Other Factors

Nationally, extending the power grid to rural areas will have the effect of slowing flight- to the cities, reducing inefficient use of biomass energy and freeing women to engage in income-generation and productive activities. Development and extension of renewable energy sources in areas of poverty would have the added impact of creating bs at the local level. Solar, wind, and waterpower technology can transform remote parts of countries into valuable assets and provide cheap reliable power to rural dwellers.

Significant steps are being taken in developing international energy policies that will protect the environment. The latest version of the Kyoto Protocol, approved by all of the developed nations except the United States, includes an elaborate formula for reducing greenhouse gases by agreeing to limit carbon emissions to prescribed levels. Many industrial nations have reduced waste and actively promoted the development of renewable energy resources. The use of hydrogen and other non- polluting fuels would have a dramatic effect on the environment. If hydrogen can be efficiently isolated (either through solar power or other means) aid distributed cheaply it could provide a clean fuel for internal combustion engines and revolutionize transportation as we- power generation. Other attempts a - carbonization of fossil fuels and creation of synthetic fuels could have similarly positive effects on the environment. Tree planting on land already degraded by cutting would not only increase oxygen production but also provide cheap energy to peasant farmers.