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ENVIRONMENT, ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND ETHICS,
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Learner Guide Introduction

About the Learner This Learner Guide provides a comprehensive overview of the Environment, Energy
Guide… Efficiency and Ethics, and forms part of a series of Learner Guides that have been
developed for Environment, Energy Efficiency and Ethics. The series of Learner
Guides are conceptualized in modular’s format and developed for Environment,
Energy Efficiency and Ethics. They are designed to improve the skills and
knowledge of learners, and thus enabling them to effectively and efficiently complete
specific tasks. Learners are required to attend training workshops as a group or as
specified by their organization. These workshops are presented in modules, and
conducted by a qualified facilitator.

Purpose Environment, Energy Efficiency and Ethics

Outcomes  Environment, Energy Efficiency and Ethics
Assessment Criteria The only way to establish whether a learner is competent and has accomplished the
specific outcomes is through an assessment process. Assessment involves collecting
and interpreting evidence about the learner’s ability to perform a task. This guide may
include assessments in the form of activities, assignments, tasks or projects, as well as
workplace practical tasks. Learners are required to perform tasks on the job to collect
enough and appropriate evidence for their portfolio of evidence, proof signed by their
supervisor that the tasks were performed successfully.
To qualify To qualify and receive credits towards the learning programme, a registered assessor
will conduct an evaluation and assessment of the learner’s portfolio of evidence and
competency
Range of Learning This describes the situation and circumstance in which competence must be
demonstrated and the parameters in which learners operate
Responsibility The responsibility of learning rest with the learner, so:
 Be proactive and ask questions,
 Seek assistance and help from your facilitators, if required.

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 Environment, Energy Efficiency and Ethics

Environment
The sum total of all surroundings of a living organism, including natural forces and other living things,
which provide conditions for development and growth as well as of danger and damage. See also
environmental factors

Definition of environment

1. 1:  the circumstances, objects, or conditions by which one is surrounded

2. 2a :  the complex of physical, chemical, and biotic factors (as climate, soil, and living things) that
act upon an organism or an ecological community and ultimately determine its form and
survivalb :  the aggregate of social and cultural conditions that influence the life of an individual
or community

3. 3:  the position or characteristic position of a linguistic element in a sequence

4. 4:  a computer interface from which various tasks can be performed a programmingenvironment

Examples of  ENVIRONMENT  in a sentence

1. He grew up in a loving environment.
2. We're trying to create a better business environment.
3. These animals were raised in a controlled environment.
4. Many plants are unable to survive in such a harsh  environment.
5. Heredity and environment are both important.
6. Pollution is bad for the environment.

Meanings of environment

Descending from the Middle French preposition environ “around,” environment , in its most basic

meaning, is “that which surrounds.” When preceded by the and unmodified, it usually refers to the natural
world (“please don’t litter if you care about the environment”). In a less physical, more extended sense, it
may signify the circumstances and conditions that make up everyday life (“He grew up in a

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loving environment.”) The word may also be applied in highly specialized ways, denoting, for example,
“the position of a linguistic element” (“how g gets pronounced in Italian depends upon its
phonetic environment”) or “a computer interface from which various tasks can be performed” (“the app
works in varied environments").

Synonym Discussion of environment

1. background,
2.  setting, 
3. environment,
4.  milieu, 
5. mise-en-scène

Mean the place, time, and circumstances in which something occurs.

 Background often refers to the circumstances or events that precede a phenomenon or development (the

shocking decision was part of the background of the riots).

 Setting suggests looking at real-life situations in literary or dramatic terms (a militant reformer who was
born into an unlikely social setting).

 Environment Applies to all the external factors that have a formative influence on one's physical, mental,
or moral development (the kind ofenvironment that produces juvenile delinquents). 

Milieu applies especially to the physical and social surroundings of a person or group of persons (an
intellectual milieu conducive to artistic experimentation). 

MISE-EN-SCÈNe strongly suggests the use of properties to achieve a particular atmosphere or theatrical

effect (a gothic thriller with a carefully crafted mise-en-scène).

Definition of environment for Students

1. 1:  a person's physical surroundings He lives in a comfortable rural environment.

2. 2:  the surrounding conditions or forces (as soil, climate, and living things) that influence a plant's
or animal's characteristics and ability to survive

3. 3:  the social and cultural conditions that affect the life of a person or community a happy
home environment

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 Medical Definition of  ENVIRONMENT
1. 1:  the complex of physical, chemical, and biotic factors (as climate, soil, and living
things) that act upon an organism or an ecological community and ultimately determine its
form and survival
2. 2:  the aggregate of social and cultural conditions that influence the life of an individual
or community

Environment is what is around something. It can be living or non-living things. It

includes physical, chemical and other natural forces. Living things live in their environment. They
constantly interact with it and change in response to conditions in their environment. In the environment
there are interactions between plants, animals, soil, water, and other living and non-living things.

