Table Of Content

Biological Paths to Self-Reliance A Guide to Biological Solar Energy Conversion RUSSELL E. ANDERSON, Ph.D. International Federation of Institutes for Advanced Study Uriksdals Slot Solna, Sweden ‘Yan Nostrand Reinhold Conpany Regionst Otnes New Yuck Cueimad Ata Dallas San Pasetoy ‘Van Nostrand Reinhold Curpuny Intemational ees: Linton Tuewats Mellons Conpight © 1978 by Liton Edvestional Publishing. I. Linea af Congesss Cealog Card Nomber: 72-9847 ISBN 0-442-20229-2 All sighs meserved, No pi of tit work covered by the copyight ert my he produced oF wed in ary form oF by any. maam—yraphiy elkctonc, nm mechani], iteluding photocopying, ‘peonding, oping. Or iafortation norage sad etivalayseans witha permis ofthe publisbet, Manufactured inthe Unita States of Amnricn Peblished by Van Nostrand Rei! Conny 135 West SO Sect, New York, N.Y. TA20 Pibtised simutneousts ir Canady by Van Nostrand Reinhold Lid AS11098 7684921 Library of Congress Cataloging in Pablleation Data ‘edemon, Rusiell E ‘Biological paths solf-celiance. {Van Neste Reinhold enviconmental engineering series) Bibliography p. Irctses rales TT Bioaass energy. 2. Solar enecgy. (Tite DT Selfrehance TRa.As S'S. SAN 6.442.20229-2 Contents Fomtord ii Preface x Ackaowedanenes ” Fart Potente Rak of Bilageal Solar Energy Conversion ty Development A The Question of Derebypnent a Seleetlance a Diclogical Soler-Ene-ay Use 3 Devenvallied Development a 2 Understanding Energy aw Energy Byivalence I Energy Comervation na Entory B 3 Energy Analyes—accountig for Energy Use 2 nergy and Agree 24 Ecmonics and Brergy Analysis 2 orators for Energy Analyse 2 Special Considerations 3 4 Heology and Nature's Energy Balanse a Soler nergy a Food Chaise se Eenlogial Niobe 35 Resyelng a 5 Hidden Energy Cousin Ceotraizad Development ‘Modem Man nergy Algae in Agricule 6 Capture of Solar Enengy by Green Pls Limo Plane Prodoctay Protos! Ayizatura YielsLiastions lise ‘Agrcolura Prouecsity Lngtange Reseach 17 Turing Plant Products nto Usefl Energy Fora Enaymabe Conversion Fre Solve Eeaymes Immosilzed neds “Thermockenieal Cootrsions 8 Indegration for Decentralized Desslpment ‘eetniel Integration Combination wih Algae Gosh “Additonal ements nergy Wilds Sale 9 Steps to Development ‘Geography of Need Gplal Aid Lido aad foformation Exchange Reweich operatives ‘yan Desslepment impentives ‘Ne epee ar Techales! Bass of Biological Solar Ruergy Conversions 1 Phoigeythesis get Proceares—Phoosytieny Mechanisns Dak Fixatioa React Limics to Phouryaliis Producti Fant Kaien Biomass Productions 2 Algse—A Special Case What and Wy? Mess Culuring—Geveo Ts Growth Medion ‘Altes Colured on Werte Species Cote! Harvesting Procesing ies fr Hevesi go Esenomio aml Bne-gets Coss fo: Algal Prodtion chwigues and Geawih Liitaons 2 Conversion Braces forthe Peoductlon of Fuels from Organic Mater 2a Femenaive Conversions 28 Enzyte Idle of Cals ne Chemical Conversions Be Them Cossestians a Mechinel Convass.on us 4 Fuels m7 ydreges a Mahaee ne Methane! 2 Edinol Sa 5 Lang-tange Research for Semi Synthetic $)seus 20 mobile Farymes ad Cel’ no Ervpmis Hydeoaen Production bs Apphcaians of Stabilized Calropiaats a [Bteterortnsgsin A Nencblcropyl Piotusyten, 28 ‘Nia Ciment on Resech 3a pment Corverton Factors 3 References bs Shs 381 andes 365 Foreword Jehan Sattung Proteszor Instiar Unvarclave Etudes te Developpement ‘Geneva, Swizeianr! ‘When fuure historians Jaok back at sur epach and ey 6 anive a! some answer in the perplexing questen "whac went wong?" maybe cme an fer will be along the following ins: arrogant Wes een Man thought he o0ld do eller an Nulce, even lu the pont of working agaist NAUEE For how can-one wherwive imerpret. the complex known ag indusialem, including in ‘dusonalagriccttare” Ic