Sustainability: ENERGY
In the future, electricity and heat will be
generated using solar energy, wind power and fuel cells without producing climate-damaging
greenhouse gas emissions.
In most countries, fossil fuels like coal and
oil supply electricity and heat- and also generate the "greenhouse gases", most
importantly carbon dioxide that lead to the warming of the earth's atmosphere and climate
change. According to some United Nations forecasts, this will cause and 88 centimeter rise
in the sea level and global warming of up to 5.8 degree Celsius. The global consequences
are floods, tidal waves and draughts. In 2000, the largest energy consumers were North
America, 28.7%, and the Asia-Pacific region, 26.9%, which used more than half the world's
energy. They were followed by Europe, 20.8%, and the countries of the former of Soviet
Union, 10.5%, Central and South America accounted for a share of 5.7%, the Middle East,
4.4%, and Africa 3.1%. When it comes to per capita energy consumption, the US again heads
the league table with 8.1 metric tons; Germans are in the midfield, behind Canada, the
Netherlands, Sweden and France, with a figure of 4 metric tons.
In order to achieve a turnaround in energy
consumption, in 1997, in the Kyoto protocol of the UN Convention on Climate Change, the
industrialized countries promised to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by at least 5%
compared to 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012. Within the framework of burden sharing in
the European Union, Germany even pledged to reduce its output of the six most important
greenhouse gases by 21% by 2012. According to data published by the Federal Environment
Ministry, the end of 2000 had already achieved a figure of 18.7%. The proportion of
renewable energy sources- water and wind power, solar energy and geothermal energy-can
significantly and sustainably improve the climatic balance. The energy report presented by
the federal government at the end of November 2001 explained that energy consumption in
Germany now is lower than at the beginning of the 1990 thanks to intensive measures and
support programs. This has been achieved against the international trend and despite
significant economic growth during this period. Today renewable energy sources account for
approximately 6.5% of Germany's total electricity output. According to the federal
environment ministry, the figure should double by 2010. In Germany, in particularly high
rates of growth can be achieved in the use of wind energy. It is already responsible for a
third of the world's output in this sector.
First offshore wind farm:
Nonetheless, much still needs to be done. Germany's "green cabinet"', the
committee of state secretaries responsible for sustainable development, is putting its
trust in offshore wind farms and "virtual power plants" as pilot projects for
sustainable energy production in the run-up to the Rio follow-up conference in
Johannesburg this year. The virtual power plant is intended to examine the potential of a
decentralized energy supply system. For example, fuel cells in the households will be
networked together to generate electricity and heat. Germany's first offshore wind farm
received approval in November 2001. It is also the first such facility worldwide to be
planned outside a 12-nautical mile zone. During the test phase, the Prokon Energy Company
will erect 12 wind power installations in the middle of the North Sea, 45 kilometers from
the island of Borkum, in water 30 meters deep. A decision on the construction of an
additional 196 installations will only be taken when more information has been gathered
about the impact of this new form of energy production. The offshore wind farm is laying
the foundation for one of the largest renewable energy sources in Europe.
Opening Markets:
Per Pinstrup-Andersen, director general of
the international Food Policy Research Institute, on Globalization.
Globalization is like a knife- it can
be very useful to slice your bread, or it can kill people. So the argument that
globalization is good or bad for poor people is not a very constructive argument. The
question ought to be: How can we make globalization beneficial for poor people? There are
two general areas where action has to take place. First, developing countries need to put
in place policies and investments that will make agricultural and other sectors
competitive in a free market economy. The second area is what I call fairness in trade.
What it means that we in the industrialized countries have to open up our markets for the
products that developing countries can produce competitively on a lavel playing field. We
have to do a lot in this area, because while we are arguing that developing countries need
to open up their markets for our products, we in Europe, North America and Japan, are not
opening up our own markets.
Text courtesy: Deutschland N
1/2002 February/March. Embassy of Germany in Kathmandu.
Waste processing
The good student of The European Union
-Catherine Alemu, Journalist, France
Rising incomes and economic growth favoring
consumption are both factors likely to increase waste. For some twenty years
industrialized countries have been collapsing under th weight of these outward signs of
wealth, which they seek to dispose of cleanly as best they can. In the early 1990s France
was one of the first European Countries to take the management of its waste seriously.
After ten years of experience the picture is generally encouraging.
Four billion tonnes is the amount of waste
produced by the OECD countries, Organization for Economic and Development, in the 1990s.
The prize goes to the United States with 870 keg per person each year, or 2.5 kg a day. In
1997, about 64% of municipal waste were put into landfill sites, 18% incinerated and 18%
recycled. Although the productive use of the waste has increased in the industrialized
countries, it is not still sufficient to reverse the trend of rising volumes to be
disposed of. The OECD' forecasts go even further, showing that the production of the
municipal waste, an estimated 540 million tonnes in 1997, will increase by 43% between now
and 2020.
