BANGALORE PLATFORM

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BANGALORE PLATFORM

• Launched by
• Sagar Dhara
• Hyderabad
• Organised by
• Centre for Education and Documentation
• Bangalore
• Hosted by
• Centre for Internet Society
• Bangalore

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Human interference with the Carbon cycle People
need to recover their environments and energy
sources

• Sagar Dhara
• Cerana Foundation

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• Mujhe kheti karna hai, bartan nahi manjna

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C Carbon is the Bramha, Vishnu and Shiva
of lifeCarbon forms complex molecules
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ENERGY TRANSFORMATIONS HAVE HELPED EARTH,THE
FRAGILE MIRACLE, TO SUPPORTS LIFE

• CO2 N O2 Temp
  (oC)
• Venus 96.0 3.5
  lt0.01 477
• Mars 96.5 lt1.8
  lt0.01 -53
• Earth without life 98.0 1.9
  trace 290
• Earth with life 0.03 78
  21 13
• Micro-flora developed the ability the ability to
  make energy-rich carbohydrates, through
  photosynthesis, simultaneously releasing oxygen.
• Atmospheric carbon dioxide was removed and
  deposited as chalk on the ocean floor, cooling
  earth.
• Earth is unique, 100 km beneath our feet it is
  3,000oC and 30 km above, it is too cold to
  survive. Life exists in this narrow band.
• Suns energy helped make this miracle.

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• Carbon cycle
• Carbon fluxes 1990s 2000-05
• Net land to atmosphere carbon flux (GtC/Yr) -1.0
  0.6 -0.9 0.6
• Net ocean to atmosphere C flux (GtC/Yr) -2.2
  0.4 -2.2 0.5
• Net land ocean to atmosphere C flux (GtC) -3.2
  0.5 -3.1 0.5
• Emissionsfossil fuels cement (GtC/Yr) 6.4
  0.4 7.2 0.3

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Fossil Fuels Oil Coal Gas
Forests, Soil, other Vegetation
Oceans
Fossil Carbon Pool Carbon is locked away and
does naturally not come in contact with the
atmosphere Fossil carbon is stored permanently
in coal, oil and gas UNLESS humans mine coal,
extract oil gas Once released, it will not move
back into the fossil carbon pool for millennia
the time it takes for fossil carbon to be created
Active Carbon Pool Carbon is always moving
between the forests, atmosphere and oceans The
overall amount in all three carbon stores
together does not increase
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3 Issues1. Climate change
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2. Looming energy shortage
Till about 500 years ago, the main stay energy
source was a combination of human/ animal power
and wood
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London resembled the suburbs of hell, John
Evelyn, 1661
Fossil fuel dependence began 500 years ago.
Coal was first used in 14th century England ,
then elsewhere.
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Oil discovery peaked in 1962. Current
consumption is 6 barrels for every barrel
discovered.
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• Peak oil is expected to occur in the next 5-10
  years, at most 2 decades. Peak gas will follow
  soon after. No viable energy sourcegreen,
  nuclear, . is available to replace fossil fuels.

PEAK OIL
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3. Overuse of earths natural resources and
assimilative capacity for wastes

• Today, we require 1.4 earths, and by 2015, we
  will require 2 earths to meet human consumption
  demands.
• Much of this growth has been due to the increase
  in human population and increased demands on
  natural resources.

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Acidification SO2 deposition

• Emissions 20005 MT 203025 MT

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Unprotected ecosystem

• 2000 2030

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• Anthropogenic activity

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• With the current rate of spoilage of the global
  commons, we have a very narrow time window to fix
  the problem, and we are probably not going to be
  able to fix it.

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Growth of energy production/ consumption also
have a direct correlation to deforestation,
resource depletion, desertification, atmospheric
and oceanic pollution, global warming and loss of
biodiversity
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To understand human DEVELOPMENT and
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION, it is critical to
understand their driversENERGY and KNOWLEDGE
flows
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• Supply side management
• Replace fossil fuels with non-carbon based energy
  systems
• Green technologies
• Nuclear power
• Tragedy of the commons

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• Alternate energy sources will not work

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• Bio-diesel 0.75-1 ha required to run 1 vehicle
  on bio-diesel per yr. Hyderabad has 20 lakh
  vehicles. To run all Hyderabad vehicles on
  bio-diesel would require 15,000-20,0002 km, ie,
  8 of APs area.
• Wind Fickle, has to be stored. Can be best
  used to generate electricity (which is only a
  fraction of the energy used). Even to do that in
  say the UK, would require 4 of the land area.
  To produce the total energy requirement of UK
  would require 33 of UKs land area.
• Hydrogen Hydrogen is an energy carrier.To have
  hydrogen, it has to be 1st produced, which
  requires energy inputs (concept of net energy).

