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written by Tim Norwood , March 20, 2007

It's a classical catch-22 Brian Mogaka.

The energy required to make a PV cell for example is in itself such a colossal burden on energy resources that it is unlikely to be returned throughout the product's lifetime.

I am not of course advocating an abandonment of the Green Cause, but at the same time it pays to think just what benefits are derived from taking up a particular course of action.

My opinion, non-expert that I am. All non-commercial vehicles and expecially 4X4's should have extrememly punitive tarrifs slapped on them. At the same time, we need to start hoarding oil stocks to buffer against poor supply, insist on public transport and as a result diminish our collective footprint.

I beg to differ
written by pndiangui , March 20, 2007

Brian , good that you have elicited this debate.
May be in the early 1800's small pox , measles and other calamaties , could have been left at that; 'Naturally occuring cycles on earth'. But NO!!, some people so called scientists went to work due to this curiosity and thrill to solve 'problems' and today those 'calamities' are history , the immunology field has been born, anti-biotics and vaccines are readily available and people are better off living with far more certainty today and their quality of lives have improved. Some American and European pensioners are even simultineously better off ,since their savings that were invested in the upstarts pharmaceuticals that brought these products to us have rewarded them for funding such 'risky' ventures.
Now that we know that little example, lets focus on what the global warming phenomena might mean to us.
We have to understand that perceptions of the world that we have allows as to look at challenges that face us either the through the prism of an opportunity or that of a 'problem'.
To me those who see the former always lead societies in great leaps of transformations that bring a new world order. I have illustrated how various scientisits and commericalizers of those technologies that wiped plagues in the world lead into a heathier society globally.
I dont have to remind many of the impacts the Japanese and their Korean counterparts had when they saw opportunities in making the cars a mass-affordable product to the masses. While Taiwainis have struggled to make the world a better place through better automations leveraging on the semi-conductors, at the same time raising their quality of life and making their Nations better places to live in.
Going some centuries earlier in Mesomopotamia (the present day Iraq) , the dependant on 'nature' for hunting and gathering proved too unreliable forcing the men of that time to start the domestication of animals and plants , which bore the present day industry we refer to as 'Farming'. We cannot emphasize how many generations have benefitted from this simple practice that was born out of solving a 'problem' of unreliable 'hunting and gathering' practices.
Now on Global Warming;
I think Africa has an opportunity here to make the world a better place as there will also be a levelling of competitive advantages that are poised by the already developed Coal-fired power stations in the developed world as compared to our 'more expensive' current renewable energy set-ups. Infact having mastered to live with the renewable power cost structures we are more at an advantage than those who have not.
By investing to improve the capability of the voltaic cells through joint ventures we can transform NEP (North-Eastern Province) to become a hub of Solar Energy. We have so far had fibre optics that run under-sea , I am convinced as Africa we can even ship solar power to Europe via such medium leveraging on the the hot Sahara desert and regions such as NEP with time differences through by building international 'power-sharing' market grids.
NEP alone as a hub of solar -farms and Wind-farms has such capabilities if we invested on improving the wind-power solar-power technologies. The history of the Chip is an example of how the trajectory of solar power remains unexploited to date.
Bio-fuels might not be the long-term solutions but in the short to medium term I see an opportunity where the spot market prices of products being used by these industries are humming up rapidly. Commodities such as Soya Beans , Ground-Nuts, Palm Seeds, Corn and cotton seeds will continue to see this pressure from bio-fuel proponents. The onus is for us African to up the commercial production of these crops to either produce the same bio-fuels and ship them where the Kyoto protocol carbon emissions capping might make sense or use it to lower our trading deficits due to high Oil importations as we lower carbon emissions.
Other current 'wastes' such as fats and recycling restaurants vegetable oil and other wastes can also drive power production in rural Kenya.
Micro-hydro powers also have largely been un-exploited and the hydro-generators technology hasnt seen as much improvement where turbines can be driven by minimal waters.
Hydrogen cell technology holds alot of potential and we can start investing in as it will be the ultimate power-access democtisizer. We can do this by tapping into the cash-flows that we can generate by acting as the Carbon Sinks (through our improving forest cover) of the Western firms under pressure to trade their carbon emissions.
I am of the view that rather than this being a problem, it is huge opportunity for Africa and even Kenya in particular. We can ride on the Kyoto protocol implementation boom to improve power generation technologies, make Africa a richer continent and lower the global warming.

