"I love that you've brought this to attention. An extensive database of uncommon but resistant and hardy plants/foods could be developed and organized by climate. Ease of growth and processing should also be taken in to account. I will try to…"
A crash course in changing the world.
The Link Between Poverty, the Environment, and Electricity
First and foremost, this post is mostly a quote from The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind where William Kamkwamba talks about the link between the poverty in rural Malawi and the rampant deforestation that has swept the country. This has special relevance to me because I became interested in environmental issues exactly because you can't build a successful society on a dead planet, and because environmental degradation is a key factor which worsens, or even causes, poverty around the world.
Enjoy.
"Another thing that contributes to our energy problem is deforestation. As my grandpa told me, the country was once covered in forests, with so many trees the trail grew dark at noon. But over the years, the big tobacco farmers estates had taken much of the wood, using it to flue-cure the leaves before bringing them to auction. Local tobacco farmers used more wood to build shelters for drying the leaves, but these structures never lasted more than a season because of the termites. The rest of the wood got used by everyone else for cooking since we had no electricity. The problem got so bad near Wimbe that it's not uncommon for someone to travel fifteen kilometers by bike just tot find a handful of wood. And how long does a handful of wood last?
Few people realize this, but cutting down the trees is one of the things that keeps us Malawians poor. Without the trees, the rains turn to floods and wash away the soil and its minerals. The soil - along with loads of garbage - runs into the Shire River, clogging up the dams with silt and trash and shutting down the turbine. Then the power plant has to stop all operations and dredge the river, which in turn causes power cuts. And because this process is so expensive, the power company has to charge extra for electricity, making it even more difficult to afford. So with no crops to sell because of drought and floods, and with no electricity because of clogged rivers and high prices, many people feed their families by cutting down trees for firewood or selling it as charcoal. It's like that."
Enjoy.
"Another thing that contributes to our energy problem is deforestation. As my grandpa told me, the country was once covered in forests, with so many trees the trail grew dark at noon. But over the years, the big tobacco farmers estates had taken much of the wood, using it to flue-cure the leaves before bringing them to auction. Local tobacco farmers used more wood to build shelters for drying the leaves, but these structures never lasted more than a season because of the termites. The rest of the wood got used by everyone else for cooking since we had no electricity. The problem got so bad near Wimbe that it's not uncommon for someone to travel fifteen kilometers by bike just tot find a handful of wood. And how long does a handful of wood last?
Few people realize this, but cutting down the trees is one of the things that keeps us Malawians poor. Without the trees, the rains turn to floods and wash away the soil and its minerals. The soil - along with loads of garbage - runs into the Shire River, clogging up the dams with silt and trash and shutting down the turbine. Then the power plant has to stop all operations and dredge the river, which in turn causes power cuts. And because this process is so expensive, the power company has to charge extra for electricity, making it even more difficult to afford. So with no crops to sell because of drought and floods, and with no electricity because of clogged rivers and high prices, many people feed their families by cutting down trees for firewood or selling it as charcoal. It's like that."
Views: 124
-
Comment by Andrew Jensen on March 19, 2010 at 7:10pm
-
Very good Illustration of the problem. Where else can we find a similar pattern of impoverishment?
-
Comment by Nick Heyming on March 19, 2010 at 7:24pm
-
Very similar to the situation in Haiti...
-
Comment by David Perner on March 19, 2010 at 7:27pm
-
The cycle William describes sounds like it occurs in different forms all around the world. I've actually been thinking of doing a wind power based evokation submission... anyone want to join in?
-
Comment by Rahul Dewanjee on March 19, 2010 at 10:26pm
-
+1 for knowledge share. Worth the efforts. Nice post David:)
-
-
Please take a moment to understand that most researchers are using data the way drunks would clutch a lamp post. Until researcher Hans Rosling uses his cool data tools to show how countries are pulling themselves out of poverty.
-
Comment by Claire Moylan on March 19, 2010 at 11:19pm
-
Why don't they plant fruit or nut trees so that the commerce from that would keep them from cutting them down?
-
Comment by Gilda Lorena Arias on March 20, 2010 at 12:49am
-
Thaks for sharing!!! That was so helpful!!! +1 knowledge share
-
Comment by Shakwei Mbindyo on March 20, 2010 at 5:21pm
-
+1KS. May I suggest you read UNBOWED by Wangari Maathai - a fantastic read.
-
Comment by Ssozi Javie on March 20, 2010 at 5:49pm
-
Its such a shame whats happening in Malawi (its the same story in many corners of the world)!
And yes, poverty cripples the economy.
Because people are struggling to survive, they end up endangering the environment which affects wider communities and puts the world at risk!
Thanks for sharing Agent David + Special Thanks to William for reporting the story. :)
-
Comment by Agent H on March 20, 2010 at 7:39pm
-
Hey David, Did you know that you are the agent with the most points for Entrepreneurship of anyone on evoke? Just for that, I am giving you another +1 for Entrepreneurship. Also because Kamkwamba was an awesome entrepreneur, too. Have you seen his TED talk? He is soooo shy!
Latest Activity
Fourth of July on the Lake
This past weekend was the annual celebration at the lake house in Connecticut. It is amazing that the lake is still so clear and beautiful after all these years. The watershed association has done a wonderful job protecting these waters from the damaging effects of development.The wood grill was finally ready to cook on, so we didn't miss the propane tank fueled grill anymore. The food actually tasted fresher than in the past and was easy to keep fueled.Dad was very proud of the solar hybrid…See More
Stinging Nettle
In this blog post I will focus on a plant that is abundant in our nature, and which is immensely nutritious. It's of course the Stinging Nettle. Let's start with the chemical constituents of this plant:37 % Non-Nitrogen-Extracts19 - 29 % Ash9 - 21 % Fiber4 % Fat22 % ProteinOnce the leaves are drid, their protein content can reach an astounding 40 %, which is much higher than beef, which even under the best of circ**stances can never exceed 31 % protein. In addition the Stinging Nettle consists…See More
The meal
It is 7'oclock, I was late home from work due to an assignment that i wanted to get ahead on. By the time I get home I am feeling extremley tired and I cannot be bothered to make a proper meal. I walk to the fridge and open it to see what there is for me to eat. All of the out of date foodstuffs have been automaticaly thrown away by the fridge, they will be recycled tomorrow as animal feed or something. I see i have organic local eggs and some local cheese. Foods are vacc** sealded for easy…See More
Future
FutureToday is 2020/1/1. It is just like yesterday. The war is still continuing. It has started since 2010. In 2010, that year was a horrible year. Almost every energy ran out. Every country’s governments were crushed down at the same time. There were riots everywhere. All of the big company’s bosses were killed xdeadx in the riots. Troops fought each other everywhere. Food was bought up xawayx at once. There were no more food supplies in any shops. The economy was all crushed down. All the…See More
public servants
The exchange works directly for state and public workers and servants. It gives them credit in exchange for the amount of public work they contribute to the community. The more constructive they are based off a base rate the more credit they recieve.
© 2024 Created by Alchemy.
Powered by
You need to be a member of Urgent Evoke to add comments!
Join Urgent Evoke