T.H. Culhane talks with a young man about clean energy.


Y


ou live in a small village in Africa. There’s no


electricity here. So to cook dinner, you’ll need to make a fire. You use wood to build a small fire on the floor of your hut. The wood begins to smoke and turn bright red. Tiny particles from the burning wood float through the air. Gases from the fire do, too. You breathe them in. Wood fires aren’t good for the environment. And they aren’t good for you. But you aren’t alone. More than 2 billion people


cook over wood fires every day. They do this because they don’t have another energy source to use. What does the rest of the world use for energy? Much of it comes from fossil fuels. These are oil, coal, and natural gas. Power plants burn these energy sources to make electricity. Then, a giant network, or grid, of wires carries electricity to people. A network of pipes carries natural gas to people, too. Not everyone is connected to this grid. And these


energy sources are limited. Burning them also causes pollution. So scientists like Thomas “T.H.” Culhane are looking for a better way. Culhane helps people find ways to use clean and safe energy.


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