ALTERNATIVE ENERGY AND WORLD PEACE

How can it prevent future wars?

A paper by
Omar Hassan Deraz

08/2563
Dentistry

Spring 2009

Alternative energy and world peace

 Alternative energy has a significant role in setting world peace and also decreasing pollution by

great amounts. Alternative energy is considered today as the peaceful alternative to the polluting and

expensive fossil fuels which are the cause of wars in many cases. The use of renewable energy sources

would open the doors to many opportunities in under-developed countries that have inner conflicts and civil

war because of the energy crisis. It would also help in the development of these countries and raising the life

standards in them. The energy crisis has led to conflicts from Darfur to Iraq among many other examples in

which genocides are committed for oil. It is no longer accepted in our modern civilized world to have blood

shed for oil. Although fossil fuels have contributed greatly to man’s civilization; alternative energy is the

right direction a greener and a more peaceful environment by means of several approaches which enhances

human life quality, provides energy for cheaper rates, prevents more wars for fuel, and unite people under

one global cause.

The last century witnessed a lot of massacres in which the actual motive of these wars was resource

domination of poor under-developed countries. An estimated number of 1,331,578 civilians have been killed

in the Iraq war, other than the military casualties. In his memoir former chairman of Federal Reserve critical

of president’s economic competence wrote “I am saddened to say that everyone knows: the Iraq war is

largely about oil.” (Greenspan).Presidents like George W. Bush may attempt to justify wars as being for

democracy or world security and peace; however it only means the loss of more human lives for oil barrels.
 The genocide in Darfur, Sudan is derived mainly by the fight over oil, besides racism. Although it

is a small quantity of oil, but for the poorest country in Africa it really does make a difference. David Morse

an independent journalist has predicted more wars in the middle east because of oil, he wrote in his article

“An estimated 300 to 400 Darfurians are dying every day… the war has claimed about two million lives. “,

oil resources drive foreign countries to interfere with Darfur’s internal affairs, which in return brings about

more anger and violence in the area. David Morse added “Canada’s largest oil company, Talisman, is now in

court for allegedly aiding Sudan government forces in blowing up church leaders, in order to clear the land

for pipes and drilling.” This shows that oil in the Sudan has caused increasing tension and death since it was

discovered, but this is mainly because of bad handling of the problem and using violence. The oil income

should be used to elevate the life standard in Darfur instead of buying weapons to kill opposing party

members.

The Persian Gulf War which was declared on August 2, 1990 when the Iraqi president Saddam Hussein

invaded Kuwait, as the latter produces 10% of the world’s oil. This among several conflicts have shown that

oil as a rare and economic item will always be a source of dispute as long as our economic system is oil-

dependant. That is why mankind should free itself from this burden, especially when many alternatives are

at hand. The oil resources around the world are expected to run out soon as they are non-renewable form of
energy, so future wars are also expected to intensify in areas rich in gas and oil including the Middle East

and Africa.

Alternative energy being naturally abundant has a really important role in creating a more peaceful

world. The use of renewable energy can mean fewer wars, because many types of alternative energy are

abundant and affordable source of energy that was overlooked before. Nowadays scientists have devised

many techniques to make use of these forms of energy almost anywhere on the planet. When the use of

alternative energy is more common there will be no point in fighting over oil or gas wells.

The use of alternative energy also means that the costs which go to the mining and excavations can

be saved and invested in development and well fare of poor communities. Alternative energy needs little

effort to be extracted and utilized. Depending mainly on alternative energy will also decrease the total sum

of expenditure on energy. No one can deny that establishing new infra-structure for alternative energy would

be very expensive, especially that all infra-structure have been created to transport fossil fuels, but

alternative energy do not need to be transported for long distances because they exist almost everywhere on

the planet unlike fossil fuels which need to be extracted , processed then transported. On the long run

alternative energy will be the optimum solution to many world wide crises. The saved sum of money can be

used effectively to enhance the lives of many poor populations by setting up development projects and
giving out loans to developing countries. It would also be involved greatly in ending the violence that

happens because of financial, or energy related issues. This will elevate the life standards of many nations

and direct their focus toward more important matters. The use of alternative energy can also help provide

clean water to many regions of the world which are deprived of water, as energy costs decrease; pumping

water to more distant areas will become possible.

By enhancing human life on Earth, levels of violence can drop dramatically. Poor populations will

be able to depend on themselves to produce their own commodities. When all countries have been developed

to some extent, global attention can be drawn then on other matters than providing basic primitive human

rights. The fight against various diseases and finding cures to untreated diseases like cancer, the world can

also focus more on education, information technology, fighting diseases, space invasion, and scientific

discoveries and breakthroughs.

One other way in which alternative energy can boost world peace is by providing a medium for

cooperation among different countries and uniting people under a global cause which is providing the basic

human needs to the areas deprived of them, and also enhancing life quality. International agreements and

programs could be carried out in order to share expertise and educational experience. That way every one
would feel that he or she is a part of a global plan in which they can effectively participate in, this way all

people can be united under a common cause which will support world peace.

