The South African Energy Crisis and the
Globalist Agenda
In this article I wish to confront the topic of
energy and the current crisis we find ourselves having to deal with in South
Africa. I also wish to establish a link to a global view of energy, and
ultimately, how energy and its discourses are used to further a capitalist
ideal or agenda. This essay will deal with the energy use in South Africa and
other African countries as well as Energy use as a whole internationally. It
will address how energy and its use effects the South African economy and how
there has been a push in recent times for the need to conserve our resources
and how to efficiently generate and maintain various forms of energy.
To start off with it is important to understand what
energy is in this context and the different form in which it exists. The Oxford
Dictionary defines Energy as power derived from the utilization of physical or chemical resources,
especially to provide light and heat or to work machines.
There are different forms of energy mainly kinetic
and potential energy, where kinetic energy makes use of motion or contact of
two relative objects, such as wind energy or more complexly as particle
acceleration. An example of potential energy is how water is stored in
reservoir and utilized when needed.
Energy can be produced and utilized in many ways.
Energy can exist in many forms such as heat energy, electric energy, electro-chemical
energy two name but a few. I will be focusing on Coal as a resource and energy
source as well as the use of electricity and nuclear energy in South Africa.
I also wish to address alternative forms of energy
and renewable energy sources that in theory and as well as practice have proven
to be more efficient than the current status quo. The question is why haven’t
they been adopted?
What are the consequences of the above? How do they
affect our lives? And who benefits?
Cape Town has recently been gripped by a media frenzy
surrounding the current energy crisis and more specifically the electricity
shortages and load shedding that has been a common occurrence since 2006. The
result has been a wider intrigue to alternatives with the current craze being
solar energy and how simple daily habits can shave Rands off the monthly bills.
If only it were that simple.
In an article written on IOL, journalist, Xolana
Kayana discusses the fact that since 2006 South Africans have been instructed
that it is their civil duty to be saving electricity and those who use more
shall pay more for it. This is the rhetoric of Leslie
Rencontre, the director of electricity sales for Cape Town. (IOL; 2012)
This was a pre text a citywide campaigned launched by the council whose
aim was to encourage residents to save electricity to avoid the threat of load
shedding. The campaign targeted middle to high-income households and promoted
ways in which they could save electricity and in turn save money in the midst
of a 31.5 % increase in electricity tariffs since June 2008. Research provided
by (Altman,Harris, Davies,Flemming,Mather; 2008) illustrates that in the Cape,
41% percent of electricity is used by residential areas. The other 59% is used
to power other areas of the public sector and other private establishments.
From this we can confidently say that the bulk of electricity usage is
dedicated to those other than residential areas. Why isn’t there a campaign
targeting shopping malls and other commercial establishment. To remain rational
we can’t expect public sectors like schools and hospitals to cut down on
electricity other wise people might die or class’s rooms will remain empty, and
with an unemployment rate of nearly 24 % in the Cape this is something we
cannot afford. But surely these places don’t experience load shedding? Well the
evil truth is that they do. In 2008 hospitals and clinics in rural areas were
hit hardest by load shedding, and those without generators could not serve
those in desperate need of medical care. (News24.com 2008)
So what was the catalyst to load shedding, where did it all start? Cape
Town is supplied with power by the Koeberg nuclear powers station. It is the
only Nuclear power station in the Country and on the African Continent. It
supplies power to the national grid on an as-needed basis and upon its
completion in 1984 Reactor unit one was connected to the national grid followed
by reactor 2 in 1985. Waste from nuclear reactor is transported 600 km away to
Vaalputs, in the Kalahari where is it disposed of and processed.
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| Photo available at www.eskom.co.za |
On Christmas Day 2005 during a routine refueling and rescheduling process, a loose bolt was left in Unit one and subsequently caused severe damage to the reactor. This resulted to the reactor shutting down, and due to the unexpected availability of Unit 1 Unit 2 also shut down. Load shedding was then put into place in order to stabilize the power supply, which lead to a rotation of areas experiencing power cuts. This continued until 2007, when the unit was replaced. With technical difficulties still commonly occurring at Koeberg, occasionally black outs remain a reality to Capetonians
As one can imagine this had dramatic effects on the economy and as of
February 2007 economic losses rose over R500 Million and were expected to rise
over R2 Billion. This resulted in job losses, further unemployment and a wide
variety of infrastructural problems that still recovering today in 2012.
