NGO "ANOTHER WAY" (STICHTING BAKENS VERZET), NETHERLANDS, SUSTAINABLE INTEGRATED SELF-FINANCING DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS AND ADVANCED DEVELOPMENT TECHNOLOGIES

Except in this session, the material for this diploma course does not cover the topic “energy” as an independent subject. Most development-related activities involve intelligently applied local energy resources of one kind or another. The course deals with these resources on an activity by activity basis.

For a recent general presentation of the energy aspects of integrated development activities read : Poor People’s Energy Outlook 2010, Practical Action, Rugby, 2010.

Examine the following slide :

05. Financial leakage : energy.

Solar energy.

Available solar radiation outside the earth’s atmosphere is about 1353 Watt/m2. As solar radiation passes through the earth’s atmosphere it becomes rarefied. The power which actually reaches the horizontal surface of the earth is known as global radiation. Global radiation at sea level reaches a maximum of about 1000 Watt/m2. In some environments, such as on mountain tops, some rural areas in Australia, and on the central plateau of Kenya, radiation may be exceed 1000 W/m2.

This solar energy is absorbed by the earth, mostly in the form of heat. A small part of it is transformed through photosynthesis of plant cells. Photosynthesis supplies food for living organisms either directly or through the food chain. Excluding volcanic activity and the effects of an occasional meteorite, living things, including man, knew only this source of (solar) energy throughout hundreds of thousands of years. Even today, solar energy is the basis of practically all of the productive energy consumed on earth. We still have human civilisations which use only natural solar energy. In New Guinea, South America and Africa, for example. Members of the Amish society in the United States use just a very reduced amount of energy resources that have been transformed through human intervention.

Transformation of energy into a commercial product.

Energy is naturally free. Fossil reserves were created by nature, without human intervention.

It is claimed that value added is created through the transformation of energy from one of its forms into another which is easier for the consumer to use. This transformation potential leads to the creation of a saleable product, such as electricity.

The business of transformation and sale of energy for commercial purposes has been in the hands of (multinational) cartels since the early twentieth century. See, for instance, The Achnacarry Agreement, 17 September, 1928, as published in J.H.Bamberg, The History of the British Petroleum Company, Volume 2: The Anglo-Iranian Years, 1928-1954 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), pp. 528-34. The copy of the draft made available here was accessed at the Mount Holyoake College website, South Hadley on 13 March 2013. The leading role of ex-President Chavez of Venezuela in reviving the OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) to offset some of the influence of the western-dominated energy cartels explains why he was so violently opposed by most western industrialised countries. It also explains why he accepted forming “unsavoury” alliances with the leaders of countries like Iran and Libya, and earlier, with Iraq, playing the western monopolists at their own game. See L. McQuaig, Hugo Chavez depicted as a tyrant for challenging western oil domination, The Toronto Star, Toronto, 12 March, 2013.

1. Research.

Make a list of methods used for the transformation of energy into a saleable product and put them in chronological order accordance with the period when they were developed.

Early energy transformation centres were very small. Modern ones, such a nuclear power stations, can be very large.

Apply dimension changes over time to each of the types of energy transformation centres on your chronological list.

One of the advantages of some «new » technologies such as photovoltaic cells, wind turbines, and fuel cells is that they are particularly suitable for decentralised applications at local level. Recent development in industrialised countries appears to indicate instead a proliferation of large-scale production and distribution of energy. Some energy multinationals are beginning to play a major role in this.

2. Opinion.

Make notes on the role played by multinationals in the modern energy sector and on their specific interests in winning and maintaining control over energy installations .

Energy : one of the main causes of financial leakage.

Towards the end of your analysis 02. Some factors linked with poverty the question of financial leakage, perhaps the most important single cause of poverty, was raised.

Poor communities consume relatively little transformed energy in comparison with populations in industrialised countries.

3. Research.

Make a list of energy resources used in your chosen area and their applications.

Which local resources are used ?.How much do they cost ?

Which imported resources are used ?How much do they cost ?

What is the relation between the costs of imported energy and family incomes in your project area ?

Fertilisers.

Fertilisers used in your project area are part of the locally consumed energy.

4. Research.

Are fertilisers used in your chosen area ?

How much is produced locally ? How much does it cost ?

How much is imported into the project area? How much does it cost ?

What is the relation between the costs of imported fertilisers and family incomes in your project area ?

Fuel for cooking.

Fuel for cooking is often the most important single energy use in poor countries.

5. Research.

How do people in the project area do their cooking ?

Which fuels are used ?

How much cooking fuel locally produced? How much does it cost ?

How much is imported ? How much does it cost ?

What is the relation between the costs of fuels for cooking and family incomes in your project area ?

Energy as an instrument for sustainable production.

6. Research.

Make a list of LOCAL energy resources currently available in your chosen area.

Make a list of LOCAL energy resources potentially available there that are not yet being properly (sustainably) exploited .

New energy products (Kyoto) which exclude the poor

Do you know about the Kyoto protocol?

7. Opinion.

Which commercial transactions does the protocol provide for? What are your conclusions?

◄ ►

◄ First block : Poverty and quality of life.

◄ Index : Diploma in Integrated Development (Dip.Int.Dev)

◄ List of key words.

◄ List of references.

◄ Course chart.

◄ Courses available.

◄ Homepage Bakens Verzet.

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