Power to the people: driving a revolution in affordable energy for humanity

https://uwaterloo.ca/magazine/spring-2016/feature/power-people?utm_sourc...

Harper, N. "Power to the people: driving a revolution in affordable energy for humanity". The University of Waterloo Magazine. Spring 2016.

This article starts by establishing that more than a billion people with no access to modern electricity is a global injustice. It acknowledges that change in this regard will require a massive, coordinated investment of research, resources and resolve.

The article includes a powerful illustration: 1 in 5 people have enough electricity to power a lightbulb and a washing machine, 3 in 5 people have only enough electricity to power a light bulb, and 1 in 5 people have neither. This means that 1.5 billion people have access to a light bulb and a washing machine, 4 billion only have the light bulb, and 1.5 billion have neither. This implies that many people across the world live on the margins of society. And this marginalized population is not only restricted to the developing world but also included many remote indigenous communities who are energy poor.

College students inevitable fall under this criterion. This serves as a case in point pertaining to the ability of energy poverty to disrupt education in its virtual internet-based format.

Another interesting and relevant information from this article is the world map that shows access to electricity in the different parts of the world. This piece of information is important in the narrative of international students who have returned to their home countries after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.