is based on kravsledge of some of the simpler processes in Nature, stued systematically by “medsm™ science, which {ub out of exremely complex tales Rand uf variables. relating Then 10 each uther under arificial {laberamey) eons, uacovets 2 telaricnship, and bulls it no aneter sii seting, “modern indus ny. Late respect forthe miracle that is Nae, Jue how a mato ees ec nunages to survive thrnugh diversi, eoripex cycles, and care tse of high-quality energy, Inslead of Sees, saudezdiza om and Tees to atrve afte universal opimal scion (sain, Wee organ. Gana stone, instead of lelntoe, depletion uf resources und pale (of whit wef, wih “wastes” piling up, instead of energy-saving vives, fovease, of aattul use. of highjoalty energy. The coneequenses ae ow dawning upon ws Seane of these conseyuences are scological thes ate pobilical, eco nomic. social—iv short, oman. Thus, i may be azgved that fear Title human unit—eouncey, commenity, facily, even imividiaperson— behaved drs way towans the Nature “hei alloted gam of the world nly, theo “his becomes dhe problem, The county/cnmnuniy fal pethaps one base thought in mind: how lle the rest ren kn Ant energy and ust suhine aad tin, Water and so. nnd and der. tears and fond chains, thus, couelder the smal: mel presested by the lnhor townds the oad of the beek, a teeepaint cycle using. normal fgdeulore to penduce teed ane “wastes puting the wuss Em ae Feuaral pricuvtiva aad eensinpion inte 4 bioges ungester te prude methine forall Kinds nf eneray use. fenlzer for aguicukute and sme tsubon diate o “ced ce a:gal pond, he thd element in the eyele. “his gal pond can be axed Go food and fodder, xn Feed the biogas unzester, ‘and is provide forthe Famous bieiegcal fixation of exeogen to be wed at fevilizey tor agcicahure, Te is wict a fine cvample at pacing lest things —neofound eespoct Gor Maa-Namare symbiesis-firt ‘what does "Man-Naturesyechisis” mean? For one tha, i means & foens on nara processes, In ndersin's al, the no heroes of Nate, jtnghiae and the phetosyathee press, afe $e chviens tbat thy had co te pushed ints the aekgeound hy rnd indosty because they Were Lou compattives The tormer Ws deribed as ut only toe enersy capital, ne voneutaly renewed hecause t comes mn abondazce from tbe vat. ie of tke cath gel The later is doscribec as proves infinitely ‘ore complex than idosteial processes. So why not make opomal use them-—sunaing as high quality energy thal can be converted nn kinds of exergy. cheety aa inlet, ur With the eae of @ mature ecosystem; the photoeynerie pmcess as the best factory inthe world, Fieling all wo aced when properly widetstood, Aad they omanot he ated (ra lea sie aesume!—they ae uly pat af Man's coromon ‘Andeisoa docs not say sn explicitly, an als ale iy nut excessively dna wih Nature eemanticisen, but the eas wil secs 364 tcl OF ‘enificatio sith Naloce ad orgasi, hiongical proceses, and a cere- spunding skepticism vicd-vis colder, less ntganse, maze mechanizell Iucly man-eade aperazers. Ik may be sid Thal tie ule be in th Yesled imarest of the biologi as against The mvchetlealiphysicas hemica! engineers whose world views have dominated au economic Feluions (9 Nature for pennd of a cenaury or more. [a that case, su be i Mahe he hook should Gene a warning Wy the lace, sha ther tye tp. that we deed much Fcher srl views with reer reapest for Nate, sondovive to 2 great ability to fuse the evononite eyeles vb wich ove Evlstence is based rch betlee With the gcoeycles that corsiute Nature 8 its more watur stages, Actoaly, ii ioteresting to compre (hs wah sooespond.ng pheremenen witha tae sucal scienoes: Ihe eeanenis Ihave shown 8 drespert fr the finer lines in the ypectiy of The nan pavshe. nd een for the moat basic medal