Charles Kenny looks at global energy consumption:
Some 1.3 billion people around the planet lack access to electricity, and twice that number still use such fuels as wood, dung, or coal for household cooking and heating. That has a dismal impact on quality of life: Working under kerosene light is the health equivalent of smoking two packs of cigarettes a day. A recent report by the nonprofit group DARA (PDF) suggested that 3.1 million people died from the effects of indoor air pollution in 2010—and that on current trends, indoor air pollution will be killing five times as many people in 2030 as will die that year from the effects of greenhouse gas emissions.
Expanding modern energy in the developing world would boost public health. It’s also vital to increased productivity and better jobs. … The world’s poorest countries still need to produce a lot more electricity if they are to see sustainable poverty reduction and improved health. In the short term, that means the developed world should support the rollout of the cheapest, most reliable power available to meet Africa and South Asia’s needs—even if that comes from fossil fuels. In the longer term (one hopes not much longer), it means massive investment in research, development, and subsidies so that renewables become the cheapest, most reliable source of the power poor countries require.
The Dish 