The Taliban walks between hypocrisy and holiness while trying to figure out how to profit from poppies and not damage its local economy. Image via the NY Times. 

Off-grid solar panels that provide electricity to water pumps in lost and forlorn areas in Afghanistan have led to an opium bounty. The solar pumps that are stand alone and not connected to an official electricity supply have allowed Afghans to dig deeper. The idea started around 2014 and bumper crops have appeared since.

In response the Taliban which both profits and denounces opium when it suits them, have started dismantling solar arrays so opium crops dry out. 

Still, more and more Afghans are investing several hundred dollars a year for seeds and equipment hoping to make a ballpark $5000 profit. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Afghanistan produced 83 percent of the world’s opium from 2015 to 2020. In short, if you use heroin, you fund terror.

The solar-powered electric pumps also allow farmers to grow all manners of crops such as wheat, pomegranates and garden plots in a critical time when dozens of millions of Afghans face extreme food insecurity.

While the various Afghan governments over the years have pledged to stamp out opium production and drug trafficking they are unable to forgo the billions of dollars of profits. Opium feeds and fuels the Taliban: 

“We’ve stood by on the sidelines and, unfortunately, allowed the Taliban to become probably the largest funded non-designated terrorist organization on the globe,” said a US official with knowledge of Afghanistan’s drug trade.

“The US and international partners have continued to pull out and not addressed poppy cultivation,” the official said on condition of anonymity. “What you’re going to find is that it has exploded.”

Now after 20 years and the Taliban back in power they announced April 3 that poppy cultivation is outlawed and violators will be punished under Shariah law.

The Taliban had enforced an effective ban on poppy cultivation in 2001, just before a US-led international military intervention toppled the regime. From 2002 to 2021, the US government spent almost $9 billion on counternarcotics as it fought Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan.

Taliban bans opium production for their benefit

The opium business earned Afghanistan about $1.8 billion to $2.7 billion last year, according to the United Nations with sales accounting for up to 14% of its GDP.   

According to a European Union-funded research project by David Mansfield opium farmers now rely on at least 67,000 solar powered water reservoirs. He has studied illegal economies and rural livelihoods in Afghanistan for the last two decades.

“It’s too bad for Afghans because poppy is the wealth of the Afghan people,” Shah Agha, 35, a poppy farmer from the Zari District of Kandahar, told the NY Times in a recent article.

“I think they banned it for their own benefit because most of the smugglers and Taliban commanders have tons of opium, and they might want to increase the prices,” Mr. Agha added.

Vice reported from the field about a month ago and noticed that despite the ban, it was harvest as usual.

With pictures in the Vice article of kids playing with bags of opium in the fields it’s easy to imagine the toll of addiction in Afghanistan in all ages abd walks of life. And it’s not only there.:Iran also faces drug addiction from illicit drugs such as heroin. 

The post Solar panels driving opium trade in Afghanistan appeared first on Green Prophet.

Most of us, even in suburbs, actually live in a type of city, a new UN study has found. Some 99% of the world is now connected to an urban way of life. Fewer than one percent of the global population live in truly remote hinterlands, sharpening the need for better understanding of how urban forms impact food systems as well as social and economic development, according to new research by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the University of Twente.

Knowing more about how people organize themselves, can make an easier job for international planners and investors develop strategies for water management, solar energy, and even Covid vaccine rollout, for instance. 

Small cities and towns and the rural areas they influence – defined as their catchment areas – play an outsized role in the way people pursue their livelihoods, says the paper, “Global mapping of urban-rural catchment areas reveals unequal access to services”, just published by the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

This is particularly the case in low-income countries where small cities and their catchment areas are home to almost two thirds of their overall population.

Insights derived from the research “have strong policy implications, ranging from access to health services to the organization of city-region food systems and facilitating a mobility transition toward more commuting and less migration,” say the authors.

