The threat of global warming has become such a huge problem in recent years that it seems we actually don’t know how to stop it. It is impossible to just stop everything in the world as economies would crash and the world will be sent into chaos. However, if we carry on like we are and oceans rise, chaos will ensue anyway. What we need is a multi-dimensional approach to the problem and it needs to start with our daily transport and our homes. Bio fuels are being developed out of things as simple as maize yet in South Africa we are still using electricity in our houses that comes from dirty sources. Most of our electricity is made by burning coal which is unbelievable. Every single day coal is being burned, therefore polluting the atmosphere, just to make sure we have light and power for our appliances.

A breakthrough has been found though in the field of solar power. A team, led by Professor Vivian Alberts of the University if Johannesburg, has developed a thin, flexible metal alloy that is only 5 microns thick. Considering a human hair is 20 microns thick, this is quite remarkable. Reports say that that an average home would need 30sq/m of the panelling to meet all it’s electricity needs. Remarkably, it is also reported that these panels will function during winter as well, not needing direct sunlight to produce power. Ther are still a couple of unanswered questions regarding the price of these panels. However if you visit the site listed below there are comments posted there that would seem to explain a little bit more about the technology. Let’s hope they get it into production at an affordable price as soon as possible.

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