Energy from My Backyard - The Renaissance of Renewable Energy - page 246

Figure 7.11. Barefoot College in Tilonia, a small village in Rajasthan (India), is a
nongovernmental organization that has been providing basic services in rural communities
for more than forty years, with the objective of making them self-sufficient and
sustainable. In this class, thirty women learn how to install and maintain off-grid PV
systems. Source: Gian Andrea Pagnoni.
The link between energy and development was explicitly defined at the World Summit
on Sustainable Development in 2002: access to modern energy sources (such as electricity
and natural gas) is crucial for the achievement of the UN's Millennium Development
Goals. 14 Until the 1970s the assumption that economic development, measured by
indicators such as gross domestic product (GDP), 15 ought to be the principal goal of all
countries went largely unchallenged among economists. However, this runs counter to
experience. The amount of money we spend raising children to adulthood indicates that
most people value human relationships over money. At the societal level, it is also evident
that improved economic conditions (such as during the 1950s in the United States) do not
necessarily translate into higher levels of perceived happiness.
GDP is not a good indicator of quality of life for four main reasons. First, the GDP of
a country may be high but its goods and services may be expensive, leaving many people
badly off once they have paid for basic services such as health and education. Second, we
tend to adapt quickly to new levels of prosperity. This is what happens to lottery winners,