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We need to know how our energy uses have changed with time and
where forests fit into today’s energy choices. We also need to recognize
when past values determine whether forests are used in energy
production today.
TODAY’S TOPIC: Shifting Uses & Values of
Forests and Fossil Fuels to Build Societies
Shifting Uses of Forests and Fossil Fuels to Built Societies
1. Brief comments on cosmetic fixes by society when trade-offs are
difficult to make when a potential benefit exists
2. History of how society became dependent upon artificial products
made using fossil carbon
(A) Agrarian societies fueled by forest energy – before 1700 CE
(B) Industrialization fueled by coal – mid-1700 CE
(C) ‘Synthetic world’ & cars fueled by oil – beginning in mid-1800
3. Why carbon is the backbone of our society or why humans without
carbon would be a bag of hot air wearing no clothes
4. FACTS on coal, oil and wood – how much energy produced & CO2
emitted when combusted; All are C-based & produce same products
5. Invention of cars, gasifying wood to power cars during fuel shortages,
and wood alcohols/ oil to fuel cars or produce electricity
6. Products, clothing, fuel from trees
7. Fossil carbon molecules and costs to society
8. Back to energy trade-offs: Do we have enough fossil carbon to meet
energy needs of people globally without social unrest or economic
collapse?
QUESTION:
Why did past societies over-exploit forest resources
even though examples of societal collapse existed?
ANSWER:
It is not easy making sustainable decisions in complex
ecosystems with competing choices! Easier to make
cosmetic fixes for a problem – the easy way out!
EX: We shift back to consuming fossil energy and not
renewable energies when oil/coal prices become
cheaper even when we don’t like the environmental
impacts
3
1. Brief comments on cosmetic fixes by society when trade-offs are difficult to
make when a potential benefit exists
2
4
We need to make trade-offs &
understand when something is a
COSMETIC fix
[the hidden drivers not discussed
that could be deadly to your
health]
1. Brief comments on cosmetic fixes by society when trade-offs are difficult to
make when a potential benefit exists
5
In the 1770s - people began to bleach their
skin to give it a porcelain appearance.
WHY??
ANSWER: porcelain skin
suggested that you were
of the upper class –
a lady of leisure
i.e., not a servant.
Johannes
Vermeer’s
‘Lady with
Her
Servant
Holding a
Letter’
Humans have long history of making ‘cosmetic’
decisions, benefits appear to out-weigh the costs
A worthy Goal
in these days!!
http://www.wikiart.org/en/johannes-vermeer/mistress-and-maid-lady-with-her-maidservant-holding-a-letter
1. Brief comments on cosmetic fixes by society when trade-offs are difficult to
make when a potential benefit exists
6
White arsenic, which
is arsenic oxide, is a
water-soluble,
tasteless solid
easily added to drinks.
SOURCE: a by-product
of copper and lead
refining
http://www-
tc.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/images/post_pics/executed_arsenic.jpg
1. Brief comments on cosmetic fixes by society when trade-offs are difficult to
make when a potential benefit exists
Arsenic Powder
So what would you use to accomplish this worthy goal?
3
7
1. In 1600s, sold by agents of a woman known as Toffana of
Sicily to people who wished to dispose of someone [became known as “inheritance powder”]. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/the-five-top-poisons/202/
2. In the 1800s arsenic compounds became widely available – as weed-killers, flypapers, rat poisons, etc. – used in
domestic murders, being cited in many famous
murder cases.Arsenic and Old Lace
was one of many
mystery works
employed arsenic as
poison of choice, http://www.history-magazine.com/arsenic.html;
http://cdn.phillymag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/arsenic-and-old-lace-walnut-
street-theatre-937x527.jpg
What else is known about arsenic & past uses by societies??
Storyline: “Two seemingly harmless
old ladies are poisoning lonely
gentleman callers, and their
nephew .. tries to cover up their
crimes.” http://scenesnaps.com/BSIDE/?p=597
8
FACT: Early 1800’s, rubbing arsenic into face/arms used to (1) improve
one’s complexion, (2) treat skin diseases, and (3) poison
vermin under the name ‘ratsbane’ (British History, 2007).
