ethanol fuel production and use in kenya for sustainable ... - lumes

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The high food and good prices leads to poverty and hunger (CLD on Figure 1) this is becausefamilies are forced to cut down their domestic expenditure with the poorer families having tocut down their food budget driving the poor into hunger. The high oil prices experienced afterthe hurricane Katrina led many into hunger in some many African countries such as Malawiwere the food prices had greatly been affected by the price of oil (Mageria, 2005).Lastly, high transport costs triggered by the oil prices (CLD on Figure 1) make travelling bycar expensive especially for the students and people that have to commute daily to work; theyare forced to opt to walk for long distances to school leading to fatigue, low productivity andinsecurity for the people having to walk through unsafe areas. For instance when the oil priceswere at 76 Kenya Shillings 4 a litre, the “matatu” owners (private public transport car owners)increased fares countrywide those operating between Nairobi and Mombasa increased theirfares from 500 to 800 shillings per person, while those travelling to Kisumu and westernKenya had to pay at least 600 shillings from an average of 400 shillings citing high cost offuel (Senelwa, 2005).2.1.3 IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENTIndoor Air PollutionAs earlier stated and in reference to Figure 1, the high cost of kerosene and LPG triggers theuse of biomass fuels (firewood charcoal, dung and crop residues) for cooking. This has beenreported as being the leading source of indoor concentrations of health damaging pollutantssuch as carbon monoxide, particulates, benzene and formaldehyde which arise from theincomplete combustion in stoves (UNDESA - UNDP - WEC, 2000); these pollutants havebeen linked to diseases such as lung cancer, tuberculosis, acute and chronic respiratorydiseases to especially women and children that spend long hours in poorly ventilated smokefilled kitchens.Land DegradationWhen people are not able to meet their basic needs they are forced to overuse environmentalresources in order to survive; the overuse of the environment leads to deeper poverty fromdeclining yields and reduced natural capital (WCED, 1987). This makes the survival of thepoor even more difficult. This vicious cycle of poverty and environmental degradation isillustrated in the CLD on Figure 1 by the reinforcing loop R1. Land degradation results fromdeforestation which leads to soil erosion and the use of dung and plant residues for fuel whichcould have been used as manure for the soils.Global WarmingGlobal warming is a process that is going on as a result of the build-up of greenhouse gasesthat absorb the thermal radiation which is emitted by the earth’s surface and act like a blanketover the surface (Houghton, 2005). Evidence from climate studies shows that the earth isgetting warmer and is anticipated to increase (Carter, 2001). Studies show that during the lastcentury, the average surface temperatures on earth rose between 0.2 and 0.6° C and wasprojected to further increase by between 1.4 and 1.8° C by the year 2100 (Carter, 2001). Someof the greenhouse gases responsible for global warming are carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) methane(CH 4 ) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) among which CO 2 which to date has contributed about 70% of4 In 2005, 1 US Dollar has been equivalent to an average of 74 Kenya Shillings.9
the strengthened greenhouse effect is the most significant human induced contributor(Houghton, 2005). The main anthropogenic sources of the build up of carbon dioxide in theatmosphere are the combustion of fossil fuels (CLD on Figure 1) which contributes about77% of the total CO 2 emissions and deforestation which contributes to 23% (UNU, 1995).Illustrated in the CLD on Figure 1, an increase in global warming leads to an increase innatural disasters such as hurricanes and flooding. The frequency of occurrence of suchdisasters has been linked to climate change. Of concern is that climate change from globalwarming could produce devastating impacts such as a rise in the sea level which is anticipatedthat by the year 2100 will flood many of the lowland areas (Carter, 2001). Kenya has acoastline of 536 km CIA (2005) therefore it is most likely that rising sea levels will have animpact on the ecosystems and communities living at the coastline.Depletion of Natural ResourcesFossil fuels come from finite sources hence continued use will lead to an eventual depletion ofthe resource reducing the ‘stock available for future generations’ (WCED, 1987). Manyresearchers have used the Hubbert Peak Model (Figure 3), to make predictions on theapproximate period of the eventual depletion of oil. A research estimated that the physicalpeak of conventional oil production was between 5 and 10 years (relative to 2002) after whichproduction will decrease at approximately 3% per year to depletion (Bentley, 2002). The highprices at the peak is a result of the switch from a production for the market to one driven bysupply because from the peak, there will be declining supplies and thus lower production.OilProductionper yearNow atpeak1900 2100Hubbert Peak Model: Therate of oil production forindividual oil field over timefollows a bell-shaped curve.There is first, a slow steadyincrease of production; then,a sharp increase; then, aplateau (the "peak"); and,finally, a steep decline.(Wikipedia Encyclopedia,2005)Figure 3: Oil peak modelUrban Air PollutionThe combustion of fossil fuels leads to the emission of pollutants such as oxides of nitrogen(NOx), sulphur dioxide (SO 2 ), particulate matter (PM), lead (PB), carbon monoxide (CO), andvolatile organic compounds (VOCs). The combustion of petroleum fuels is responsible forurban air degradation especially in big cities. Of concern is that these air pollutants causehuman health problems. Table 1 displays a list of some of the pollutants emitted from thecombustion of fossil fuels and their impacts on human health.10
Page 1 and 2: LUND UNIVERSITYInternational Master
Page 3 and 4: AcknowledgementsI would like to tha
Page 5 and 6: Table of ContentsAbstract .........
Page 7 and 8: List of acronymsACE - Atmosphere Cl
Page 9 and 10: The oil crisis and low sugar prices
Page 11 and 12: patterns that may be used to predic
Page 13 and 14: REINFORCING LOOP (R1)An increase in
Page 15: World Oil Prices and Inflation Tren
Page 19 and 20: Available arable land(carrying capa
Page 21 and 22: need for higher agricultural growth
Page 23 and 24: atmosphere” leads to a decrease i
Page 25 and 26: evaporative emissions reacts with h
Page 27 and 28: particulate emissions from cane fie
Page 29 and 30: the yields on table 1 probably beca
Page 31 and 32: pastoralists and thus do not cultiv
Page 33 and 34: contributes to global warming. Petr
Page 35 and 36: Gariazzo et al. (2005) Monitoring a
Page 37 and 38: Tsai, et al. (2005) A Hematology Su
Page 39 and 40: Fossil fuels1. Does the country imp

ethanol fuel production and use in kenya for sustainable ... - lumes

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