By using multiple spatial datasets and calculating the time needed for rural populations to reach nearby keystone urban centers, they found that peri-urban areas are home to nearly 40 percent of the global population, equally distributed in the surrounding areas of small, intermediate, and large cities.

These results challenge the centrality of large cities in development narratives and plans. Peri-urban areas often fall through the cracks of policies designed for city residents and rural farmers, highlighting the need for greater coordination between urban and rural administrative authorities in order to help these in-between populations to leverage their proximity to towns and cities to access education, services and employment opportunities more efficiently.

The strikingly low figure cited at the outset describes people who live more than three hours – measured in terms of the available mode of transit from an urban settlement of 20,000 people or more. On a national level, the figure of population in the hinterlands rises above 5 percent in only three countries with populations greater than 10 million: Madagascar, Niger and Zimbabwe.

Higher income does not always equate with higher urbanity

The findings highlight how the notion that higher-income countries are more urban is too simplistic. For example, more than half the rural populations in low-income countries live in high-density areas, six times more than is the case in high-income countries. That partly reflects a penchant for low-density suburban housing in affluent nations, as well as the way better road infrastructure can make it easier to live further – in distance rather than time – from the center of the local URCA.

The evidence shows that while large cities are now home to more than 40 percent of the world’s urban population, and nearly 50 percent for Latin America and the Caribbean, they draw proportionally fewer people into their functional orbit than smaller cities.

The dominance of small cities and towns and their catchment areas in low per capita income countries highlights the need for policies aimed at improving off-farm employment opportunities, education and health services, as well as for local food systems and for appropriate land-use strategies and transportation infrastructure investments.

The data provided can support a territorial perspective -already tested in high-income countries – that takes account of interlinkages between cities and their surrounding rural areas, leading to greater access to off-farm employment, a better-integrated local agri-food system, and less migration.

The post Most of us are urbanites, new UN study appeared first on Green Prophet.

As promoters of sustainable living and solar energy, we get this question all the time. Should I go solar? And if you look around solar panels are everywhere today. You can even find them at Costco along with a riding lawnmower and a she-cave.

Solar panels mean light or darkness to a family living in Africa or a family living off-grid in Texas or California. But since Covid-19, we’ve all started thinking a little bit about contingency plans. There is definitely new momentum for being self-reliant and sustainable and we all come to the question of solar panels for our own reasons –– even if we are not treehuggers. Some of us want to save the planet by using endless clean power from the sun, some want to save a lot of money on monthly power bills and earn attractive 30% federal tax rebates. Some just want reliable electricity for living off the grid. 

Solar panels sound like an amazing idea for a home or cottage. And it can increase the resale value. But Can I install the solar panels myself? The easy answer is, yes you can in the United States, but no if you live in Australia. The bigger question you need to ask yourself is Am I willing to take the risks? And — are you planning on feeding into your local energy grid? Will you live in your home all year long –– and how much electricity do you estimate you will need? 

Along with academic experts from a research paper writing service, we created a DIY solar panel guide pros and cons to help you through the early decision-making process. Once you read this, it will be worth going to a company that offers a solar calculator to help you assess your power needs and how much a system will cost with and without installation costs. 

So if you’ve come looking for a bit of solar advice without all the talk of kilowatt hours that make your head spin, we’ve put together some of the basic pros and cons of DIY –– or doing it yourself solar panel installation. We are going to use 2 case studies of friends we have in Canada who installed solar panels on their own homes and tried to maintain these solar systems on their own, and what can happen if you do it alone.

Before you jump on the wagon of installing a single solar panel on your home consider speaking with a local professional to understand all the legal issues and zoning laws before you build, plug and connect. 

Will you live in your home all year long –– and how much electricity do you estimate you will need? Solar panels can be easily scaled up by adding more panels, versus something like a gas generator which is limited by the average gas tank size.

