from amenya gibson

First I applaud Rudisha for making Kenyans proud,in spite of looming fuel prices hikes that are in offing and well planned to make Kenyans poor and poorer during this festive season.

However I wish to discuss more on Renewable Energy and what we can do to establish more energy projects in Kenya

The words ‘renewable’ and ‘sustainable’ are being knocked around quite a bit, and both are strongly associated with energy conservation.

We can say Renewable forms of energy constantly replenish themselves with little or no human effort.

Solar energy is just one example — no matter how much you use, the supply will never end (okay, it may end after billions of years, but your using solar power won’t make the sun burn out any faster).

Other examples of renewables include firewood, water (through hydroelectric dams), and wind power.

Note, however, that firewood is notoriously polluting; the term renewable does not necessarily imply good environmentalism.

Firewood also has another potentially severe drawback in that people go out into forests and cut down trees, often without much thought to the overall health of the forest (a good example of not seeing the forest from the trees).

To make sure that resources last, humans need to focus on conservation, recycling, environmental restoration, and renewable energy sources.

Sustainability is commonly associated with such a holistic approach to personal lifestyle.

Not only are sustainable forms of energy renewable, but they also have the ability to keep the planet Earth’s ecosystem up and running, in perpetuity. Sustainable energy, such as solar, is nonpolluting to the greatest extent possible.

The basic notion behind sustainable energy sources is that by their use, society is not compromising future generations’ health and well-being, nor their ability to use their own sustainable resources to any less capacity than we have.

Who can argue with this very fundamental version of the Golden Rule?

Solar power has historically been more expensive than other energy options, but that’s changing fast because of investment in new technologies, as well as the simple fact that many more people are investing in solar, which results in economies of scale.

Solar energy equipment increases your financial standing in basically two ways:

Savings on your monthly bills.
Appreciation of your home’s value.
Going solar will be a great investment, both financially and environmentally.

In short, if you install solar, you’ll be relatively risk free from exploding energy costs. Showing a little appreciation When you go solar, your home value goes up.

How can this be? Solar is catching on, and home buyers are willing to pay more for solar homes that promise energy savings.

We have to embrace solar energy in Kenya and this can be realized through solar programs being aggressively established in Kenya as Kenya plenty of solar energy.

Thanks

Gibson Amenya and Esther Kagendo are members of Kenya Young Greens

We aim to promote green energy in Kenya

Feedback-gamenya@kenyayounggreens.org