The word 'environment' is used to talk about many things. People in different fields of knowledge
(like history, geography or biology) use the word environment differently. Electromagnetic environment
is radio waves and other electromagnetic radiation and magnetic fields. The galactic environment refers to
conditions between the stars.

In psychology and medicine a person's environment is the people, physical things, places, and events that
the person lives with. The environment affects the growth and development of the person. It affects the
person's behavior. It affects the person's body, mind and heart.

Example of natural environment

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Built environment

Natural environment

In biology and ecology, the environment is all of the natural materials and living things,
including sunlight. This is also called the natural environment. Some people call themselves
environmentalists. They think we must protect the environment, to keep it safe.  Things in the natural
environment that we value are called natural resources. For example; fish, sunlight, and forests. These
are renewable resources because they come back naturally when we use them. Non-renewable
resources are important things in the environment that are limited  for example, ores and fossil fuels.
Some things in the natural environment can kill people, such as lightning.

Environment is defined as the total planetary inheritance and the totality of all resources.It includes all the
biotic and abiotic factors that influence each other.While all living elements- the
birds,animals,plants,fisheries etc.-are biotic elements, abiotic elements include air,water,sunlight etc. A
study of the environment then calls for a study of the inter-relationship between these biotic and abiotic
components of the environment.

Natural resource

A natural resource is anything that people can use which comes from the natural environment. People
do not make natural resources, but gather them. Examples of natural resources

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are air, water, wood, oil, wind energy, iron, and coal. Refined oil and hydro-electric energy are not natural
resources because people make them.

The natural resource of wind powers these 5MW wind turbines on this wind farm in Belgium

Supply

We often say there are two sorts of natural resources: renewable resources and non-renewable resources.

 A renewable resource is one which can be used again and again. For
example, soil, sunlight and water are renewable resources. However, in some circumstances, even
water is not renewable easily. Wood is a renewable resource, but it takes time to renew and in
some places people use the land for something else. Soil, if it blows away, is not easy to renew.

 A non-renewable resource is a resource that does not grow and come back, or a resource that
would take a very long time to come back. For example, coal is a non-renewable resource. When
we use coal, there is less coal afterward. One day, there will be no more of it to make goods. The
non-renewable resource can be used directly (for example, burning oil to cook), or we can find a
renewable resource to use (for example, using wind energy to make electricity to cook).

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Soil, a natural resource for farming

Most natural resources are limited. This means they will eventually run out. A perpetual resource has a
never-ending supply. Some examples of perpetual resources include solar energy, tidal energy, and wind
energy.[1]

Some of the things influencing supply of resources include whether it is able to be recycled, and the
availability of suitable substitutes for the material. Non-renewable resources cannot be recycled. For
example, fossil fuels cannot be recycled.

Demand

The demand for resources can change with new technology, new needs, and new economics (e.g. changes
in cost of the resources). Some material can go completely out of use, if people do not want it any more.
Demand of many natural resources is very high, but availability of some, such as precious metals, is very
low.

Availability

All places have their own natural resources.When people do not have a certain resource they need, they
can either replace it with another resource, or trade with another country to get the resource. People have
sometimes fought to have them (for example, spices, water, arable land, gold, or petroleum).

When people do not have some natural resources, their quality of life can get lower. So, we need to
protect our resources from pollution. For example, when they can not get clean water, people may
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become ill; if there is not enough wood, trees will be cut and the forest will disappear over time
(deforestation); if there are not enough fish in a sea, people can die of starvation. Renewable resources
include crops, wind, hydroelectric power, fish, and sunlight. Many people carefully save their natural
resources so that others can use them in future.

Historical environment

Environment is the events and culture that a person lived in. A person's beliefs and actions are dependent
on his environment. For example, Thomas Jefferson and Julius Caesar owned slaves. Modern people
mostly think it's wrong to own slaves. But in Jefferson's and Caesar's environments slavery was normal.
So, their actions did not look as wrong in their societies.

Physical and cultural settings

 Environment (biophysical), the physical and biological factors along with their chemical
interactions that affect an organism or a group of organisms

 Environmental epidemiology

 Environmental health

 Environmental psychology

 Environment (systems), the surroundings of a physical system that may interact with the system
by exchanging mass, energy, or other properties

 Natural environment or physical environment, in ecology, consisting of all living and non-living

things

 Environmental art

 Environmental determinism

 Environmental movement

 Environmental policy

 Environmental quality

 Environmental science, the study of the interactions among the physical, chemical, and
biological components of the environment
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  Built environment, constructed surroundings that provide the setting for human activity, ranging
from the large-scale civic surroundings to the personal places.

