DEEP OCEAN WATER UTILIZATION AND CARBON TRADING - AN
APPROACH TO HELPING =
HAITI
Gerard P. Pereira and Jack R. David=
son
Energinat S.A. (ENASA)
Montreal, Quebec, CANADA<=
o:p>
gerard.pereira@sympatico.ca=
The Caribbean island =
nation
of Haiti
is plagued by the desertification of its coastal regions caused by the trade
winds and the deforestation of its mountains that has resulted in erosion a=
nd
pressures on existing resources causing water, food, and energy shortages. =
On the other hand, Haiti h=
as a
great and as yet untapped natural resource which can be used to ameliorate =
many
of these problems; this resource is its cold deep ocean water (DOW). Techno=
logies
have been developed in Hawaii=
and elsewhere to use this water to provide the country with electricity, fr=
esh
water, air conditioning, agriculture and aquaculture, with little or no
greenhouse gas emissions. Ene=
rginat
S.A., a Haiti c=
orporation,
has developed a plan for an integrated system of a 'necklace' of sustainable
DOW communities in five coastal desert locations <http://www.energinat.com>. The planned 'necklace' of sustaina=
ble
DOW communities will be lighted, powered and supplied with pure fresh water =
by the
Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) process, which is free of the emissi=
ons
associated with fossil fuel electricity generation. The nutrient-rich 'used=
' DOW
water of an OTEC plant can also serve as an artificial upwelling to create a
very effective local phytoplankton atmospheric carbon sink as it is dischar=
ged.
The communities' cooling can be provided at savings of up to 90% of the ene=
rgy
costs associated with conventional cooling systems < http://www.makai.com/>, thereby causi=
ng
further significant reductions in carbon emissions. In these coastal desert
locations the communities can grow almost any crop from any climate (largely
self irrigating) using the cold agriculture technology and productive
aquaculture enterprises can be established, all relatively emission free. <=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> The maritime transportation system
planned by Energinat to connect the DOW communities with the ports of the
country will conserve energy and reduce significantly consumption of fossil
fuels and carbon emissions.
The problem is that <=
st1:country-region
w:st=3D"on">Haiti i=
s one of
the poorest countries in the world with most of its people living in direst
poverty. The world situ=
ation,
particularly since '9/11', provides few avenues for countries in Haiti's
condition to find outside funds to undertake a national revitalization prog=
ram
of this scale. However, the K=
yoto
Protocol Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) allows private entities in devel=
oped
countries to gain emissions credits for financing emission reduction projec=
ts
in developing countries. Therefore,
Energinat intends to establish a carbon trade niche and apply for carbon
funding. The implementation of these DOW projects would make Haiti b=
e part
of the drive to reduce greenhouse gases, acquire clean technology in exchan=
ge
for the greenhouse gas emission reductions it will sell to developed countr=
ies
and show solidarity with the rest of humanity. This paper will explore this proce=
ss.