In an attempt to slow down this
development, the European Community has issued a plethora of directives designed to
encourage the productive use of the waste of all kinds: from the largest, with vehicles at
the end of their lives and electrical and electronic product, to the smallest, such as
batteries and packaging. These last have been longest in the hot seat, with the 1994
directive on packaging and waste packaging. From July 2, 2002, in each member State, 50%
of the total weight of waste packaging must be put to good use, including 15% recycled, in
other words reintroduced into the cycle of production by replacing all or some use of
virgin raw material.
French waste in good hands: Have the French
become exemplary eco-citizens? If you believe a survey conducted by the Sofres survey
institute in spring 2000, 80% of them say they are quite prepared to sort their household
waste. More generally, the same proportion thinks that environmental problems are really
worrying. According to the latest statistics from IFEN, the French Institute for the
Environment, the production of waste, excluding waste soil and rock, in France is
estimated at 600million tonnes, most of it consisting of agriculture waste, 350 million
tonnes, and building site waste, 110 million tonnes.
Every French person throws away in average of
more than a kilo of waste material each day. Nonetheless, we can be sure that our
household waste is in good hands. The proof is that France lies in second place in the
sorting hit parade among European countries, behind Germany. With 37 million sorters in
2000 and 44 million expected in 2001, France processes 1.7 million tonnes of household
packaging each year in 250 approved sorting centers, through the household packaging waste
management body, Eco-Emballages. This officially approved company was founded in 1993 in
response to the 1992 law. It has set itself the target of recycling 65% of household
packaging by 2002. Used as energy through incineration is an estimated 25% of packaging
material.
Pushed by the European directive to set up
industries making productive use of profitable packaging , the French system now has its
emulators, esepecially in Spain and Portugal, whose systems function on the same
principles.
Nonetheless, it is still true that over the
whole of the French territory, the household waste "managed" by Eco-Emballages
represents only a minute proportion of this category. According to Ademe, French
environment and energy management agency, about 50 million tonnes of household and allied
waste were processed in 1998. Of this, the majority, 58%, was dumped on tips while 22%
underwent energy treatment and 6% biological processing. There is still a long way to go
before we can reduce the use of garbage dumps.
Recycling: a fully independent industry: The
production of general industrial waste in France is estimated at 95 million tonnes a year.
The product of production waste or used industrial packaging, this non-hazardous and non
inert waste consists of wood, paper, various metals, plastic, glass, textiles, etc. The
producing businesses are responsible for its disposal, forced to send it to appropriate
waste development facilities.
This measure has given birth in France to a
genuine recycling industry. Thus in 1999, according to FeDeRec, Federation of recycling
trades, 30.5 million tonnes of industrial waste were processed by 4,100 specialist
businesses. Put back on the market, these secondary raw materials supply French industry
with more than 40% of its needs. All of which considerably reduces the costs and damaging
effects of the pollution associated with the production of virgin raw materials. The
challenge is considerable, since the aim of this measure is to achieve a satisfactory
ecological balance. The complementary nature of recycling and energy development, fairly
well developed in France, is undoubtedly contributing to the levels of performance being
recorded at the present time.
Who is really not respecting the Holy
Religious Sites?
Please find the communiqué of Israel Defense
Force Spokesperson and followed by the remarks of Greek Orthodox Priest Metropolitan
Ambrosius, one of the few that were released from the captivity of the Palestinian
terrorists that still keep many other religious clerics as hostages in the Nativity
Church. This we have received courtesy embassy of Israel in Kathmandu-editor
The Negotiation in the Nativity Church
area (Communicated by the IDF Spokesperson, 5.4.2002)
The IDF secured the release of four clergymen today from the
Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. The IDF transported the four, at their request, to
Jerusalem, where they arrived safe and sound.
It was clear from their testimony that the Church of the
Nativity in Bethlehem has been forcibly seized by a group of armed terrorists who have
taken hostages, among them members of the clergy, inside the church building.
According to a reliable source, those occupying the church
complex include various PA officials, such as Governor Muhamad Al-Maadani, Abdallah Daud,
Head of the General Intelligence Service, and Majdi Al-Matri, Commander of the Preventive
Security Service. In addition some of the "most wanted" Palestinians terror
suspects have also taken refuge in the church.
Throughout the night, negotiations between the IDF and the
armed Palestinian suspects inside the church complex continued. In the course of these
negotiations, the IDF repeatedly demanded the peaceful surrender of the suspects and
concomitantly offered to facilitate the immediate evacuation of any wounded persons
located in the church.
However, for their part, the Palestinian terrorists rejected
the offer and prevented civilians from leaving the church. In light of the terrorists'
actions, the IDF was forced to view these circumstances as a hostage scenario. The IDF is
working diligently to ensure a prompt and satisfactory conclusion to this incident.
Remarks of Greek Orthodox Priest Metropolitan
Ambrosius<O:P</O:P
I feel fine, since Tuesday it has been rather tiring, we
stayed in the Church, some of us slept.
They, the armed men, broke through a door, and about two
hundred came in. What could we do?
At the Latin (Roman Catholic) Church they broke through the
door and entered into all the churches. |