 Knowledge environment, social practices and technological and physical arrangements intended
to facilitate knowledge building, decision making, inference or discovery

 Social environment, the culture that an individual lives in, and the people and institutions with
whom they interact

In arts and entertainment

 Environment (film), a 1918 silent film

 Environment (magazine), a peer-reviewed, popular environmental science publication founded in

1958

 Environments (album series), a series of LPs, cassettes and CDs depicting natural sounds

In computing

 Environment (type theory), association between variables names and data types in type theory

 Deployment environment, in software deployment, a computer system in which a computer

program or software component is deployed and executed

 Desktop environment, the graphical user interface to the computer

 Environment mapping, an image-based lighting technique in computer graphics

 Environment variables, the dynamic set of variables defined in a process

 Integrated development environment, a type of software that assists computer programmers in

developing software

 Runtime environment, a virtual machine state which provides software services for processes or
programs while a computer is running

Energy Efficiency
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‘The current energy system is not sufficiently reliable or affordable to support widespread economic
growth. The productivity of one-third of the world’s people is compromised by lack of access to
commercial energy, and perhaps another third suffer economic hardship and insecurity due to unreliable
energy supplies.”

ENERGY TODAY AND TOMORROW

Until humans harnessed energy, they were essentially no different from any other animals. Social
organization and the use of tools to increase speed, strength and combativeness certainly improved their
competitive status and survival: however, the major divergence in the evolutionary path taken by Homo
sapiens awaited the exploitation of external energy sources. The earliest was fire, which enabled people to
modify or remove forests and alter vegetation in a way that human strength on its own could not. Later,
the power and rapidity of animals such as oxen and horses greatly extended the ability to do work, while
the flight of birds was employed to hasten communication. The use of fire and water promoted early
agriculture, while capturing the energy of wind facilitated travel across water and provided a power
source on land. The sophistication of energy sources has increased steadily over the past century but the
fundamentals have changed little. Organic food is still the source of metabolic energy for humans, as it
always has been. Animal power is still widely used in agriculture in developing countries. Most of our
extra-human energy sources remain based on fire, water and wind; only the means of using them and the
fuel for the fire have changed. Wood has largely been replaced by the fossil fuels of coal, oil and gas.
Storing the force of wind and water as electrical power has superseded converting it to mechanical
energy. The transformation of solar energy into electricity constitutes a variation on the process of
photosynthesis by which plants store solar energy as biomass. The development of nuclear power and the
use of geothermal and tidal energy represent new departures from traditional energy sources.

Today, slightly more than one billion people in the industrialized countries (about 20 per cent of the
world’s population) consume nearly 60 per cent of the total energy supply whereas just under five billion
people in developing countries consume the other 40 per cent Even taking into account such factors as
colder temperatures in some industrialized countries, this imbalance is significant. The two billion poorest
people ($1,000 annual income per capita or less), a small but growing share of whom live in shanty towns
with most still scattered in rural areas, use only 0.2 tOE (tonnes of oil equivalent ) of energy per capita
annually whereas the billion richest people ($22,000 annual income per capita or more) use nearly 25
times more at 5 tOE per capita annually.

We are living in a world that can no longer do without energy - so much so that some people are calling
for a declaration of the universal ‘right to energy’. At the same time, an analysis of the different sources
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of energy (fossil fuels, nuclear and renewable energy) demonstrates that each of them has incontrovertible
weaknesses to which attention must be drawn. fossil fuels will remain the most widely used form of
energy throughout the world for the next 100 years. They offer considerable advantages, the most obvious
of which is ease of use, for they are simple to process. This is particularly the case with coal, which is
readily exploited in many developing countries although its emissions could cause serious environmental
problems. Oil is also easy to use and for the time being is offered at a relatively low price. As regards
natural gas, which is destined to develop, large fields have been discovered in the Russian Federation,
Iran, the Middle East, Algeria and Norway. Its main advantage is that it releases less carbon dioxide
(CO2) per unit of energy than oil.

However, a major drawback of fossil fuels is their finite nature. Produced a billion years ago, they will
inevitably run out. The period of grace available to humanity before they are exhausted is estimated at
1,000 years. This may seem long compared with a human lifetime but is extremely short in astrophysical
terms. As regards oil, operators foresee no problems for the next 50 years. After that date, it is to be
feared that the only remaining deposits would be those in the Caspian Sea or the Middle East. The risks of
conflicts resulting from such a concentration are clear.

Equally if not more important are climatic risks, for fossil fuels release CO2, a gas which, it is now
recognised, contributes significantly to unprecedented climatic change. The report prepared for the United
Nations Affiliated Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in Shanghai in January 2001 showed that
global temperatures are rising faster and higher than most experts feared only a short time ago – faster
than at any time during the past 10,000 years. Scientists say the cause of the warming is clear: the
inexorable increase of carbon gases that act as an atmospheric greenhouse and trap heat close to the
earth’s surface. The consequences of this are increasingly severe weather, such as storms, droughts and
floods, which will have major impacts on human settlements, food production, disease patterns and
natural ecosystems. These are likely to be greatest for those most vulnerable, i.e. the poor in developing
countries. The 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which set legally binding targets for reducing greenhouse gas
emissions in industrialized countries, has yet to be implemented; indeed, a follow-up meeting in The
Hague in 2000 ended in failure and acrimony, pitting the United States of America, the world’s leading
polluter, against the European Union, which was demanding that Washington clean up the dirty industries
that account for a quarter of all greenhouse gases.’ The recent decision of the United States of America
Government not to adhere to the Protocol is seen by many as a major setback to progress in this area.

