Quality of life
Electricity – think about it. Few things in our society can match its profound impact on our common standard of living. Electricity has truly brought about a revolution to our indoor environment – from the first light bulb that lit up our homes to today’s wide variety of time-saving household appliances.
In addition to relieving us of hard work and lighting up the dark hours of the day, electricity has also contributed to developing our modern industrial society. There are many things that we can and should take for granted in our daily lives. What would our offices be like without computers, or our factories without ventilation? In many applications, electricity is the most efficient energy carrier and it has enabled us to develop rapidly. The use of electricity often enables manufacturers to achieve high flexibility, good control and high quality. Electricity also offers improvements from an environmental aspect. Different means of transportation all over the globe, such as trains and trams, can be powered by electricity produced in an environmentally friendly way, which conserves resources and uses energy efficiently. It is one way to reduce global warming of our planet.
Lighting facilitates our search for knowledge
Electricity has enabled people all over our planet to become healthier, better educated and more secure – these are essential conditions for raising ourselves above our fundamental needs and for taking responsibility for our environment. By the middle of this century, at least 200 million more people will have access to electricity and their living conditions will improve. At the same time, there are good examples of other advances in developing countries, where people are taking a giant leap forward by lighting up their homes with lamps powered by solar cells. In India, around 100,000 people have stopped using unhealthy and dirty paraffin lamps in recent years by switching to solar energy lamps – an idea that is spreading throughout the world. Around the globe, different solutions are being proposed to increase production of renewable electricity and save power. In Tajikistan, people want to develop their country so it can become one of the largest producers of hydro power in the world. The opportunities open to us in our wealthy world are enormous. Perhaps our next car will be electric and its batteries may be charged by a Vattenfall oxyfuel power station – with virtually zero carbon dioxide emissions.
More electricity can actually save energy
An ever-increasing share of our energy consumption is being supplied with electricity – an affordable and easy-to-use commodity that has endured for many decades. Given its inherent flexibility, cleanliness and high efficiency, we have every reason to believe that electricity usage will keep on rising. Even when overall energy consumption is reduced, the share provided by electricity is increasing and it is actually possible to reduce total energy consumption with the help of electricity. Technical advances offer our welfare society the opportunity to continue living in harmony with the environment – a genuine quality of life for the future.
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