The US Energy Secretary has said it himself: the United States, and the world at large, needs a revolution, if it is to combat climate change, global warming, and carbon emissions.

Visiting Europe this week and meeting several representatives and energy ministers from European nations, Chu will discuss potential measures for combating the causes and effects of these major environmental issues. So far he has tabled manufacturing only cars with cool colour finishes, and painting the outside of buildings white.

During the Climate change Symposium, lead by Prince Charles of the UK, Steven Chu said,

"Yes, make people paint their roofs white. I think white is pretty. If all vehicles used cool colours then they could cut down the air conditioning and we would have a great reduction in energy...This is a crisis. It's very serious. The earth will continue to warm up, even if we turned off energy use today. The carbon up there stays there for hundreds of years".

As US Energy Secretary, Chu will be the man at the forefront of making sure that the proposals he makes are put into action; as the world's hyperpower, the world's hegemonic power, the US will have to act first on a number of measures, if Chu expects them to catch on in other nations. With the Obama Administration already pledging billions of pounds towards research and implementation of renewable energy and green energy in the US, President Obama, with Steven Chu as his right-hand man, has already taken serious steps towards altering the energy, pollution and emissions policies of former president George Bush Jnr.,  and his administration.

Some, perhaps optimistically, are now expecting something of a world 'green revolution', with the previously reluctant US at its head. With economies in crisis, many have suggested that now is the perfect time to open a new paradigm for energy consumption, as all areas of economic life are scrutinised and assessed.

As time goes on, and as Obama sits with other leaders at the Copenhagen  summit in December, supporters and critics will see if the newly elected president is up to the task of leading something of an overhaul in the processes undertaken by so many people, at a fundamental level, across the world.

Source: The Guardian

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