At the same time as oil professionals grapple with the question of global warming, they are now
confronted with issues of air pollution as concerns about environmental harm, and particularly the

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negative effects on human health, of burning fossil fuels have risen to the forefront of national agendas in
many countries. Accidents such as oil spills or leakage from gas pipelines are another drawback and their
extensive environmental damage is well known. Finally, the world’s economies are particularly sensitive
to the price of oil (and gas), and sound management of this resource is therefore becoming imperative and
cannot be left to the sole responsibility of the producer countries and distributing companies.

Fuel cells, those big batteries that generate energy from hydrogen and oxygen much more efficiently than
a conventional automobile engine does from petrol, are seen by many as a solution as they are silent and
produce only harmless water vapour as a by-product. However they have yet to be put to use on a massive
scale in the automobile industry where the primary obstacle is the existing infrastructure: the world is not
organized to deliver hydrogen on demand and may not be for many years to come.8 As to nuclear energy,
the three major difficulties encountered in its use are significant: firstly, its acceptability to the public;
secondly, its particularly drastic security criteria, which require exceptionally well-trained personnel and
compliance with draconian procedures, and last, but far from least, the disposal of the final waste
products. Although nuclear power is often suggested as a partial solution to climate change, these
difficulties make it prone to serious risks: it can be used to produce material for nuclear weapons and thus
lead to major security problems; the disposal of radioactive waste is still an unresolved environmental
issue, and ensuring complete reactor safety is a formidable challenge, especially in countries without
effective legal controls.

There is a strong call for renewable energy sources to be increasingly used and enhanced in terms of both
quality and quantity. Renewable energy is based on numerous substances, the most important of which is
water (hydroelectric power) and biomass (wood, agricultural fuels), which provides the heat for cooking,
home heating and power generation for countless millions throughout the world. Wind and solar energy
are still littleused techniques. By definition, these energies do not play a part in the buildup of carbon
dioxide in the atmosphere, however, the extent of the environmental damage which they cause should not
be underestimated. The construction of wind-power installations and the conversion of farm land for
energy purposes limits the area that could be used for traditional agriculture. Hydroelectric energy, with
its development of extensive dams, has led to major ecological changes and the perception of hydropower
has gone from an environmental good (renewable, clean, fostering an aesthetically pleasing landscape) to
an environmental bad (destroying native habitats and ecosystems, extinguishing or threatening species,
eliminating beautiful landscapes, preventing natural variations). Solar thermal power has yet to penetrate
the market on any appreciable scale. It must also be pointed out that the costs of solar energy, wind power
and biomass currently are higher than those of coal, oil, gas and nuclear power, putting them well beyond
the reach of most people.
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ENERGY POVERTY

More than half the world’s population lives in rural areas, nearly 90 per cent of them - some 2.8 billion -
in the developing countries. The vast majority is dependent on the traditional fuels of wood, dung and
crop residue, often using primitive and inefficient technologies. For many, this combination barely allows
fulfilment of the basic human needs of nutrition, warmth and light, let alone the possibility of harnessing
energy for productive uses, which might begin to permit them to escape from the cycle of poverty.

Demographic trends risk exacerbating the situation. While most of those today without adequate energy
services are in rural areas, urban populations are projected to grow more rapidly. Far from easing rural
energy poverty, this is likely to reinforce the preoccupation of policy makers with urban issues, while
increasing competition for rural energy supplies. Disease, in particular AIDS, will also take its toll on the
development capacity of the worst affected countries.

It is calculated that an amount of energy roughly equivalent to 7 per cent of the world’s current electricity
production could cover basic human needs. In an age of apparently advanced technological and
management skills, we have failed in this relatively modest challenge. Dependence on traditional fuels
will long remain a reality, given its level (reaching over 9.5 per cent in some countries). It is not so much
their use that is wrong as the manner in which they are being managed and exploited, not always at a
sustainable rate. Inefficient technologies and appliances mean that precious woodfuel resources are
wasted and high indoor smoke pollution severely impairs health. A gradual transition to modern energy
systems (which may utilise traditional energy sources) must be achieved if sustainable economic activity
is to be realized in rural areas.

While precision is difficult, most energy in rural areas is used for residential purposes, predominantly for
cooking. Energy in itself may not be a basic human need, but it is critical to the alleviation of hunger.
Staple foods, on which poor people depend, are often inedible when raw and energy is also needed for
food production and preservation. In cold climates it is also essential for adequate warmth.

