Even sober-minded experts are getting excited about solar power. Respectable estimates suggest the price of energy derived from sunlight will continue to drop spectacularly as the number of panels installed worldwide continues to explode exponentially. In the relatively near future we may move into an era of energy abundance, where we have not just decarbonised our existing energy sources but are also able to cheaply generate ten or even a hundred times more energy. How should Christians feel about a future society with green, clean energy ‘too cheap to meter’? Can we see in this potential bounty God’s extravagant blessing, as we bring forth from his creation huge amounts of resources to tackle poverty, water shortages, climate change and more? Or is this a secular example of an ‘over-realised eschatology’, and foolishness in believing that once again sinful humans can bring about heaven on earth?
- The Economist: ‘The exponential growth of solar power will change the world’
- Matt Yglesias: ‘The case for more energy’
In each episode of Matters of Life and Death, brought to you by Premier Unbelievable?, John Wyatt and his son Tim discuss issues in healthcare, ethics, technology, science, faith and more. John is a doctor, professor of ethics, and writer and speaker on many of these topics, while Tim is a religion and social affairs journalist. We talk about how Christians can better engage with a particular question of life, death or something else in between.
Even sober-minded experts are getting excited about solar power. Respectable estimates suggest the price of energy derived from sunlight will continue to drop spectacularly as the number of panels installed worldwide continues to explode exponentially. In the relatively near future we may move into an era of energy abundance, where we have not just decarbonised our existing energy sources but are also able to cheaply generate ten or even a hundred times more energy. How should Christians feel about a future society with green, clean energy ‘too cheap to meter’? Can we see in this potential bounty God’s extravagant blessing, as we bring forth from his creation huge amounts of resources to tackle poverty, water shortages, climate change and more? Or is this a secular example of an ‘over-realised eschatology’, and foolishness in believing that once again sinful humans can bring about heaven on earth?
• The Economist: ‘The exponential growth of solar power will change the world’ https://www.economist.com/leaders/2024/06/20/the-exponential-growth-of-solar-power-will-change-the-world
• Matt Yglesias: ‘The case for more energy’ https://www.slowboring.com/p/energy-abundance
• Subscribe to the Matters of Life and Death podcast: https://pod.link/1509923173
• If you want to go deeper into some of the topics we discuss, visit John’s website: http://www.johnwyatt.com
• For more resources to help you explore faith and the big questions, visit: http://www.premierunbelievable.com