Numbers speak louder than words – by some estimates, energy consumption in developed countries is around 12 times that of developing countries. The three main economic sectors in terms of energy consumption are manufacturing (33%), households (29%) and transport (26%). This should leave us terrifyingly aware that as domestic consumers we are contributing greatly to high levels of energy consumption and resource depletion. Electricity and heat production accounts for more than 40% of all CO2 emissions, which have seen an increase of 66% (2008) since 1992, but the world's population has seen an increase of around 25% over the same period. The causes can vary from today's heavier industrial production to improved living standards in developed countries. Interestingly, however, this generous level of consumption left some 1.44 billion people in “energy poverty” in 2010. That's 20% of the world's population – isn't that staggering? These people do not have access to stable and reliable electricity or the electricity grid and are entirely dependent on biomass for cooking and lighting. We live in a world of thousands of links over thousands of kilometers and yet, if we look at the patterns of lights visible from space (a link to the map is provided in the bibliography), the "electrical or digital divide" between North and South will be apparent. Almost the entire African continent, with a few exceptions, remains in darkness when viewed from afar. The brightest areas are generally places that are highly urbanized, but not necessarily highly populated. On the other hand, India and China remain completely in conflict