When the fires go out

Burning fires gave us the means to cook our food, heat our homes, transport our goods and provided us with light and entertainment.  

The fires are about to go out and our other options are challenging; the dash to gas has suddenly got more expensive as our local supplies diminish (surely mining shale gas will interfere with the planet’s subterranean structures?) and coal emits far too much climate changing carbon dioxide.  

And don’t forget, some European countries using as much as 80%, are too dependent on Russian gas.

Threatened with blackout by 2015, what are our options?

Have energy days
Energy Days are being arranged throughout Europe in the month of June - part of the solution to reduce our dependence on electricity. Therefore, by choosing to modify an every day activity, we challenge ourselves to think differently about our energy usage, such as:

•    Going gadget free
•    Going plastic free for a week – that’s indirectly reducing your dependency on oil
•    Using stairs, the bus, the bike
•    Drinking cold drinks
•    Playing board games
•    Enjoying live music, outdoor theatre, galleries and your local pub

Measure how much electricity you save, how much money you save and how much better you feel.  You should be healthier and wealthier.

Set ambitious UK targets for our tidal power
The US has, surprisingly, some interesting targets, California aims to have no non-renewable energy in use by 2020. Texas, the once mighty oil state, is set to become the world’s 5th largest supplier of wind energy. India is to build the world’s largest solar plant to generate 4,000 mw from sunlight near the Sambhar lake in Rajasthan. Let’s set some ambitious UK targets. Out of 20 sites identified worldwide suitable for tidal power, eight of these are in the UK and could supply 20% of our energy requirements. ‘Tidal Energy’ encourages state investment to finance a tidal power scheme until it moves into surplus when it is then likely to provide a profit for an indefinite period.  

Innovations need encouragement
The new Catapult UK technology centres are a great place for innovative companies and individuals to develop their ideas. We need more of these so that renewable energy can be explored and reach it’s full potential. Waiting in the wings are solutions such as, cleaner coal stations, microgeneration and community energy suppliers of CHP, PV and solar.

The new solutions are not always reliant on the big energy giants stepping forward. Fun individual solutions are emerging. We like:

Plug on your window

 A great idea. The socket offers a neat way to harness solar energy and use it as a plug socket. We’ve not seen any as direct as this plug-in.

So the future is an energy mix, a mix of consumer demand and different types of energy.  Wind, solar and sea have always been at our disposal, think of windmills and watermills grinding corn, and new versions can replace our dependence on fossil fuels and without emitting destructive CO2.

Live smarter.  Greener.  Fairer.

Read more from Giles Robertson in our Clubhouse.