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• End of the pipe control

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• The central problem lies in the way energy
  throughputs have been used and appropriated by
  humans, ie, private ownership of energy
  converters, therefore accumulation of embodied
  energy (eMergy)
• Economy based on greed
• Stealing of energy from other creatures and by a
  small set of humans from the vast majority

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LIVING BEINGS ARE ENERGY SEEKERS

• All living beings are energy seekers and
  converters. Some do so actively, and others
  passively.
• Animals, other than humans, merely adapt to
  environments (and the energy they offer them),
  and survived if favourable conditions persisted,
  and perished if they changed.
• Humans crossed environmental boundaries, as they
  had the ability to do so, and colonized new ones,
  essentially in their search for energy (in
  different formsfood, fuel, and resources
  embodied energy),

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HUMAN HISTORY IS THE STORY OF THE SEARCH TO
INCREASE EMBODIED ENERGY MANIFEST IN HUMAN
CONSUMPTION

• Human history is basically one of increasing
  energy consumption, both directly, and in the
  form of products and services with ever
  increasing embodied energy.
• This could be done because of humans ability to
  model and inventKnowledge of energy conversion
  and how to use it to increase embodied energy.
• Human ability to harness energy sources and
  energy conversion technologies provide the
  dividers between different historical periods.

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• Growth in energy production/ consumption have a
  direct correlation to growth of population,
  information/ knowledge, material throughput and
  human mobility.
• Development is generally equated to growth in
  human activity, and therefore energy consumption

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ENERGY CONSUMPTION IS INEQUITABLE

• Per capita energy consumption in India is about
  650 units per annum, while in the US it is about
  12,000 units and in Scandanavia it is 25,000
  units.
• Per capita primary energy consumption
• South Asia 0.5 ToE
• EU 4.0 ToE
• USA 8.0 ToE

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Energy loss around 1,000 MW Nagarjuna PP

• PP capacity 1000 MW 106 KW (KJ/sec)
• Energy produced/hr 106 KWH (unit)
• 1 unit 3.6 x 106 J
• Energy produced/yr 106 KWH x 24 hrs/day x 300
  days/yr 7.2x109 units 2.592x1016 J
  2.592x1013 KJ
• Energy loss in 25 km radius energy loss in
  plant area energy loss due to crop yield loss
• Plant area 4 sq km
• Energy loss in agricultural lands 3000
  kcal/m2/yr 3000 x 4.2 KJ/m2/yr 1.26x104
  KJ/m2/yr
• Energy loss in plant area 1.26x104 KJ/m2/yr x
  4x106 m2 5.04x1010 KJ/yr
• Energy loss in 25 km radius (taking only half the
  area of a circle of R 25 km) 1.26x104 KJ/m2/yr
  x 0.3 x 1000 km2 x 106 m2/km2 3.78x1012 KJ/yr
• Total energy loss 5.04x1010 KJ/yr 3.78x1012
  KJ/yr 3.83x1012 KJ/yr
• Ie, 15 of energy produced by the PP is lost by
  local farmers as net primary production on
  agricultural lands. Net primary production of
  fisheries needs to be computed.

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• Led to eMergy inequitieseMergy haves and
  havenots, accentuated hugely by fossil fuels
• The method of appropriation of eMergy is
  variedslave society, feudalism, capitalism

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• eMergy inequity has been the driving force for
  conflict. In the last century, wars and
  conflicts have killed 75-100 million people

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• Private property was created to harvest energy by
  individuals
• Nation states formed to permit a set of people to
  harvest energy from an area
• State is potential eMergy that enables a the
  haves of a nation state harvest energy
• Land was privatized first, water is still being
  privatized
• Privatization of air has just begun

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Solution!
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Saying reduce per capita footprint is easy.
Translating it into a programme is not It
requires the social management of energy and
knowledge for common good

• Powering down energy throughputs to pre-1971
  levels or even less.
• Use of renewables. How to get them into place
  quickly?
• Sustainable energy permits. Luxury energy
  heavily priced
• Creating a society that will not permit the
  accumulation of embodied energy on a large scale
  in private hands.
• How?
• Restoring natural resources and the global
  commons to people.
• How?
• Technology down-sizing.
• How?
• Will nano-technology come into place fast enough?
• Decentralized power generation?
• Cannot meet current base requirements
• Equity in decision-making, access, control in the
  use of energy and other natural resources.
• How?
• Sustainable use of resources (renewable and
  non-renewable) and generation of wastes
• How?
• Re-localization alone? Or along with true
  globalization (sans borders)?
• How?
• Population control?

