Sustainability and the Web of 7 Es
Energy P.L.Dhar
I.I.T Delhi
Employment
• Dimensions of Sustainability
Ecological -- Climate Change - Water Scarcity
Resource Depletion –Dwindling minerals, metals, Fossil Energy
…………………………………………………Social – in-Equity – Economy -- un-Employment-
- Greed
Ethical – Wars , Terrorism -- Anger
• The WEB
Energy
Ecology
Economy
Entropy
Equity
Ethics
Employment
Economy
Energy
1. Change in Prime Energy Source has always brought about a revolution in the Economy
2. Global Economy has been possible only because of availability of Oil to power IC Engines.
3. When oil finishes ….
ECO
NO
MY-
ENER
GY
• Need for Energy ConservationSlide 10
Energy 1. Fossil Fuels produce CO2 on Oxidation…. stocks depleting rapidly
2. Nuclear waste is highly hazardous
3. Even RES result in GHG emission
4. Hydrogen is not a naturally available fuel; but a carrier of Energy
Ecology
1. Promoting Consumerism by ‘Creating’ Demand is an integral part of Globalizing Economies.
2. More the industrial activity more the Global warming.
3. JOBLESS GROWTH !
4. Over 90% of the workforce in employed in the unorganized sector
Ecology
Economy
Employment
Globalization is increasing in-equity.
In India for every Rs 100 generated by growth the poorest 20% receive only Rs 8.9 while the richest
20% receive Rs 43.3
Inequity is the root cause of increasing social turmoil
EcologyEconomy
EquityEmployment
EQU
ITY-
VIO
LEN
CE
• For example, when unemployment goes up 1%, there's a 4% increase in homicides, a 6% increase in robberies, a 2% increase in burglaries, and measurable effects on rape and other crimes : Milton Friedman
psych.mcmaster.ca/dalywilson/iiahr2001.pdf
SUSTAINABLITY & RESPONSE BASED ON THE 5Es
RES
PON
SE B
ASE
D O
N 5
Es
• Conserve Energy
• Shift to Renewable Sources of Energy………………………………….…………..• Reduce Emissions
• Carbon Capture
• Carbon Trading…………………………………………..…..• Liberalize --Increase growth rate
• Counter intuitive results of increasing energy efficiency– Increased fuel economy of cars boosted their
sales with a net increase in fuel consumption in India
– Increased recycling of aluminum cans , reduced their costs and it resulted in doubling the number of canned soft drinks consumed in US
– Improvement in the efficiency of lighting systems has motivated use of higher intensity of illumination in UK Slide 3
• These only defer the day of reckoning !• Anyone who believes that exponential growth can
go on forever in a finite world is either a mad man or an economist . ---- K.E.Boulding
• Sustainable development demands “Steady state “ working of planet earth
Limitations of this responseR
ESPO
NSE
BA
SED
ON
5 E
s
RES
PON
SE B
ASE
D o
n 7E
s
To evolve a more whole-some response we need to appreciate the role of other two strand of this web , viz.
Entropy and Ethics
ENTR
OPY
L
AW
• The Second Law : All natural processes involve exergy destruction
…………………………………………………………………….N.Georgescu Roegen :
• Like energy matter is also not destroyed , but is continually dissipated: loose metal (matter) molecules get dispersed in the soil and can’t perform useful work like the original chunk of metal (matter).
• You can never recycle 100 %.“Dissipation” is a more serious problem with matter-- Earth receives useful energy from Sun , but no useful matter
• The Extended Second Law : All natural processes involve exergy/material dissipation
• Economist belief : M/C + Labour create value is not tenable : They can only transfer the existing available energy/matter supply from a usable state to unusable state providing some utility along the way.
• What governs the rate of dissipation ?
LIFE STYLE Consumer Society or a Conserver SocietyEN
TRO
PY L
AW
• What is progress, Development ?….. More or less consumption ?
• What is efficiency ?
• Ecological perspective of productivity– Exergy/matter dissipated
per unit output rather than
production per unit time
“ Haste makes waste”L C A
Entr
opy
Law
&Pr
ogre
ss ?
• Limits to Growth : Finite stock of minerals/energy and finite flow of solar energy can not sustain limitless growth !….…shift to sustainable consumption
NO Poverty NO Opulence Society
• Minimizing Consumption ……. How ?Re-look at the need satisfied by the
product & find a better alternative
Inquiry into values => ETHICS
Entr
opy
Law
& D
evel
opm
ent
ETH
ICS
Ethics
Ethics : May all beings be happy !
1. Compassion – sharing –reduce inequity
2. Right Livelihood
3. Do no harm .. Deep ecology
4. Eco-friendly production techniques
5. Do not steal .. Do not take more than your share of natural resources
6. Happiness is a state of MIND
Employment
Equity
Ecology
• QOL is a multi dimensional concept :
• physical well being +• emotional development +• intellectual development +• spiritual development
Living More with Less
You can not fill spiritual vacuum with goods !
ETH
ICS
& Q
O L
• There are many activities that bring pleasure with little need for materials or commercial energy: looking at a beautiful sunset, listening to music , interacting with friends and family, expressing and receiving love and friendship, reading, sitting quietly, taking a walk , practicing whatever spiritual program we may find individually rewarding…….
• A transition to a new set of values will benefit both
• those who suffer from isolation and • those who are overstressed from the
hectic and over programmed life.
Living More with Less
Sustainable energy , Tester et al, MIT PressETH
ICS
& Q
O L
Learning from the web
Energy
Lear
ning
fro
m th
e w
ebThe crisis of
Energy Ecology Economy Employment Equity
Is more a Crisis of Ethics & Values
than a Technological one !