So who are the claim makers when we refer to the current energy crisis?
In this case it is purely governmental publications and statements that are
informing the public. We are being told that we are to conserve power because
there are shortages, we are being told that in order to keep up with the demand
for power tariffs have to increase. Eskom has been threatened by labour unions
such as COSATU and other coalitions that a nation wide strike will commence if
Eskom attempt to introduce higher tariffs.
It is important to realize that all media coverage regarding such crisis
is of consequence, a social construct. Especially with a crisis such as
electricity shortage and energy related subjects in South Africa. We know only
what the officials and claim makers tell us. How we understand the problem
relies solely on how the problem is explained to us by those who deliver the
message, be it the media, teachers, reporters, or government bodies. (Adoni and
Mane, 1984;Surette, 2007)
The topic is one that has a finite explanation, however to the layman,
or ordinary South African Citizen, it is a topic that requires understanding
surrounding how the crisis came into being in the first place which requires a
knowledge about energy systems and how it works. So the point I’m trying to
make is that most people wont be able to question for themselves the
explanations handed down to them from people they should trust. They only have
the information given to them by the claim makers and other various opinion
makers.
However the current state of affairs we find ourselves in is not
something that is new. Since the industrial revolution energy as an industry,
has evolved and transformed into a new kind of animal. After all, energy is a
massive global industry. It is a common need that transcends through culture,
race, religion and creed. We all need some form of energy; it is a multi
billion-dollar industry that thrives on this need for and in turn consumption,
transportation, security, heat, and basic sustenance.
Due to the global media coverage on the topic of wasteful energy
practices and ethically sound practices, many have become informed, be it by
the media and other public bodies that we measures need to be put into place to
ensure that this system can carry on. In short, we need to be more sparing and
give up liberties and make sacrifices in terms of energy usage. Is this really
the answer? I have no doubt that turning off my geyser will save me a few
hundred Rand every month, that is something I can measure. But how sure am I
that being sparing is the solution. Is it not a mindset that has to be shifted
as to how we perceive energy is general? Could it be that energy more specifically
things like electricity are tools that are implemented to keep us subservient
or to keep us in line? This may seem to be an extreme theory of mine, but it
may have merit to think about. Downs (1972) in an article titled ‘’Up and down
with ecology- the issue attention cycle’, explains that with regards to
coverage of social problems, ecological problems have a cyclical career as it
were, of media coverage from the 1960’s to the 2000’s. (O’Meara, 1978;
Strodthof, 1985, Bowman and Fuchs, 1981; McGeachy, 1989;Hansen 1994b; Eisandal
and Coughlan, 1993, Ader, 1995; Brossard 2004, Boykoff, 2007, 2008) show that
coverage environmental issues began in the mid 60s and rose to peak in the 70’s
followed by a gradual decline until the mid 1980s where is sustained until the
90s only to return with a vengeance in the first decade of the 2000s.
In my opinion there is good reason for these peaks. One must remember the
state of the super powers that dictated much of the global policy around this
time. My point will become clear momentarily. One must take into account what
was happening around this time. USA president John F Kennedy was assassinated
leaving Americans guessing who would fill the shoes if a president that stood
for the needs of the people. The cold war was reaching its climax of
uncertainty. Shortly followed by Vietnam War in the 70s, occupation of the Middle
East and Afghanistan in the late 80’s where the media frenzy then died down a
bit before one of the greatest event of our time took place 9/11. Cue, climate
change, energy crises, terrorist cells and swine flu. Could these socially
constructed, media propagated issues been to take the attention off a global
agenda that was a bit more sinister? David Icke, a British Author and
anthropologist talks about his theory of “repeaters”. Where by media bodies and
governments repeat information so much, so that once it arrives the ears of an
individual, it is common knowledge to most, and there for credible and
legitimate. (Icke, David, Tales from The time Loop, Icke Books Publishing 2003)
In this same text Icke introduces the theory of
“problem-reaction-solution’. Whereby a Foucaultian establishment creates a
problem, and through the media, propagates the problem, a problem often blamed
on someone else, or blamed on another cause. With the media making the problem
more prevalent, the public demands action. The public becomes aware and
effected by the problem to the extent where they demand a solution to the
problem. The establishment then provides a solution to the problem pleasing the
public and becoming credible as a body that provides solutions to its citizens.
