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April 2009
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Unfortunately, the world’s livestock population is mainly ruminants–sheep, goats, cattle, camel, buffalo–whose four-chambered stomachs generate the methane that has 21 times more of an impact on temperature than carbon dioxide does. (The methane comes from the chamber called the rumen where bacteria are broken down.) Livestock also produces more than 100 other polluting gases, including more than two-thirds of the world’s emissions of ammonia, one of the main causes of acid rain. If that isn’t startling enough, the 2006 report of the Food and Agricultural Organisation identified ranching as the major driver of deforestation. And just imagine, cows use 990 litres of water to produce one litre of milk! It’s not the animals’ fault; it is the level of animal husbandry resulting from humans’ escalating appetite for their flesh. Eating meat warms the planet drastically, said Professor Chandrabhan Sharma, as he encouraged vegetarianism or lower meat intake as ways to retard global warming. In a provocative series of questions and assessments, Prof Sharma’s recent professorial inaugural lecture shied away from nothing as he comprehensively addressed the subject of renewable energy by asking “Is this the panacea for sustainable energy security in an island state?” Despite his fascinating environmental data, he is actually a professor of electrical and computing engineering at The University of the West Indies, and his lecture focused on exploring the energy challenges facing [small] islands… across a spectrum where any one point is cause for alarm. He broadly identified the problems as pollution, increasing population, finite land mass, global climate change and growing petroleum consumption and variable prices. Then he went into several possible sources of renewable energy–solar, wind, wave and ocean, geothermal, bio-mass and hydro–exploring each one’s potential in terms of what it entails, how it can be used, the cost of installing and sustaining its technology and infrastructure and making recommendations based upon this detailed analysis.
On the other hand, he thinks that soon, dual-use applications of wave energy technology may prove cost effective: “Power generation technologies could be incorporated into breakwaters harbour walls or other structures or they could be integrated with other commercial activities, acting as artificial reefs for marine agriculture operations or as platforms for desalination facilities.” Prof Sharma warned that geo-thermal energy “which is transformed into energy (electricity or direct heat) is an extremely capital-intensive and technology-dependent industry.” As for bio fuels, he reminded that they were intended to reduce emissions, but argued that emissions will increase if forests are cleared for bio fuel crops and if peaty soils are burned or disturbed. He cautioned policy makers to be mindful of this as well as the costs of production and transportation as he was not convinced it would be cost effective. It is all about creating an enabling environment, said Prof Sharma; one that includes sustainability and interdisciplinary competence, capacity, planning, implementation, evaluation and assessment. From his analysis, he concludes that with the exception of “biomass co-firing” no renewable energy technology is able to generate power commercially without some form of financial support. He also advocates policy measures to overcome some of the market barriers he envisages–such as lack of information, institutional barriers, the small size of renewable energy companies and high financing costs. He encourages public involvement in the quest to adopt renewable energy sources as a path to sustainability of life. So, what can you do? You can understand your role in the process. Human consumption has contributed significantly to the depletion of energy sources and endangered our planet. We are now at the point where we have to pay the price for that wanton abuse. Prof Sharma urges that citizens lobby for policies that focus on development and implementation of renewable energy systems; that we practise efficient energy use; that we support development and research efforts into new fuels…and of course, watch what you eat! Environmental Issues
The Bottom Line
Market Barriers
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For instance, he recommended that photovoltaic (PV) solar energy was not cost effective as the electrification rate is about 98% (and solar power requires significant land area: five to 10 acres per megawatt of power, plus it produces toxic wastes in the manufacture of the photo-cells). On-shore wind energy farms were not particularly feasible for small islands because inter alia, funding costs are very high and an island’s demand may be inadequate: it would require cranes with the capacity for lifting 80-metre long towers; it needs large acreages and wind variability would still require back-up power. Its feasibility could be improved, however, in a supportive environment.