As an environmentalist we all are very much aware that Energy is the essence of our life. Without it, many billions of people would be left cold and hungry.  The major source of energy comes from fossil fuels, and the dominant fossil fuels used today by most industrialized and developing countries are oil, coal, and natural gas.  Among these fossil fuels, oil is the most consumed for energy conversion, followed by coal, then natural gas. But this source of energy is non-renewable that means it cannot be replenished for umpteen number of years. It will eventually run out.

On the other side, we have renewable energy that is replenishable naturally on human time scale. The most prevalent forms of renewable energy are solar, wind, biomass, hydro power, geothermal and biofuels. If we measure both the sources of energy we need to focus on renewable energy as this is the only way to make our earth sustainable and livable for us.

UAE has always been in forefront in promoting renewable energy use in the country. The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ministry of Energy and Industry, to cooperate in the field of renewable energy and drive an accelerated shift to low-carbon energy sources. UAE visions to work on new ideas and best practices in the field of renewable energy.  Solar and wind are the country’s most cost-effective sources of new power generation.

Renewable energy is one of my favorite area of interest as I have done campaigns to make our community comprehend the importance of saving our energy. As a co-founder of my “WE CARE” community group I had conducted survey in my neighborhood on how to save the energy at our house. Based on the theme “ Energy conserved is life preserved” we did – “Green your house” campaign wherein we encouraged the participating families to reduce the electricity bill every month by following few useful tips to save the energy of their houses like using less heater during winters, setting the AC temperature to 24 degree in order to reduce the energy usage by at least half a unit over the course of the day. After 3 months we monitored their electricity bill and the house with lesser amount of bill was the winner. Similarly, we also conducted energy conservation workshop for young students. We had quiz session and a speech by our guest speaker.

My report will be incomplete if I do not mention about an important organization which is working tirelessly towards upholding renewable energy—Solar Sister.

 The organization invests in women empowerment in off grid communities of Africa, by training them to start business on clean energy solutions.

Green Peace is another global, independent campaigning organization that uses peaceful protest and creative communication to emphasis upon the importance of clean energy and the global shift from fossil fuel economy to renewable energy efficient economy.

These are just few examples that we all can do at personal level as the saying goes “THINK GLOBALLY, ACT PERSONALLY” for a better future.

Credits- irena.org, green peace, solar sister