inspiration

Last night I arrived in Kenya. One big reason for this travel is to validate a couple of ideas -energy and currency-related- that kept me busy over the past months. I decided to go for it, book a ticket, and see where things would take me. My aim was to meet as many people as I could: startup entrepreneurs, software developers, mobile currency initiators, solar power distributors. The answer to my questions was given to me hours before I even landed: Fati, the Guinean lady sitting next to me told me to "Leave us alone, that is 90% of the solution already"

Last year I visited Niger for the first time in 26 years. I grew up in a family of development workers and lived in West Africa until I was eleven. The school I attended had no electricity, and as you can see in the header picture we were lucky to have electric light and even television in our home.

Today Niger is the 9th most energy-poor country in the world. Less than 15% of the population has access to electricity. 

There is nothing wrong with fossil fuels

Fossil fuels are a product of nature. What could possibly be wrong with them?

We should be thankful for fossil fuels. Let's face it: ever since we started to burn our soil we've gone faster than ever before. We may thank our food, our light, and our heat to oil, coal, and gas.

And there is something even much bigger that we may thank fossil fuels for:

I write about a series of energy related paradigms that require shifting. One paradigm every week, ten weeks in a row. This is the second one:

Paradigm #2: Why alternative is not alternative

Change the world? Change the way you see it

I have decided to write about a series of energy related paradigms that require shifting. One paradigm every week, ten weeks in a row. This series of short posts serves you to gain understanding of our energy needs, the energy system as we know it, and the changes required to contribute to a world we can happily live in. This is the first one:

Sharlene Gandhi speaks to Dutch entrepreneur Arash Aazami about energy, the economy, and where our decreasing supply of resources will take us. 

The vast majority of us most likely do not even think about the amount of energy we require on a daily basis; as I sit writing this piece at my laptop, listening to the Your Coffee Morning playlist on Spotify, simultaneously checking my emails on my iPhone, under the somewhat atmospheric lighting provided by my desk lamp, an unimaginable flow of electrons is working tirelessly to ensure I have little trouble with these tasks. You, as well, most likely would not be reading this article without the help of energy...