Rio+10: Agenda 21, Energy and Development Enrique Ortega Food Engineering School State University of Campinas Brazil Porto Venere 28/09/2002

Johannesburg Summit (Rio+10): The Summit confirms Agenda 21 commitments; Considers international collaboration, through partnerships, as the main form to implement Agenda 21; Manifest the need to support poor farmers access to productive resources; But, in the other way, in contradiction with the majority of its recommendations, suggest that the enlargement of trade and the opening of frontiers are the basic and necessary procedures to obtain Sustainable Development.

Rio+10: discussion Why not to ask the motives of failure? Why to maintain the same proposals! Why not to recover the spirit that led to Rio 92! Let us discuss the concept of Development in ecological terms!

Energy, Ecology and Development Observation 1: Nature works in cycles of production and consumption! Development concept changes along the cycle! Observation 2: The micro-economy vision does not show the connection of anthropic systems with biosphere.

Agenda 21: Change of development paradigm Proposal: We must change the paradigm of quantitative growth to qualified human progress. To face the global diminution of energy resources (water, oil, electricity, arable land, ozone layer) and the increase of population, pollution, poverty and the destruction of biodiversity and culture we must take immediate actions to humanize the Earth!

Agenda 21: Suggestions for concerned energy scientists Suggestion 1: Start between us, collaboration North – South to support interesting ecological and social development projects in both hemispheres. Suggestion 2: Do first interactions to promote fair prices and debt elimination. Suggestion 3: Exchange results of these experiences in next Advances in Energy Studies Workshop.

First observation Nature works in cycles of production and consumption! What we call “Development” is the part of consumption of those cycles.

Just to remember how the trophic chain works. The producer uses the nature resources for its own benefit and also delivers stocks of improved energy to be used by different consumers, the wastes are recycled by decomposers.

Production, stocks e recycling. Now we see the diagram in a more simplified form. In a natural system almost all the matter is recycled and there are not material wastes. The trophic chain can be seen as a stock of biodiversity.

Resumed diagram: Energy and Matter produce Work. This is more simplified energy flows diagram of a ecosystem, where nature resources interact with local biodiversity, that makes retribution to nature services.

Nutrients cycle in a ecosystem. The nutrients in a natural ecosystem are recycled by consumers.

5. Stocks, internal cycles, inputs and outputs. Example of a ecosystem with human intervention. The forests deliver raw materials and services to agriculture. Agriculture interacts with wetlands and riparian vegetation. Internal recycling exists. All the systems delivers several kind of outputs to other ecosystems.

Second observation The micro-economy vision does not show the connection of anthropic systems with biosphere.

6. Micro-economics window. The perception of micro economics is very limited, it ignores many flows of resources, their origins and the costs of their production. Besides that, ignores the value of recycling and does not know what to do with wastes.

7. The economic system within the Biosphere system. The ecosystem makes slowly several energy stocks that become resources to economy. The economic system uses in few time what took many years for nature to produce (biodiversity, oil). Besides that the materials are depleted and the effect of aggressive feedback is negative to atmosphere.

8. The producer – consumer system shows cyclic oscillations. The oscillations occur due the different times of the phenomena involved. The production is usually slow and the consumption can be very rapid. The nutrients decrease during production an become a limiting factor. The consumption returns the nutrients to the system. When the biomass decreases the consumers can retreat, change of area or hibernate. The cycle repeats with a rhythmic frequency.

9. Natural and anthropic systems evolve. Here we can see a system with human intervention.The oscillation can increase until a certain maximum disequilibria is attained, after that the cycles can diminish (Mayan Empires) or population can extinguish (Eastern Island). Occur several situations: 1. adaptation; 2. increase of growth; 3. decrease of growth (due to resources diminution); 4. senescence (adjustment to low resources); 1. recovering (or adaptation).

10. Macro-oscillation petroleum oil - mankind. In this diagram we can see a much more bigger oscillation that occurs when mankind learn to use several non renewable energy stocks not used before (woods, minerals, soils, charcoal, oil, gas). But these resources are not forever they are non renewable, and the development becomes also non renewable. The oil price is kipped low at great military, political and environmental costs in order to subsidy the industrial economy.

Agenda 21: Energy and Development To face the global diminution of energy stocks and the increase of population, pollution, poverty and the destruction of biodiversity and culture we must take immediate actions to humanize the Earth! We must change the paradigm of quantitative growth to qualified human progress.

Our dear colleague, H.T. Odum ( ), proposed us to understand, discuss and help humanity to implement the best way down.

First suggestion: Start between us, collaboration North – South to support interesting ecological and social development projects in both hemispheres.

13. Ecological systems with short chains and closed circuits The city (consumer) is close to farmer (producer) and recycling is possible

14. Intensive systems where consumption is far away production. The system cannot close its material circuits and losses productivity and develop dangerous over-eutrophication. Low level of a resource in one place and excess in the other.

16. Alternatives emergy/energy comparison. We can calculate the emergy indices of different options and discuss the pertinence of each one in many dimensions (social, environmental, political, ethical).

Second suggestion: Interact to promote fair prices and debt elimination process.

24. Richness flow through prices and interest fixing control The central countries fix the prices of raw materials and industrial products, as well as the international interest rates. We need a new position to change these procedures.

19. Richness go to industry and commerce. The income of farmers are diminishing and the profit of traders growing.

20. The energy from oil makes the raw materials prices decrease. The energy from petroleum let a temporary pproduction increase, because its cost is set down by political and military means.

23. Preserved ecosystems have an important role in recycling. The quality of wastes recycled is important.

Final suggestion To exchange our results of these experiences of collaboration North-South in next congress …. in any southern country! ….. perhaps Brazil.