The third last paragraph of the Inside Science
“Mission Earth” (13 December 1997)
should have read as follows:
“Finally, energy use is a growing global problem (Figure 4). Most of our
energy needs are now derived from nonrenewable sources such as gas, coal and
nuclear fuels. Globally, annual energy use is now expressed in terawatt hours
(TWh), with 12 TWh (12 × 109 kWh) the equivalent of burning a
million tonnes of oil.
According to BP World Energy Statistics, global energy use in 1996
was equivalent to burning 8.38 billion tonnes of oil, which is about 100 000
TWh. Of this, only 2000 TWh, or 2 per cent, came from renewable
sources—solar and wind power.
The World Energy Council estimates that the maximum achievable amount of
energy to be derived from renewable sources in the future will be 10 000 TWh, or
10 per cent.”
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