A past practice of burning the earth’s fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) has caused two of the major environmental problems facing our world today: climate changes due to global warming, and pollution of air, water and land. As a non-renewable energy resource, the supply of fossil fuels will continue to decline as they are used.

The good news is that world leaders are now waking up to this situation. On December 9, 2005, in a speech at the U.N. Climate Conference at Montreal Canada, former US President Bill Clinton proposed a serious commitment to a clean energy future through worldwide implementation of energy-saving devices and hybrid cars, as well as solar energy and bio-fuels.[1]

Master has long ago mentioned alternatives to fossil fuel use. On February 23, 1992, Master gave a lecture in Malaysia titled “Start with Nirvana and End up on Earth”:

“Our world is still very rich, very rich in everything, in minerals and in all kinds of resources. Even if we don't have oil, we'll find something else to run our cars. The UFO's don't have oil …

There are different kinds of fuel that we can use for different purposes. In the higher worlds they don't need oil like we do. It's too troublesome and too heavy. They use different kinds of energy, not necessarily the sun's energy. We have other kinds of energy which are in the atmosphere. I think some scientists have begun to find out, but have not put it to use.”

There are several practical initiatives being explored to replace our use of fossil fuels and change our technology so that we cause less damage and can even restore the Earth.

Energy Efficiency

Energy efficient technology aims to conserve all existing forms of energy usage. Energy-saving appliances have long been used in other parts of the world and are now becoming popular in the US[2]. The thermostat timer and “on demand” water heating are two examples. The thermostat timer conserves heating and cooling resources by using programmable temperature settings that can vary throughout the day or days of the week. The “on demand” water heater eliminates the need to maintain a large tank of water at a constant temperature because it heats water only when needed.

Hydrogen

Hydrogen is often called an alternative fuel, but it does not exist in nature in its pure (H2) form, so it always has to be “generated” from some other material like methane (CH4) or water (H2O). Hydrogen is like an energy storage system, more like a battery than a true alternative fuel.

Some companies have received government funding for research to develop hydrogen as a fuel. A company in Canada, for example, is developing a “solar hydrogen generator” that can produce hydrogen from methane using a high-temperature reactor heated by a solar mirror array. The resulting gas stream is H2, CO2, and water. This same company is also looking at ways to derive methane from the anaerobic digestion of biomass[3]. Fuel cells, which convert hydrogen and oxygen back to water and electricity, are now being incorporated into American and Japanese auto manufacturers’ research plans. Using fuel cells, electric motors rather than fuel-burning engines would power the vehicles[4]. There is also ongoing research to find a way to store hydrogen in a chemically stable form such as a metal hydride, which may eventually lead to a safe and economical method for widespread hydrogen use.

Biomass

Biomass, combustible carbon in the form of living vegetable matter such as trees, is the oldest form of energy on Earth. It has the great advantage over fossil fuels of being composed of carbon molecules that are already in the Earth’s atmosphere today, so burning it does not appreciably increase carbon dioxide-produced global warming. Some modern forms of biomass fuels are biodiesel, a diesel-like oil usually made from the seeds of plants; and ethanol, made from plant sugars.

According to SOCAP (Society for Consumer Affairs Professionals) in Canada, biomass energy can be created from Canada’s forestry, agricultural, and municipal solid waste sources at a rate equivalent to 27% of Canada’s fossil fuel consumption as measured in 1999. Moreover, governments in Europe and other countries have encouraged people to switch from fossil fuel to mostly carbon-neutral biomass fuel. The US Department of Energy has also recommended soybean oil as a principal source of biodiesel. And in Malaysia, palm oil is used to produce thousands of tons of biodiesel each year. Biodiesel is especially suitable for developing countries because of its low startup costs and relatively simple production.

In the US, most fuel ethanol is made into gasohol, a mixture of 10% ethanol and 90% gasoline. The large South American country of Brazil has been relying heavily on ethanol from locally-grown sugarcane to power its more than two million cars. As well as being carbon-neutral, ethanol produces no benzene or sulfur emissions. Brazil produces about 16 billion liters (3.52 billion gallons) a year, using 14.5 billion liters at home, with a growing demand from abroad[5]. The most promising method of producing ethanol is from the cellulose abundantly found all over the planet in agricultural waste such as wood chips, corn stalks, or switch grass. This technology is very easy to implement. More efficient cellulose-to-ethanol conversions that can be performed through the use of microorganisms are also being investigated[6]. ph Unlike fission, which splits uranium or plutonium into radioactive pieces to release energy, nuclear fusion purports to deliver power without radioactive pollution and works instead by joining two “heavy hydrogen” (deuterium or tritium) atomss into simple helium. The deuterium abstracted from one kilogram of seawater (one deuterium atom per every 7,000 hydrogen atoms) can produce as much energy as 300 liters of gasoline. Fusion, however, is a very difficult process to maintain on Earth, requiring temperatures and pressures found only in the interior of stars.