...
written by Obamab , March 21, 2007

…. My article is not about global warming but the flip side of the coin, the effects of the global warming. The push of global warming underscores its effects on the environment but do little to address the effect of the adopted policy to the economies of the developing nations that this is being forced on.
Unfortunately I do not agree with the assessment by pndiangui that African would be able to export large amounts of energy to other nations because they have the capacity to generate energy through the sun vis-à-vis the large arid areas that a scorched with the sun. Wind power tend to have more promise in a large scale environment than does solar, but where there are wind currents, this are migration routes used by birds, who have used the same route since time immemorial, what happens to them, are they not also worth saving, wind farms in Canada have resulted to thousands of bird deaths, another catch 22
Like Tim Norwood said above, it is a catch 22 where do we get energy to create the solar power components, where do we get energy that is needed in the remote African village, if they are not to use charcoal and wood for fuel. Until we as African are able to provide electricity for the village, produce enough for our own consumption we are screwed in the bigger picture.
Developing nations need to pen there own environmental policy that will guarantee them access to fossil or other pollutant energy. The carbon emission credits being offered to these nations will not lead to the meteoric development so suggested by pndiangui, but instead continue to enslave them to the industrialized nations.
I hate to sound like an anti-establishment but the reality of the Kyoto protocol is that it is loop sided; it covers the industrialized nation to continue producing the emission but try as much in stopping developing countries from reaching the same emission level. The emission levels can be equated with the amount of industrialization. Take for example India and china; they will eventually become one of the most polluting nations in the world.

Africa\'s Energy Supply
written by noel , March 22, 2007

"With the increase in the prices of fossil fuels and the reluctance of the European Union and other developed countries to fund the exploration of fossil fuels, this smells to me personally as another imperialist ploy to keep Africa under-developed." Haha
!!"Why can’t we have large coal burning and dirty oil burning electricity factories?"

Honestly, we really do need to look into other forms of energy.That the lack of explorations in fossil fuel research is a ploy to keep Africa underdeveloped is ridiculous!! Ha!

Africa is sitting on an abundance of the earth's greatest energy source. Unlike in the northern and southern hemispheres where there is an irregular duration and intensity of sunlight, a lot of Africa enjoys a steady daily 12 hours of intense sunlight. This is what we need to tap into!!

I suggest also research into the use of wind energy, it is quite expensive to set up but has low maintainance costs once it is set up!!

All in all, if Africa plays it's cards right it should be able to become a lot more independent in terms of energy!!

robber baron
written by kamau , March 22, 2007

I have to quell my knee jerk reaction to see this as another imperialist plan to do us in and look at the bigger picture. For me the issue is not global warning because China, the United states etc will never enforce restrictions or cut back their emissions and quite simply there is little we can do about.

The issue for us standing on the side lines is if we will develop a development plan of energy independence and sustainability or will we make a mad dash to the bottom on the American model of waste and gluttony.

To a more pragmatic Africa
written by Savco , March 22, 2007

First I have to say this is the best Kenyan forum on the net.

On the global warming vis-a-vis Africa's development, I think Africans need to be pragmatic and put their interests first, which is development.

We should not rush to sign treaties unless we understand who is pushing for the treaty and why. Careful analysis should be done and if the treaty has any potential to stifle our growth relative to the rest of the world, then it's a no-brainer-don't sign it. This will give us some wiggle room to manoeuver in our quest for cheaper, affordable energy.

At the same time, while using polluting energy sources as a cheaper alternative to catch up industrially (everyone is doing it!), we should invest in cleaner renewable sources e.g. wind, solar. Basically do what akina BP and Shell are doing now, if it works for them I don't see why it shouldn't work for us. East Africa has one of the highest wind and solar energy potential in the world and with innovation and the right incentives we can do it. Then we market ourselves as the champions of the environment, what with our wildlife intact there are few places in the world that can match us.

Also it is very instrumental for Kenya and Africa to retain UNEP headquarters at all costs. The environment is becoming an influential global topic and with the UNEP HQ's in Kenya, Africa has the opportunity to wield a lot of influence globally that could be leveraged to achieve our own developmental goals. All in all, one thing is very clear, Africans need to be pragmatic and put their interests above all else instead of signing stuff for some 'moral/philosophical' value or because it's the 'right' thing to do-this is how certain people take advantage of us.

re: To a more pragmatic Africa
written by Munene , March 23, 2007

Then we market ourselves as the champions of the environment, what with our wildlife intact there are few places in the world that can match us.

Also it is very instrumental for Kenya and Africa to retain UNEP headquarters at all costs. The environment is becoming an influential global topic and with the UNEP HQ's in Kenya, Africa has the opportunity to wield a lot of influence globally that could be leveraged to achieve our own developmental goals. All in all, one thing is very clear, Africans need to be pragmatic and put their interests above all else instead of signing stuff for some 'moral/philosophical' value or because it's the 'right' thing to do-this is how certain people take advantage of us.