There are many types of alternative energy today. Most of them are renewable, easy to obtain and

they produce no pollution, but they may have some disadvantage to them. Wind energy is a good example of

alternative energy that can be used anywhere; it is already in use by many countries. Wind mills can be

established on any multi-purpose field e.g. agricultural fields. The only disadvantage to wind energy is that

fact that the wind is always variable in intensity and thus cannot provide a real constant supply of energy.

Some people also think that wind mills interfere with the natural scenery. Solar energy is the energy taken

from sun light and it is also a clean form of energy and it can also be utilized efficiently in heating and

lighting purposes. The main disadvantage to solar energy is that solar power stations are very expensive to

build and the fact that the weather may not always be sunny. Hydro-electric energy is the use of water

currents to produce electricity such as the high dam in Egypt. The water used in this kind of energy

generation can be reused. The only disadvantage to it is that dams are expensive to build and they are time

consuming, it also requires certain conditions to establish similar projects. Geo-thermal energy can be

utilized by using thermal energy from Earth’s crust, as the sun is always radiating heat energy to the earth’s

surface. The demerit to this type of energy is that the initial cost of using this energy is relatively high and it

needs a large piece of land to establish a similar scheme. Bio-mass is a renewable energy which comes from
fermentations of organic materials, but in the same time it produces some greenhouse gasses in the process

and can lead to famines due to large agricultural crops being used to generate energy. Many of the countries

including Egypt use nuclear plants to generate electric energy.

Although nuclear energy may have a lot of advantages such as the high amount of electric energy

that can be generated from a single nuclear plant, but we should not rely completely on nuclear energy as it

also has many disadvantages. Nuclear energy cannot be considered completely clean as it produces radio-

active wastes which in case of not properly disposed off can become a dangerous threat to the environment.

Accidents involving nuclear power plants can be very catastrophic such as the explosion that happened in

the Ukrainian reactor Chernobyl. Building nuclear power plants requires years of careful planning because

of the critical reactions that occur inside the reactor. The substance that is used to make this reaction is rather

a rare element on Earth, so this kind of energy can be hardly considered renewable. After all nuclear energy

shouldn’t be used extensively, as it can cause more violence. The scientific competition between countries

concerning nuclear development can lead to scientist assassinations and other related acts of violence such

as the assassination of Samira Moussa and Yehia Al- Mashad which were two of the best Egyptian nuclear

scientists (Al-Ahram Hebdo).

 Impediment to the use of alternative energy is taking place due to many factors. Most machinery,

industrial equipment and means of transportations still run mainly on fossil fuels, although hybrid machines

that can run on hydrogen or even water have been invented world wide, they are still uncommon among

commercial markets. Another hindrance to the use of alternative energy world wide is the fact that it is still

considered experimental and its efficiency has not been fully proven yet. The fact that alternative energy has

high initial costs in order to build new power stations and infrastructure is also slowing the process of

completely converting to other forms of energy other the fossil based one. The technical education that

permits utilizing alternative energy hasn’t been adopted by many countries yet, this is another obstacle, but it

can be solved by setting up collateral cooperation programs between countries that already have the

knowledge and the experience and those who are new in the field. According to the annual report published

by the Egyptian state of environmental affairs a strategy is being set up to increase the use of electrical and

renewable energy in Egypt to constitute 20% of the total energy being generated by 2020.The world’s global

markets are still being controlled by fossil fuel prices and any extreme shift in the prices may bring serious

economic consequences, so it must be done by careful planning.

Fossil fuels have a significant impact on the world economy, and any slight change in the prices or

the availability of oil affects many economic, industrial and even far related disciplines. This dominance

may lead to inflations, currency drop and economic recessions in case of change in oil prices. Economic
recessions affect every aspect of life, from the prices of food stuff to relationships between people.

Economic recessions can lead to public rage and discontent among different countries which means brings

violence and instability, thus posting a serious threat to global peace. In the research titled” The Effects of

Oil Shocks on the Economy: A Review of the Empirical Evidence” carried out by the congress, it shows the

following

” Economic theory suggests that oil shocks lead to higher inflation a contraction in output, and higher

unemployment in the short run…the cumulative effect of a 10% increase in oil prices during a

quarter (3 months) period would be to reduce economic input by 0.2-1.1 % over the next year from

its base line level.”

As long as the world depends on fossil fuels in order to carry out its prime processes, it would always have

the biggest influence on economy and international politics. This is another reason encouraging the world to

use renewable, cheap, and abundant forms of energy.

The extensive use of fossil fuels over the last period of human history has lead to drastic effects on

the planet that have started to show off its consequences just lately. The emissions resulting from burning of

fossil fuels cause the ecological system to be unbalanced in several ways. Global warming is the most
significant ramification of fossil fuels on Earth’s environmental system. It is proved now that global

warming is a fact, some people also argue that it is a natural phase in which Earth go through some sort of

climatic variation, But why did it start in the very era of industrialization. The actual confirmation is

extremely hard to be set because of the obvious lack of evidence in the past times, but scientists can use

different methods such as fossils to form a clear idea of the climatic changes. Philip M Boffey wrote in his

article “The evidence for global warming” in the New York Times “The science academies of the United

States and 10 other industrial nations issued a joint statement last year citing "strong evidence that

significant global warming is occurring" and calling for "prompt action" to combat it.”