Four countries — Russia, France, Japan and China — are currently working on developing an “Artificial Sun.” So far, Russian scientists have managed to reach the reaction temperature of 100 million degrees for short periods of time. China recently announced the completion of a similar project using superconducting fusion equipment that relies on high magnetic fields and powerful lasers to compress and heat fusion fuel. One Russian nuclear engineer has claimed that “thermonuclear fusion stations will be our future energy sources, and the unlimited amount of isotopic hydrogen in the world's oceans will be our fuel.”

Other Alternative Solutions

Other possible energy alternatives that are currently being studied throughout the world include the following:

Solar Concentrators: Capable of concentrating the power of the sun up to 5,000 times. One manufacturer claims these concentrators can be used for heating, thermal-based air conditioning, electrical power generation, hydrogen production and other applications[7].

Thermal Depolymerization: A low technology process that can easily reduce organic matter to combustible oil and other useful by-products (see News Magazine #161).

Photovoltaic: Solar cells and panels are becoming increasingly popular because they allow people to make their own electricity wherever there is sunshine. Research is being done to improve cell technology for more efficient electricity production.

Geothermal: Sites found near volcanoes and hot springs provide a rare but useful method for capturing the Earth’s inner steam to drive turbines or provide direct heat.

Wind: Becoming very popular in Europe and the US, wind generators are relatively inexpensive and easy to install. They can generate electricity at any site that has fairly consistent air movement.

Tidal energy: Harnesses the great power of the sea to spin turbines and create energy, with potential for use in certain geographic locations, especially those near the ocean.

All these technologies and new energy concepts are being developed in different countries throughout the world. Some are government-sponsored, while others are based in commercial investments.

New energy technologies will be even more effective if they are met by people of the earth changing their concepts and attitudes of living, converting to a vegetarian diet and implementing changes based on compassion and love. In fact, as one recently published article has pointed out, a vegan diet contributes directly to the flourishing of life on Earth because it produces so little carbon dioxide, the gas associated with global warming. By contrast, a more highly animal-based diet such as that found in many parts of the United States, generates the equivalent of nearly 1.5 tons more carbon dioxide per person per year than a vegan diet with the same number of calories[8].

As disciples, we should encourage more people to join in spiritual practice, so they will naturally become more supportive, sensitive, and protective of the environment. As Master pointed out in Her lecture, “We Are Catching Up with Heaven” [News Magazine #138]:

“Scientists have been born on this planet now, [who are] bringing their treasured memories with them. So they're making our planet a better place in which to live, as far as physical comfort is concerned.

Because the planetary vibrational frequencies have been lifted up into the higher levels, those highly developed scientists from the higher planets are able to reincarnate into our world with less suffering, without losing much of their memory about where they came from. And hence we have such wonderful advances in technology nowadays, thanks to you.

So we should continue to practice, even if we're not scientists or computer wizards or the like. But as long as we meditate diligently, to purify ourselves, our aura, our environment, we indirectly contribute to the progress of our planet.”

These scientist-saints are already in our world, helping us enter a new energy era. We still have a long way to go from our current practices to the mature technology that harnesses energy directly from the atmosphere, as Master mentioned. Nevertheless, technologies can help improve the world if the world’s people have a high moral standard and high spiritual consciousness. During this period, we should raise our moral thinking and purify our behavior:

“We can try to educate people: at least to be honest, to work hard, to rely on themselves and to find their wisdom. So even whatever small work they do, they do it with their heart, with devotion. And even if they can't do their work, at least they are honest to the society. They don't cheat people. They don't make trouble. They are patient, and they serve. Or at least, they do not cause trouble. Then they will not have jealousy or provoke people to break down other people's successes in science or in whichever field they happen to work in.” (Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai, Malaysia. Feb. 23, 1992, Originally in English)

References:
1 http://www.sierraclub.ca/national/postings/clinton-speech-12-2005.html
2 http://healthandenergy.com/japanese_energy_efficiency.htm
3 http://www.shec-labs.com/process.php
4 http://www.ul.ie/elements/Issue5/Breen.htm
5 http://news.mongabay.com/2006/0126-ethanol.html
6 http://fermat.nap.edu/books/0309040760/html/16.html
7 http://www.physorg.com/news384.html
8 http://www.newscientist.com/channel/earth/mg18825304.800.html