“We want to be both mentally and technically prepared for a world without oil.”
by Ducky Paredes
Will we ever have leaders who will be as daring as those of Sweden who in 2005 established the Ministry on Oil Independence which is tasked with taking the biggest energy step of any advanced western economy by trying to wean itself off oil completely within 15 years.
The fact that there are only nine million Swedes total probably makes the job easier to do; still, it is something that ought to be emulated especially by countries with no oil wells. This ministry is working with industrialists, academics, farmers, car makers, civil servants and others to reach what looks like an insurmountable goal: Replace all fossil fuels with renewables before climate change destroys economies and growing oil scarcity leads to huge new price rises.
“Our dependency on oil should be broken by 2020,” said Mona Sahlin, minister of sustainable development. “There shall always be better alternatives to oil, which means no house should need oil for heating, and no driver should need to turn solely to gasoline.”
The fact is that of the 98 nations that produce oil, 64 are already past their peak production and sixty are already into terminal depletion.
Imagine a country that has no need for oil which can only become more expensive with each passing year: “A Sweden free of fossil fuels would give us enormous advantages, not least by reducing the impact from fluctuations in oil prices,” say Minister Sahlin. “The price of oil has tripled since 1996.”
Another government official adds: “We want to be both mentally and technically prepared for a world without oil. The plan is a response to global climate change, rising petroleum prices and warnings by some experts that the world may soon be running out of oil.”
Sweden was badly hit by the oil price rises in the 1970s. Now, however, its electricity comes exclusively from nuclear and hydroelectric power. Still, it relies on fossil fuels for transport. Almost all its heating has been converted in the past decade to schemes which distribute steam or hot water generated by geothermal energy or waste heat. A 1980 referendum also decided that nuclear power should be phased out.
Other countries are also doing something about their oil dependence.
Iceland hopes by 2050 to power all its cars and boats with hydrogen made from electricity drawn from renewable resources, and Brazil intends to power 80% of its transport fleet with ethanol derived mainly from sugar cane within five years.
Even the United States plans to greatly reduce oil imports from the Middle East and plans a large increase in nuclear power, after George Bush said that it was addicted to oil..
The British government, committed to generating 10% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2012, is considering a large increase in nuclear power.
“The UK has Europe’s best wind, wave and tidal resources yet it continues to miss out on its economic potential,” said Jonathan Johns, head of renewable energy at Ernst & Young.
Sweden leads Europe in using renewables. In 2003, 26% of all the energy consumed came from renewable sources - the EU average is 6%. Only 32% of Swedish energy came from oil - down from 77% in 1970.
The Swedish government is working with carmakers Saab and Volvo to develop cars and trucks that burn ethanol and other biofuels. The paper and pulp industries use bark to produce energy, and sawmills burn wood chips and sawdust to generate power.
What it takes to make political decisions that support technological advances is political will, which is lacking in most of those who wield political power in this country.
In the Philippines we ought to try using solar power in a large way. China now leads the world in the production of solar panels. If we wanted to do it, surely, there is a way of providing houses with solar panels at an economically viable price. In some U.S. cities, the electric company gives a rebate whenever a subscriber improves the insulation of his house or installs solar panels. Why can’t we do the same thing here?
The way it looks, we will never get away from our dependence on oil, even as the rest of the civilized world is already on its way to moving away from what was discovered in the 19th century as, at that time, a cheap source of energy which sadly it no longer is.
The world needs to find substitutes for oil. What are we doing about it?
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Lucho Singh writes from Seattle: “A very good friend of mine sent mea text message that her brother was coming over to Seattle for a job orientation to work in a cannery in Alaska and asked me if I could assist him when he comes over. I replied why not.
“But I requested her to send the name of the company in Seattle so I could check with them what assistance they could provide. She responded and gave me the name of the company in Kemore – Alaska General Seafoods 6425 NE 175th st Kemore, Was 98028. Out of curiosity, I went to the company and told them that this person was coming over for orientation. I spoke to Goron Lindquist vice president and general manager of Alaska General Seafoods, and to my surprise he told that me that they don’t do any orientation or hiring people to work in Alaska. His email is godon@akgen.com
“I told my friend not to send her brother over; hope you can warn people to be careful.”
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I wonder how many of us fall for these scams on a daily basis.
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hvp 05.19.08)
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