The Effects of Global warming are affecting every aspect of life of Earth. The Aquatic life has been

certainly influenced by the change in green house gases, because there are many creatures that are very

sensitive to changes in the ambient conditions. “The Elkhorn coral which used to line the floor of the

Caribbean are nearly gone; victims of pollution, warmer water and acidification from the greenhouse gas

carbon dioxide seeping into oceans.” (Denver Post). This tells us that the chemical composition of water just

isn’t suitable enough for these corals to live in, and as it caused the corals to die it can be expected that t it

will affect other species too. Rainbow trout, Salmon and Walrus are among many aquatic species are

expected to disappear over the next century (The top 100 effects of global warming).
 Many Species are expected to become extinct because of the undirected effect of fossil fuel

combustion. “Up to 72 percent of bird species in northeastern Australia and more than a third in Europe

could go extinct due to global warming.” (Monga Bay) This cannot be a coincidence, because the large

quantity of dying birds can only confirm bad influence of global warming and pollutions in which fossil

fuels play an important role.” The latest report from the World Conservation Union says that a minimum of

40 percent of the world’s species are being threatened ... and global warming’s one of the main culprits.”

(Reuters), Gray whales and penguins are also top nominees on the death list of global warming. Gender-

Bended Lizards life cycle is also being manipulated greatly by the change in temperature as it makes

embryos in eggs turns from male to female which reduces the chances of survival for this species (ABC

AU). There are no monitor or inspection can be more accurate than living creature that are in constant

contact with the affected environment, therefore these changes can give a comprehensive overview that

global warming is happening right now.

World wide famines are more likely to occur now because of the climatic changes happening all

over the planet. Crops are also expected to diminish such as potato which will decrease by 20 % due to the

increase in temperature (AP). “Developing countries, many with average temperatures that are already near

or above crop tolerance levels, are predicted to suffer an average 10 to 25 percent decline in agricultural
productivity by the 2080s” (Economic Times ). The sharp decrease in agricultural production means that

many people will not be able to eat and starvations will occur all over the affected areas leading to deaths of

humans and animals because of the insufficient food supplies. Starvations are already happening in many

parts of Africa, and this decrease in production will only intensify the crisis. On the other hand there could

be positive effects of global warming, that we cannot comprehend right now. According to W.M Adams in

his book “Future Nature a Vision for Conservation”

” The change of carbon dioxide levels can cause some crops to flourish, and it is still hard to

anticipate the exact variations in the new agricultural system, the new environments may even help

some species to survive such as orchids and flying insects”.

Global warming has its side effects on the ecological system on Earth rendering it unbalanced and

if it continues this way probably Earth will no be a life friendly place at all. Many records and data have

shown that Earth is taking a new turn which is still not fully understood today, but many events occur all

over the planet that cannot be taken as a coincidence or just an statistical anomaly. Natural catastrophes such

as droughts, melting ice caps, fires, floods and tsunamis will occur more frequently than ever, also acidic

rain will increase and the oceans will become acidic on the long run which will destroy many if not all its

aquatic organism population. Many low leveled islands and coasts like Greenland and tropical islands would

be submerged or would even disappear from our world. (Top 100 effects of global warming). As civilized
human beings we should learn from our mistakes, and admit that we have a real problem at hand that

requires an immediate solution. We will always depend on our environment no matter what; this means that

the ambient ecological system we live in will always have a direct impact on our lives.

The intensive use of fossil fuel has also affected human lives and human health and it is expected to

cause further diseases and disorders to the human kind. “A Harvard Study in 2004 showed higher

concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere is good news to allergens like mold and ragweed (they love the

stuff). And that means higher rates of asthma attacks, especially in kids” (Globe and Mail). Death by Smog,

Heart Attacks, malaria and Cholera are among many health hazards that are also expected to increase

because of global warming (100 top effects of global warming). “The World Health Organization has

identified more than 30 new or resurgent diseases in the last three decades, the sort of explosion some

experts say has not happened since the Industrial Revolution brought masses of people together in cities”

(Washington Post). Man has came long way to civilization through hard work and industrialization process

which provides comfort, but he may has sacrificed many of the basic human rights in order to obtain that,

the right to be healthy and to lead a normal life has been compromised in this process. The world must take

serious and quick steps towards the recovery from the so called fossil fuel domination.
 The world is already realizing that a serious step must be taken in order to survive this phase of

unbalance and war. The use of alternative energy would effectively lead to more global security and would

eventually serve world peace not only on the energy and financial levels, but also on the level of cooperation

between countries which unites the world under one global cause. In his book titled “Environmental

Economics an Introduction”, Barry C. Field mentioned some examples of Environmental agreements

between countries such as the Montreal Protocol and Convention on International Trade in Endangered

species of wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).