I have been digressing a bit from the locality of the topic but I wish
to make further links to a South African energy crisis and the concept of crisis
in general. Using the above-mentioned
theory of Icke’s, how can we apply this to the current crisis we face in SA?
Since the load shedding began the public have been quick to blame Eskom, and
rightly so. However the media continue to make the public feel guilty about
consuming excess of what should be a fundamental right as citizen of a free and
open society. With the hype around Eskom’s inability to provide power in the
declining stages of the crisis’ career, Eskom have in some way, through good PR
and one sided reporting, have ended up looking like they did a good job in
relieving the situation. Let us not forget that they created the problem in the
first place. However with tarrifs being as high as ever, and set to rise? Is
the electricity shortage in Cape Town the issue? Or could this be a way to
syphon more money from a public sector that cannot afford to give another Rand
during a rebirth of a global economy since the recent recession.
South Africa, like the rest of Africa, is abundant in natural resources.
As a country we are the chief exporter of Coal and other mined resources to
Europe where 80 % percent of exported coal is shipped to European shores. For
these reasons one has to ask if we can afford to export so much coal when
surely it could be used to benefit areas that are suffering from power
shortages. Even though one of the reasons for Koeberg being built and the
implementation of Nuclear power were to curb transportation costs of coal we
still cannot seem to permeate the membrane that is alternative energy. Since
the 2000s the crusade against carbon emissions has lead too many restrictions
and legislation being put into place. Tony Carnie suggests that the
implications of such legislature will affect a South African economy eventually
and recently wrote that South African tourism minister, Martinus Van Schalkwyk
has called onto the EU to halt its aviation emission scheme for up to two years
stating that it could lead to international trade wars amongst countries. The
threat was far too great.
(IOLnews.com, captured on 21st April 2012)
Could electricity and energy in general be another tool of the trade, to
ensure a capitalist ideal? The answer is most certainly yes, and the coverage
of environmental crises in general, in my opinion, is no exception.
With the current carbon tax laws being passed in the states and other
parts of the EU, the common theme to me seems to be profiteering from
punishing. The concept of a carbon tax is to promote lower carbon emissions,
putting a tax on excessive carbon emissions. Basically, making money by
charging people for emitting too much of the “climate changing gas”. The BBC
Documentary “The Great Global Warming Swindle” illustrates a theory that
suggests ulterior motives to the global warming phenomena. The film argues that
man-made carbon gas has no direct link to the change in climate and that the
change in climate is beyond our control. They go on to suggest that it is scam
as it perpetuates a lie that has been endorsed by many governments and
establishments, the biggest Crusader of which being Al Gore. The power of the
lie is more dangerous than the lie itself in most cases, and nothing could be
truer as in the case that this film deals.
This leads me to my next point about the media promoting alternatives to
power and how one can go about implementing environmentally friendly
alternatives such as solar power and other solutions. The fact that everyone
needs electricity could be comparable to the capitalist notion of how everyone
needs money it orders to survive. And in light of the recent tariff hikes, the
relationship to economic status and quality of life has never been so easily
visible.
By threatening the public with higher tariffs and power cuts, one is
inevitably controlling development in certain areas. In Africa this is
extremely prevalent. The link between third world problems and a global
capitalist agenda is a relationship that has affected the developing countries
of the world and Africa since the arrival of the Europeans on African shores,
continent so rich in resources, however in South Africa alone, almost 50 % live
below the poverty line. (STATSA.com captured 21 April 2012)
It seems that Africa shall remain the dumping ground of the first world
forever if restrictions are put into place in order for it to develop.
Restrictions such as electricity cuts and carbon taxes make no sense in a place
that has problems that range from HIV and Aids and crime and poverty, let alone
the need to promote solar power to the developing world which is high in cost
to implement.
A quote that resonates with this notion is of Kenyan journalist James
Shikwati who, in the film, “the Great Global warming Swindle “, stated
““One clear thing that emerges from the whole
environmental debate is the point that somebody is keen to kill the African
dream, and the African dream is to develop.”
“I don’t see how a solar panel is going to
power a steel industry…we are being told, ‘don’t touch your resources. Don’t
touch your oil. Don’t touch your coal.’ That is suicide.”