Not every home-owner has the same needs and family situation. Some home owners will want enough power to power a few lights and charge cellphone batteries at night. Other homes might have more power needs that run dishwashers, televisions and refrigerators. Some homes will be occupied year round which helps cycle through the battery, while other solar panel systems will need to be maintained in a special way if the home isn’t being used continually. Will you want to rent out your property with VRBO or AirBNB? Would that work if you are the only person who can run the solar system? 

7 steps to DIY solar panels

1. Design your system based on your energy needs
2. Buy your solar system equipment: solar panels, inverters, racks
3. Install a physical mount for your solar panels on a roof or in your garden
4. Connect the solar panels
5. Install and connect the solar inverter and battery 
6. Connect to your main electrical board
7. Notify the local utility and request for PTO (Permission to Turn-On and connect to the grid – if applicable)

DIY solar PV panel installation – Pros

A case study: my friend R. runs a small solar panel system to power lights, her cellphone and a laptop battery in Ontario, Canada. Her fresh spring water is brought to the home and she uses compost toilets, so no need for power to run pumps. When her partner died she was worried about maintaining the DIY solar system her partner had built and maintained over the years.

Some days she was running around the property looking for the energy hog (an unplugged light draining the battery?) and she needed some battery education from some local friends. In the end she was really pleased that she could maintain the system herself and be self-reliant, all on her own. 

Saving money: 

The do it yourself (DIY) solar PV (photovoltaic) panel kits can potentially save you a meaningful amount of money as panel installations cost between $2,000 to $5,000 in the United States, or even more like $10,000 when you are working with large solar panel installations. This number can vary widely depending on where you live.

Less time investment:

The DIY solar kit solution you might find at a local hardware store or online is ideal for people who have a seasonal property as you can buy a less complex system and battery and have it running quickly. Just make sure it has a warrantee. 

You become self-sufficient:

Installing a solar system can give you a great amount of pride and when something goes wrong you can learn about what works and how to fix it. Your skills can be traded or donated to other people in your community and when you have children you can pass this important life skill to them as well. 

Put solar panels on your outhouse! 

Want a sun powered toilet? Some power in an old barn or toolshed?  If you are installing the panels yourself you have more freedom to choose unusual locations. Maybe on an RV roof? Your boat? Solarpunk up your chicken coop? 

DIY solar panel installation – Cons

A case study: My friend Finn bought a DIY solar energy system for $20,000 to power his off-grid old lodge that he purchased in a forest in Canada. There was no other source of power and he wanted power for water pumps, lights, small appliances. Finn decided that he could install, run and maintain the solar system himself. That worked for the first summer he and his wife was at the lodge. After a winter away Finn realized that he had not cycled through the batteries correctly before the winter and his entire system was fried needed replaced. That was a painful lesson. And it happened twice. 

Risks of electrocution, damaging home, falling from heights: 

Solar panels produce electricity and for that reason can put you and your property at risk from faulty circuits. Most systems need to be installed as a roof mount or ground mount and installing them at certain heights needed to collect the sun can be dangerous if you fall or if something falls on you. In some countries, installing your own system is illegal. 

Knowing where to install:

Every mount needs to be directed to collect the most sun, most of the year. Unless your mount can rotate you better make sure you know how a sundial works before you choose the location of your roof and backyard. You want to collect most of the solar rays during most of the year. 

Poorer quality PV panels:

If you buy one of the systems on Amazon or your local Costco, chances are the consumer brands aren’t as robust as the systems purchased by solar panel installation companies who can buy better, in bulk. If you want your system to last for a decade or a bit more this solution is probably fine. The more robust systems are expected to last up to 30 years.

Need to know some engineering:

If you think an AC/DC current is a rock band from the 70s you might want to ask for professional help.

You have high energy needs:

If you have high or erratic energy needs such as washing machines, refrigerators, or televisions, consider that increased energy needs – especially in winter – calls for a more complex electrical system. Consider hiring a professional who can help you manage storage needs and cycle your battery properly when your energy needs vary.