RESULT of Ratsbane
http://www.gemplers.com/category.aspx?cat=rodent-
control&s_kwcid=TC|4086|rat%20poison||S||4259374585
9
The medical effects of large doses of
arsenic (1984 American Medical Association publication):
hair falling out
severe nosebleeds
losing unconsciousness lasting for several hours
having seizures, to name a few
4
10
A woman would beat on dough to
make bread because it would make
her hands temporarily appear white [blood was pushed away from
the hands during this vigorous
working of the dough]
In early 1900 Finland, chemicals were not
used on the skin but you still had to be a lady
11
FACT: Such kitchen activity did not remove
toughened skin or alter condition of the hand;
it was purely a short-term cosmetic effect.
In Finland, a popular woman could be
in the kitchen and working dough
frequently during a day
QUESTION: What does this have to
do with forests and carbon cycle?
Not all that bad for the family: Get to eat lots of FRESH BREAD!!
History of how we have gotten hooked
on fossil carbon and the role of forests
in energy production
PLUS
Past still impacts how we look at forest
energy and avoid renewable energy
today
5
2. History of how society became dependent
upon artificial products made using fossil carbon
A. Agrarian societies fueled by forest energy –
before 1700 CE
B. Industrialization fueled by coal – mid-1700
CE – ‘carbonization’ of societies
C. ‘Synthetic world’ & cars fueled by oil –
beginning in mid-1800
PHASE 1: Agrarian societies [pre-1700
CE] are dependent on renewable-carbon, i.e.,
wood
It wasn’t FOSSIL FUELS that gave you a
higher standard of living but WOOD
NOTE: world of stone and wood,
powered by animals, wind & water
2. History of how society became dependent upon artificial products made
using fossil carbon
“..[now] ..forged of steel & iron, & powered by steam, coal”(Weightman, 2009)
http://cinebeats.blogsome.com/category/spies-secret-agents/
Getting energy was dangerous
business!! Plus if you were an
engineer, you couldn’t emigrate
from England to control others from
getting the technology
PHASE 2: Mid-1700 CE – Industrialization:
The ‘carbonization’ of
society was driven by:
[1] coal
[2] development in new
technologies
esp. Textiles in Britain [“spies
everywhere in 18th-century
Britain…to unearth the secrets
of Britain’s industrial success”].
2. History of how society became dependent upon artificial products made
using fossil carbon
6
History of how society
became dependent on
fossil carbon:
New technologies esp.
Textiles in Britain
http://cinebeats.blogsome.com/category/spies-secret-agents/
A Watt steam engine,
the steam engine
fuelled primarily by
COAL that propelled
the Industrial
Revolution in Great
Britain
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Revolution
A: The higher energy value of
coal compared to wood
charcoal drove
Industrialization in Britain
Question: DO YOU KNOW
THE CARBON CONTENT
OF combustible
MATERIALS & how much
energy you can get from
combusting it??
2. History of how society became dependent upon artificial products made
using fossil carbon
BUT Fossil fuels did not support the development of society
until 1849 because it was dependent upon the
development of technology, by Dr. Abraham Gesnerin, laid
foundation for modern petroleum industry.
He converted “raw sludge of fossil remains into
kerosene and other fuels” (Weightman, 2009). This innovation
is what allowed the further development of the many other
technological gadgets and products of industrialized societies.
PHASE 3: OIL made possible our
‘synthetic’ world – [mid-1800 to today]
2. History of how society became dependent upon artificial products made
using fossil carbon
NOTE: Chinese in 347 CE drilled for oil and went 800 feet into the
ground using bamboo but technology to convert it to useful products
had not been developed – so wide scale oil drilling did not happen!
SOCIETY INNOVATES and building our fossil-carbon
economy demonstrates well how:
• Human development is
dependent on a series of
connected factors
• Innovation is critical for human
development, but it has to occur
at the ‘right time’
7
Oil became the:
• harbinger of a highly advanced-economy society that would
have been impossible without innovation & inventions in oil
conversion
• cornerstone of industrialization, made fossil carbon the
‘backbone’ of global societies
The chemical industry flourished during this time &
developed multitude of products from oil that stimulated the
making of our ‘synthetic’ carbon world.
PHASE 3: OIL made possible our
‘synthetic’ world – [mid-1800 to today]
2. History of how society became dependent upon artificial products made
using fossil carbon
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_xU7urYVM2Jo/SoV1N6mPP1I/AAAAAAAAADk/X-69ZLubRR0/s1600-h/snake-oil-salesman.jpg
ANSWER: We need to go back to when we searched for salt
during 1850s to find the birth of today’s oil industry whenNo refrigerators & salt used to preserve foods and was
therefore valuable
Salt was sometimes mined out of brine wells. There the salt
was found mixed with a black, murky substance. This dark,
thick, slimey goo which oozed out of the salt mines was a
nuisance. It was called crude oil.
