TWC Lesson 8, 14/10/2013

The first interesting point of discussion was how China, despite have a population much larger than that of United States, is consuming 25% of the oil that USA is consuming. This is a significant piece of news, because it means that even when the population in china are consuming so much less oil than the people in america, we are already facing environmental problems and climate changes. How much so, given China's rapid rate of development, such that in maybe 15 years time everyone in china is consuming as much as the people of usa, our growth would truly be unsustainable. It struck me then that countries need to take action to move towards sustainability immediately, instead of wait for more developments in sustainable technology until it becomes economically feasible to do so (an opinion i held a few weeks ago). It was mentioned that China's government recognised this problem and realised the means for future growth would have to rely on sustainable energy and technology. As such, they have been subsidising the provision and production of sustainable energy as well as heavily investing in clean energy (34.6 billion in 2009, a 148% growth). This shows the impact that government subsidises can have.

In my presentation regarding the use of solar energy in the 3rd week, i mentioned on the amount of government subsidies for fuel and diesel in many countries, caused partly by significant lobbying by politically influential groups, as well as the populations reluctance to switch to equipment (vehicles, plants) that can operate on sustainable energy due to various reasons including the higher costs. A significant issue currently is that the negative externalities produced by the usage of such unsustainable energy is not taken into account of the cost. This reflects that even when it is not economically feasible to use unsustainable energy now, government are still subsidising it. It reflects that there are other forces at work here, not simply market forces of demand and supply. It shows that the subsidies are misplaced, and change of mindset of both the people and the government is needed. The attitude of the people is important, because if they understand the importance of sustainable production, they will vote for governments who support such a cause, or at least induce the current government to do so.

Thankfully, environmentally friendly practices have been on the rise, such as the Gasohol Programme in brazil as well as policies and mindsets of energy conservation (eg. how filament lightbulbs have been phased out due to its energy inefficiency) and pollution prevention. However, i think it is important that awareness be created regarding the various forms of sustainable energy and in-depth analysis of its methods of production. Similar to how the good intention of food aid has caused detrimental effects in its recipient country, consumers and environmental conscious companies should not blindly adopt certain forms of green technology. The marketability of biofuels have been playing on the green-mindset of consumers while it has in fact been a cause of food shortages in the poorer countries where land to grow edible crops have been instead converted for the production of biofuel.

Another important point discussed was the superiority of solar energy as the sustainable energy source for the future. It was shown that from a 1km squared plot of land, photovoltaics were the vastly superior option, 3 times that of wind and 85 times that of biomass. The energy superiority of solar energy coupled by the ability to put it on many different equipment and objects hence not limiting it to countries with lots of available land (unlike wind energy)  makes it a very attractive energy source. It already has been adopted large scale in countries such as germany, and also bangladesh, showing that its viability and economic viability.

There was a slide showing the different types of energy consumption by countries, and it reflected that the poorer and lesser developed countries such as those in the middle east, africa, and asia pacific have a significant portion of their energy produced by natural gas, coal, and oil. It shows that such countries have not progressed from traditional sources of energy. This reflects that the usage of sustainable technology as well as environmental consciousness may seem like a luxury in the eyes of the poor, and steps need to be taken to change that. For a country to embark on sustainable technology, it demands much expertise and resources in order to maintain and properly harness its energy. In my opinion the method for sustainability in poorer countries should be that of enhancing energy efficiency and preventing wastage, as that can help them save costs instead of adopting renewable energy sources that they can scarcely afford.

Countries who are "oil-rich" due to their reserves face an "oil-trap" due to their dependency on oil as their major source of revenue and as such their other revenue producing sectors are underdeveloped. As there is a limited amount of oil left in the world, some of these oil rich countries are trying to diversify their economy so as to reduce reliance on oil, while countries such as nigeria who is finding it hard to do so. This re-iterates the point about the importance of being adaptable to change in order to survive, one of the factors which is to not be overspecialised in one sector.

Key takeaway points from today's lesson would be on the importance of adopting sustainable technology as soon as possible because even now when much of the energy consumption are by developed countries we are already facing energy shortage, the problem would be much more severe next time when more countries become more developed. The government play a important part through delegating the sectors where research ought to be done as well as nurturing industries of choice through the use of subsidies. Peoples mindset also need to be changed so as to induce policy changes in the government by being able to vote for the government they want. While sustainable practices are something to be encouraged, consumers should be made aware of the side effects some of such practices create. The method of adoption of sustainability also defers from countries, with developing countries more apt to adopt energy saving methods and practices rather than having to take on the financially daunting task of adopting new energy sources.

Issues for further discussion would be on the issues of financial pressure exerted by firms such as oil and diesel producing companies on governments to continuously subsidise fossil fuels and the methods through which it can be combated. Should organizations such as the UN step in, or is it purely an issue to be settle domestically. Although solar energy has been shown to be the most effective sustainable energy source, should the idea of biofuel be abandoned totally, given that some biofuels (such as Hemp, as mentioned in one of the presentations) also provide alternative uses?