First Nation to Be Fully Solar-Powered - as part of the news series by GeoBeats.
Inspite of all the global warming discussions, we are still far away from relying extensively on alternate energy sources. Once small nation, however, is making it happen.
Tokelau, an island nation, is a non-self-governing territory of New Zealand. It will be the first nation on Earth to be exclusively powered by solar energy. Consisting of three coral atolls in the South Pacific it has a population of around 1,400 and currently only has electricity for about 15-18 hours a day. The contract given to New Zealand company, Powersmart Solar, will substitute the diesel generators that burn 200 liters of fuel each day with thousands of solar panels. Fossil fuels will only be required for the three automobiles located on the island saving it around a million dollars a year as well as reducing a large environmental impact.
The number of experts believing in man-made climate change continues to grow. Famed Berkeley physicist Richard Muller is one of them recently stating that global warming is real and that “Humans are almost entirely the cause.”