Limits on tax credits, feed-in tariffs:

If you buy the DIY solar panel solution, you will limit your ability to connect to the electricity grid company near you. This means you won’t benefit from tax credits or earn passive income by selling your unused power back to the power company. If that’s not an option for you anyway, then you are good to go. 

Vacation properties:

We rented a house that was running on solar power and the instructions for using it were complicated and uncertain because it was a home-built system. There were some knobs behind the coffee machine on the wall and we were never sure if they were at the right settings. Professional builds might give unfamiliar end-users more confidence that they are in a safe and well-run AirBNB or VRBO home rental and that they will be able to enjoy the creature comforts that they expect, minus the air conditioning –– because, solar! On that note your solar powered home might be a great filter for the kind of eco-clients you want to come and stay in it. 

Paperwork:

Unless you are operating a small system in a cozy cabin in the woods (well in the open area of the forest to catch the sun!), you will need to file some paperwork for the local authorities. Solar panel companies who do this daily can file paperwork when they are sleeping. You, probably not. Look into what this means for you and the state where you plan on installing the solar panels. 

Paying inflated prices for labor:

If you look at a residential solar installation teams are sent in on build days. Look online and do the math. While solar installation companies say they only charge 10% for labor, in many instances the labor is priced on par with the cost of the equipment. Do your due diligence. Then again, it’s not a bad thing to create some local jobs. 

Takeaways on DIY solar pros and cons ––  should I install the panels myself?

• A DIY system is possible and it will come at a much lower price than a professional solar panel installation 
• Going the DIY route means you will need to learn a lot and file some paperwork, likely
• If you are a handy kind of person or fancy yourself as someone who wants to be and you have the time and energy, go the DIY solar panel route
• If you are looking for a good solution for a residential home, we suggest you contact a local solar panel company for a quote. You will earn feed-in tariffs and get tax credits which will pay for your system in about 10 to 15 years

This article was updated June, 2024

The post DIY Solar – Pros and Cons appeared first on Green Prophet.

The government of the United Kingdom has announced their new energy policy, which is called Smart Export Guarantee. It is to replace FIT, which is designed to encourage uptake of a range of small-scale renewable and low-carbon electricity generation technologies. The new scheme has its critics who say that the UK government should encourage citizens to use renewable energy instead of withdrawing support from it, but others argue that the new policy is to support the UK’s economy.

Feed-in tariffs for renewables 

Last year the UK government announced that the feed in tariffs (FIT) for small-scale renewables will end in 2019 and this caused many supporters of renewables to be alarmed. FIT officially closed in March, halting the payments of domestic and commercial green energy producers. The decision was widely criticized by the renewables industry, which has said that it will cost jobs and investment opportunities.

Since the creation of FIT in 2011, the scheme has facilitated vast growth in the solar industry in the UK, and many see it as one of the key drivers of the industry’s success. While it was uncertain what the government would do in response to the criticism, they have now introduced the Smart Export Guarantee.

Loans for the environment

This new scheme is being promoted as a mechanism that pays people to produce small amounts of renewable energy and electricity they export to the grid. This applies to those installing a renewable energy generating system using technologies such as solar PV panels, domestic wind turbines, hydropower, anaerobic digestion, and micro combined heat and power.

After the end of the FIT scheme, the UK government recognized that they needed to provide small-scale renewable energy generators for the electricity the export to the grid. The Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) was introduced by the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and will be fully realized on the first day of 2020.

With SEG, all licensed energy suppliers with 150,000 or more customers have to provide at least one SEG tariff. The smallest suppliers can also offer a tariff if they wish to, and all suppliers can choose to offer means of payment for exported electricity.

While renewable energy is the way of the future, it can be expensive to incorporate in your home. And incentives aren’t only for the British. Americans can also ask for help going green. One of our readers from Indiana asked how they can benefit from government grants and incentives: Consider looking into a title loan to help finance new renewable energy sources into your home. Want solar panels? Want to hire an installer or DIY? Read our DIY solar guide here. 