In addition to household needs, there is an increasing demand for energy in the provision of rural services
such as water supply, health care and education, and for productive activities such as agriculture and
small industries. Ideally, all these needs should be met in an efficient, costeffective and environmentally
sustainable manner. In many cases, this is possible only through a transition from traditional energy
sources and technologies to more efficient ones.

As much traditional energy use occurs outside the commercial sector, data on it is geographically patchy
and discontinuous. This statistical invisibility of much rural energy use reinforces its neglect and hampers
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the development of effective policy. In addition, the enormous variety of energy use patterns, even within
quite short distances, makes extrapolation dangerous.

Although some developing countries long ago recognized the importance of energy in rural development,
it was only following the socalled energy crisis in the early 1970s that rural development policy makers
began to show greater concern for the energy constraints facing them. As the world suddenly entered an
era of rising energy prices and unstable petroleum-based fuel supplies, these factors threatened to
accelerate the perceived gradual environmental depletion associated with rural people’s heavy reliance on
woodfuels and agricultural residues to meet their basic energy needs. As supplies of petroleum-based
fuels became more costly and unreliable, it was believed that people would have to switch back to
traditional energy sources, thus increasing the environmental damage.

On the demand side of the biomass equation, efforts have focused on improved cooking stoves. With
nearly half the world’s population cooking with traditional biomass, greater fuel efficiency is attractive.
Acceptance by rural populations has not been as high as hoped, however, and, even where improved
stoves were adopted, fuel savings are less than anticipated. Too often the stoves do not meet users’ needs
closely enough and are not sufficiently robust for real-life conditions. They do, however, assist in other
important ways, especially in reducing indoor pollution.

In seeking to bring energy supplies to rural areas, one encounters a certain paradox, however. Modern
energy sources, although indispensable to the functioning of society, often account for a relatively small
percent of total national energy consumption. However, since their exploitation is inseparable from
modern technologies of energy transformation and end use, virtually all investments in the energy sectors
of developing countries have been made in the modern sector.

Sometimes these promote decentralized electrification, for example, with renewable energy sources.
More often they focus on grid extension. Although the number of rural households with access to
electricity doubled in the 1970 - 1990 period, this barely kept pace with population increase.

In general, the costs of electrification were underestimated while its benefits were overstated. By itself,
electrification does not guarantee economic development and its benefits tend to accrue to the wealthier
groups in electrified areas. It is increasingly recognised that electrification must be part of a much broader
development package. Rural electrification contributes to, but is not a substitute for, other interventions.
Conversely, although traditional energy sources are dominant in the overall energy balances of many
developing countries, they have attracted little or no investment, despite the fact that relatively small sums
could make significant differences.

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This imbalance between consumption and investments has resulted in an obvious bias of energy
development towards the modern sector. In the 1960s it could have been argued that this was valid, given
the expectation that economic growth and development would result in a harmonious transition from
traditional to modern energy use. However, actual experience has shown quite a different pattern. Low
growth and reduced incomes have resulted in widespread stagnation in both urban and rural areas, and
these factors are prolonging the intensive use of traditional fuels as the most accessible, although not
necessarily the most economical, source of energy for a rapidly growing population. The pressure on
biomass resources and arable land in a fragile environment may put at risk the long-term prospects of an
entire economy, with the most serious consequences for the poorer strata of the population.

The international development aid community recognised the importance of traditional energy issues and
over the past two decades has devoted substantial resources to the sub-sector. Numerous studies carried
out since the Nairobi Conference on Renewable Energy in 1981 have contributed to a build-up of
information on the sector and its principal economic agents, notably lower income households and the
informal commercial and small industrial sectors, which had never been systematically surveyed before.
Nevertheless, it must be noted that much of the assessment and analysis made was more qualitative than
quantitative. Exceptions would include a 1980 FA0 study for the whole African continent and other FA0
and World Bank studies on woodfuel consumption.

The assistance that specifically addressed the needs of the traditional energy sector included the
development of, inter alia:

 household energy strategies, at the national, urban and rural levels;

 . consumer surveys;
 improved stoves dissemination programmes and;
 biomass resource inventories.

In parallel with these programmes, a growing number of other public and private sector agencies have
undertaken similar studies. The resulting accumulation of data and reports has been instrumental in
increasing the understanding of the sector and of its development problems and opportunities.
Nevertheless, more recent efforts to consolidate and integrate this knowledge have highlighted a
dominant orientation towards technology and exposed major gaps that remain to be explored.

Environmental Leadership, Action and Ethics

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Ecotourism is a phenomenon that has grown substantially in the last thirty years. It has reached countries
all around the world from Central and South America to Asia. And with its growth has come a growing
interest in whether or not ecotourism is as successful as it is thought to be.

