Travelling into the future

Three new values

This new series of Luxembourg is made up of three values that illustrate in a contemporary style, using a comic strip motif, three of the many challenges threatening the future of human civilization.

Renewable energy (0.45 e)

The forms of renewable energy are quite varied. An energy source is considered to be renewable if the fact of consuming it does not limit its future use. This is generally the case when using wind, the sun, waterways, tides, sea currents, waves, the heat of the earth and biomass, but not for the greatest portion of our present energy consumption based on petroleum, cool, natural gas and uranium which are limited sources of energy on our planet.

Waste recycling (0.59 e)

The best management of waste begins by trying to avoid it in the first place. But since this goal can certainly never be completely realized, it is important to manage as much as possible the recycling of existing waste in order to convert it once again into useful resources.
The process of sensitizing producers and consumers to the need to recycle, which started almost three decades ago, has already produced tangible results, and techniques allowing economically viable processing of waste have been developed as a result. Meanwhile, it is important to strongly reinforce our efforts in this area to ensure that we don't leave future generations a planet, which resembles a huge garbage dump.

Biological research (0.74 e)

The appearance during the last two decades of serious illnesses unknown until then, such as AIDS or mad cow disease, have driven efforts in public and private organizations to try to understand how fundamental principles of life apply. These efforts aim to develop some day effective remedies for these new diseases as well as long-standing scourges such as cancer and genetic illness.
Recent progress in molecular genetics is already increasing the understanding of how to treat numerous illnesses. Discoveries are upsetting the fundamental understanding of biology but, as all new discoveries do, they reveal also new mysteries. During the years to come it is more than ever necessary to launch important public and private biological research projects.

Stamps in detail

Values: 0.45, 0.59 and 0.74 e.
Design: Binsfield Conseils.
Print: Photogravure by Hélio Courvoisier.
Size: 35.96 x 35.96 mm.

More information

Euro

Luxembourg Europe 2001