Salt added to meat to
preserve it
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_xU7urYVM2Jo/SoV1N6mPP1I/AAAAAAAAADk/X-69ZLubRR0/s1600-h/snake-oil-salesman.jpg
Miners for salt either offloaded this oil to snake oil
salesman or dumped it. Travelling salesman sold it as
a cure for anything from broken bones to arthritis.Energy for the 21st Century: A Comprehensive Guide to Conventional and Alternative Sources . Roy L. Nersesian, M.E. Sharpe Inc
Before mid-1800s, petroleum seeping into
water wells was mainly a nuisance; except
for a few enterprising individuals who bottled
the liquid as medicines. This medicine was
sold throughout the world as a cure for
everything from headaches to boils
to snake bites; thus the names ‘snake oil’
and ‘snake oil salesman.’
8
Post-1900, the
importance of oil in
driving the growth of
global economies was
apparent:
In fact, World War
I was the first
motorized war, in
which oil played a
decisive role in
the war effort.
Environmental Impacts of Oil
Recognized - The late 1970’s
First recognized that oil
consumption might contribute to
environmental degradation
2. History of how society became dependent upon artificial products made
using fossil carbon
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02178/oil_2178010b.jpg
CARBON CONTEXT: Because of the concerns raised
about human consumption of energy and its potential to alter
climates making societies more vulnerable to disturbances, some
called for society to move from their current dependence on carbon
to produce energy; i.e., move beyond a carbon world.
This call for a shift to another ‘element’
other than carbon
3. Why carbon is the backbone of our society or why humans without
carbon would be a bag of hot air wearing no clothes
QUESTION? Why is this goal difficult to reach?
ANSWER: Because CARBON is the backbone of society
and nature
Why is carbon the backbone of society??
Today, no material exists capable of replacing carbon
to provide society resources and products!!
• Carbon is ubiquitous – it is the backbone and
fabric of almost everything on this globe,
including human bodies (Humans 18% C)
Until society develops some novel technology
to replace carbon, carbon will remain as the
backbone and fabric of our society
3. Why carbon is the backbone of our society or why humans without
carbon would be a bag of hot air wearing no clothes
9
An artists rendition of possible Jovian life
OR in French – “Car rappelons que le célèbre
physicien Carl Sagan (auteur du best-seller
Contact) a imaginé la vie sur des planètes
gazeuses, telle Jupiter. »
Carl Sagan’s ideas of life on Jupiter – no carbon based life
https://astrobioloblog.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/jupiter-life.jpg; https://touslesinsolites.wordpress.com/2012/05/17/cyborgs-et-autres-joyeuseries/
This is silicon based lifehttp://www.projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/images/aliens/devilindark.jpg
What is another name
for silicon? What are
you sitting on when
you go to the beach?
Worm http://eol.org/info/worms
Tropical Bottletail Squid Photo credit: Michael
Bok; http://eol.org/info/443
Jellyfish Credit: Moon jelly, Aurelia aurita by Luc Viatour. CC BY-
SA
FACT: If carbon were removed from
all the products in which it is found,
humans would not have upright forms,
trees would not exist, & food as we
know it could not be grown
Humans would look like these
guys but mostly small, barely
visible to the naked eye!!
4. FACTS on coal, oil and wood –
how much energy produced and
CO2 emitted when combusting
each
10
FOSSIL ENERGY:
Fossil fuels – coal,
oil, natural gas --
currently provide
>85% of all energy
consumed in US
http://www.energy.gov/energysources/
fossilfuels.htm
RENEWABLE
ENERGY:
Trees,
hydropower,
solar, etc
2 categories of
energy on Earth:
OLD and RECENT
CARBON DILEMMA: energy
materials directly linked to
environmental problems
Which produces more energy when
you combust it??
Carbon -84%
Carbon -<50%
Which releases more CO2
into the
atmosphere when combusted??
4. FACTS on coal, oil and wood – how much energy produced and CO2
emitted when combusting each
5. Invention of cars, gasifying wood to
power cars during fuel shortages, and
wood alcohols/ oil to fuel cars or
produce electricity
11
First Automobiles not invented
at right time:
concept of automobiles was designed >700
years before became popular mode of
transportation.
