Energy is the wellspring of modern civilization, yet only 23% of the global population--or 1.5 billion people--have reliable access to it. Utilizing and embracing green energy will not only reduce artificial production of greenhouse gases, but it will help reverse the negative trends of current climate change. Green energy that is affordable, profitable, and scalable will improve air quality, help provide clean water, and provide better lifestyles for the 4 billion people who are ill-equipped to survive.

With a reliable supply of electrical energy, billions of people who lack clean water would no longer be lacking—that is to say, energy could be used to make salt water drinkable through the process of desalination. It takes 14kWh to transform 1,000 gallons of salt water into potable water. This fundamental shift from unclean to clean would prevent disease and improve human health. Clean water could then be distributed with electric pumps and pipelines to local and remote locations.

Once clean water is readily available, food--the fuel of life--plays a larger in role in human survival. The gates to modern civilization can swing open. Food is more available when soil is irrigated by clean water and crops are nourished by it. This in turn leads to a better harvest and a greater variety of food products that can be processed, manufactured, and distributed. With a favorable climate, a reliable power source, and access to clean water, starved populations can become sated. And it all starts with clean energy.