Wood is one of the few renewable resources,
so there is no question about the need to
maintain forests. Most irreversible damage is done
now in third world countries, I don't think
interest rates have a big role to play there.
I hate to sound repetitive, but market/profit
system and the lack of alternative energy
will keep the destruction going.
Eva
I don't disagree with you, but this is part of a summary of Lester Brown's
State of the World I just got. Something is being done. More is needed.
Renewable energy production is expanding at a breakneck pace. Wind
generation-the world's fastest growing energy source during the
1990s-is expanding by 25 percent a year. In contrast, the markets for
coal and oil are expanding at only 1 percent a year. Installed wind
electric generating capacity reached an estimated 7,600 megawatts by
1997. In Denmark, wind turbines already generate 6 percent of the
nation's electricity.
An inventory of U.S. wind resources by the Department of Energy
indicates a vast national potential, with three wind-rich states
alone-North Dakota, South Dakota, and Texas-having enough harnessable
wind energy to satisfy national electricity needs. A similar inventory
in China indicates that it could easily double its current electricity
generation by harnessing wind energy.
Early leadership in wind energy production came from the United States
and Denmark. More recently, Germany and India, new wind superpowers,
have surged into the lead. Tomen, a Japanese firm, plans to invest
$1.2 billion in the installation of 1,000 large wind turbines in
Europe over the next five years. With the cost continuing to decline
as technologies advance and as the scale of turbine manufacturing
increases, wind promises to become a major power source.
Elinor Mosher
Paradise, Nova Scotia
Canada B0S 1R0
Here's freedom to him that wad read,
Here's freedom to him that wad write!
There's nane ever feared that the truth should be heard
But they wham the truth wad indite.
Robbie Burns
