Teens in a wind turbine on the Danish island of Sams
In recent years, one of my obsessions repeated is to imagine societies as fragile as the island can survive in the near future of increasingly scarce resources.
Some islands have exceeded carrying capacity exceeded their population. This is the situation of the Canary Islands where I live. With two million inhabitants and 7,500 km2, the archipelago Canaries can not survive for quite some time limited to its theoretical resources, both natural and primary. It would take 4.5 archipelagos.
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These islands have clearly become a kind of urbanized region in the middle of the ocean which bases its survival on the attractiveness of a privileged climate, the supply of specialized services and the export of certain goods on a smaller scale . Consequently, it has radically left local food production destined to live here, that fail to meet the needs or one-twentieth of what would be required. In a hypothetical situation of catastrophe involving a radical restriction of supplies, some have estimated at only about ten days, the time it would take to begin to starve.
The system constantly reinforces prevailing economic imbalances such suicide in much of the world. Referring to the international context, is seen as parts of the world are struggling to make the most of raw materials, manufactured goods, services, etc. while other places, most of the available territory, are counted with a decreasing availability of essential elements for life, water, food, etc..
In an extreme case, this ruthless race to the geographic concentration of population in poor parts of the world could lead us to an extreme situation where the entire population was located in several regions of the globe very densely populated and not involve more than one-thousandth of the soil emerged, while the remaining areas of land and oceans is the supply of these exclusive spaces.
Naturally, this process is based on several feet of mud that we are not aware of a comprehensive manner. And the prevailing relations system itself is hiding or lightening. One such functional base is now in a situation radicalmente precaria, debido a la desaparición paulatina de sus fuentes de origen tradicionales, es la disponibilidad de energía barata y abundante que permita el fácil y rápido desplazamiento masivo de bienes y personas.
Volviendo a las islas y sus sociedades, algunas podrían haber asumido sin mayor vacilación ese tipo de estrategia altamente depredadora como ocurre con Singapur en el sudeste asiático. Una ciudad estado cuyos habitantes trabajan esforzadamente para sacar el máximo partido de esta forma despiadada e incontrolada de estructuración del mundo contemporáneo. Singapur ofrece los productos y servicios más avanzados para mantener una población de 4,5 millones inhabitants in an area of \u200b\u200b700 km2 (similar to the small island of La Gomera). There is high population density, 6,400 inhabitants per km2 and at the same time, the index measures the absurdity of society's economic success, the per capita GDP reaches nearly $ 40,000.
This city-state requires an extensive hinterland in order to survive. That is, applies and is based on the essential characteristic of urbanization: the concentration of increasingly dense populations in locations with accessibility, technology, and infrastructure management services, implies the provision of a large territory associated with the provision of all kinds of resources to ensure operation. In the case of Singapore, its strategic location allows you to first take advantage of trade with all countries around the Straits of Malacca and the South China Sea , Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, etc.
Other islands, however, have reached a more reasonable balance to maintain its population. This is the case of Tikopia , a Micronesian island of which I have spoken several times here in this space. The feature that strikes me of such self-sufficient islands is its diminutive size and small population in relative isolation from the outside.
Recently I discovered another very significant example in this regard has been remarkably successful in regard to energy self-sufficiency, become a disadvantage in a relatively short period of time. This is the case of the Danish island of Sams , located in the North Sea between Jutland and the large island of Zealand in which lies the capital, Copenhagen.
Islander network connecting its electric car
Denmark is a country que se caracteriza por el alto espíritu cooperativo de sus habitantes. Gracias a ello han podido construir un estado de bienestar altamente competitivo y eficiente que es la envidia de muchas naciones. Fruto de esta forma especial de puesta en común de los recursos y la ayuda mutua generalizada es su inmejorable economía que supera claramente la de Singapur con una producción global de 311.000 millones de dólares y un PIB per capita de 57.000 $.
La isla de SamsØ es también un pequeño territorio en medio de la nada, con 112 km2 y 4.500 habitantes, dependiente administrativamente de la ciudad de Aarhus y dedicada tradicionalmente al cultivo de cereales, fresas y ganadería de baja intensidad. Un lugar como many others in northern Europe, where the existence passes peacefully.
