{"id":6401,"date":"2020-03-15T16:19:22","date_gmt":"2020-03-16T00:19:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/?p=6401&lang=en"},"modified":"2020-05-06T14:36:10","modified_gmt":"2020-05-06T22:36:10","slug":"deconstructing-the-meaning-of-renewable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/economy\/megaprojects\/deconstructing-the-meaning-of-renewable\/?lang=en","title":{"rendered":"Deconstructing the meaning of \u201crenewable\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

By: Diana Pastor<\/strong><\/p>\n

Recently, I read an interesting article on the portal SciDev.Net about science and technology for global development. The article, titled \u201cLas hidroel\u00e9ctricas \u00bfcalifican como energ\u00eda renovable?\u201d (Dams: do they count as renewable energy?), mentions that when hydroelectric energy goes from being a necessity to a tradeable commodity with a massive impact on the local ecosystem, it becomes necessary to ask if it really deserves the label \u201crenewable.\u201d This made me think about what we are being sold and what we understand about this concept and about the fact that we cannot just assume that this never-ending source is the best source of energy.<\/p>\n

Like hydraulic energy, new clean energy alternatives can also present negative consequences when they are introduced in poorly planned ways. For example, a study showed that in California (a pioneer in solar energy) various solar plants were located in areas that were not ideal, as they were natural environments. Simply, placing solar panels in the natural ecosystem and placing them on the roofs of buildings, for example, are not the same, as the latter are areas already disrupted by human activity.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Looking for more information on the topic, I discovered that Germany is also having problems with the generation of electricity. Until just a few years ago, the country had great success with the production of wind energy, but later its construction of wind turbines began to stagnate. On the technology portal Xataka, Javier Jim\u00e9nez writes in an article that \u201cGermany was wind power paradise\u2026until the Germans began to hate wind turbines.\u201d The reasoning behind this hate varies from noise complaints in populated areas to the aesthetics of the landscape.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a fact that the generation of electricity is going to have consequences. However, there\u2019s a possibility that, with organization and a search for solutions, we will come up with alternatives that reduce these consequences. As a starting point, we should be conscious of and respect renewable options that are closest to us. This means that we should stop thinking that we can indiscriminately use \u201cendless\u201d natural resources just because of their abundance. Renewability should be associated with efficiency which, when talking about energy, is about saving and reducing consumption. Using less energy will lead us to build less energy plants.<\/p>\n

Second, renewability should go hand in hand with sustainability. We cannot think about energy and development if in order to satisfy the current demand for electricity we compromise natural resources and the lives of present and future human generations, as well as animals and plants. Generation of energy should be thought of in terms of economic growth, but also in terms of environmental health and social wellbeing. Thus, the creation of many small plants instead of a few large plants is key, as the impact will be less harmful.<\/p>\n

Finally and as previously mentioned, the generation of energy will have consequences, yes, but this does not mean that it cannot contribute to the restoration of damaged ecosystems. For this, a consciousness of social and environmental responsibility must be present at all times in those who produce energy, not as charity, but as a promise and obligation derived from their economic activity. And, importantly, this social responsibility should be inclusive of consumers. People have to switch from the passive role of just paying their bills at the end of the month to the active role of making their concerns known and contributing to the problem with possible solutions so that the quality of life of all people, not just a few, is improved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By: Diana Pastor Recently, I read an interesting article on the portal SciDev.Net about science and technology for global development. The article, titled \u201cLas hidroel\u00e9ctricas \u00bfcalifican como energ\u00eda renovable?\u201d (Dams: do they count as renewable energy?), mentions that when hydroelectric energy goes from being a necessity to a tradeable commodity with a massive impact on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":6399,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[418,425,415,417,453,412,420],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-climate-change","category-community-action-en-2","category-environment","category-forests","category-frontpage-en","category-megaprojects","category-megaprojects-en"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/20-deconstruyendo.jpg?fit=604%2C481&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7ljt7-1Ff","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":10642,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/economy\/megaprojects\/stay-in-the-territory\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":6401,"position":0},"title":"Stay in the territory","author":"EntreMundos","date":"20 marzo, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Maiz de Vida Water is a living being that gives life and its life depends on its relationship with; hills, mountains, forests, trees, soil, rocks, fungi and all the organisms that make up the biodiversity of the planet. 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When Hern\u00e1n Cort\u00e9s set sail for the land of the Aztecs in 1519, his mission was to seize indigenous gold. Upon their arrival in Tenochtitlan, the Aztec king Moctezuma said that the Spanish were suffering\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abEconomy\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Economy","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/economy\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/open-pit-mining-2464761_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/open-pit-mining-2464761_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/open-pit-mining-2464761_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/open-pit-mining-2464761_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/open-pit-mining-2464761_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6980,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/economy\/megaprojects\/development-association-in-el-estor-izabal-denounces-threats-from-ex-workers-of-mining-company-cgn\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":6401,"position":2},"title":"Development Association in El Estor, Izabal, denounces threats from ex workers of mining company CGN","author":"Majo Recinos","date":"15 junio, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Past June the 12th, the Estor Integral Development Association - AEDPI - and Radio\u00a0 Xyaab Tzultaq\u2019a received threats from workers who were fired by the mining company CGN Pronico.\u00a0 These workers were removed from their duties because the company wasn\u2019t able to transfer raw materials to continue its operations, due\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abFrontPage\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"FrontPage","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/frontpage-en\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/instalaciones.jpg?fit=1200%2C763&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/instalaciones.jpg?fit=1200%2C763&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/instalaciones.jpg?fit=1200%2C763&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/instalaciones.jpg?fit=1200%2C763&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/instalaciones.jpg?fit=1200%2C763&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2739,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/economy\/megaprojects\/drought-claims-two-major-high-altitude-ponds-in-huehuetenango\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":6401,"position":3},"title":"Drought claims two major high-altitude ponds in Huehuetenango","author":"EntreMundos","date":"14 junio, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"A third consecutive year of drought in the Guatemalan highlands is wreaking familiar economic and ecological havoc. 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A community tourism project rents caba\u00f1as close to the scenic pond, known\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abClimate Change\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Climate Change","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/environment\/climate-change\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/img_8121.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/img_8121.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/img_8121.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/img_8121.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/img_8121.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6987,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/economy\/megaprojects\/fidel-lopez-was-murdered-member-of-codeca-in-morales-izabal\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":6401,"position":4},"title":"Fidel L\u00f3pez, member of CODECA in Morales Izabal was murdered","author":"EntreMundos","date":"24 junio, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"By: Entremundos On June 23th, Fidel L\u00f3pez was assasinated, he was 55 years old, born in the community San Vicente de Paul, Morales Izabal and member of CODECA Peasant Development Committee. 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