Kenya and other African nations are well endowed with renewable energy sources, so a Member of the National Assembly who is also a leading academic scientist advocates policies to promote development through the exploitation of alternative energy.
Prof. the Hon. Dr Margaret Kamar,
MP, in Nairobi. Prof. Kamar has been an Orange Democratic Movement Member of the National Assembly since 2007. As Moi University's Deputy Vice- Chancellor, she was in Charge of Research and Extension from 2002 to 2006. After writing this article, she was appointed as Assistant Minister for Environment and Mineral Resources. A professor of soil science at Moi University, she holds a doctorate in soil and water conservation from the University of Toronto.
Energy is critical to the socio- economic development of any country. It is linked to modes of production and lifestyles, and interacts with a wide array of development issues. It is essential in strategies to reduce poverty and to promote equitable development. All forms of economic activities including farming, industry, transport and communication require energy. Hence the supply of energy should be secure, reliable and affordable. In ancient times, societies depended on locally available energy sources such as wood, charcoal, wind and solar, to meet their daily domestic needs while they used human and animal muscle power to satisfy their transport and other power needs. Some traditional communities still depend on their local energy sources, in contrast to the more developed societies which have switched energy sources to
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massive dependence on fossil fuels (petrol, gas and coal). The large-scale use of fossil fuels has raised sustainability concerns such as pollution, greenhouse gases, climate change and global warming, and ozone layer depletion. Subsequently, there has been a growing environmental drive to cut down the use of fossil fuels as a result of their diverse and complex consequences. Therefore there is increasing advocacy around the globe for investments in the development of alternative forms of energy, especially renewable energy resources. These include solar, nuclear, hydropower, tides, biomass, biofuels, wind and geothermal. This is against a background of “green agenda” in technologies that gained momentum in the 21st Century as the impact of technology and other human
Prof. the Hon. Dr Margaret Kamar, MP
actions are being felt and are threatening all forms of life on Earth. This also has been driven by efforts being made by countries to achieve sustainable development. The development of alternative energies therefore remains a choice in efforts to steer development along a sustainable path. It is also an option to clean up the environmental mess caused by pollution from fossil fuel use. Renewable energy alternatives