Salmon, Orkas and Dams: Pondering Rivers and Hope in the Pacific Northwest

I have only begun to read about the tradition of energy activism in the U.S. and Canada Pacific Northwest. It is an inspiring legacy of more than 25 years. The initiative that has evolved into the Northwest Energy Coalition tells its story in a special issue of its Newsletter: The Energy Activist.

I believe you will find it a really interesting read.

http://www.nwenergy.org/publications/energy-activist/previous-issues/2007/ActivistWinter07.pdf


On a more current perspective, activist Pat Ford recounts the need for integrative understanding in the issue of dams as an energy solution, versus the viability of the Snake River salmon and the orcas that depend on them. With compelling words, he calls for an integrative second-tier view, that recognizes multiple perspectives, and mourns the poverty in both our institutions and social movements that cannot recognize the need for inter-woven vision.


"I have an instinct that to achieve either we must achieve both – that stopping warming, and shepherding ourselves and earth through it, must be inextricable in our actions and policies because they are so in our lives. I don’t think this is a truism. Neither among global warming warriors nor citizens generally nor lawmakers do I detect a rooted awareness of this inter-weaving, so as to generate well-woven action."

Here is the full article for your enjoyment

http://www.lightintheriver.org/perspectives.html

The Risk Society and the Nuclear Jet

Professor Ulrich Beck, for "The Risk Society", has written an article about the implications of the recent thrust for nuclear power as a solution to climate change.

He uses a clever analogy of "the jet whose landing strip has not yet been built", to underscore the recklessness of the nuclear power bandwagon.

I thank the Whitman Institute's blog: http://think4change.org for first bringing this article to my attention.

To read Dr. Beck's article on The Guardian, follow this link
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jul/17/nuclearpower.climatechange , or by clicking on the title of this blog article.

New Facebook group on Energy Democracy

When I decided to pursue my M.A. at the University for Peace, it was for a number of reasons. One of the central ones was to find a new focus for my personal work. I felt that I needed to tie together my work in conflict resolution, environmental policy, environmental justice, renewable energy, life coaching and psychology.

A great deal of this has been about looking inwards: who am I? what are my talents? what do I enjoy? what can I be good at and how can I make a difference doing it?

At the same time, it has also involved looking outwards, how does what I have to offer fit in the world? these things I have been asking myself all these questions about, what brings them all together?

I believe that, for the present, the best name I can give to what brings all this together is ENERGY DEMOCRACY. It seems to be a label under which everything I am professionally mobilizing to work on can come together.

So I've created a new Facebook Group with this name. I would greatly enjoy it if everyone who has been interested in reading my posts on here (and on my other blob) came by and checked it out. Hopefully it will be a lively meeting place for those interested in exploring these issues.

The link is http://www.tinyurl.com/FB-NRGdemocracy

See you there!

A New Energy Parnership: A place for energy democracy?

Over the past couple of weeks I have come across a large number of references to the New Energy Partnership of the Americas, an initiative originally raised by U.S. President (then candidate) Barack Obama in a campaign speech in Florida. Lately it has been referenced speeches by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Some analysts are predicting that this will be the Obama administration's new focus of social policy towards Latin America (http://www.miamiherald.com/news/columnists/andres-oppenheimer/story/859217.html)

Many in the cluster of industries loosely identified as "clean tech", particulary nonconventional energy (a category seems to be expanding to include coal and nuclear power) welcome this as new engine for dragging the economy out of the present crisis. For many, here is an ideal opportunity for building an hemispheric strategy aimed at consolidating energy security and re-energizing (literally) national economies. Some also welcome as an opportunity to reduce the quota of political power that Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez has acquired by "flexing his oilfields to entice other governmenst in the region".

But what of the new fresh air of democratic governance that U.S. social movements have been so excited about in President Obama's political discourse, will this be part of the New Energy Parthership? Will citizen engagement, environmental justice and societal consensus-building find their way to the guiding principles of the New Energy Partnership?

Foreseeably, many powerfull stakeholders in the energy sectors of the countries of the Americas will not be interested in becoming entangled in a discourse of participation and citizen engagement that, at best, they have been willing to pay ocassional lip service to, and at worst, they vigorously oppose. As a recent example, the United States and Canada vigorously opposed the inclusion of any language recognizing the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities in the text of the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) mechanism at the last Poznan Conference of the Parties of the UN Climate Change Convention, last December. ( http://www.tebtebba.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=314&Itemid=27 )

So how will this new Energy Partnership fare in light of the emerging global call for more democratic and inclusive institutions? Much of it will depend on how closely the new social movements and stakeholders monitor this newly evolving instrument and push for it to develop along a path that is accountable and transparent.

An excerpt of my thesis

I am awaiting the final feedback from my external thesis reader anyday now. Once his assessmet has been received, my thesis will be finalized. It's been a long 19 month journey.

Get your own - Open publication

For now, I would like to share this excerpt containing the first two chapters. It's available online for reading at issu.com, you can find it at the following link:

http://tinyurl.com/garudasofia-te

I welcome your feeback. Your insights are very valuable to me.

Cheers,

Sergio.