Worldwider Energy Vision

We have known oil is running out for decades so need to together work towards:

i) a different approach to energy, designing systems and products that use less embodied energy in their manufacture and which do not produce dangerous pollutants when they biodegrade.

ii) Reducing embodied energy (ie how much energy it takes to manufacture a product). It takes a lot more energy to produce blown polystyrene insulation than using ‘warmcell’, which is recycled paper, or even better, sheep’s wool. The polystyrene also doesn’t biodegrade whereas the other two do. So the real cost of the polystyrene is the present higher costs of manufacture with greater pollutants contributing to climate change and the future cost of cleanup. As there is no way to safely store these products they should not be used at all. The table below shows the Megajewels of energy required to produce Warmcell insulation as opposed to Polystyrene, which will not break down for thousands of years.

iii) designing and using new non fossil or non nuclear fuels, such as cellulosic ethanol (use of the rest of the plant when the food part has been used), not bio ethanol which involves growing thousands of hectares of monoculture crops like oilseed rape, displacing food production, traditional farming and natural ecosystems.

iv) massively cutting our energy needs, through minimal packaging, local production, less transport, better home insulation, and better building and manufacturing systems design.

iv) alternative energy production. It is being researched which is commendable, though it needs to be implemented much more quickly. Energy using Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) using mirrors to concentrate the Sun’s energy to heat a vessel containing a gas or a liquid that heats up to around 400 degrees C and is used to power conventional steam turbines is one example

v) Increasing energy connections. In 2006 the German government produced a study showing that linking the electricity networks of all the countries in Europe with North Africa and Iceland via high-voltage direct-current cables spread demand across a much wider network making it much more efficient. It suggested that 80% of Europe’s electricity could be produced from renewable power.

Instead we have just announced more Nuclear power stations in the UK, which in the 1950’s was heralded as such cheap energy that it would be too cheap to meter. Instead the cleanup costs are already £70 billion pounds, yet we waste over 20% of our energy as steam up the power station water towers, and could be up to 40% more energy efficient than we already are now. If we had invested £70 billion pounds in these two areas our energy needs would have been so much smaller we would not have needed nuclear. This is a dangerous option from an energy source that passes on a hugely expensive legacy of waste containment for a million years!!

But what if you, we and a billion others also tapped into the energy of fellow Worldwiders?
What if we said no, we aren’t going to let our ‘leaders’ lead us to war, exploitation in trade, food that can kill us and our children, products that use up critical natural resources that can’t be replaced, let politicians jaw jaw and do nothing, because they are too far away from the problems.

What if we unleashed the power of our networks, pooled our creative energy, and bypassed the blockages, the cynicism, and the political inertia by changing our outlook by becoming Worldwiders too in thought, motivation, and action.

We don’t need to feel helpless, powerless and useless. The pen and the power of thoughts are mightier than the sword. Al Qaeda has only gained credibility because of the exploitative attitudes and actions of the West towards many countries over many years. Change our outlook and challenge both extremists and morally confused Western leaders, both of whom seem interested in their own ends rather than ours and those of the planet.

Life is, of course, never simple, it is not one ideal utopia we strive for or fight against one evil octrine, such as an ‘axis of evil’, which is a really stupid term. The extremists are bending doctrines to their own corrupted political and religious ends, but that should not stop us developing a Worldwide outlook. Wars in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan have shown how catastrophic a failure a military solution can be and how we need to develop much greater courage to tackle the issue of hearts and minds.

Life is, of course, never simple, it is not one ideal utopia we strive for or fight against one evil doctrine, such as an ‘axis of evil’, which is a really stupid term. The extremists are bending doctrines to their own corrupted political and religious ends, but that should not stop us developing a Worldwide outlook. Wars in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan have shown how catastrophic a failure a military solution can be and how we need to develop much greater courage to tackle the issue of hearts and minds not stop us facing failures, disasters, and struggles and sometimes despair because this is the
human condition.

Many of you may have tried the first steps to embracing Worldwider outlook and then gave up, tired, too busy with life’s many challenges to push on. Can’t say we blame you, life is fairly tough a lot of the time. But just wait a while ….

Download the Worldwiders Foundation Book to read more >