But Sams really interesting is that in 1997 the inhabitants decided to collectively transform the island into a free space consumption of fossil fuels without emitting greenhouse gases. His decision had indicated themselves as an essentially selfish, total energy independence and fuel for their daily operational needs were free at least. For a time these islanders reflected on this issue by organizing seminars on wind power and other forms of energy supply, leading subsequently to the formation of cooperative groups.
Finally, they decided, among other strategies, build an independent system of energy supply. To do so, also established that the ownership of the energy system out of all the people who inhabit the island and had decided to become self-sufficient. The resulting organization is a public company but a partnership led by local government.
The system is based on the provision of a central wind power located in the coastal platform consists of 10 wind turbines 77 meters high lined in the sea near the island. They have added a junior on the ground. The cost of the operation involved the initial outlay of 28 million € uros then, at a rate of just over 2 million for each item at the sea and an average payout of € 15,000 per participant. The financing of the acquisition was funded with support from the Danish state.
Today, a dozen years later, the situation is that the infrastructure has been implemented and are in a stable economic proportion. According to statements of the residents have seen a radical transformation, and in 1990 was imported all the energy consumed on the island in 2001 and had achieved a balance in regard to emissions and in 2003 was achieved total energy independence from the island to be a net exporter to the mainland since then. In eight years the investment had been recovered and today, residents removed Sams and direct economic benefits of local production of wind and solar energy. In 2009 each person attached to the project received a dividend of 400 € uros, according to Jesper Jens, Aarhus journalist.
addition, samsigers (name you recognize these islanders themselves) have begun to adapt their homes to take advantage of the low energy offering solar climate of Denmark, where the sun actually appears in summer and light is constant only from May until late August. In many homes have installed solar panels to produce hot water. And for heating that is needed to combat the low temperatures of winter, using biomass burns a combination of wood and dried grass accumulated in summer. Farmers have become engines adapted to the use of rapeseed oil, vegetable products grown locally. Also used an alternative fuel for agricultural machinery and tractors.
Another significant fact is that one in four people does not believe in the project and continue to receive electricity from the grid or producing the energy they need home-based diesel. However, most have decided to improve the thermal insulation of their homes and contribute to local production of electricity, managed and financed by the community, adhering to all the supply globally and independently organized group.
It follows from this that it is possible that the inhabitants of an island can be any community organizations to solve one of the most pressing issues in our time, energy. They rely on an NGO to manage the acquisition and suministro eléctrico denominada SEA ( Samso Energy Agency ) al margen de grandes empresas energéticas y compañías transnacionales.
Su objetivo principal es estimular una aproximación desde abajo a la gestión de la energía. Se plantean aumentar la eficiencia a través de la instalación de dispositivos que aprovechen las posibles fuentes renovables locales y ofrecer la experiencia acopiada a nivel regional. SEA es miembro de INRES una organización europea que promueve la investigación en energías renovables en la cual participa el Instituto Tecnológico de Canarias. En INRES se apoya también la experiencia de la central hidroéolica de la isla Iron Canary that I mentioned and as an example on another occasion.
The thorn that remains unresolved in the overall goal of complete self-sufficiency Sams, the island in the wind is referred to transport people and goods. Although many use bicycles and walk, the ferry vehicle access and some local users continue to consume oil or, in some cases, biodiesel made from vegetable oil produced in the island itself. Recently, they have tried to make small electric vehicles with which the eventual elimination of emissions.
Project for a small development of passive solar houses on the island of Sams. Arkitema
samsingers Today, they are very proud of their experience and think about the exchange of experiences towards a more sustainable planning as something positive for their own place and the rest of the world. In fact, this small enclave has become a kind of pilgrimage site for those who want to watch live and live those characters who have managed to solve the energy production in a more efficient and less harmful to the environment. Have brought with it a kind of low-intensity tourism.
The Danish island of Samso has shown that in a relatively short period, a decade low, you can transform an unfavorable energy situation in a completely self .--->
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