Automobile development traced
back to 1335 CE to a wind-driven
vehicle designed by Guido da
Vigevano. Leonardo da Vinci drew facsimile of
motorized vehicle - a clock-work-driven
tricycle with a differential mechanism
between the rear wheels. Historical records show a steam-powered
vehicle was designed, built by a Catholic
priest (Father Ferdinand Verbiest) for
Chinese Emperor Chien Lung in 1678 CE. http://www.notechmagazine.com/2009/07/guido-
vigevanos-wind-car-1335.html
Wind driven vehicle
5. Invention of cars, gasifying wood to power cars during fuel shortages, and
wood alcohols/ oil to fuel cars or produce electricity
Development of the automobile coincided
with technology to build engines capable of
being powered by fossil fuels
Automobiles became common fixture in
human life when technology to convert
fossil fuels into form capable of powering
cars became a reality
5. Invention of cars, gasifying wood to power cars during fuel shortages, and
wood alcohols/ oil to fuel cars or produce electricity
TODAY
How can we link
forest materials back
to oil and the carbon
cycle??
12
wood-gas powered VW Beetle
With efficiency of 1 mile on a log – you will
need to make many trips into the woods!!
http://www2.whidbey.net/lighthook/woodgas.htm
wood-gas powered VW
Beetle
http://www.green-trust.org/woodgas.htm
G.B. Kobelt and fitted gas producer approx 1942-43;
http://www.fortunecity.com/greenfield/bp/16/woodfire3.htm
circa 1943-44; http://www.fortunecity.com/greenfield/bp/16/woodfire3.htm
Wood fired gasifier in Australia; http://www.green-trust.org/woodgas.htm
The old wood gas car idea is live today using
old technology in remote or rural areas
13
What about
managing forests
for liquid fuels that
can be produced
efficiently
5. Invention of cars, gasifying wood to power cars during fuel shortages, and
wood alcohols/ oil to fuel cars or produce electricity
Cars, Trucks etc.
Liquid fuels from wood: Methanol
Steam and Air
Wood Gasifier
Crude SyngasClean Syngas
(CO2 + CO + H2)
Products:
•Methanol
• Ash
Scrubber
(Tars & Particulates)
Methanol Reactor
Wood or
biomassMethanolGasification
H2, CO,
CO2, N2
Methanol
Synthesis
Gas
Cleanup
Shift
Reactor
14
Not that kind of Alcohol!!
QUESTION: What kind of alcohol can you drink?
What are these moon shiners or hillbillies making!!
6. Products, clothing,
fuel from trees
KEY TO FOREST CARBON:
Producing products &
benefits for many different
niche markets while
remaining environmental
6. Products, clothing, fuel from trees
15
http://www.rayonier.com/Businesses/Performance-Fibers.aspx
FACT: WE CAN USE WOOD TO PRODUCE
any PRODUCT we can be manufactured
FROM FOSSIL CARBON! It just takes more
wood.
6. Products, clothing, fuel from trees
http://wiki.ask.com/Wood?qsrc=3044
Cyclist wearing spandex suithttp://wiki.ask.com/Spandex?qsrc=3044
http://www.ipst.gatech.edu/faculty/ragauskas_art/raga
uskas_biofuels.html
http://cdn.venturebeat.com/wp-
content/uploads/2010/10/biofuel.gif
Baby diapers
Medicinal dressings
Liquid fuels for cars
Artificial silk
Toilet
paper
Bio-oils
Chemicals
Methanol
Transportation
Biofuels
Pharmaceutical
Precursors
Electricity using Hydrogen
Fuel Cells and Chemical
Industry Precursors
Use WASTE CARBON: Forest
Wastes and Landfill Biomass to
produce FOSSIL FUEL Substitutes
16
http://www.iags.org/methanolsources.htm
How about this?? Why is she
putting this up on the screen??
Doug Widney: January 5, 2012; http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/motorcycles-born-to-be-mild-to-the-
environment-at-least/
Motorcycles Born to be Mild—to the Environment, at Least
How to sell the quiet virtue of electric motorcycles into a market marked by
noise and sweat? Try scary acceleration, disruptive manufacturing, cops and
snowmobilers.
6. Products, clothing, fuel from trees
THE TRADE-OFFS: more Carbon in
a material, the more ENERGY
produced, BUT the higher the
ENVIRONMENTAL problems
Carbon molecule and our carbon
economies are integral to human
survival!!