Ecotourism grew from being just about protection of the environment to include protection of the local
communities. But there has been the potential of actually doing more harm than good in that sense.
A case study by Mike Stone and Geoffrey Wall was done on ecotourism in Hainan, China, where a park
intended for conservation was built. According to their study, “at least one quarter of residents surveyed
indicated that the park has had no effect or only negative effects (mainly in terms of lost jobs and land) on
their lives.” The residents tend to be the ones that suffer when ecotourism becomes more prominent in the
community, even if it is intended to help them.

Turbulence for Turbines—Gone with the Prospect for Wind?

Vacationing at the beach always provokes amazing sensory experiences. Everything about lounging in the
sand soaking up sunshine, hearing waves crash along the shore, feeling a gentle breeze, and watching a
sunset infused with citrus colors relaxes the mind, body, and soul. Now picture an arc of sparkling white
turbines dotting the horizon and reflecting the setting sun, their blades twirling as waves tumble below.
The image in itself is striking, made only more majestic by the prospect of a clean energy future. The
ability to build turbines that each produce 6 megawatts of clean energy in offshore locations seems unreal.
Wind capturing technology has made incredible strides since grain-grinding mills first became
widespread, but something is holding it back from reaching its potential.

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“Row Of Turbine Windmills Offshore At Sunset,” Desktop Nexus 2014

Machinations on Machines: Turbines Take the Stand in Politics

The energy market has always been at the forefront of politics, though recent arguments seem like no
more than a pissing match between the fossil fuel industry and everyone else. Many decisions have been
made not for the overall pros or cons of a particular sector, but based on who can raise more funding—
and more hell—in Washington.

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Subsidies, Tax-breaks, and the Obama Administration

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The Obama administration has made it a point to support and promote renewable energy resources. In
2012, President Obama’s campaign focused on wind energy as a realistic and effective supplier of power
for states like Iowa and Colorado, promising to extend a renewable energy production tax credit while he
was in office. Now, in 2014, over $14 billion has been granted to wind energy contractors since 2009,
either in the form of this production tax credit, or as part of a renewable energy subsidy afforded by
Obama’s stimulus package.

Benefits of Energy Efficiency

 Useful for reducing long-term energy consumption

• Not dispatchable

• Permanent energy (kWh) reduction - Permanent peak demand (kW) reduction • Size of impact is
predictable

• No reduction or shift in customer value, comfort or output

A Trailblazing Industry

In the energy sector, some great pioneers such as those mentioned above offer a wide range of “green”
products and services:

 LED Bulbs

 Generators, electrical transformers, energy distributors with less power dissipation

 Wind turbines

 Solar power transformers

 Marine energy

 Optimizations in the use of hydropower

 Wind and solar farms

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These are some examples of energy efficiency, a commitment to renewable energy, along with a
consequent decrease in the emission of CO2.

However, to get to this point where innovation has led companies to overhaul their product portfolio, we
have evolved by churning through different stages and incorporating new ideas and concepts:

 Those of us who studied engineering in the ’60s heard about logical theories of efficiency: getting
the job done using the least possible energy. However, I do not recall anyone mentioning the
environment. One professor said that “fireplaces are a symbol of progress.” That was the
prevailing mindset at the time.

 In the so-called “energy crisis” of the ’70s, we learned that available energy sources were scarce
and that we need to avoid wasting energy. Consultants made a fortune designing energy saving
plans.

 In the late ’80s, the concept of sustainability emerged, which reflected people’s concern for future
generations and the need for sustainable development that includes making responsible use of
resources, preventing pollution, minimizing waste and promoting recycling.

 Since then, the idea of global warming has led to a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions and,
along those lines, it is now common to talk about the carbon footprints of products being sold as a
quantitative element, symbolically linked with the idea of the responsible enterprise.

The furthering of these concepts has fostered innovation aimed at not only creating useful products with
lower energy consumption, but also developing new, less-polluting technologies, optimizing the use of
fossil fuels, making nuclear power plants safer and using renewable resources.

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Green products portfolio. Source: Philps

The central role of ethics

From the ethical point of view, it is plausible to leverage available resources more effectively, stop
polluting and take advantage of renewable energy. Living with a sense of stewardship — not as despotic
rulers of the natural environment — is an ethical demand that becomes an eye opener when we discover
that the means we have are actually a gift, and that we are not the absolute owners of them.

Concern for the common good also leads to nurturing of the natural environment, to make it more human
so that it may continue to contribute to life on our planet. And all the while focusing on the current and
future population.

It can be argued that “green products” are more expensive. But that is not always true; such an assertion
needs to be qualified. A washing machine may be more expensive but save on power consumption,
making it worthwhile economically. The same can be said about LED lamps. Meanwhile, eco-awareness
is catching on and it is not unusual to find consumers clamoring for technologies with a lower carbon
footprint.

The initial news is that there are companies investing in “green” R&D by betting on a more human future
in which they also profit. Their goal is to innovate ethically and efficiently: Awesome! But, are all
companies like this? How can skeptics be convinced? What contribution can be made by the media and
environmental education? Are more legal obligations needed?

