Estratti da: “Energy for a sustainable world”

«Many economists seem to believe that well-being correlates with Energy consumption, that energy prices reflect all significant costs and that any societal problems can be solved by enhanced economic growth. Is it true? Several scientists are convinced that technology will solve the energy problem as well as the problems that technology itself is creating. Can we trust them?»

«Whereas it used to be axiomatic that civilization would always progress over time, because science and technology would have solved any problem, now we are no longer sure about that. Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable. We have to take urgent and responsible decisions right now: tomorrow might be too late. The quest for ecological and social sustainability requires every single citizen to become aware that consuming resources above a threshold of his/her real needs does not help to create a better world. Earth is in our hands: are we wise enough to develop, with the help of science and technology, an ecological sustainable civilization capable of reducing disparity and creating a more peaceful world?»

«An old Italian proverb says that the only difference between an optimist and a pessimist is that the latter is better informed. A short-sighted optimism based on unawareness will not allow mankind to move toward a real progress. Pessimism, which arises from the consciousness of the gravity of the situation, is the right starting point: to propose solutions, we must acknowledge that there are problems and we must know them in any possible detail. There is a great need for spreading information about the unsafe conditions of our planet.

Finding a solution to the energy problem is a challenge of utmost difficulty, but also an extraordinary opportunity. Perhaps we are still in time to change and create an Anthropocene epoch based on resource conservation, waste reduction, human relationships, and global solidarity. To achive this epochal result, we need to educate public opinion and to find visionary leaders capable of looking far, over the planet and into the future. Our generation will ultimately be defined by how we live up to the energy challenge.»

Estratti da: “Energy for a sustainable world” by Nicola Armaroli and Vincenzo Balzani