7. Fossil carbon molecules and costs to society
17
TARGETED SOLUTIONS WHERE THE GREATEST IMPACT:
Transportation sector emits 22% of the global CO2 emissions and
consumes 25% of the world’s energy (Azar and Rodhe 1997, Azar et al. 2003).
Potential Repercussions of Fossil Energy
Consumption:
Imbalance in atmospheric carbon cycle
7. Fossil carbon molecules and costs to society
LETS GO
BACK TO
INDONESIA
ENERGY
PRODUCTION:
Air pollution and human
health
7. Fossil carbon molecules and costs to society
51
What is causing
this air pollution
problem?
• Gasoline-based transportation
• Diesel for commercial sector
• 2002 (BPS):– Passenger cars= 3.4 millions
– Buses = 0.71 millions
– Trucks = 1.9 millions
– Motor cycles = 17.0 millions
http://www.bps.go.id/sector/transpor/land/yearly/table3.shtml
What is the most common form
of transportation in Indonesia??
7. Fossil carbon molecules and costs to society
18
52
Motorcycle: Transportation of Choice in Indonesia – mostly
responsible for air pollution
7. Fossil carbon molecules and costs to society
Photos:
Asep
Suntana
http://www.allcarselectric.com/image/100304562_public-charging-station-for-electric-cars-courtesy-mitsubishi-motors
Washington State To Fit I-5 With EV Charging Stations
Bob Leonard July 23rd, 2010
Solution for
Jakarta’s pollution
problem???
Use forest
materials to
produce liquid fuels
that are then
converted to
electricity using
fuel cells!!
7. Fossil carbon molecules and costs to society
http://www.cpbis.gatech.edu/millsonline
A new kind of infra-
structure!
It has to be distributed biofuels
production since TOO expensive
to transport wood beyond 50 –
100 mile radius from facility
19
Start supplementing fossil fuels with
renewables like WOOD because of (1) scarcity
of fossil fuels and (2) increases in
atmospheric carbon
BUT Wait a Minute!!
What about the repercussions of producing
renewable formed ENERGY??
7. Fossil carbon molecules and costs to society
A rising demand for palm oil has resulted in the clearing of huge tracts of
rain forest in Borneo, putting wildlife habitats at risk. Left, access roads and
terraced fields in Sarawak. Photo: Mattias Klum
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/04/20/travel/0420-borneo_8.html
7. Fossil carbon molecules and costs to society
Mexico makes a move to flatten tortilla crisis. By Peter
Orsi. The Associated Press. Seattle Times. Saturday,
January 13, 2007. A6 News.
“A tortilla maker at work in Mexico City. The cost of
tortillas has jumped nearly 14 percent over
the past year.”
GREGORY BULL / AP
http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-
bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=tortillas13&date=20070113&query=Mexico+makes+a+move+to+flatten+tortilla+crisis
President “signed
accord with
businesses to curb
soaring tortilla
prices and protect
Mexico’s poor from
speculative sellers
and a surge in
the cost of
corn driven by
the U.S.
ethanol
industry.”Mexico moves to control tortilla
prices. By Joan Grillo, the
Associated Press, The Seattle Times January 19, 2007 A12
News
7. Fossil carbon molecules and costs to society
20
Their monthly income is 2,500 rupees per month, or about $60.
The rising cost of palm oil has hit the family hard. The
family eats fish one a week, instead of twice, and has cut
its rice consumption by 20 percent. "We'll cut the mutton
to twice a month and use less oil" if the prices continue to
rise, said Janaron Kawle (in red), the head of the family.Photo: Michael Rubenstein for The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/01/18/business/worldbusiness/20080119_INDIA_SLIDESHOW_2.html
Reduced
food
security
7. Fossil carbon molecules and costs to society
8. Back to energy trade-offs: Do we
have enough fossil carbon to meet
energy needs of people globally
without social unrest or economic
collapse?
Kristiina Caveat – this is a big topic and impossible
to cover in class but want to identify a few related to
energy that we should be thinking about
BUT Remember how half the world doesn’t consume
fossil fuels but are dependent on forests for firewood
Who has electricity?
We clearly have not solved the energy problem.
8. Do we have enough fossil carbon to meet energy needs of people
globally without social unrest?
21
Millions without electricity
700550
200
Source: World Bank, DWP estimations
100
Total: ~1.6 billion
2008
8. Do we have enough fossil carbon to meet energy needs of people
globally without social unrest?
