Profound Thinking About Solar Energy

AM/FM radios became "boomboxes" which now are tiny MP3 players. Communicators from Star Trek are becoming real (look up the SIRI app for the iPhone 4S). It's getting really exciting to realize I've lived long enough to see the science fiction of my childhood become a potential reality.

I find energy self-sufficiency very appealing, so even the idea of detaching from the grid gets me excited.  So Justin Hall-Tipping's presentation is hopeful and very interesting. Now the big question is if I will see it happen in my lifetime.

Another question I have is WHY isn't some company in the US investing in this and making sure it becomes a reality? I hope there is and that I just haven't heard about it. Certainly there isn't as much cash in replacement solar panels and house wiring as there is in creating and selling electricity all over, but isn't energy conservation just worth doing because it's right to do for our world and planet?

I know the economics. I understand the reasons research for super amazing cell phones has outdistanced the technology for creating more energy efficient cars. I just want some altruistic company to rise above the economics and do it anyway.

Justin Hall-Tipping: Freeing energy from the grid | Video on TED.com

While it was very interesting to think about using solar energy for my own needs, it was amazing to hear it was already happening elsewhere in the world, but it was more humbling to hear HOW it was happening.  The first half of the "barefoot movement" presentation is about a unique take on the value of education, but do hang in there to learn about grandmothers being trained as solar engineers.

Bunker Roy: Learning from a barefoot movement | Video on TED.com

I am a writer because I am interested in the world and how we all interact with it. These positive discussions and ideas put forward by kind and caring individuals make me hopeful for the world.

If I'd been better at math, I might have been a scientist. <thinking...thinking>  Okay, probably not, but I could so, so easily be a cheerleader for what these two presentations offer.