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IMPLICATIONS

• Re-define development Traditionally, Development
  growth equity social justice.
• Inequity is growing as the
• trickle down theory has failed

Urban U.K. heading for Victorian levels of
inequality The chasm between rich and poor seen
in London today resembles the Manchester that
Engels described in the 1840s. Tristram
Hunt_at_Guardian 2007, Hindu 20 Jul 2007
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• To restore the carbon cycle
• Equity and environment issues cannot be divorced
  from each other.
• People must recover their environments and their
  energy sources
• Saving the earth and humanity can no longer be
  done merely by technical, economic or legal fixes

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• Development not to mean growth, but to mean how
  to ensure that all people have equitable
• access to energy and other natural resources
• consumption levels of energy and other natural
  resources
• participation levels in decision making over all
  issues related to energy and natural resources,
• in such a manner that the eco-footprint for
  earth as a whole, and its various geographic
  regions, do not exceed their bio-capacities.

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• Abolish all political borders. It will save a
  significant amount of energy consumption by
  dismantling
• Military-industrial complexes
• Embassies, Ministries of Foreign Affairs,
  Customs, Immigration, CIAs, RAWs, ISIs, etc.
• Abolishing borders will also reduce energy
  consumption as
• It will allow for population migration to such
  areas that are better endowed in energy and
  natural resources
• Reduce terrorism

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• This map explains the current war on terrorism
  in the Middle East

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Sectors that we should pay attention to
immediately

• Transportpublic transport
• Cooking energy
• Food security
• Water security
• Retaining biodiversity (protect forests)
• Saving lives due to ravages of climate change

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• The above can only be achieved if global thinking
  shifts from gain maximization for a few people
  to risk minimization for all of life. Implicit
  within the latter is the acceptance of three
  equities a) between people, b) between
  generations, c) between species.
• This challenges the definition of economic
  value as understood by classical and Marxist
  economics, both of which are anthropocentric.
  Value, then may have to be based on a measurable
  index of environmental withdrawals, pollutants
  recycled to earth, interference with natural
  cycles (carbon and hydrological cycles, ..) and
  biota, besides the amount of human labour/
  embodied energy that goes into a product or
  service.
• If human society survives the impending
  environmental crisis, a transition from equity
  between species to equality between species is
  desirable, if not inevitable. Value as an
  economic category, as we understand it today,
  will then disappear.
• Major political and sociological institutions
  today are also based on an anthropocentric view.
  These structures will change if a biocentric view
  becomes more acceptable.

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•  Other questions come into play.
• For instance, humans are the only creatures that
  have succeeded in colonizing new environments
  because of their ability to create and use
  knowledge, which has helped them destroy nature
  and brought them to the current crisis. No
  doubt, knowledge has done some good for humans,
  but on balance it seems to have done more harm.
  What then is the point in developing more
  knowledge?
• More importantly, greed seems to drive humans to
  consume wantonly. Yet, humans like all other
  animals have a self-preservative instinct. Which
  is the greater human motivatorgreed or need for
  collective self-preservation?
• It is a moot point whether all this will work

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It probably will not, as we may well have crossed
the tipping point

• Maybe then, the only thing then we can do is to
  prepare ourselves and people for an apocalypse so
  that we minimize risk
• Prepare the ground for a different social order
  for a post-Carbon society
• Do all such things that will gain us moral
  ascendance
• The energy needs of a new society must be met by
  the sun
• Such a society would have to have a completely
  different relationship with nature. How can deep
  ecology be made to work? Do Eastern religions
  have insights to offer?
• Nature knows bestBarry Commoner,
• Humans know worst

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Biodiversity richness map
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8,000 years ago
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2,000 years ago
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Much as it depresses me to think about the
post-industrial stone age that we may be headed
towards, it is my duty to speak my mind. And it
is yours to speak yours. I would be very happy
if you proved me wrong.

• Thank you for your patience.
• The significant problems we face cannot be
  solved at the same level of thinking that we were
  at when we created them
• -- Albert Einstein
• Email sagdhara_at_yahoo.com
• Tel [phone]

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• Increase negative entropy on earth by relying
  more on cheap and unlimited solar energy
• This implies
• Relying more on animal/human
• power
• Reducing global energy
• consumption drastically
• Current per capita consumption
• World1.2 TOe, India0.4 TOe
• Per capita consumption for a
• sustainable world0.67 Toe

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• Rate of use of renewable resources do not exceed
  their regeneration
• Rate of use of non-renewable resources do not
  exceed exceed the rate at which sustainable
  renewable substitutes are developed
• Rate of pollution emission does not exceed the
  assimilative capacity of the environment