keeping democracy down. "In experiencing movies, commercial broadcasting and the mass circulation press, what is astonishing is how they fail to capture the biggest problem of our time – the blight of petrotryanny. This is the continuing ability of dictatorships to keep themselves in power through the manipulation of vast pools of oil wealth. The secrecy of this problem hides the reality of a path toward a democratic and environmentally sustainable peaceful world, free of the blight of terrorism." – author John Bacher. scienceforpeace.sa.utoronto.ca/Books2.html
Published by Dundurn Press and Science for Peace http://scienceforpeace.sa.utoronto.ca www.dundurn.com (click on search, then under "title", type petrotyranny, or click here)
More reviews & links: www.google.com/search?q=petrotyranny

Progressive bookstores, libaries & online/mail-order www.planetfriendly.net/voices.html#books

Laying the Groundwork for a Sustainable Energy Future (article by David Suzuki) – www.davidsuzuki.org/Dr_David_Suzuki/Article_Archives/weekly11300101.asp
More articles by Suzuki on energy & other topics: www.davidsuzuki.org/Dr_David_Suzuki/Article_Archives/

Who can you believe?
Non-profits and activists promote renewable energy and conservation – while government and industry continue to invest billions of dollars in oil and nuclear. Of course, it's always good to get several viewpoints. But ask yourself the following questions: To what degree is there a bias – from money, habit, or just lack of vision beyond our current ways? Are they offering new vision and leadership – or just inertia and self-fulfilling pessimism? www.prwatch.org www.planetfriendly.net/business.html#links See also: George Bush and the Oiligarchy: www.visiontv.ca/Archive/Archive4.html

Who cares about conservation?
In a culture based on the presumption of unlimited growth, conservation never seems to get very much attention. Why? Is conservation not realistic? Or could it be that the oil industry's lobbyists don't like the idea? I once read that if we were to retrofit every home in the U.S. with double-glazed glass, it would save enough energy to close down all Alaskan oil production. Insulation, more efficient automobiles and appliances, etc., could result in much greater savings. For more on conservation, see the section Conserve Energy & Save Money (above), and more generally, Sustainable & Simple Living (below). www.planetfriendly.net/energy.html

Will we run out of oil?
"In 1995, Petroconsultants published a report for oil industry insiders ($32,000 per copy) titled World Oil Supply 1930-2050. which concludes that world oil (extraction) could peak as soon as the year 2000 and decline to half that level by 2025. Large and permanent increases in oil prices were predicted after the year 2000." www.dieoff.org If we don't run out of oil, the situation could be just as grim, with massive pollution and climate change. Either way, the only reasonable solution is conservation and renewable energy.

Pessimism is a self-fulfilling prophecy. But avoiding matters of life and death is even worse. We need to pull together – government, industry, citizens, activists, academia – to find and implement fundamental, positive solutions.

"Where once the student was taught that the unexamined life was not worth living, he is now taught that the profitably lived life is not worth examining." – Benjamin Barber.


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