needs of the majrity. In person wh Hchaves unsiscly wands Nature become the victim ofthat Fehavor, at ike same Ue cause amd effect, subject ané object, But Fumi socsties robot organ-rod tha: ay.” They are huge eas, designed. among ether ‘hinge to doflo the negative conscgusnese out swan and downward. wo put them at the fet of the peripheral und fdowstundden, The garbage dampe af Ica, national and world scietios fremont ea the poor shor than nent othe reh-—slthough often net to Cae poor in he rich siete, The cause oflen a aniforible distance sway Feom the effec, Tossed athe oppesite en of vast ecto cts that atthe same Une ate cycles of exploitation, dapendence, and environmen: {al deerortion -Revewiy new term has enered the developntey eeninology and with Inorensg force: terion. 1c mieans exseatialy tite whether a the loedl, national ar regional levels—if yau want ta preduce something, bointon Your own resouoes (energy, raw materais, capital, and above All the human resources) fre. UF tae ig iasucient, ge dings thrcagh exchange, but wi other at oughly The sume level: suur meghbors 1a -Reogeaphiel and social space, Do Hot hecorie depeanent vx alters do bot give away rasy mately and cnergy in exchange for capital and techology, because “D you undermine the basis of your own existence Nature. (2) you deprive yours of the challenge ta develop {Jour ova technology und (3) you fll ita & vicious citale of dopendency ‘moreover, you ur Hkaly wo be cheated unjhow). However, the skeptic ssl 5ay you sill wed a fetvologiealhasis—how can pour counties and <ormmuntog Teed thangelves? Anwwers dough other Iypes of fod Techooloyies, ore alvanced ones, mere respectful of Nature. asa less ‘wasteful rece abtonomoxe—in short mare sell-celian, Thuy there 2 = bology of sei-rehance, and ths aspect of self-reliance i what Russell Anderson's book is about, ‘Tis imporanc heck combines the thee fase wf evod, poy relevant esearsh—cmpirica, erica, and constructive approaches 4 [ascnal= ing moet, The wider will tnd a host of empiteal data that in 2 sane ‘ale up (one conclusin: haw wet final the peescnt system i, fexcopt—pemhaps—for fos located at is cemter, anc even for thervas fone may Suspee thar nar material overabundance no longer laste a: 200 3s before. There a Cerly crv ayprouch, with adedicaion co what, foc te autor, stands out as The goal of the whole hut exercie Wid, ‘ature—"(o) emphisie the mar whom the tencal cyst serves, the ‘ped ta unite Foland fuct wih nental ad physical health, education, Sand secial if in @ manner and ona eale appropriate his potenti and needs." And this book i indeed consteutive, here is a wealth of rich ideas tha will keep the reader cuplivuted fom beginning «end, sh their search fordeterninants of economic yrovth. They have bashed into very complex wets and toutes, wih great fait in ahundtul of variables tw be manipilaved—and ave 20 pilleé aaital the “"sofer” sociul sc saves ia Thee effort 0 defend this complex thing called “human iden ity,” atthe individual level (psychology, social psychology) and atthe socal level (sociology, anthropology) "ut thes is not an aceaston fo seach foe eres and villains; there ate more important tasks. Biology and sociology, for example, do not consti- tute final answers to anjting, but precisely because they ae ess mane ruatized and less axiomulic, they are more open as ugh systems aad heace more capable of ucjsting ta new insights. The pice for approxi tion to pure mathematics or to classical mechanics) as un itellectual ‘movil may be premnue dest as aa. ongoing iaellectual enterprise—sa let ‘ts hope those who sax to forcalize the lleneative discipline wl mot have too amoch soecess, At This point are might fel serae woery in cobdection felt te present