Masdar - A carbon neutral hoodwink

Masdar is a 15 billion dollar project begun by the city of Abu Dhabi. It is inteded to be a carbon neutral city of the future. They will be considering every effect on the environment a city has, and making sure all systems are as efficient as can be: recycling wherever possible, using sustainable materials, harvesting wind and solar power, and you can imagine the list goes on.

Sounds like a fine idea doesn't it?

Well, it's not.

It is misguided. Abu Dhabi is one of the least environmentally friendly cities in the world. There are no recycling systems, no grey water facilities, no standards for efficient cooling or lighting in buildings, it basically ignores every aspect considered at Masdar. There are giant dump trucks that form a steady stream of waste (much of it very recyclable) that is buried in the desert 100km out of town. Abu Dhabi has the highest co2 per capita in the world. It also uses the most water per capita IN THE WORLD.

Surprised?

So where does that leave Masdar? Is it a revolution in thinking? Nope, its a show off contest. The thing to show off these days just happens to be environmental.

The trouble with this is that the real issues are ignored. What use is building a new green 'city' (more like token neighbourhood) when the rest of the city continues to be the worst environmental offender in the world?

It reminds me of the argument that we ought to try to colonize new planets because ours is spoiled. It's just not feasible. (Don't get me wrong I'd like to colonize other planets, we just don't have the resources, not at this rate of depletion in any case, but I digress...)


In short; fix the problems that already exist. Waving a big, 15 billion dollar eco-friendly flag around is not going to solve anything. Just imagine what 15 billion could do to any of the failing systems here (ie. education, environment, traffic, etc.).

(Note: The original post has been edited to fit this climate)

"Just MPESA his ear back on"

Nairobi, Kenya, 6am: Legishon, a night watchman, stumbles drunk to work, work he should have been doing since the evening before. He fumbles with the keys to the gate of this modest plot of land in the suburbs that he has been guarding for the past 4 months. Finally managing to remove the lock and chain, he swings open the gate to find the gardener, Anthony, a Luya man of about 36 years. The watchman slams the gate closed loudly and points his finger daringly in the face of the gardener. "You Luya are not to be trusted, why are you here watching the house?" he imposes. Angered by the late watchman, and tired from the sleepless night, the gardener shouts back, insulting the guard and his people, the Maasai. Legishon picks up a rock and throws it at Anthony's head, splitting his ear open wide. 

At the hospital Anthony is denied treatment because he has no money, no insurance and no prospects for paying. He calls his employer Theodore. Theodore picks up his phone, acknowledges the gravity of the situation, presses a few buttons on the phone and sits back, satisfied that he has helped out his injured gardener. He sips his beer and continues on with his evening.

It is that easy. In Kenya, if you want to send money to your family, if you want to pay for a bill, if you want to put down collateral on a purchase, you press a few buttons on your phone and presto, money is sent to anyone with a cellphone and an MPESA account. And like that indeed, the doctor received payment and stitched Anthony's ear back on.

Most urban people in Kenya have a MPESA account, some 10 milllion out of 30 in the entire country, and keep it well stocked with money incase a situation, like this one, arises. It has revolutionized bank transfers in Kenya.

One downside to MPESA is that it is a monopoly. Being a monopoly, MPESA kiosks can charge substantial fees for transferring and restocking accounts with money.

Can you think of any other reasons why MPESA might have any adverse repercussions? A potential one was recounted to me by Theodore himself: Men in Kenya often leave their home to find work elsewhere in the country and, when they can, bring money back home to provide for their family. Now, with MPESA, they don't have to travel back home, they can simply send it back, and the family never gets to see their father/husband.

Other than that, any ideas? All in all, I think it is a fantastic system and I wish it would spread around the world!

Poverty as a Resource

Sometimes the owners of a resource do not reap the rewards of the sale of said resource. Sometimes other groups capture the 'rents' through manipulation and exploitation. This is broadly referred to as rent seeking. I never thought of poverty as a resource prone to rent seeking until I saw this clip. Its pretty damn obvious isn't it? Nothing is safe from the engine of commodification and commercialization that is advanced capitalism!





Several weeks ago many bloggers were talking about this paper by Ravi Kanbur discussing the moral qualms 'poverty professionals' have with living well by the poor. He concludes that week long "immersions" into the world of the poor by these professionals will serve as a reality check from the upper-middle class (read:sumptuous) lifestyle that they normally afford. "They are distinct from project monitoring or highly structured ‘red carpet’ trips when officials make brief visits to a village or an urban slum…” and keep people focused on the core mission at hand; helping people out of poverty.

Doesn't it seem like these trips are really only serving to palliate built-up middle-class guilt? It begs the question; are people working in poverty simply because they are on a career path? Do careers in our advanced capitalist world get in the way of other, more admirable motives? Are careerists more likely to make a living as poverty professionals than bleeding hearts? Perhaps the entire structure of careers in the poverty sector needs adjusting.

Still, the 'Enjoy Poverty' sign seems a little much for my taste. I suppose, though I understand the 'posty' nature of it, I would prefer it to read "Who Enjoys Poverty?"

HT:Bombastic

Post No.1 (Playground Politics and Races)

Ok, Post number one! This funny clip reminds me of a paper on UN GA votes and US Aid. The authors find a that countries will vote in accord with the US directly after after receiving untied aid from the US. The data only runs up to 2002, but it is revealing nonetheless. It's not only natural resources that countries are willing to give up to get some fresh foreign cash. Ahh, the ol' race to the bottom.

But back to resources, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative is a most excellent initiative that sets out rigorous standards for governments dabbling in the most profitable of extractive industries. In an effort to make natural resources beneficial for all, the EITI demands that countries reveal their resource revenues to the public in a consistent and honest fashion. An informed public is more likely to demand accountability, which in turn helps to combat corruption, elite capture and even perhaps ecological disaster. Of course, it is a completely voluntary initiative that doesn't carry much weight... yet. With any luck (and by luck I mean responsible citizens/investors/governments that demand nothing less than EITI certified products) this ought to slow that race down a bit.

The Africa kid is a great actor, by the way. :)

HT: Structurally Maladjusted