A Nobel Heir Looks To Energy Saving In The Modern World

May 23, 2008 - PRLog -- "Energy efficiency is today's solution, the cheaper and more practical one," he said yesterday during a meeting with Thai businessmen in Bangkok.


Dr Nobel is a grand-nephew of Alfred Nobel, founder of the Nobel Prize, and has received a number of awards including a Unesco medal and the Albert Einstein Award. He is now campaigning on energy and environmental issues, particularly global warming.


"Compared to another potential solution, alternative energy, energy saving is a lot more practical and we can do it immediately if we're committed," he said.


Wind, solar and other alternative-energy sources have technical limitations that make it difficult to take a significant share of the world's energy consumption, he said.


"Alternative sources now share around 2 per cent of the world's total energy consumption. It is difficult to make this grow to 10 per cent in reality," he said.


Meanwhile nuclear energy is a controversial source. While it emits less carbon, there are questions about its waste disposal, safety and other social and environmental impacts, he said.


Thus, energy efficiency is likely the best practical solution that the world should take, he said.


However, action from government, business and media is necessary to make this potential option become implemented widely, Dr Nobel said.


"These three sectors have significant roles in making the option real," he said. "Government's role should focus on policies that will promote energy efficiency. Business's role is to bring inventive science to market. Media's role is raising awareness to all sectors," he said.


Asked about the Kyoto Protocol, Nobel said he had some hope about this global solution but it might not be the prime one.


"The Kyoto Protocol's mechanism is very modest," he said. "It is not a solution. It is about a big conference with a long process of negotiations. I am also disappointed that big countries like the United States are not even committed to any reduction."