Green Solar Future

The reason for contemplating a green or eco-sensitive solar future lies with the inexorable growth of environmental concerns on a global scale. While acid rain may have been tackled to some extent, depletion of tropical rain forests continues apace, fluctuating holes in the ozone layer remain worrying and, according to US government scientists, global warming has recently ‘jumped abruptly’ (Lean, 2004). ■7.1(1) It has been reported that even the White House, in the run up to a presidential election, has now ‘conceded that emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases are the only likely explanation for global warming’ (Younge, 2004). Unfortunately, while Russia has now signed up to the Kyoto protocol of 1997 after a gap of seven years (Walsh, 2004), the USA has not, having rejected the protocol in 2001. Even if the primary Kyoto target ■7.1(2) is met, many would argue that the impact will not be nearly sufficient. The change to patterns of weather is also now being taken seriously by UK government studies, with stricter building standards in the offing based on carbon-emission tests (Gates, 2004). ■7.1(3) However, dissidents again argue that the impact of this will be negligible. In 2004, the chairperson of Shell, Lord Oxburgh, has publicly stated that burning oil and gas threatens the planet, but sees CO₂ sequestration below ground or seabed as the solution rather than reliance on renewable energy (Leggett, 2004). Leggett goes on to remind us that Tony Blair acknowledges that solar energy alone can meet the energy demand of the world. But we should not assume that Blair has suddenly become a solar champion. The entire context of this assertion is not given. It may be possible, but that does not mean that he would recommend it. Sir David King, scientific adviser to the UK government, also stresses the urgency of tackling climate change and asserts that Blair sees it as a priority for the UK (King, 2004). However, although King states that CO₂ is higher than at any time for at least the last 740,000 years and is explicit about the need to move towards a low carbon economy, he is vague about the means he would recommend to achieve it. The reality appears to be that the UK supports the strategy of Lord Oxburgh, despite strong opposition from environmental organizations such as Greenpeace (Carrell, 2004). Another reality is that the British Prime Minister has approved a recalculation upwards of the amount of CO₂ that can be emitted by industry and power plants in the UK (Milner, 2004). The announcement of this laid the ground for an admission that the UK target of 20 per cent reduction in CO₂ by 2010 compared with 1990 levels is now reduced by 6 per cent (Radford, 2004). Without delving further into his or any other leading politician's position on solar energy as a part of the solution, there are certainly governmental, scientific and industrial sceptics with respect to the seriousness of changes to all environmental phenomena, but particularly global warming.