Eletricity

Yesterday I met with a man named George from my church to see how I can help out with St. Luke's newly formed Global Warming group. He has the lofty goal of getting our church off of the grid in 5 years. We agree that the US needs to take the lead in really developing efficient sources of natural/clean energy for our independence as a country and the health of the earth. This became even more apparent to me as I read an article today in the NY Times discussing the electrical shortage in India, specifically in the south suburbs of Delhi. About 1/2 of India's 1 billion people do not have any access of electricity (the national goal is for everyone to have access to the grid by 2009, a lofty goal.) We always hear about the technological advancement and industrialization of India. It's happening, but the neighborhoods that would from our perspective seem "American" struggle to support the materialization, for what good is a flat screen tv or AC in every room in 100 degree weather if your power randomly goes out 11 hours of the day? I was surprised to read that many new buildings have their own generators so they do not have to shut down if the grid fails, these generators are powered by diesel fuel. India will continue to push forward despite these shortages and the monetarily and environmentally heavy costs of having 'modern' access of electricity. For me, this reinforces our American responsibility to be leader in new, sustainable, clean sources of energy not only for our own good and profit, but so it's cheaper for developing countries to develop in a healthier fashion and not end up where we already are, stuck sucking on an unhealthy system.
Guess I'll be lucky to be able to have not only the electricity, but also the internet access to do this blog in India.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/21/world/asia/21india.html?em&ex=1179979200&en=683cdfcc11087f26&ei=5087%0A