Let It Rain

We hear a lot about Ireland's potential for renewable energy, not least from wind and marine power sources. But there is something even more constant than the wind in Ireland and that of course is the rain. So what if you could turn rain into a source of power? The good news (in a spirit of seeing the silver lining rather than the cloud ;-) is that scientists are working on precisely that.

I find this very encouraging, not least because one much touted 'renewable energy source', namely biofuels, looks likely to make our energy and emission problems worse rather than better. We need better alternatives to 'alternative fuels'. More good news is that some scientists are working on just that, planning to turn greenhouse gases into 'gas'.

Though many (but not all) environmentalists won't like the idea of technical fixes to the threat posed by greenhouse gases (preferring instead that we all return to a medieval standard of living), the rest of us will welcome these kind of initiatives. And if all else fails, we could just enjoy the warmer weather, after all global warming might actually lead to less violence. Now that's what I call a silver lining.