As individuals we can make decisions about our personal energy use “policy” which, combined with similar actions of other citizens, can profoundly affect the local and global environment. As world citizens we can work for national and international policies, which favor equitable and wise use of resources and non-polluting forms of energy. In both cases, the guiding principle must be sustainability. For each of the solutions mentioned below we must first ask these questions: 1) does it take into account long-term impacts on all related issues and 2) will it preserve the resources for future generations?

On the international level, rich nations can transfer sustainable energy technologies to developing nations, thus allowing them to “leapfrog” beyond the destructive energy models used by the industrialized regions. In order to reduce global warming, industrialized nations might agree to limit their carbon emissions while offering “credits” to developing nations with a much lower rate of resource consumption. Any attempt by the rich nations to reduce their dependency on fossil fuels will ultimately benefit the poorer countries as well as reduce their own rising energy bills. In a sustainable approach to energy use, reduction of wasteful practices must be linked with redistribution of what is already available.

Nationally, extending the power grid to rural areas will have the effect of slowing flight to the cities, reducing inefficient use of biomass energy and freeing women to engage in income-generation and productive activities. Development and extension of renewable energy sources in areas of poverty would have the added impact of creating jobs at the local level. Solar, wind, and waterpower technology can transform remote parts of countries into valuable assets and provide cheap reliable power to rural dwellers.

Significant steps are being taken in developing international energy policies that will protect the environment. The latest version of the Kyoto Protocol, approved by all of the developed nations except the United States, includes an elaborate formula for reducing greenhouse gases by agreeing to limit carbon emissions to prescribed levels. Many industrial nations have reduced waste and actively promoted the development of renewable energy resources.

The use of hydrogen and other non-polluting fuels would have a dramatic effect on the environment. If hydrogen can be efficiently isolated (either through solar power or other means) and distributed cheaply it could provide a clean fuel for internal combustion engines and revolutionize transportation as well as power generation. Other attempts at de-carbonization of fossil fuels and creation of synthetic fuels could have similarly positive effects on the environment. Tree planting on land already degraded by heavy firewood cutting would not only increase oxygen production but also provide cheap energy to peasant farmers.

Energy policies that are environmentally friendly will have a direct effect on many world health problems as well. The shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources means that individuals directly exposed to greater risk, such as coal miners or those living in vicinity of nuclear power plants, would automatically live healthier lives. At the village level, women engaged in arduous daily wood gathering and families exposed to harmful smoke from cook fires would benefit greatly from alternative, clean energy sources.

As pollutants generated in power and industrial production and transportation are reduced so are the many health problems associated with them. Skin cancers associated with the greenhouse effect and many pulmonary problems arising from air pollution would be dramatically reduced as conservation measures take effect and solar/air/water power replaces fossil fuels.

Small steps have already been made in promoting appropriate technology in agriculture, especially in irrigation. With the advent of fuel cells and other alternative forms of energy, mechanization on a small scale will be more affordable and friendly to the environment. As photovoltaic cells become more affordable, small farmers will be able to raise and move water to arid lands and increase their productivity without harming the environment.

Cheap energy allows for food processing and preservation at the local level and/or efficient transportation to markets. Ground water pollution from the extraction of fossil fuels will be reduced significantly with sustainable energy policies.

The sooner we reduce our dependence on fossil fuels the sooner we’ll reduce potential regional and international conflicts. Some observers of the international scene argue convincingly that over-reliance by developed countries on Middle Eastern oil has heightened the potential for conflict in that area. The construction of pipelines across parts of Central Asia and the need to protect them threatens peace. Similarly, development of the petroleum industry in countries like Colombia and Ecuador has brought conflict as well as disruption and loss of native cultures.

As we move towards renewable energy and away from fossil fuels we increase the possibility of building truly responsive governments. Many of the states on the Persian Gulf, especially Saudi Arabia, continue to operate as oligarchies where an economic elite, which controls the source of oil, also has absolute political power. Industrialized nations dependent on fossil fuels apply a different standard of good governance to their suppliers, accepting human rights abuses and anti-democratic practices. Once energy is distributed more equitably the political power that resides with a small economic elite becomes diluted. Again, local, small-scale renewable energy programs bring with them undeniable political power.

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