Asia: The Next Powerhouse for Renewable Energy?
"Environment in Asia" Series. Sponsor: IBM Outreach Partners: Energy Consumers Council, New York
NEW YORK, Dec. 7, 2008 - Volatile fuel costs, energy security, scarce commoditites, increased focus on climate change, and an intense growth in demand - particularly in China and India - are driving the need to look beyond coal and fossil fuel and harness the power of renewable energy sources. In the US and in Asia, individual consumers and savvy companies are deploying new, cleaner generating technologies in the first steps of what could grow to be a mass movement "off the grid."
Panelists discussed technologies proven in Asia that should be exported to the US; environmental damage alleviation in addition to prevention; safety concerns surrounding clean energy sources (such as the threat of nuclear meltdown); the attitudes of different world populations toward the environment; the crippling and all-encompassing consequences of water contamination; continued cooperation between East and West on environmental concerns; the damage caused by ill-designed dams; and the challenges of replacing an entrenched gasoline infrastructure.
Listen to the complete program (81 min., 28 sec.)