Ian On The Red Dot

Do the words ‘alternate‘ and ‘alternative‘ mean different things to you?

Both these words have this definition:

allowing a choice

But do you also associate the word with ‘alternative’ with this meaning:

pertaining to unconventional choices

where ‘unconventional’ means:

not conforming to accepted rules or standards

When you use the word ‘alternative’ in describing something, does it carry both meanings at the same time?

What does this have anything to do with energy?

Earth day has just passed, oil prices have been rising, and the Rambling Librarian has blogged about energy.

When you hear about alternative energy, do you think they are the suicide girls of the energy world.

If so, does it affect how we approach the research, commercialization and use of alternate sources for energy?

When I was in Primary School, one of the first things we learned in science about nature and the world is the concept of cycles. My favorite example was the water cycle. It was a really beautiful system. It has mechanisms to control the amount of water moving through the system. It is a sustainable and self correcting system that ensures that life on this planet gets the water it needs. The system is closed. What is used isn’t lost. It is just in a different form and there is a way to get it back to a form that it can be used again.

Our current energy system dependent on oil isn’t like that.

Oil is a by product of earth’s history and age. It isn’t something the planet started with.

Now, I don’t really know what to make of God. Sometimes, he seems to be a mass murderer. Sometimes, he seems to be a guy who hates amputees. Other times, he seems pretty cool - I mean, come on, his son Jesus turns water to wine. How can you hate a guy like that?

So, I don’t really know much about God, but I do believe, if there is a God, then he isn’t someone who does things for no reason.

So, if he is going to put us here, I think he would have made it such that the Earth at its initial stage would be enough to take care of us and our energy needs which he would have seen. We wouldn’t need to depend on waste material which takes years to change and take a form which is useful to us.

Wind energy, solar energy, Geothermal energy - all these are sources that already exist from the start - we just need to know how to harness it. 70% of the world covered with water. Our distance away from the sun. All these must have a purpose. It can’t possibly be some arbitrary value if you believe in a God.

So, if you are a Christian, or you believe in some form of omnipresent, omniscient, loving God then alternate sources of energy aren’t really suicide girls alternative. In fact, these sources of energy should be considered the actual sources of energy we should have used all along - the natural choices, the only choices, the alpha and the omega in our energy considerations.

Of course, if you don’t believe in God / gods….