Energy The introduction has stressed the need for a reduction in the use of energy in buildings; where the part played by a strategic role for daylighting can provide considerable savings in energy, and therefore of carbon dioxide emissions, leading to a reduction in greenhouse gases and ultimately a reduction in global warming. This is now recognized by most governments, though there is still a reluctance to take sufficient measures to overcome the problems involved. The ‘fossil fuels’ which provide the bulk of the energy we use at present, are still thought of as cheap alternatives to action, ignoring the fact that coal, gas, and oil are a finite resource with limited life for the future, leading to a potential energy crisis. Even where this is acknowledged, most governments have not put the necessary investment into alternative forms of energy, by developments in the fields of wave, wind or solar power. In the past there have been exceptions; one being in the development of hydroele...