MORE AND MORE ENERGY, FEWER TREES
 During a recent DLIST discussion many citizens of Namibia voiced their concern over the issue of deforestation in the country. Needless to say that, globally, deforestation has many localized and widespread negative impacts on the environment and society. In Namibia, a landscape where barely 9.3% of the country’s area is covered with some sort of woodland or forest, and that receives an average annual rainfall of only 250mm per year, deforestation is one of the most pressing environmental problems.
In Namibia deforestation is mainly caused by people cutting down trees for the construction of homes and shelters, for firewood, food and medicines, and also for household utensils, as more than half of the country’s population are still largely rural. The rate at which deforestation is occurring, coupled with the region’s already drought prone environment, can lead to alarming situations of desertification and food shortages. Namibia’s forests presently provide an important means of combating desertification by preventing soil and water erosion, maintaining water quality and balancing atmospheric moisture processes.
So where does the solution lie? Many believe that the main solution, among others, lies in changing the overall patterns of energy consumption, moving towards renewable energy sources that are community-based and reduce people’s consumption of fossil fuels and the destruction of forests. The energy debate has been high on the agenda and was one of the most discussed topics in the Earthnotes festival in the Namibian town of Lüderitz as well as in other locations. A shocking documentary on the effects of our over-dependency on fossil fuels, Crude Impact reminded us of the need to change our consumption patterns and search for alternative, more sustainable sources of energy.
Namibia has high levels of solar radiation that could be converted into solar powered energy and, with favourable wind conditions along the coast, wind and hydro energy seem like options worth exploring—as opposed to the high levels of offshore natural gas that is presently being excavated, and the numbers of trees that are being cut for firewood. But even if these technologies are developed, will they indeed reach, and prove beneficial to the sparsely populated and scattered rural population?
Researchers are also investigating the possibility of bio fuel production. Bio fuels are derived from the biomass of plants, animals or their byproducts and are based on the carbon cycle. One of the plants that have raised some interest in the Southern African region is the Jatropha Curcas. The Jatropha is a genus of plants, shrubs and trees that is said to be drought and pest resistant. The oil produced from its seeds has been used to produce bio diesel in African and Asian countries, some with high energy demand and lack of non renewable resources to produce it. A community initiative in the Western Cape of South Africa has shown how an impoverished community has been integrated into the process of growing and harvesting this plant.
With the rising demand on energy production, the increasing effects that the burning of fossil fuels has on our planet, and the worrying impacts of deforestation … why not turn toward the alternatives? Whether they be as simple as planting a tree for each one uprooted, initiating environmental education at grassroots level, monitoring our immediate environment more carefully, turning toward traditional practices, or encouraging more long term ways of sustainable and cleaner energy production.
About Crude Impact:
This documentary film exposes our deep rooted dependency on the availability of fossil fuel energy and examines the future implications of peak oil— the point in time when the amount of petroleum worldwide begins a steady, inexorable decline. It journeys from the West African delta region to the heart of the Amazon rainforest, from Washington to Shanghai, from early man to the unknown future.
Credits: James Jandak Wood 2006 USA 98min
Find out more about this film at www.crudeimpact.com or visit Earthnotes.
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