Let's make electricity, not war
2008/03/20 08:16 42 (GMT) Hisayo TakadaAuckland, New Zealand
At the Carbon Market Insights 2008 conference held on March 11th in Denmark, Chairman Dr.Rajendra K. Pachauri from the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), which won the Novel Peace Prize last year, stated that "one billion people can get electricity for the first time for little more than the reported cost of one month's war in Iraq."
Dr. Pachauri supports activities of the Energy and Resources Institute in India, which provides light created from solar photovoltaic generation to people living without electricity. While 12 billion dollars are used each month to fund the war on Iraq, 15 billion dollars can supply photovoltaic light to one billion people. Approximately 1.6 billion people around the world live without electricity. Dr.Pachauri compared both these costs and pointed out how inappropriately resources are being use d, describing it as "one of the biggest tragedies that the world can be guilty of."
It has been 5 years since the war on Iraq began on March 20, 2003 . Dr. Pachauri's remarks made just before this milestone is sure to be taken more seriously.
Hisayo Takada
Auckland, New Zealand
Had worked for a not-for-profit organization Zero Waste New Zealand Trust and enjoyed ‘clean green New Zealand? for in total of four years. Currently working for an international environmental organisation as well as an environmental consulting firm in Tokyo. Interests include rubbish (!), sustainable living, walking, and finding good coffee shops and restaurants. (NZ is the only country that has adopted the target of Zero Waste to landfill as a nation, and the Zero Waste NZ Trust is a leading group in the waste minimisation sector encouraging the people towards the Zero Waste goal.)