Grants for solar energy?

Those with Solar PV systems, onshore wind turbines, anaerobic digestion, and hydro up to 5MW and micro-combined heat and power, with an electrical capacity of up to 50kW available. Any typical domestic system would be well within these size limits. The technology used by householders must be certified under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) or an equivalent.

According to the site MoneyPug, which is known as a platform to find energy comparison sites, energy suppliers may ask you for a MCS certificate to prove that the installation meets this standard. Power that is exported must be metered using a meter capable of reading exports on a half hourly basis. It doesn’t matter whether the half hourly readings are not required for the tariff. Meters must also be registered for settlement. In contrast to FIT, there will not be any requirements for properties to meet minimum energy efficiency standards.

FIT vs. SEG

While SEG doesn’t require properties to meet any energy efficiency standards, it is generally accepted that SEG is less generous. Homeowners are only paid for the energy they export back to the grid, not simply for producing renewable energy.

Supporters of renewables argue that it doesn’t encourage the UK public to completely switch to green energy. With scientists everywhere warning about the harmful effects of fossil fuels and the need to transition to cleaner energy, SEG doesn’t facilitate this transition, nor the economic growth, as much as the FIT program. The government of the UK should encourage citizens to use renewable energy instead of eliminating their support for solar panels and other green energy sources that need to become the mainstay of the world’s energy production.

It is still possible to get subsidies for producing green energy, but you will need to produce more energy because people will only be paid for the power that export to the grid.

This is not enough incentive to help people get into the green energy business, and with no other direction, the government will likely regret their unwillingness to truly support the industry. If solar energy is the right fit for your business, installation can be expensive. 

The post UK Government Policy for Renewable Energy Producers appeared first on Green Prophet.

They can’t read or write but a couple of brave Bedouin women from Jordan travelled far and wide to help their villages become solar powered. The biggest struggle yet may be with their husbands: We’ve covered this hopeful story of Solar Mamas, Bedouin women from Jordan who went to Barefoot College to learn how to solar power their villages. We’ve interviewed the women from solar mamas, and have reviewed the film Solar Mamas, a documentary movie about their journey.

We’ve even covered their plight as these women face pressures in their village from this “wild idea.”

Not long ago Green Prophet was invited to a Skoll Foundation Conference in the UK. Our resident blogger and documentary filmmaker James met the director of Solar Mamas, the film, and was compelled to review the film for us once again.

Here’s his take on the movie Solar Mamas, and why you should watch it:

As readers of Green Prophet know, I’ve spent a fair amount of time amongst the Bedouin population of the Negev Desert in Israel, exploring various cultural and sociological issues that affect their society, and watching various solar initiatives either developed from within, or as Bedouin-Israeli co-operation projects.

I filmed this story in the Negev Bedouin village of  Um Batin where the gift of solar technology has enabled a father to have medical equipment that will greatly enhance the life of a very sick child:

[youtube width=”660″ height=”453″]http://youtu.be/4guNBWOvnRw[/youtube]

I was excited to hear about a new documentary film about a solar initiative with the Jordanian Bedouin population, and met the director, Egyptian-American Mona Eldaief in Oxford recently at the Skoll Foundation Conference.

The Skoll Foundation, a leading social entrepreneurs network, work in partnership with the American Sundance Institute, supporting their ‘Stories for Change’ programme, which films inspiring social change happening around the world. The organization also funds great social programs like those done by Friends of the Earth Middle East in Israel, Jordan and Palestine.

Mona’s film, ‘Solar Mamas’ follows such a project and its many trials and tribulations within the Jordanian Bedouin village of Rawat Bandan, and focuses upon Rafea, the solar mama of the title, and her family.

It is fair to say that much of the film focuses on tension between Rafea and her husband, which represent the wider issues prevalent within the Bedouin community, both in Jordan and in the Negev; the clash between traditional male power within the home and community, and a growing sense of women’s empowerment, through education and employment. Having the husband and wife as antagonist and protagonist at the core of the documentary make for an absorbing film.