Ethics

Energy Ethics

The Arab oil embargo of 1973, initiated to protest U.S. support of Israel in the Yom Kippur War, was a
watershed event in U.S. energy history. It sparked higher gasoline prices and, before it was lifted in
March 1974, raised concerns about a possible energy crisis. But ethical issues relating to world energy
have not received the attention they deserve within most religious denominations, despite the fact that
global warming and oil consumption are even more urgent matters today. Religious organizations in
particular (along with civic groups and schools) should take the lead in helping to form our individual
consciences and shape a national consensus on these world issues.

Global Warming and Peak Oil

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Three decades after the oil embargo of 1973, our civilization is facing two specific and related
challengesglobal warming and peak oil. The threat of global warming has been well publicized since last
year’s hurricane season. Recent documentaries have shown the effects of rapidly melting polar ice and
glaciers and the summer melting of the Greenland ice sheet.

The peak oil challenge, less well publicized, refers to a future where the current rate of oil production is
no longer possible. As envisioned by many scientists and engineers, world oil production capability will
peak in the next few years, given the finite nature of oil reserves and the effect of oil depletion at
individual wells. David Goodstein (Out of Gas: The End of the Age of Oil, 2004) and other writers have
pointed out that the date when world oil production peaks is very significant. At that point civilization
will have used approximately half of the ultimately recoverable petroleum. After that, demand will
exceed production capability, and the world will be forced to accommodate itself to the shortfall. The
remaining oil, more difficult to produce, will be very expensive.

Peak oil concerns are often dismissed by those who believe that human ingenuity and know-how will
inevitably come to the rescue and provide alternatives to petroleum. While this position has some validity,
Goodstein examines it in his book, as do Robert Hirsch, Roger Bezdek and Robert Wendling in their 2005
study, Peaking of World Oil Production: Impacts, Mitigation, and Risk Management, conducted for the
U.S. Department of Energy. Without going into the details, it is fair to say that the transition away from
petroleum is a monumental challenge to society. David Goodstein concludes his book with a prophecy:
Civilization as we know it will come to an end sometime in this century unless we find a way to live
without fossil fuels.

Ethical Implications

It is important to recognize that global warming and peak oil challenges are directly related to energy
consumption. From 1970 to 2000except during the Carter administration (1976-80)the United States
declined to buy into an energy efficiency ethic. As a result, total annual energy use increased by an
additional 40 percent. The United States, with less than 5 percent of the world’s population, still uses 25
percent of the world’s energy and accounts for approximately 25 percent of the human-produced carbon
dioxide, a major cause of global warming. Our country’s extravagant energy behavior can be attributed
largely to technological optimism and to the relatively low price of energy we have customarily enjoyed.

In 1973, shortly after the oil embargo, I was one of three faculty membersa physicist, a physical
geographer and an economistwho initiated a public affairs colloquium on energy and society to engage
students in considering it a major societal issue. As we left the classroom one day, the physical

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geographer turned off the light switch, in accord with a common admonition to Please turn off. In a
nonconfrontational but intentional way, our economist colleague flipped it back on and said, Use up the
current energy sources and we will develop new ones. To me, these comments exemplified the attitudes
of the conservationist and the technological optimist.

That innocuous interaction prompted me to ask, What, if any, moral basis exists for an energy
conservation or energy efficiency ethic? After some thought I concluded that, even if one buys into the
view that some form of energy to meet society’s needs will always be available, a strong moral basis for
an energy conservation ethic still exists. It boils down to avoiding the environmental effects associated
with waste, that is, using energy unnecessarily. An individual who chooses an energy-inefficient car or
home harms the common good by the unnecessary emissions associated with both.

Harm to the common good has reached a new level with global warming. While previous environmental
concerns regarding snail darters and acid rain might be dismissed by the average citizen, one need not be
an environmentalist or moral theologian to recognize that a threat as serious as global warming has ethical
implications that require a change in our behavior. An ethical response is called for, based on concern for
the environment.

The ethical implications of the peak oil issue arise from a different set of considerations. For starters,
there is already a vast gap between energy availability in industrialized countries and in developing
countries. The developing world has roughly 80 percent of the population but uses only 20 percent of the
resources. Were oil prices to rise swiftly in a peak oil era, the disparity between what is affordable in
developed and underdeveloped countries will grow much greater.

Such an inequitable world adds to the moral basis for an energy conservation or energy efficiency ethic
logically independent of the environmentally based ethic discussed earlier. The ethic now would have its
basis in a consideration of social justice. Consider again the example of an individual’s decision to buy an
inefficient car. It is one thing to buy such a vehicle when there is plenty of inexpensive petroleum
flowing, but quite another when such unnecessary use of petroleum means that a less fortunate person
elsewhere in the world lacks enough energy just to survive. Such an ethic follows from the Golden Rule.

