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It becomes more obvious each year, that the use of fossil fuels to power our economy and individual lifestyles, plus the mis-use of natural resources in general is causing some very detrimental effects on both the natural environment and the future of the world population.
On the island of Ibiza, we are blessed with an ample supply of solar energy (some 300 days of natural sunlight every year), plus in many areas, plenty of wind power, as well as literally thousands of tons of biomass in the form of unwanted shrubs and dead trees choking up our forests and causing a huge fire risk during the extremely dry summers. There is also an enormous amount of human excrement, which can easily be turned into biogas, for powering our vehicles, tourist industry and homes, whenever sunshine or wind energy is in short supply, or not available.
However, it has been recently calculated that we only manage to produce less than 0.5% of our energy needs from these locally available sources, so clearly we have some work to do if we ever wish to succeed in being in any way energy independent as a vulnerable island community.
Another mystery is the way we seem to use up all the naturally available water on the island and need to spend enormous amounts of money burning fossil fuels in order to produce enough of this life giving liquid to supply our continually expanding tourist industry and domestic demand.
What can you do?
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Reduce your energy consumption by installing energy-efficient light bulbs and appliances. If feasible, install solar and wind energy, biogas systems and biomass heaters on your own property or your business.
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Lobby local political parties so that this form of energy is accessible to the entire community. You can also join this group and get involved in the movement to make Ibiza 100% independent of fossil fuels.
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Change your electricity service provider company for others that only use renewable energy, for example Iberdrola and Fenie Energía.
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Reduce water consumption by installing ‘pearlizers’ on taps and shower heads, reuse water for irrigation and cleaning tasks, as well as integrating a rainwater collection system into our daily lives.
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You can also support other groups working to find solutions to these problems, such as the Mar Blava Alliance, the Climate Alliance and the Eivissa and Formentera Alliance for Water.
