BANGALORE PLATFORM

1. BANGALORE PLATFORM Launched by Sagar Dhara Hyderabad Organised by Centre for Education and Documentation Bangalore Hosted by Centre for Internet & Society Bangalore

2. Human interference with the Carbon cycle:People need to recover their environments and energy sources Sagar Dhara Cerana Foundation

3. “Mujhe kheti karna hai, bartan nahi manjna”

4. |— C —|Carbon is the Bramha, Vishnu and Shiva of lifeCarbon forms complex molecules

5. ENERGY TRANSFORMATIONS HAVE HELPED EARTH,THE FRAGILE MIRACLE, TO SUPPORTS LIFE CO2 % N % O2% Temp (oC) • Venus 96.0 3.5 <0.01 477 • Mars 96.5 <1.8 <0.01 -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. • Sun’s energy helped make this miracle.

6. 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 • Emissions—fossil fuels + cement (GtC/Yr) 6.4 ± 0.4 7.2 ± 0.3

7. Fossil Fuels: Oil Coal Gas Oceans Forests, Soil, other Vegetation 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

8. 3 Issues1. Climate change

10. 2. Looming energy shortage Till about 500 years ago, the main stay energy source was a combination of human/ animal power and wood

11. “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.

13. Oil discovery peaked in 1962. Current consumption is 6 barrels for every barrel discovered.

14. 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 source—green, nuclear, …. –is available to replace fossil fuels. PEAK OIL

17. 3. Overuse of earth’s 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.

20. Acidification: SO2 deposition Emissions:2000—5 MT 2030—25 MT

23. Unprotected ecosystem 2000 2030

29. Anthropogenic activity

30. 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.

31. 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

32. To understand human “DEVELOPMENT” and ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION, it is critical to understand their drivers—ENERGY and KNOWLEDGE flows

33. Supply side management • Replace fossil fuels with non-carbon based energy systems • Green technologies • Nuclear power • Tragedy of the commons

34. Alternate energy sources will not work

35. 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 AP’s 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 UK’s 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).

36. End of the pipe control

37. 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

38. 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 forms—food, fuel, and resources [embodied energy]),

39. 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 human’s ability to model and invent—Knowledge 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.

40. 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

41. 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

42. 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.

43. Led to eMergy inequities—eMergy haves and havenots, accentuated hugely by fossil fuels • The method of appropriation of eMergy is varied—slave society, feudalism, capitalism

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

45. 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

47. Solution!

48. 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? • How, without tackling poverty simultaneously? • Generation and management of knowledge for the benefit of all humanity. • How?

49. IMPLICATIONS 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—@Guardian 2007, Hindu 20 Jul 2007 • Re-define development: Traditionally, Development = growth + equity + social justice. • Inequity is growing as the trickle down theory has failed

50. 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