High involvement by donors with their grantees. For example, some donors will take positions on the boards of the nonprofits they fund.
PEAK OIL NOTES
Peak oil is the point in time when the maximum rate of global petroleum production is reached, after which the rate of production enters its terminal decline. If global consumption is not mitigated before the peak, an energy crisis may develop because the availability of conventional oil will drop and prices will rise, perhaps dramatically.
The production rate of a limited resource will follow a roughly symmetrical bell-shaped curve based on the limits of exploitability and market pressures.
Mid-range projections for energy growth
over the next few decades show world use of
energy reaching 1.5 and 2 to 2.5 times the 2005
level by 2030 and 2050, respectively; electricity
generation in these “business-as-usual” cases
nearly doubles by 2030 and triples by 2050
(46). Although these are daunting numbers
from the standpoint of sustainability, the problem
is not that the world is running out of
energy. It isn’t (37, 47). But it is running out of
cheap and easy oil and gas, and it is running out
of environmental capacity to absorb, without
intolerable consequences, the impacts of mobilizing
these quantities of energy in the ways we
have been accustomed to doing it (48).
Much discussion of the oil issue has been
framed around the contentious question of
“peak oil” (49): When will global production of
conventional petroleum reach a peak and begin
to decline, as U.S. domestic production did
around 1970? The question derives its importance
from the proposition that reaching this
peak globally will presage large and long-lasting
increases in the price of oil, plus a costly and
demanding scramble for alternatives to fill the
widening gap between the demand for liquid
fuel and the supply of conventional petroleum.
Oil-supply pessimists argue that the peak of
conventional oil production could occur any
time now; oil-supply optimists say it probably
won’t happen until after 2030, perhaps not until
after 2050. Similar arguments go on about conventional
supplies of natural gas, the total
recoverable resources of which are thought
to be not greatly different, in terms of energy
content, from those of crude petroleum.
In my judgment, it’s difficult to tell at this
juncture whether the optimists or the pessimists
are closer to right about when the world will
experience peak oil, but the answer is not very
important as a determinant of what we need to
be doing. After all, it’s clear that heavy oil
dependence carries substantial economic and
political risks in a world where high proportions
of the reserves and remaining recoverable
resources lie in regions that are unstable and/or
controlled by authoritarian governments that
have sometimes been inclined to wield oil supply
as a weapon. It’s also clear that world oil use
(which is dominated by the transport sector and,
within it, by motor vehicles) is a huge producer
of conventional air pollutants, as well as being
about equal to coal burning as a contributor to
the global buildup of the heat-trapping gas CO2
(29, 42). Given these liabilities, it makes sense
to be looking urgently for ways to reduce oil
dependence (while working to clean up continuing
uses of oil), no matter when we think peak
oil might occur under business as usual.
Post your summary here.
Wilson Wu 03/11/08
World Bank MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Quick Facts:
Membership 185 Countries,
Headquarters Washington
Staff Approximately 10,000 employees around the world
Established July 1, 1944 during a conference of 44 countries in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire
World Bank provides an on-line brochure which does a very nice job of telling us who they are and what they do.
Click Here for Brochure
The World Bank is a vital source of financial and technical assistance to developing countries around the world.
It is made up of two development institutions (though on the brochure it says 5):
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)
IBRD focuses on middle income and creditworthy poor countries
International Development Association (IDA).
IDA focuses on the poorest countries in the world
Together World Bank provide low-interest loans, interest-free credit and grants to developing countries for education, health, infrastructure, communications and many other purposes.
Regions: Here is a world map of the projects World Bank is currently working on. Known as "Development 360"
10 Things You Need to Know About World Bank.
1. We are the world’s largest external funder of education
2. We are one of the world’s largest external funder in the fight against HIV/AIDS
3. We are a leader in the fight against corruption worldwide
4. We strongly support debt relief to the poorest, most heavily indebted countries
5. We are one of the largest international funders of biodiversity projects
6. We work in partnership more than ever before
7. We are helping to bring clean water, electricity and transport to poor people
8. Civil society plays a larger role in our work
9. We help countries emerging from conflict
10. We are responding to the voices of poor people
For more detailed information, click here for the PDF File.
It partners with Lift Above Poverty Organization (LAPO) to help reduce poverty in Nigeria.
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