Somewhat in the middle of this is the Government, and the film’s ‘fixer’ character is Raouf Dabbas from the Environment Ministry, who seems to be in a constant state of exasperation, negotiating between husbands and wives and broking power deals within family units, as well as arranging the contact with the Indian school, and bringing its founder, Bunker Roy, to Jordan. In early scenes, we see some of the pioneering work Roy has done around the world within rural communities, which gives context to the project being initiated in Jordan.

From my studies in the Negev Desert, given that the Bedouin are such a traditional culture, these changes are happening so fast the sparks flare up time and time again, as the older male custodians find their authority eroded and both women and the younger generations embrace the opportunities that the new values that a modern lifestyle will bring, like cars instead of camels, solar panels instead of firewood and gas.

The first shot of the film shows Rafea emerge from the family tent, then clearing scrub wood in the desert for fire. It is a really powerful scene, with her saying in voiceover: “my life is the same routine.”

We see her devotion to her children, her rootedness in her place and her culture, but also that she has a yearning for something else – change, travel, education, greater wealth etc, and a Government Initiative brings the head of the Barefoot College to her village to talk about the education and training offered at the School in India.

This is where Rafea and others from the village do eventually go and study, and learn how to put together the components for solar energy and create a simple set-up, but for Rafea the journey, and subsequent journeys backwards and forwards between her village and the college in India bring up so many inter-personal struggles for her, she becomes a martyr for struggle and change within her community.

A key scene shows Rafea in her tent discussing her feelings with other women, as the call of the Muezzin sounds outside: “I want to explore the world and I want to learn,” Rafea says, to be met with the response: “we understand but the situation is hopeless.”

Rafea’s husband is the key sticking point in all of this. He feels her place is in the home, with the children and the routine of the household. He is shown numerous times lying down, it is implied he is lazy and his role as provider is questioned, and when Raouf Dabbas visits and calls he smiles and says he does understand the situation and wants there to be change – but at his stubborn pace!

Like many relationships across many cultures, how one person is able to fulfil their own urge for change, travel and advancement, within the bounds of their own personal circumstances, is a key tension, and as most of us will experience this – with all the pain of break-ups and disagreements, it is fascinating to watch and experience it (within the manipulated structure shown to us through the edit process of this film) here.

I felt while watching that the story of bringing solar technology to a small and remote desert village, is almost peripheral – the actual catalyst of change could actually be anything. The shots of the women in India in the classroom learning the technology and passing their exams are great to watch and funny too, providing relief and inspiration in contrast to the trauma that Rafea is going through. Then finally when the shipment of equipment actually arrives, is assembled and there is the final “let there be light, Hamidullah (praise be to God)” moment, brings the arc of the story to completion. There is a final twist with Rafae’s husband, which I won’t reveal here.

‘Solar Mamas” is an important film that takes the viewer right to the heart of a remote Bedouin village and the central issues of tradition and change faced by one family.

I resonated deeply with the story as I’ve experienced it first hand in the Negev, and as a Western anthropologist coming in to study and experience the life of Bedouin culture, know that the weight of expectation placed upon the Bedouin to embrace alien opportunities and technologies is huge (read the story about Arava Power and the Bedouin here). Managing expectation and change is key.  However, you don’t need to have been to these communities to get a lot from the film. It deals with very real human emotions, and takes the viewer on a journey of discovery and inspiration, with very real benefits to a society without many amenities that we take for granted. It charts a very real solar harnessing and transformation project in the deep desert.

WATCH SOLAR MAMAS BY CLICKING BELOW

[youtube width=”660″ height=”490″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ON_NQ1HnRYs[/youtube]

The post Solar Mamas Shows Sustainable Engineering for Bedouin Women (Film Review) appeared first on Green Prophet.