[Vnbiz] Fwd: NEWS ALERT: Asia must attract clean energy investments, ADB President says; New ADB magazine to increase awareness of Asia’s development challenges

Thu May 8 13:23:00 PDT 2008

Dear anh Shane:
You really don't want it to go all pear shaped because if it did, those at 
the bottom of the pear will get crushed first.
Don't worry about  the American propensity to over consume.  (It is this 
tendency that gives Vietnam a 10 to 1 trade advantage with the U.S., and 
no other trading partners.)  The laws of nature and economics will see to 
it that whatever is not sustainable will not be sustained.  Instead, look 
at it as an opportunity to further economic development so as to position 
Vietnam well for the next stages of global development.
And the next stage will come.
Charles Dickens' England must have seemed to reach the limits of 
industrialization and development when coal-powered civilation pushed the 
limits of environmental  pollution.  The streets of Philadephia, of and 
Craig's forefathers, must have been intolerable with the 
by-product/exhaust of horsepowered transportation at the turn of the 20th 
century that someone could have rightly wondered how a growing nation will 
develop its transportation sector.
Then came the horseless carriage and petroleum.  The whale blubber fueled 
lamps that illuminated virtually all of New England coastal communities 
were replaced by kerosene lamps that quickly spreaded all over the world. 
In Vietnam, it still called the American lamp.
Except for geothermal and nuclear energy, all other forms are solar-based 
energy.  I would look to the sun as the source of power in the next phase.
The discussions on this forum  does not reach the academic level yet; 
we're not economic of financial experts here.
I am happy for you that you and your family have plots of land to fall 
back on when it all goes to seeds.  I have a garden plot myself that I 
enjoy tremendously when it suits me to get my hands dirty and to break a 
sweat.  But I am not under the illusion that I'll be able to feed my 
family, or just myself even if I put my full time and energy to 
cultivating it.  There was a reality show that put families of contestants 
on homestead lands to make a living off the land with that land as the 
prize.  None made it for the whole year.
Your father was wise to pay for 240v and took the next step.  He followed 
the same human instincts that got us out of caves and into warm and dry 
houses.  You don't want it all to go pear shaped because that would mean 
you're back to 32v, if not kerosene lamp.  Only this time, there will be 
social chaos that will not leave to in peace to farm your plots of land, 
if it's your land anymore.  You may be farming some collective farms 
somewhere, and not willingly.  You know this is not a made-up scenario. 
Someone in your neighborhood may have experienced it first hand.  Folks 
next door in Cambodia can't forget it.  It's the Hobbesian world where 
life is "poor, nasty, brutish, and short".
Cheers,
HPP

Shane Wall <shane.wall at translingualexpress.com> 
Sent by: vnbiz-bounces at mail.saigon.com
05/08/2008 11:50 AM
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Re: [Vnbiz] Fwd: NEWS ALERT: Asia must attract clean energy investments, 
ADB President says; New ADB magazine to increase awareness of Asia’s 
development challenges

[ Vietnam Business Forum ]

Dear ALL CACC,
   I was born in a very poor part of rural Australia. At that time we 
did not have electricity ... or all the other things that come with 
elecrification! Perhaps THAT is why I understand the plight of the 
farmers here in Vietnam!

   In the years of my childhood, we had a 32v wind powered turbine that 
gave us light after sunset ... after the initial capital investment, IT 
WAS FREE POWER! In the early '70s, we got connected to the national 
power grid. The opportunity to have a refrigerator, a freezer, time 
saving ways of cooking (wood fired stoves are VERY fickle and time 
consuming) and other "conveniences" were considered to be "advancements" 
for us. My Dad, His God bless His Soul, signed up!

   32v in those days had very limited uses. We had lights after dark, 
but that was about it. This 240v stuff was like magic ... which we had 
to pay for!

  The company that can successfully RETURN THE POWER to the individual 
food producing residents of this earth could be the most successful 
company in human history!

   Of course all the 'academic' discussions about current market, 
pricing, controls, cartels, etc. issues is needed if we are to avoid a 
global economic meltdown caused by the American consumer's propensity to 
buy things with money that they don't have, i.e. on credit!

   When it all "goes pear shaped", my family and I here in Vietnam will 
have our plots of land on which we can grow enough to sustain ourselves 
...

