- my iParenting
- quick clicks
- grandparents today articles
- grandparents today q&a
- message boards
- research baby names
- prepare a birth plan
- content channels
- ip channel rss feeds
- read birth stories
- read parenting stories
- recommended books
- e-newsletters
- safety recalls
- ip diaries
- ip store
- mom of the month
- dad of the month
- editor's letter
- letters to the editor
 |
- e-newsletters
- Sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletters
- award-winning products
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families.
Just a Hue of Green
Getting on Board to Help Protect the Earth
By Charlene Torkelson
When former Vice President Al Gore walked up to the podium to accept his Oscar for the film An Inconvenient Truth, about the effects of global warming, it was with the hope that Americans would indeed recognize the need for better conservation of our environment and the energy sources we use every day. The European countries are already years ahead of the United States in replacing fossil fuels with environmentally friendly methods of energy that not only are more cost efficient for the consumer but also make better use of the natural energy sources the world provides.
During a recent European summit on energy, the European countries challenged the rest of the world to adopt measures similar to those agreed upon by the summit countries. By 2020 European nations agreed to cut energy use by 20 percent through the use of wind, water, solar and energy-efficient electrical power. Many of those countries are well on their way to an efficient and effective energy system that not only pays money back to the consumer but also allows even small countries to be self-sufficient in providing their own energy sources.
Wales is implementing a solar energy system that is so efficient that even the cloud-covered damp weather typical of this country can do nothing to deter this energy source from providing over and above the necessary energy needs of the population. G24i, an American-founded company, has built a factory in Wales that provides hundreds of jobs manufacturing a solar device so small and thin that it can be carried in one's clothing to provide energy for a cell phone yet so durable it can provide energy on a larger scale for an entire building.
