Basis for a government policy on energy that may sustain health, the environ- ment, the economy and national autonomy. Use of non conventional renewable sources

Abstract

I recapitulate the danger to human health, to development and to the sustainability of life accruing from both conventional and nuclear energy sources. It has been shown that the only appropriate response to such danger is the prompt and complete cessation of the recourse to fossil fuels, which can and should be replaced by the non conventional renewable sources of energy: wind, sun, geotermic energy, tides. They are clean, economic and inexhaustible. Other, complementary measures are described: they are useful but do not solve the basic crisis. In Chile, the NCRE are known and are being tried. The government, however, is bent on other options: these are discussed as being dangerous and ineffective in the medium and long term, in health, ecological and economical terms. The proposal herein formulated is: to take advantage of existing opportunities in order to agree on a national energy policy that is ecologically sound and forward looking, with participation of the citizens, the health professions and of all the institutions involved.