How much and what ….. does one need ?
SMIL 2005
aH
ow m
uch…
..doe
s on
e ne
ed ?
How
muc
h…..d
oes
one
need
? • Your subtopics go here
How much is good enough ?
• Smil : 50-70 GJ / capita ( 1.2-1.7 TOE) <US 350GJ, Germany 180GJ, Australia 250GJ>
• Global Mean per capita energy consumption in 2001 : 58 GJ
• As efficiencies of equipment improve , much more can be done with lesser energy consumption !
• Need for equitable sharing of energy resources … ETHICS
How
muc
h…..d
oes
one
need
?
Can these countries reduce energy consumption?
Transition strategies….
cutting down energy consumption through……
Technology and Product Choice
• The total energy consumption in building a bamboo house is less than 10% of that used in modern RCC houses with fired brick walls
Bamboo Construction
Cha
nges
in li
fe s
tyle
, val
ues
Bamboo Construction
Cha
nges
in li
fe s
tyle
, val
ues
Cha
nges
in li
fe s
tyle
, val
ues
Cha
nges
in li
fe s
tyle
, val
ues
• Thermodynamics and the Green Revolution – Grain production increase by 250% means similar
increase in energy output– Where did this additional energy come from ?– The energy flow increased by an average of 50
times the energy input in traditional agriculture
• About 400 gallons of oil equivalent are expended annually to feed each American
• => we are eating fossil fuels !! • Besides this we have the energy costs of loss
of topsoil, ill effects of pesticides, draining water supplies
Energy efficiency of AgricultureC
hang
es in
Tec
hnol
ogy
Rice and maize production by modern, transitional and traditional methods
Rice production Maize production
Modern (US)
Transitional(Philippines)
Traditional(Philippines)
Modern(United States)
Traditional(Mexico)
Energy input (MJ/ha)
64,885 6,386 170 30.034 170
Productive yield (kg/ha)
5,800 2,700 1,250 5,083 950
Energy input/ yield (MJ/kg)
11.19 2.37 0.14 5.91 0.18
Energy in AgricultureC
hang
es in
Tec
hnol
ogy
The future of agriculture ?
• If we keep copying the western model of high energy intensity agriculture =>– Reduction in number of farmers and need
to find new employment opportunities for them
– Further increase in energy consumption in the agricultural sector
– Decreasing productivity increasing soil degradation, food ‘pollution’, ground water mining
– Increase in GHG emission
Cha
nges
in T
echn
olog
y
ZERO Fossil Energy Farming
• Natural Farming{ Fukuoka} ,Organic farming
• Ideally suited for low farm holding• Small farms have higher
productivity levels• Energy through
– Biogas– Draught animal power– Biomass– Solar
•Why are Agricultural scientists not bringing this to the fore ?C
hang
es in
Tec
hnol
ogy
Food habits – energy perspective
www.arcytech.org
Why are we not looking into this possibility seriously ?C
hang
es in
life
sty
le, h
abits
• 1350 kilograms of corn and
soybeans is capable of
supporting one person if
converted to beef.
• However, 1350 kilograms of
soybeans and corn utilized
directly without converting to
beef will support 22 people!
• Perhaps most effective would be to eliminate meat from our diet altogether
Why are we not looking into these issues seriously ?
Cha
nges
in li
fe s
tyle
, hab
its
• Bottled water
• Frozen foods
• International Trade in fruits and vegetables
• Paper towels …………
Energy wasting habits
ETH
ICS
& V
ALU
ESCountry
Military expenditures -dollar figure
World $1100 b
Rest-of-World [all but USA]
$500 b
United States $623 b
China $65.0 b
Russia $50.0 b
France $45.0 b
United Kingdom $42.8 b
Japan $41.7 b
Germany $35.1 b
Italy $28.2 b
South Korea $21.1 b
India $19.0 b
Total Development aid : 100 b
Why can’t we reduce our defence expenditure and direct it to poverty alleviation ’ Debt relief’ ?
Military Expenditure
Concluding Remarks
Con
clud
ing
Rem
arks
• Sustainability has many dimensions– Inequity and terrorism are as much a
threat as climate change and energy crunch !
• Inequity and poverty alleviation urgently need “Ethical Inputs” rather than technological innovations or economic growth
• ……………………………………………………………………………
• Exhaustion of oil will demand a drastic change in Global economy
• Rather than trying to increase supplythrough massive production of bio fuels, there is an urgent need for demand management
Con
clud
ing
Rem
arks
• A decent standard of living can be ensured with a per capita annual energy consumption of ~ 50 GJ
• Equity demands massive reduction in the energy consumption of affluent countries/sections of society
• Energy conservation is a MUST but not sufficient in itself for sustainability
• Energy requirements can be drastically reduced by appropriate choice of technologies for housing, agriculture, transportation, etc
• RES based decentralized production systems promote pro-poor growth.
• Long term sustainability of society demands transition from – Consumer to Conserver Society
• This needs change in attitudes and values – from acquisitiveness to sharing
• Happiness depends not on quantum of goods we have but the state of our MIND
Value Education – inculcating compassion -- as a part of education system worldwide
Con
clud
ing
Rem
arks
• Historically energy transitions have been accompanied with improving QOL – energy crisis is an opportunity for improving QOL through change in values !!
• As humans we respond well when disaster strikes – let us now respond well before the disaster strikes !!
Con
clud
ing
Rem
arks
THANK YOU