On a trip to Australia to attend a niece's wedding, Anne and our oldest son were surprised to note the high proportion of homes with roof-top solar panels. Obviously Australians had found an energy source other than fossil fuels to meet their heating needs. That was 20 years ago. I am hardly aware that such technology has as yet reached the Ontario scene.

Recent literature has emphasized the need to wean ourselves from dependence on oil is starting to seep into North American thinking. Major articles are finding their way into the popular media on such initiatives as ethanol as an alternative, low emissions energy source. One issue of the National Geographic was almost totally dedicated to the controversy over corn for alcohol production, hardly a new technology. Distillation of hooch in the Ozark hills has been a subject of many a novel.

The most relevant material recently has been the development of solar energy for home heating and electrical generation. A Globe and Mail article, Saturday March 23rd (Lessons from Germany's Energy Renaissance by Eric Reguly) indicates how seriously that nation has considered this technology. They lead the world in manufacture of photovoltaic cells. Currently solar energy accounts for 14 % of the country's electrical generation.

Probably of greater significance is an urgency to provide this technology as an export commodity for the rest of the world. Canada has not taken this seriously. No photovoltaic cells are manufactured here while Germany is providing generous subsidies for Canadian companies to establish factories in that country. Undoubtedly current cost of providing energy from the sun is high but national leadership is emphasizing future needs as the global supply of fossil fuels declines and of course the cost of oil increases. "Germany has created 240,000 jobs in the renewable energy field."

"Solar power will cost next to nothing. The fuel - the sun - is free. The price of the photovoltaic cells used to convert sunlight into electricity will plummet. Just give it time." Arise Technologies from Waterloo Ontario is building their first German factory, expected to be in production within the next month. It's owner noted "Arise couldn't build the plant in Canada because the level of financial incentives, engineering and construction expertise and general awareness of the growth potential of renewable energy simply doesn't exist there".

A lead article in my recently received Canadian Geographic (Sun power by John Lorinc) highlights the potential of solar energy to meet future Canadian needs. "The sun fires enough energy at the Earth in a single hour to satisfy the world's electricity cravings for an entire year." It noted that 1.3 million households in Germany are selling electricity to the grid. Rooftop installations or community operated solar farms are generating 2,500 megawatts, providing $7 billion annual revenue. This is equivalent to the energy provided by one unit of the Darlington nuclear facility.

An annual publication, State of the World, 2008, highlights alternative energy sources (Building a Low-Carbon Economy by Christopher Flavin). It quotes "one study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in the U.S. which concludes that solar thermal power plants built in seven states in the U.S. Southwest could provide nearly seven times the nation's existing electric capacity from all sources."

A basic question asked in the State of the World article "Can the enormous power of today's industries be set aside in favor of the common good?" To date powerful lobby activities have thwarted that goal.

Which brings us to the question of leadership. Other countries, already light years ahead of Canada, are moving rapidly to meet the inevitable needs of the future. Our ability to progress has been limited by the market place. We are obsessed with the expectation that private enterprise will provide leadership.

Yet most of the real progress in environmental fields globally has been accomplished by strong government action. Canada's abominable record in the field of global warming is a good example of wishy washy government action (or lack there-of!) and the failure of private enterprise to fill the void.