Dr. Steve Eskow wrote:
>According to Taran,
>
Hmm. According to Steve:
> the Amerindians of Guyana are quite happy to hunt for
>wood to burn for light and for cooking, and would have it no other way.
>
>That may be. However, I would favor asking them, rather than having Taran
>speak for them.
>
>
On the matter of whether the Amerindians and the Ghanaians would welcome
solar light in preference to kerosene or other harmful alternatives, Taran
says this:
<<Go ahead, Steve, because in the same way I certainly would prefer
hearing something from the people from Ghana instead of you. So, your
word is as good as mine. I'm certain that we need not pursue that line
further.>>
On the contrary, I think it important to continue to challenge your position
that the Amerindians or the Ghanaians or the folks in Trinidad should not be
offered the opportunity for solar lights or computers because if they said
yes it would destroy their culture.
I will provide you with direct evidence that there is strong positive
interest in solar light in Ghana, and if you do not trust the authenticity
of the email I will forward to you, or put out on this list, I will put you
in direct touch with my Ghanaian colleagues.
The first village we would work with, which in turn will help other villages
acquire lights, is
www.patriensa.com
I will shortly send to you an email from Osei Darkwa, the leader of the
Patriensa project. (Patriensa is a small village some 35 miles from Kumasi.)
Will you now put me in touch with Amerindian leadership?
>From me:
>Meanwhile, there is substantial evidence to back up some conclusions.>
>First: there are literally billions of people in the world without
>electricity. Many of them spend an inordinate share of their incomes for
the
>kerosene that slowly poisons them. And the villagers, most often women,
>spend much of their time hunting for wood to burn from a rapdily depleting
>supply.>>
Taran responds:
<<According to Taran another argument could be made that electricity
generation using oil sources does the same. According to Taran, for
people who are unfamiliar with renewable energy equipment, there is also
an environmental impact in producing the equipment itself which many
people who advocate renewable energy do not factor in. According to
Taran, renewable energy in it's entirety is a larger subject than
'burning kerosene', and it affects the entire planet.
According to Taran, this is a very deep subject, and I suspect that it
will get deeper before it becomes clearer.>>
What subject--including the digital divide--doesn't get deeper before it
becomes clearer? It is of course true that closing the digital divide, and
bringing computer technology to Trinidad and Tobago and the Amerindians and
all those of wrong side of the digital divide will a)change the local
culture; and b)create a new environmental hazard in the form of all those
computers that are not biodegradable. fAnd yet Taran and many on this list
continue to try to help spread computers and computer culture around the
world, and talk very little about the negative environmental impact.
On the matter of bringing computers to the unserved in your worlds, Taran,
are you waiting for the issues to become clearer before you move forward and
try to help? And are you clear that every time you introduce a computer int
a piece of world that hasn't had it before you are helping to undo the local
culture?
The charge that many advocates of solar energy do not consider the
environmental impact of their work does not conform to my experience, and if
Taran has the names of individuals or solar organizations that need to be
briefed on environmental issues, give me their names and I will undertake to
alert them. I have found them much more aware of the environment than those
urging computers on the world: indeed, it is concern for the environment
that brings many of us to the renewable energy movement.
<<According to Taran, solar energy and other renewable sources are a boon
to many people - but irresponsible use of these in communities can be
detrimental as well. According to Taran, according to Steve, Steve may
not agree. But he doesn't have to.>>
Right. Irresponsible use of computers, or antiretrovirals, or solar energy,
or Krispy Kreme, or anesthetics can be detrimental. And too much emailing
can cause carpal tunnel syndrome.
Right. Meanwhile, can we ask those Amerindians if they would like solar
cookers, and give them an opportunity to say yes, or to worry more about
their culture and say no?
Steve Eskow
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
_______________________________________________
DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list
DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org
http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide
To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE
in the body of the message.