bok: 1 would be as ateaid nf world clan of Bologst high priest (sociologists) ax 1am ofthe present alliance tte center of ‘0r Highly ceatralized societies: the bueauerats, the men whe contol the ‘asic egononuc flows. and the researches with tins linear, onaholisie, cohen mathematically impressive caught models, In Rusell Ande son's favorite work!, dccentalization Is a Key point, and his task in this hook sto shown T think aiher coavincingly—ahat iis pase fo provide ford and energy of 2 deventalied basis working with rather than agains Nature. But one aspect of selfeliane i intellectual self- relignce: Row do peeple advance tit ova ideas and concepts? Wil the biologists be cess inclined tw by 19 make Themselves indispensable than the physical seiendis; the socidlsceatsts more tun the evotonsis? ‘There f probably a waswer to this question hidden ir these pages, By ‘ving in elbsereortact wth Nawe, making beter use af sun ad Fae, ‘sing sl, photosynthesis and organi processes, selPnures wil stimulate more creativity. But i should pot be: cuneealel in any way Chat wht Aniecso infact is saving, when ten seriously, seuld he tantamount 0 a complete agrco:cral revolution, ut eneumpassing and full of inplict ‘dons as the revolution chat has Tel what lay knowin a8. “ita sgriulie."” with Justus Leibig 3s on of the forerucners, Instead of coupling inlesicy and agricoture in sash a way Ghat the fomer '3 _eadually enctetehing one and traneforming the lites, Ieaing tener ‘ous ndusutal commercial systems whose centers have been eae up Bl nom escenbally on cheap ofl~Anderun says to et aprile peneale industry, agpculearzing indusiey, eabee than vice vera, For this to happen aneiher mica & probably needed, with more ability to ‘steato Satore and follow Hor poiaters—tnl one ean only hope ere re ssi enough pple Heft will st ice of ability ceasonably ints lunderstind fal Nature says, and tala i nls Hague ulead abe ll of us why have hoon systomaticallydeteaingt i Mt doen: Let us only ope it happeds befure the lst Western espet ste € believes in the guspel uf ndostalizaion i the classes! sease has eta age to covet the Bat villager ithe Thind Word ‘Dn vory impoytantcharacevisde of this book i the absence af dooms: uy lonan, Anderson docs not offer peeple the cheap kick oF ineipiont ‘atacrophe; he indbeates hth that there are ways UL, tet they seem Feasibl, and that ther is mush hard wes co do ‘There is one particular feature 1 Bs cautiously worded optin'sm: the geography oF eorshine <aerelates well with the Reography of hunger, indicating that an econcmy ‘more based on sunshine (and Testun Sutil fuels seh se i) mgt ben favor of our presen: world's underprivileged. tn fact, the solar energs tat i Dele wo Co abe aut the fo one in fave of the topes and ‘aly in very Limited pat ofthe poor counties of today covs the ee for water exceed the objective water supply. A world more based un soar energy and photosynthesis would equate inaval imvestment—and tas i ff course where the smag m locked: certain forces ia th> Third World igh see that ax dlr shance of reiciomg the upper hand, not giving 20 rich ofa play te Factors thot enh upset thal bulunce." Biological Paths to Self Relkance i ieapattink duvk, Tt brings to ugeher ld material io nese says. it pushes as thinking in these ies Fortier. aad it makes «x very clear to the eater that 12 posh Tore ia action, id ptaclice, research will rece sutficiat there i also a politcal {pb i da. This book, whish combines pedagogy sufficient to make eved, the second low of thermodynamics comprenensble with highly cechrical lahoratines, isi ill part o: that Joo, and no crubr the product of 8 felEreliant mind. May it serve lo simulate many others ai hay str Titel. Jom Gazrue ‘Geneva