These are instructions given by a capitalist machine that wishes to keep
countries in Africa undeveloped and at the mercy of the first world.
There is a clear link between a time of crisis and investment. With
energy crisis comes plenty of investment for solutions and with a crisis of
this magnitude it has governmental implications as well.
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| Source - Zapiro |
To resurrect the notions of a global problem in terms of energy, one can
ask ones self? Why haven’t alternative solutions been strategized or
implemented.
Renewable energy sources account for billions if not trillions of
dollars each year, and next to the pharmaceutical industry, renewable energy is
one of the big players in the global economy. The South African Renewables
initiative is one such cause that has been boosted with a 100 million Euros
being pumped in green energy and development.
According to an article on greentimes.co.za, jobs, technology and money
are expected to flow in SA with this initiative. However when will results be
seen? And questions surrounding the distribution of funds are still speculator
at best.
Available online at greentimes.co.za {retrieved 21st April
2012 from http://www.thegreentimes.co.za/stories/news-from-other-sources/item/946-sa-launches-renewable-energy-initiative
For years many have been dreaming about a Utopian
ideal where electricity would be freely available to the masses. And one man
who devoted his life to this cause was Nikola Tesla. Nikola Tesla was born in
1856 in Serbia. He was an understudy of Thomas Edison, the Grand Father of
modern electricity.
Nikola
Tesla 2012. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Retrieved 21 April,
2012, from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/588597/Nikola-Tesla
Nikola Tesla’s vision of inventing a means to provide, cheap, affordable
power to the masses, was a vision that only today is being sought to have
merit. He had the idea that electricity is a basic human right, and that to
provide equality throughout humanity, something as fundamentally powerful as
electricity should be available to all.
Tesla was seen as an idealist to many, and a mad, Marxist scientist to
most. He was the inventor of the Tesla Coil, a conductor coil that was used to
develop wireless Radio transmission. www.hvtesla.com
defines a tesla coil as an air cored resonant transformer of electricity.
The Tesla Coil Components, HV Tesla. Retrieved 21 April 2012 from www.hvtesla.com
Without getting too scientific it is said that Nikola Tesla succeeded in
developing the Tesla coil, which in theory could transmit electric current
continuously and from minimal input. The result is affordable energy, with high
output.
If this was said to be in existence almost 100 years ago why hasn’t more
of an effort been made to explore the possibilities of such an invention? This
is where a notion of capitalist agenda plays an important role in how we
understand society. If we did not need paraffin, if we did not need oil for our
cars, if we did not need to spend money on acquiring these fuels, would there
be a reason for multi billion dollar energy companies to exist?
There are invested interests in the price of electricity and al energy
sources for that matter.
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| portrait of Nikola Telsa, Artist unknown. Photo available at www.cille85.wordpress.com |
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| photo available at www.hvtesla.com |
So evidently, the argument I wish to make is that an energy crisis such
as the one that we face in SA is not one with finite solutions and
alternatives, its more a crisis that demands an understanding of global society
as a whole, and the forces that control the most basic human needs. By applying
a strangle hold on the public in terms of resources such as energy, one makes
the public subservient to those who have the power in the first place. I would
go as far as to argue that it is not a matter of convincing people to cut down
on usage, and that being a solution. The solution inevitably is a shift in
mindset that has to occur eventually. The concept of Capitalism being the only
economic system has proven to fail the world. A system where the richer get
richer and the poorer get poorer. A system where the world is your oyster, as
long as you can afford the pearls. A System that champions free enterprise,
instead of collaboration between individuals and insures that the wealth of the
world remains in the hands of the wealthy. This is not about being in South
Africa or in any other Country for that matter; it boils down to a basic
humanitarian ideology, one that has never been given the chance to evolve as
the monetary interest outweighs the need to improve life for all.
To conclude I would like to quote the words of Nikola Tesla. Hopefully a man like him will be born again.
“Our virtues and our failings are inseparable, like force and matter.
When they separate, man is no more.”
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| Capitalism Meme |
Bibliography
The Great Global Warming Swindle, 2007, Documentary, Martin Durkin, BBC,
United Kingdom
Icke, David,Tales From the Timeloop, 2003, Icke Books(Publisher),
Hansen, Anders,Enviroment, Media and Communication, 2009, 1st
Ed. Taylor and Francis
