The Key to change the World!!!!

          Me and some of my friends were brainstorming on some start-up idea. All of a sudden one person in the group screamed “we should come up with an idea that could change the world” which triggered a sequence of free thoughts coming in from several other cluster members. Some people wanted to change the world with internet of things; while other wanted to eliminate cash transactions, one of my friend who is a doctor, wants to implement the idea of NHS UK universally to change the world.

          This has been a subject of argument since ages, “How to Change the World”. There have been countless roundtables around the world indicating the views of various scholars. Most of the opinions observe issues concerning poverty, global warming, technology, healthcare, gender, education and much more. But, when I look at all these concerns, I felt like, there is something mutual among them which acts as a backbone to support all these causes. And if we emphasize on the fundamental, we really can address some of the most challenging problems, the world is facing currently.

          The backbone I am talking about is “Energy”. This is the resource, if made accessible to everyone, has the competence to solve half of the world’s problem. Energy can act as a superpower to change the world. Access to energy can lessen the gap between rich and poor nations. Bill Gates, in one of his letters rightly pointed out “Poverty is not just about a lack of money. It’s about the absence of resources the poor need to realise their potential”.

          We do not feel it this way, because most of us have access to surplus amount of energy which supports us to accomplish our daily chores without much difficulty. Just imagine a day, without electricity; you don’t have access to internet, mobile phone, Radio, TV, cool breeze coming out of air conditioners. Hope this would make you understand how significant a role, energy plays in today’s world. On the contrary, fact is almost 18 percent of the world’s population i.e. whooping 1.3 billion people on earth do not have to imagine this way, this is the life they live every day.

          Closely 7 out of 10 people in sub-Saharan Africa live in the dark. In India alone, more than 300 million people do not have access to electricity. Energy is closely associated to the wealth of the people and quality of life. Without access to energy poor people stay in dark and are deprived of all the benefits and opportunities that come with power. Access to energy in various forms is required:-

• Energy in the form of electricity is required so that poor do not depend on fossil fuel for heating and lighting purpose.
• Energy is required to run various industries so that various goods can be manufactured which make our life easy.
• Energy is required to develop business and various income generating activities.
• Energy is required for various health services.
• Energy is required to power various forms of communication network, which we rely heavily for personal and commercial needs.
• Energy is required for education purpose.

          Energy is the vital constituent to eradicate poverty and resolve various health issues and to uphold a sustainable growth strategy.  Thus, one thing that really can bring some change to the world is “Cheap & Clean” source of energy.

Why Cheap Energy:-

            For one simple reason, so that poorest of the poor can afford it and reap the benefits that associated with it.

Why Clean Source of Energy:-

            Producing energy exhausting conventional resources has its own set of problems.

• Climate change is one of the major issues which concern the entire humanity. Climate change happens due to pollution being caused because of human activities. Energy generation through coal & other conventional resources is the major force behind carbon emission which in turn is the root cause of climate change. In 2015 alone, the world emitted 36 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide just to produce energy.
• Poor people are worst affected by global warming & climate change. Most of the poor people depend on agriculture to meet their basic need. Climate change causes severe drought which impacts the production of crops. This further pushes poor people to poverty and they are trapped in this vicious circle.
• Maharashtra in is witnessing one of the worst drought of the century. Thousands of farmers have committed suicide in past decade. The main reason is crop failure. Water table has dried up and there is scarcity of drinking water. Recently curfew in few areas was enforced, so that people do not kill each other over water demand. IPL matches have been shifted out of the state, so that the available water can be used for someone who is in real need of it.
• Scientists have double their projection for rise in sea level by the end of this century, if carbon emissions are not controlled. This could be a cause of concern for the coastal communities around the globe. This study was published in the journal “Nature” recently.
• Poor nations that lack energy rely heavily on the subsidized fossil fuel to meet their basic needs. This heavy dependence on the other nation puts immense burden on the ex-chequer. Now take the example of India where the government is planning to stop import of coal from other nations, which would save almost $ 5.7 billion to the ex-chequer annually.

          Considering all the above factors, a clean source of energy is required which does not emit carbon dioxide and push the entire humanity into further difficulties.  It’s a huge responsibility on our part to provide our coming generations a sustainable environment to grow.

          There are green technologies like Solar & Wind Power which can produce carbon free energy instantly and almost in every corner of the world. And the most beautiful thing about technology is that it gets advanced and cheaper with the passage of time. Not only they provide energy but also new jobs are created across the world, which in turn helps the poor people. Thus we should look forward to the cheaper and cleaner source of energy to solve most of the problems the world is facing today.