I agree the environment will continue wielding alot of influence. Like it or not doing the environment thing 'because its a good thing to have or for PR purspusoes' other than because we really KNOW that in principle, it is RIGHT, will not help us. We have to actually get to the level of conviction that not producing clean energy is tantamount to us aiding our next desertification and such.Its really bad to think we do bad things because'everyone else is doing them!! We have to start living our lives guided by correct principles under a changeless core. Such that the changes we are making to the detour climatic adversity effect are in effect REAL rather than cosmetic. Thriving in such hypocricy is just the root cause of such practices as corruption that have taken us where we are today. As Ghandi said we cannot pretend to live our lives in 'departments' , where we can do this right and another one wrong; Life is one indivisible whole and any effort to do otherwise will be seen to bear some severe consequences down stream.

Something more dangerous than global warming - GMOs
written by wuod aketch , August 14, 2008

Our agriculture minister, William Ruto says:

"Science has provided policy makers with concrete proof, evidence and research on the safety of GMOs and Parliament must make the critical decision and pass the Bill.

Where does he hold this from? I guess Monsanto is bribing our minister.
Nothing has been proved on the safety of GMOs so the best practice is to play it safe and not plant these genetically engineered crops.
It has not been proved anywhere neither that this is the solution to solving the problem of hunger in Africa.
Where are our scientists? Are they asleep?
With sound agricultural practice we will not need to import expensive artificial fertilizer from Japan.

Kenya to adopt GMOs, says Ruto
written by wuod aketch , August 14, 2008

Bonyeza hapa : http://www.eastandard.net/Insi...4&j=&m=&d=

Greenpeace warns public on dangers of GMO rice
written by wuod aketch , August 14, 2008

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/b...e_id=99338

"Filipinos have been exposed to the inherent risks of this genetically altered rice without knowing it," said Greenpeace Southeast Asia Genetic Engineering campaigner for Philippines Daniel Ocampo.

He added that aside from inherent risks to human health and the environment, GMO crops could also ruin the agriculture exports and economy of a country like the US."

Some interesting scientifique articles
written by wuod aketch , August 14, 2008

1. Noah Zerbe, Feeding the famine? American food aid and the GMO debate in Southern Africa, Food Policy, Volume 29, Issue 6, December 2004, Pages 593-608

2. Jeroen P. van der Sluijs, Uncertainty and precaution in environmental management: Insights from the UPEM conference
Environmental, Modelling & Software, Volume 22, Issue 5, May 2007, Pages 590-598

3. Les Levidow, Susan Carr, GM crops on trial: Technological development as a real-world experiment, Futures, Volume 39, Issue 4, May 2007, Pages 408-431

3. J.R. Houghton, G. Rowe, L.J. Frewer, E. Van Kleef, G. Chryssochoidis, O. Kehagia, S. Korzen-Bohr, J. Lassen, U. Pfenning, A. Strada, The quality of food risk management in Europe: Perspectives and priorities,
Food Policy, Volume 33, Issue 1, February 2008, Pages 13-26

4. Pingjian Deng, Xiangyang Zhou, Peng Zhou, Zhong Du, Hongli Hou, Dongyan Yang, Jianjun Tan, Xiaojin Wu, Jinzhou Zhang, Yongcun Yang, Jin Liu, Guihua Liu, Yonghong Li, Jianjun Liu, Lei Yu, Shisong Fang, Xiaoke Yang, Edible safety requirements and assessment standards for agricultural genetically modified organisms, Food and Chemical Toxicology, Volume 46, Issue 5, May 2008, Pages 1414-1436

A last one
written by wuod aketch , August 14, 2008

5. Peter Celec, Martina Kukučková, Veronika Renczésová, 5. Satheesh Natarajan, Roland Pálffy, Roman Gardlík, Július Hodosy, Michal Behuliak, Barbora Vlková, Gabriel Minárik, Tomáš Szemes, Stanislav Stuchlík, Ján Turňa, Biological and biomedical aspects of genetically modified food,
Biomedecine & Pharmacotherapy, Volume 59, Issue 10, December 2005, Pages 531-540

1. What are genetically modified organisms?
2. What is the history of GMO?
3. Which generations of transgenic plants are known?
4. How are GMO made?
5. How are GMO detected in food?
6. What are the societal aspects of GMO?
7. What are the risks of GMO?
8. How are the risks tested and evaluated?
9. What is the HGT?
10. How to get GMO allergy?
11. What are the environmental effects of the GMO?
12. What are the benefits of GMO?
13. How can GMO be a functional food?
14. What is AGT?
15. What is the conclusion?
Acknowledgements
References