This added basis for an energy conservation ethic is significant. Churches, for instance, that have been
lukewarm to an environmentally based energy ethic will become more responsive to one based on
concern for social justice. That is my hope: that people of faith could see the relationship between the
availability of energy in the peak oil era and the dramatic urgency of starving families about which Bruce

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C. Birch wrote in 1978 [see box at the end of this article]. Two specific ethical conclusions would follow
from social justice considerations, independent of environmental considerations:

1. Each of us should attempt to conserve energy, most notably in transportation and home heating.

2. As a nation, we should take up the challenge to create alternative energy technologies and show the
way to a sustainable energy future for the world.

The Role of the Churches

Given the seriousness of the ethical implications of global warming and peak oil scarcity, our religious
congregations should take a leading role in prevention. Energy behavior ought to be a principal ethical
concern of people of faith. Some religious groups have recognized the importance of these environmental
issues.

The California Interfaith Power and Light organization, founded by the Episcopal priest Sally Bingham
and others, has undertaken a major effort to educate people about the energy and environment problem.
Their Congregational Covenant spells out six specific recommended activities for religious
congregations. (It is available at www.interfaithpower.org.)

The Franciscan order, true to its traditions, has spoken out on these issues in many ways, including
publication in 2002 of the booklet Global Warming and Climate Change: An Issue for Religious Today,
which provides ecological information, recommended actions and supportive background information
from the tradition of St. Francis and St. Bonaventure.

Pope John Paul II delivered a message titled The Ecological Crisis:A Common Responsibility in
conjunction with the celebration of World Day of Peace, Jan. 1, 1990. In it he wrote The most profound
and serious indication of the moral implications underlying the ecological problem is the lack of respect
for life evident in many patterns of environmental pollution.... Ecological balances are upset by the
uncontrolled destruction of animal and plant life by a reckless exploitation of material resources(No. 7).

The Unitarian Universalist Association has focused on energy and environmental issues. The group’s
2006 Statement of Conscience is an impressive, detailed document (available at
www.uua.org/actions/ecology/06globalwarming.html).

Such efforts are significant and laudable. Yet more comprehensive, systemic efforts are needed now to
bring about major changes in our energy consumption. We cannot afford to ignore two of the biggest

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threats to civilization: global warming and oil scarcity. Rather, we must work together to create a more
sustainable world.

Energy and the Church

Unlike concerns for food and hunger, attention to energy issues has not been highly visible in U.S.
churches. With the exception of some statements by denominational boards and agencies, there has been a
notable lack of programs and materials designed to sensitize local congregations to energy as an area of
Christian moral concern. The reasons for this inattention are many. The dramatic urgency of starving
families is hard to duplicate in presenting energy issues.

Environmental Business Ethics

Environmental ethics is formally defined as the study of human interaction with nature. In a business
sense, environmental ethics is concerned with a company's responsibility to protect the environment in
which it operates. Public awareness of damage caused to the environment by human action has driven a
demand for governmental regulations directly affecting the ability of businesses to conduct their
operations. Corporate response to governmental regulation is a primary area of concern in environmental
business ethics.

Human Choices

Throughout history, human beings have made choices that have led to the destruction of forests, the
contamination of water resources and the pollution of the atmosphere through the use of fossil fuel-
powered vehicles. In the later part of the 20th century, awareness of the damage has led society to bring
pressure to bear on government to enact regulations requiring businesses to protect delicate natural
resources. Environmental awareness has prompted many consumers to lead environmentally friendly
lifestyles, affecting business realities across the globe.

Business Realities

Acceptance of responsibility for environmental ethics is demonstrated through the development of

corporate environmental strategy. An example is the environmental strategy of Marriott International:
"Both in our hotels and beyond, we seek to understand and act on the direct and indirect environmental
impacts of our business operations." Companies operating across the globe, regardless of size, must make

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such a strategy part of their business model in order to protect of the natural resources they use to make a
profit.

Sustainability

Small businesses are exposed to increasing demand by consumers and governmental agencies to respond
to sustainability standards. Sustainability refers to the ability of ecosystems to remain healthy and
productive over time. One of the simplest ways to make a positive response to sustainability issues is
energy conservation. Simply by using energy-efficient appliances and light bulbs, businesses can reap
significant savings in energy costs and, at the same time, make a realistic contribution to reducing stress
on the environment. Environmental Protection Agency research indicates that businesses can save 10
percent to 30 percent on energy costs when using energy-efficient equipment.

New Opportunities

A positive side of environmental business ethics is the creation of new opportunities centered on repairing
existing environmental damage and developing new technologies to enable peopl to conduct their
business without further damage to the environment. The EPA reports that there are more than $300,000
in grants available for small business to develop and bring to the market new environmental technologies
in industries such as water quality, green building materials and greenhouse gasses. Environmental
technologies will provide a path to profitability for small business for the foreseeable future.

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