SATISFYING a diverse set of rural electricity needs allow
rural development to occur
It’s not just about the
electricity but social unrest
• India: riots over power cuts;
demand outstrips supply by over
7%; 55% without electricity
•China: world’s leading CO2
producer
•Uganda: capital Kampala has
24 hr blackouts; fuel shortages
•Nigeria: only 19 of 79 power plants
work. Blackouts cost $1billion per yr
•Kenya: 96% of rural homes without
electricity access
•Sub-Saharan Africa: power problems
reduce economic growth by 2%
Source: World Bank, Nigerian Council for Renewable Energy, afrol News, Times Online
22
Jalin/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Demonstrators burned tires as thousands of
Indonesians marched on the May 1 holiday to
protest a proposed rise in fuel prices (2013) By JOE COCHRANE, NYT May 2, 2013; http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/03/business/global/03iht-subsidy03.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Indonesia Struggles to End Fuel Subsidies
Indonesia
has
struggled
to End Fuel
Subsidies
8. Do we have enough fossil carbon to meet energy needs of people
globally without social unrest?
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1800
1980 1987 1994 2001
C
O
2
M
e
t
r
i
c
T
o
n
s
B
a
r
r
e
l
s
o
f
O
i
l
Indonesia
CO2 Emissions
Total Oil Production
Oil Consumption
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
1980 1987 1994 2001
C
O
2
M
e
t
r
i
c
T
o
n
s
B
a
r
r
e
l
s
o
f
O
i
l
China
CO2 Emissions
Total Oil Production
Oil Consumption
Energy Supply
- Indonesia turning point
of changing from an oil
exporter to a net oil
importer and for China
a 68% increase in CO2
emissions, 48% for
Indonesia between
1994-2004
Indonesia
became net
importer of oil
in 2004
China in 1993
http://www.eia.doe.gov/
QUESTION: How secure are Fossil
Energy Supplies? Who owns oil
reserves globally?
ANSWER: Governments or State
owned companies
ESSAY, The Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704852004575258541875590852.html?mod=WSJ_World_RIGHTTopCarousel#articleTabs%3Dcomments. MAY 22, 2010. The Long Shadow of the
Visible Hand. Government-owned firms control most of the world's oil reserves. Why the power of the state is back By IAN BREMMER
World’s 13 largest energy companies, measured
by reserves they control, owned & operated by
governments: Saudi Aramco, Gazprom (Russia),
China National Petroleum Corp, National Iranian
Oil Co, Petróleos de Venezuela, Petrobras
(Brazil), Petronas (Malaysia)
World Bank, Nationally Owned Companies
(NOCs) account for 75% global oil production,
control 90% of proven oil & gas reserves in 2013
In 2008
8. Do we have enough fossil carbon to meet energy needs of people
globally without social unrest?
23
QUESTION: What are
the implications of world’s
largest oil & gas
companies being State or
Government owned?
ESSAY, The Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100014240527487048520045752585418
75590852.html?mod=WSJ_World_RIGHTTopCarousel#articleTabs%3Dc
omments
MAY 22, 2010
The Long Shadow of the Visible Hand. Government-owned firms control
most of the world's oil reserves. Why the power of the state is backBy IAN BREMMER
Do you have
ENERGY SECURITY
of SUPPLIES if you
are a consumer or
buyer?
“…The ultimate motive is not economic
(maximizing growth) but political (maximizing
the state's power and the leadership's chances of
survival).”
Within the borders of state capitalist countries, foreign companies
and investors find …national and local rules and regulations are
increasingly designed to favor domestic firms at their expense.
…”
Who will get these energy supplies and who
decides?? QUESS??
BUT Moving beyond the
COSMETIC FIXES is hard for
society and continues to
create conflict
Its all about the TRADE-OFFS:
Solutions to multiple problems need to
address technological, environmental,
business and social factors
8. Back to energy trade-offs: Do we have enough fossil carbon to meet
energy needs of people globally without social unrest or economic collapse?
24
Power Struggle. The people of Iceland
awaken to a stark choice: exploit wealth
of clean energy or keep their landscape
pristine.By Marguerite Del Giudice; Photograph by Jonas Bendiksen, March 2008 National
Geographic Magazine
8. Back to energy trade-offs: Do we have enough fossil carbon to meet
energy needs of people globally without social unrest or economic collapse?
http://icelandreview.com/icelandreview/upload/files/maps/reydarfjord
ur.jpg
Despite having
strong cultural
norms, Iceland still
faced problems in
making choices and
local people had
little say in
economic decisions
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