‘Imagine a world with an infinite supply of free energy.’ So starts the lead article of the Autumn edition of Positive News. ‘No thanks,’ is Peter Russell’s response.

He writes:

Initially, free energy would seem like a dream come true. It could relieve us of our dependence on fossil fuels, reduce carbon dioxide emissions and save us from some of the more dire consequences of global warming. No bad thing at all. Not to mention the fact that it would be cheap too. It would also be most welcome in developing countries, where it could transform agriculture, housing and sanitation, as well as providing many other much needed services. However, we in the developed world would not stop there. There are so many other things we could do with an infinite supply of energy. That’s when I shudder.

Look at what we have done with the energy we have already. We’ve ploughed up prairies, razed forests, drained aquifers, polluted the oceans, atmosphere and soil, extinguished untold other species and consumed more and more of the planet’s finite resources during the whole process.

What would we do with unlimited free energy? Suddenly recover from this self-centered, destructive behaviour? Most likely we would concrete over yet more of the planet, make more roads for all those additional free-energy cars, build more factories to manufacture more material ‘goodies’ and consume even more of Gaia’s already dwindling resources.

Look at what happened 200 years ago with the energy breakthroughs that led to the Industrial Revolution. Until then, the primary source of energy had been muscle ’ mainly human muscle but augmented by horses, oxen, donkeys and other beasts of burden. New technologies meant people no longer needed to work their muscles so hard. A new and comparatively ‘free’ energy was being harnessed by steam engines, electricity and later, internal combustion engines. This seemingly limitless supply of energy has benefited humanity in untold ways. Yet, at the same time, our unbridled use of that energy has resulted in the environmental crisis that now threatens our own survival, if not the planet herself.

Can we be sure that we would not make the same errors today? We seem just as greedy, as self-centered, as hungry for things as ever. Until we change our thinking, until our minds are free from the attitudes and beliefs that lie at the root of our global crisis, these traits will continue to wreak their havoc. So free energy, rather than being our saving grace, could take us even closer to disaster.

Simply put, I do not believe we are ready for free energy. It has probably been good that energy has always had a cost. We needed some constraint to curb us. So, should we indeed discover an unlimited source of energy in the near future, my hope is that its availability will be restricted, rationed and not given away freely.

Alternative sources of energy? Yes. Renewable energy? Yes. But free energy? No!

Peter Russell is a fellow of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, The World Business Academy, The Findhorn Foundation and an Honorary Member of The Club of Budapest. He is author of many books including ‘The Global Brain Awakens’, ‘Waking up in Time’ and ‘The Consciousness Revolution’

Contact: www​.peterussell​.com

In Response…

When we published the front page article about free energy in the Autumn issue of Positive News, I expected a deluge of letters. Instead, I got one irate phone call and a mere trickle of correspondence. Half were sceptical and the other half were in support.

I received this extremely interesting viewpoint above from Peter Russell, which I take very seriously. My hope is that big corporations and vested interests cannot exploit this type of energy and that the challenge of global warming will make us responsible in the way we use unlimited sources of energy, should it ever become available. Although I believe we need to explore all sources of alternative and renewable energy, we cannot ensure that this will provide enough for the needs of the future at this very moment in time.

One correspondent, David Saunders, wrote to say that he’d been to visit Steorn, in Ireland, and had been reasonably impressed by them. He states: ‘I am convinced they know what they are doing and are sincere, having been to meet them and discussed their plans with them, and understanding their aims in issuing a challenge to scientists, to obtain proper scientific validation.’ He then sent me a series of letters full of interesting information, so I invited him to set up the page opposite to share the things he was telling me. In one of the letters he sent me, he included this announcement from Steorns website forum made on 11th January 2007:

“Steorn, the Irish technology development company, has announced that its free energy technology will be made widely available to the development community immediately after the independ
ent scientific validation process that is currently underway. Under the terms of a modified general purpose licence and for a nominal fee, Steorn’s intellectual property will be made available concurrently to all interested parties, from individual enthusiasts to larger research organisations.

Steorn is taking this bold move to accelerate the deployment and acceptance of its techno-logy for both humanitarian and commercial products.”

Steorn has set up a website forum at www​.steorn​.net/​f​o​rum for both supportive and challenging comments if you want to see alternative views.

Shauna

These letters were first published in Living Lightly Subscriber Magazine