TY - RPRT
TI - Vast and Boundless: The Dawn of Sustainable Energy from Marine Environments in Southeast Asia
AU - Ocean Pixel
AU - Sim, J
AU - Quirapas, M
AU - Abundo, M
AB - WE ARE RUNNING LOW ON POWERHuman life, as well as human activity, requires resources. From the most basic needs of food production, preparation and preservation, as well as lighting and heating or cooling in the home, to the equipment used in the offices, factories and other places of work, there is one resource behind it all: power. In particular, electricity. Depending on where we live – which continent, which country, which state or city – we see electricity differently. For some, it’s a fact of everyday life humming in the background, constant and reliable, affordable, taken for granted. For some, it is readily available but a potential financial burden if one is not mindful of usage. For others still, supply is erratic, unreliable. And that only covers those of us on the electric grid. In many remote, off-grid areas, people rely on traditional sources of energy like diesel generators. This makes power relatively more expensive and subject to availability of fuel. And then there are those who have no power at all – who rely heavily on daylight to get things done and, after the sun has set, sit by the light of a candle or a fire, or in darkness; who must burn wood, charcoal or waste in order to cook and who preserve their food by means other than refrigeration; who bear uncomfortable, even extreme, weather conditions without the convenience of electric cooling or heating.Worldwide, there are over a billion people with no access to electricity. About 95% are from sub-Saharan Africa and developing countries in Asia, and the rest from Latin America and the Middle East. More than 80% of those affected are from rural areas. Let’s zoom in to Southeast Asia (SEA). Here, many areas experience expensive or unreliable electricity, while about 15% of the population – some 99 million people – remain without access at all. It is clear that the region needs more electricity. In addition to this, the continued growth of the economy and the population in SEA has caused energy demand to rise as well. Taking all these into account, the region’s energy needs are projected to double by 2025. Meanwhile, the resources currently being used to produce electricity are running out. About three-fourths of the current supply of electricity in the region comes from the burning of coal, natural gas and oil, all of which are expected to run out within decades – for instance, coal within 33 years and natural gas within 27 years in the Philippines, and oil in only 9 years in Indonesia. Without another way to produce electricity, SEA could be in total darkness within our lifetime.HUMAN ACTIVITY – AND THE WAY WE POWER IT – TAKES A TOLL ON THE ENVIRONMENTWhen we think about environmentalism, what often comes to mind is garbage, recycling, pollution, mining – all to do with material consumption. Perhaps the fuel we use for transportation will cross our minds. Rarely do we think about electricity having a negative effect on the environment. But like all things involved in human activity, electricity does leave a footprint. As mentioned, coal, oil and natural gas provide most of the electricity supply in SEA. Globally, the percentage is lower but still significant at about two-thirds; renewable energy sources such as hydropower make up about 20%, with the rest coming from nuclear sources and biomass. Coal, oil and gas are fossil fuels. There is some general awareness that the burning of fossil fuels is bad for the environment. Many of us have heard the words being thrown around – global warming, climate change, clean energy, renewables and so forth – but for most people, it is a vague notion. What exactly does all this mean? The burning of fossil fuels emits carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas. While carbon dioxide is a natural component of air and is important to the survival of all species, the burning of fossil fuels causes an overabundance, which has far-reaching negative consequences for the environment. First, it raises the earth’s temperature, causing ice caps to melt and sea levels to rise, which thus leads to flooding and the loss of land as it becomes submerged. Second, excess carbon dioxide combines with moisture in the air to produce acid rain, which damages plants and pollutes water and soil. Finally, it lowers the proportion of oxygen in the air, which makes it more difficult to breathe and also means that we take in less oxygen, which could lead to serious health conditions. Global warming and pollution of the air, water and soil might not alarm us as much as the possibility of life without electricity. It might not be as easy to imagine its impact on our day-to-day existence and subsistence, our needs and convenience, our concrete, present situation. While there is some awareness and action on these environmental concerns, it is slow going, and only a small subset of people are involved. It is nonetheless an urgent issue, and if not addressed, it can have devastating effects on the health of the earth and on human life.THE BLUE SOLUTIONWe have here two crises that, essentially, are two aspects of the same problem: electricity access/supply and the environmental impact of consumption, both stemming from the energy required to sustain human life and activity. Clearly, we need to find a way to produce more electricity while minimising harm on the environment. ‘Going green’ is a catchphrase that most of us are familiar with. Under this umbrella, we lump all things to do with being environment-friendly: recycling and segregating; reducing waste; choosing eco-friendly, reusable or biodegradable options; saving the forests and protecting endangered species. The use of the earth’s resources for human wellbeing and prosperity while retaining harmony with and the integrity of the ecosystem is called ‘green economy’. ‘Blue economy’ is the same principle applied specifically to our oceans, which, after all, cover about 70% of the planet. While they are part of the larger picture of a green economy, the management of ocean ecosystems and activities may require different, specialised approaches. A blue economy refers to the use of marine resources for the economic and social welfare of human beings while preserving the health of marine ecosystems and in such a way that resources cycle through the system rather than being depleted. One such resource is marine renewable energy (MRE), and it is within the context of a blue economy that MRE is to be understood as a solution to our energy problem.
DA - 2018/10//
PY - 2018
SP - 108
PB - OceanPixel
LA - English
KW - Marine Energy
KW - Human Dimensions
KW - Social & Economic Data
ER -