Energy, Environment and Development

Jose Goldemberg, Oswaldo Lucon

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2009
• Print ISBN: 9781844077489
• eBook ISBN: 9781136545863
• Topic: Economics
• Subtopic: Sustainable Development
• Index: Economics

The relationship between energy and the environment has been the basis of many studies over the years, as has the relationship between energy and development, yet both of these approaches may produce distortions. In the first edition of this book, Professor Goldemberg pioneered the study of all three elements in relation to one another. With contributions from Oswaldo Lucon, this second edition has been expanded and updated to cover how energy is related to the major challenges of sustainability faced by the world today.

The book starts by conceptualizing energy, and then relates it to human activities, to existing natural resources and to development indicators. It then covers the main environmental problems, their causes and possible solutions. Disaggregating national populations by income and by how different income groups consume energy, the authors identify the differences between local, regional and global environmental impacts, and can thus ascertain who is responsible for them. Finally, they discuss general and specific policies to promote sustainable development in energy.

New coverage is included of today's pressing issues, including security, environmental impact assessment and future climate change/renewable energy regimes. The authors also cover all major new international agreements and technological developments. Energy, Environment and Development is the result of many years of study and practical experience in policy formulation, discussion and implementation in these fields by the authors. Written in a technical yet accessible style, the book is aimed at students on a range of courses, as well as non-energy specialists who desire an overview of recent thought in the area.

Chapter 1

Connections

The connection between energy and the environment has been the subject of many studies, and it is sometimes possible to establish a ‘cause and effect’ relationship between energy use and environmental damage. In 400BC, for example, Plato mourned the lost forests, described by Homer centuries before, which had once covered the barren hills of Greece. In this particular case, it was the use of wood, mainly for shipbuilding and in forges to produce weapons, which led to the destruction of the ancient Greek forests. A more recent example is the soil degradation and desertification observed in some areas of Africa, due to the use of fuelwood as a source of energy. For a more detailed timeline, see Annex 1.

The energy–development connection has also been studied, albeit in a very simplified way: development has been considered as the capacity of an economy to support an increase in its gross domestic product (GDP) – an indicator widely employed by economists as a gross measure of the general welfare of a population. However, GDP fails to consider the issue of social inequalities. The poor not only consume less energy than the rich, but also different types of energy. As a consequence, the environmental impact of the energy consumed by the different groups in society is different.

We propose to study the energy–development–environment connection, initially classifying the population by income levels and identifying the environmental impacts caused by each level. This is especially relevant in developing countries, characterized by wide disparities in income and quality of life within society, which make the per capita income a less meaningful indicator. By identifying how the many social groups consume energy (and from which respective source), it is possible to better understand the differences between local, regional and global impacts and so determine who is responsible for them. Thus, policies can be formulated aiming to reduce environmental degradation at different levels.

The issue of the limits to natural resources and their distribution among the social strata, countries and generations is discussed in relation to these topics.

To pave the way for such a discussion, the physical concept of energy will be reviewed (Chapter 2), then its relationship with human activities (Chapter 3) and their main sources (Chapter 4).

Next, what economists understand by the term ‘development’ (Chapter 5) will be discussed, followed by a factual description of the environmental degradation problems related to energy (Chapter 6) and their causes (Chapter 7).

In Chapter 8, technical solutions that have been proposed for solving the environmental problems are presented and a discussion is conducted on the policies to promote development that minimizes the environmental impacts of energy use (Chapter 9).

Chapters 10 and 11, respectively, present the future trends of energy consumption and issues related to different lifestyles and their preferences.

Finally, in Chapter 12, suggestions from the scientific community to achieve energy sustainability in the long run are reported.

Chapter 2

Energy

Forces

We live on the surface of a planet that exerts a gravitational pull on all objects, attracting them towards its centre. In order for us to move or to move objects, this attraction has to be overcome. This is what our muscles do, originating forces that are the cause of movement. If the body is still, a force applied to it makes it move. If the movement occurs horizontally, it is necessary to maintain the force applied to overcome friction, otherwise the body stops moving.

In nature there are three types of forces considered fundamental:

1 Gravitational forces that exist between bodies due to their mass. Universal gravitational law teaches us that the force between two point masses is always attractive, being proportional to the product of the masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

2 Electromagnetic (electric and magnetic) forces that exist due to electric charges. Electric forces (between electric charges) are attractive when they have different signals (positive and negative) or repulsive when having the same signal. Electric forces follow a law similar to that of universal gravitation. Magnetic forces are derived from charges in movement.

3 Nuclear forces that exist between the particles constituting the nuclei of atoms (protons and neutrons) when they are separated by distances smaller than 10^–13cm.

There are also derivative forces. These are contact forces (friction, osmosis, capillarity, surface tension, chemical forces) that represent the total sum of a huge number of electromagnetic interactions between very close molecules, in which there are moving positive and negative charges. For example, two very clean glass plates, once put into contact, even in a void, will hardly separate. It is as if there were ‘tentacles’ emanating from one surface and holding on to the other, making it necessary to break them to separate them. After the movement is started, however, the force necessary to maintain the movement becomes smaller, but not null.

Concept of Energy

In order to live and move, a human being needs to overcome the attraction exerted by the Earth on all objects. Moreover, there are other obstacles to movement, as is the case with friction. With muscular effort, human beings manage to overcome such obstacles, and thus lift bodies or set them into movement. In order to move a piano, a human being needs to make a lot of effort, whereas to move an ashtray on a table requires little effort.

The concept of energy has evolved over time (Box 2.1).

Box 2.1 The Evolution of the Concept of Energy

The existence of energy in itself may lead to profound philosophical discussions.¹ Its definition is operational, allowing measurement and calculation procedures, without answering its real nature. The idea of energy has existed since antiquity; but the current concept of energy, however, took many years to develop. Isaac Newton (1642–1727) formulated the laws of movement and defined the potential and kinetic energy. Later, Fahrenheit (F) and Celsius (C) established the temperature scales. These scales helped to measure the heat content, but no clear connection with mechanical energy was established. While manufacturing cannons, Thompson (1753–1814) clearly established the concept of converting mechanical work into heat. Thomas Young (1773–1829) a...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Figures, Tables and Boxes
• Foreword to the Second Edition
• Foreword
• List of Acronyms and Abbreviations
• 1. Connections
• 2. Energy
• 3. Energy and Human Activities
• 4. Energy Sources
• 5. Energy and Development
• 6. Energy: The Facts
• 7. Energy and the Environment: The Causes
• 8. Technical Solutions
• 9. Policies to Reduce Environmental Degradation
• 10. World Energy Trends
• 11. Energy and Lifestyles
• 12. Energy and the Science Academies
• Annex 1: Energy, Environment and Development Timeline
• Annex 2: Conversion Units
• Index