Hoanh? Craig? Phong? Anybody care to comment?

Shane
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. Shane Wall
Managing Director

Trans Lingual Express
188/16 Nguyen Thuong Hien St,
P.1, Q. Go Vap, HCMC,
Vietnam

Mail: shane.wall at translingualexpress.com
Web: www.translingualexpress.com

Ph: +84 (8) 588 1701

Mbl: +84 (090) 9484 753 (English)
Mbl: +84 (090) 7885 375 (Vietnamese)

Tran Dinh Hoanh wrote:
> [ Vietnam Business Forum ]
>
> 
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Dear sis. Jackie,
> 
> What does a typical do-it-yourself solar kit do?  And how much does it 
> cost now?
> 
> Hoanh
>
> On Sun, May 4, 2008 at 7:25 PM, Jackie Nelson 
> <ephemeropterae at gmail.com <mailto:ephemeropterae at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
>     [ Vietnam Business Forum ]
>
>
>
>
>     On Sun, May 4, 2008 at 6:55 PM, Tran Dinh Hoanh <tdhoanh at gmail.com
>     <mailto:tdhoanh at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
> 
>         I have serious problem with biofuel.  Here is an excerpt from
>         a Time article entitled "The Clean Energy cam"  about biofuel
>         and how it is damaging the earth. 
>         http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1725975,00.html
>
> 
>     Absolutely.   Biofuels that rely on fossil fuel farming techniques
>     have long been discredited by the green community.  There are some
>     interesting developments, such as ALGAculture, but we have a ways
>     to go.  USA's Farm and Energy Bills are extremely short-sighted in
>     this regard. 
> 
>
>
>         Renewable fuels has become one of those
>         motherhood-and-apple-pie catchphrases, as unobjectionable as
>         the troops or the middle class.
>
> 
>     Mom and apple pie?  Hardly.  There's a term for feel good, but
>     misguided attempts to 'go green' = <corporate> greenwashing.
> 
>
> 
>         I think dams provided the cleanest energy source, but why
>         every time someone builds a dam, the envrionmentalists are up
>         in arms? 
>
> 
>     Dams damage riparian ecosystems, and when large rivers are dammed,
>     it affects those downstream too.  Yes, hydro is 'clean' as far as
>     carbon though.  In my neck of the woods, micro hydro is popular. 
>     Also small wind---you use the natural capital you have.  Since we
>     are among the windiest places in USA, wind makes sense.  Lots of
>     folks have small streams as well, which could be another
>     diversification of energy needs. 
>     A local physician started a LLC to harness wind to sell to our
>     electricity cooperative.  He fought neighbors <worried about
>     noise> and realtors <feared ruining the viewshed> and gave up due
>     to legal expenses. 
> 
> 
>
>         Solar energy is still too expensive to pursue. 
>
> 
>     Prices are coming down fast as economies of scale kick in.... most
>     folks here can put up do it yourself type kits.  The big
>     excitement though, is large scale solar...perhaps the most
>     promising form of power in my opinion. 
> 
>
>         How about nuclear energy? 
>
> 
>     Not crazy about the idea, but with our voracious appetites for
>     energy, I don't know how to meet demand at this time without
>     adding nuclear to our energy portfolio.  The waste issue is
>     extremely problematic...also, nuclear takes a long time to get up
>     and running.  As well, nuclear requires enormous amounts of water,
>     but my understanding is that newer designs require less water. 
>     Also, uranium <?> is a limited resource as well. 
>
> 
>         Have a great day!
>
> 
>     You too!   And all brothers and sisters here!
>     The great hope, I believe, especially for Viet Nam and much of USA
>     is solar...large scale solar with megawatt capability.  Look at
>     Cuba -- went through an almost overnight energy fast after the
>     fall of USSR. 
>     The people adapted, using solar, and many alternatives.
>     Each locality should use the natural capital it has, whether wind,
>     solar, tidal, geothermal, etc.  Ideally, the local energy company
>     would provide technical assistance for start up.  Tax incentives
>     to go thriftier, etc.  But we are not there yet, and until the
>     energy paradigm is changed, we will require petrol for the
>     transition. 
> 
>     Thanks,
>     Jackie
>     Anything but coal :-)
>
>
>
> -- 
> Tran Dinh Hoanh, Esq., LLB, JD
> Washington DC
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
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