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Greenpeace Energy Revolution - European Tour
Greenpeace ship the Anna in front of a dirty fossil fuel energy plant and a wind turbine generating clean renewable energy during the European Energy Revolution Tour.
Enlarge ImageClimate change is real and happening right now. Its reality can be seen
in melting ice, dying coral reefs, rising sea levels, changing
ecosystems and fatal heat waves. According to the World Health
Organisation, 150,000 people are already dying every year as a result
of climate change.
To avoid the worst effects, we must drastically reduce the greenhouse gas emissions which cause climate change. One such greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide, which we emit when we burn fossil fuels (coal, gas and oil) to generate electricity. To stand any chance against climate change, we must change the way we generate our electricity from fossil fuels to renewable energy. And do it quickly.
Nuclear power, also used to generate electricity, is as radioactive and dangerous. Every part of the nuclear cycle has unacceptable risks, from the mining of uranium, to the production of energy, to the unsolved problem of safely transporting and storing radioactive waste. Today the nuclear industry tries to present itself as the solution to climate change in a massive green-washing drive. To replace one environmental catastrophe, polluting fossil fuel power, with another environmental disaster, nuclear energy is clearly not the answer.
In Europe the average age of power plants is between 20 and 30 years and many will soon need replacing. Now Europe has the chance to shift to the only viable alternative, renewable energy.
And renewable energy is ready to take over. Some European countries (such as in Denmark, Spain or Germany) already lead the way by showcasing rapidly maturing renewable technologies, like wind power, but there is still a long way to go. From the 25 countries of the EU, where just 10 power companies control the majority of the European market, to the 10 new EU states where there are huge opportunities to greatly improve the energy infrastructure, the time is right for Europe to play a key role in setting the world on a path towards a renewable energy future.
This Greenpeace tour of Europe and the Mediterranean was the start of putting the region on the road to a clean energy revolution.
To avoid the worst effects, we must drastically reduce the greenhouse gas emissions which cause climate change. One such greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide, which we emit when we burn fossil fuels (coal, gas and oil) to generate electricity. To stand any chance against climate change, we must change the way we generate our electricity from fossil fuels to renewable energy. And do it quickly.
Nuclear power, also used to generate electricity, is as radioactive and dangerous. Every part of the nuclear cycle has unacceptable risks, from the mining of uranium, to the production of energy, to the unsolved problem of safely transporting and storing radioactive waste. Today the nuclear industry tries to present itself as the solution to climate change in a massive green-washing drive. To replace one environmental catastrophe, polluting fossil fuel power, with another environmental disaster, nuclear energy is clearly not the answer.
In Europe the average age of power plants is between 20 and 30 years and many will soon need replacing. Now Europe has the chance to shift to the only viable alternative, renewable energy.
And renewable energy is ready to take over. Some European countries (such as in Denmark, Spain or Germany) already lead the way by showcasing rapidly maturing renewable technologies, like wind power, but there is still a long way to go. From the 25 countries of the EU, where just 10 power companies control the majority of the European market, to the 10 new EU states where there are huge opportunities to greatly improve the energy infrastructure, the time is right for Europe to play a key role in setting the world on a path towards a renewable energy future.
This Greenpeace tour of Europe and the Mediterranean was the start of putting the region on the road to a clean energy revolution.
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