[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 78 (Friday, May 23, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1077-E1078]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  RURAL AFRICA AND THE KYOTO PROTOCOL

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. RICHARD W. POMBO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 22, 2003

  Mr. POMBO. Mr. Speaker, as someone who has visited rural Africa, I 
was fascinated by the testimony of Dr. John Christy at a recent hearing 
I chaired on the Kyoto Protocol. Dr. Christy, who is the Alabama State 
Climatologist, worked as a missionary to Kenya in the 1970's. He 
observed the great hardships faced by rural men and women living in 
villages without electricity.
  Dr. Christy noted that, ``With only three to five acres on the family 
shamba, every square inch was utilized for food production and living 
space, so the search for fuel was a daily chore for the women and young 
girls. I would see them daily set out to the edge of the nearest 
forest, usually several miles away, to cut down wet, green trees, chop 
the branches into suitable lengths, tie them into 80 pound bundles and 
load them on their backs for the trek home. Many of these women were 
either pregnant or carrying babies in blankets tied in front of them.''
  He further observed, ``The typical home was a mud-walled, thatched-
roof structure. Smoke from the cooking fire fueled by undried wood was 
especially irritating to breathe as one entered the home. The fine 
particles and toxic emissions from these in-house, open fires assured 
serious lung and eye diseases for a lifetime.''
  Dr. Christy concludes by stating, ``Providing energy from sources 
other than biomass (wood and dung), such as coal-produced electricity, 
would bring longer and better lives to the people of the developing 
world and greater opportunity for the preservation of their natural 
ecosystems. Let me assure you, notwithstanding the views of extreme 
environmentalists, that Africans do indeed want a higher standard of 
living. They want to live longer and healthier with less burden bearing 
and with more opportunities to advance. New sources of affordable, 
accessible energy would set them down the road of achieving such 
aspirations.''
  The Kyoto Protocol and other efforts to reduce carbon dioxide 
emissions have potential to substantially increase human pain and 
suffering in undeveloped countries while doing very little to stop the 
destruction of forests. I encourage climate policy makers from wealthy 
counties to carefully read the following letter from Dr. Christy and 
avoid the unintended consequences that cause pain and suffering to 
rural people in developing countries.
                                         The University of Alabama


                                                in Huntsville,

                                     Huntsville, AL, May 22, 2003.
     Hon. Richard Pombo,
     Chairman, House Committee on Resources, Longworth House 
         Office Building, Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Pombo: It was a pleasure participating in 
     your 13 May 2003 hearing regarding the Kyoto Protocol. As you 
     requested, I am happy to provide this letter to clarify and 
     expand on your question during the hearing about how my 
     experiences working and living in Africa affect my insights 
     into the issue of global warming.
       After graduating from college in 1973 I applied for service 
     as a missionary to Kenya. I was appointed to a position as 
     ``Science Master'' at the Baptist High School in Nyeri, 
     meaning I taught the physics and chemistry courses to African 
     students from mostly rural areas. Baptist High was a boarding 
     school, so many of our students came from homes several miles 
     away. On weekends I would travel to the surrounding small 
     villages to meet the students' families and speak in their 
     churches. Nyeri was a small, upcountry town about 90 miles 
     north of Nairobi. Most of the people in this area lived on 
     small ``shambas'', 3 to 5 acre farms on which maize and other 
     foods were grown. At 6000+ feet elevation, some days and most 
     nights were quite cool, requiring energy for warmth as well 
     as cooking and light. There was no electricity in these rural 
     homes.
       With only 3 to 5 acres on the family shamba, every square 
     inch was utilized for food production and living space, so 
     the search for fuel was a daily chore for the women and young 
     girls. I would see them daily set out to the edge of the 
     nearest forest, usually several miles away, to cut down wet, 
     green trees, chop the branches into suitable lengths, tie 
     them into 80 pound bundles and load them on their backs for 
     the trek home. Many of these women were either pregnant or 
     carrying small babies in blankets tied in front of them. They 
     would bend forward almost 90 degrees so as to balance the 
     wood and maintain forward momentum without falling. Older 
     women developed a characteristic sway-back from years of 
     burden bearing as they hauled not only wood, but food to 
     and from the markets and water from a creek to the home.
       The typical home was a mud-walled, thatched-roof structure. 
     Smoke from the cooking fire fueled by undried wood was 
     especially irritating to breathe as one entered the home. The 
     fine particles and toxic emissions from these in-house, open 
     fires assured serious lung and eye diseases for a lifetime. 
     And, keeping such fires fueled and burning required a major 
     amount of time, preventing the people from engaging in other 
     less environmentally damaging pursuits.
       When the Arab Oil Embargo hit in October 1973, the price of 
     fuel rose dramatically. Oil's scarcity caused petrol 
     (gasoline) stations to close on weekends. What little 
     advanced infrastructure already in place that depended on oil 
     was rendered intermittent or ineffective. For example, taxi 
     prices increased so that the typical African could not afford 
     the desperately needed trip to the town hospital; rumors 
     spread that driving with the headlights on wasted fuel, so 
     night automobile accidents soared; electric power to the few 
     essential institutions which needed it often failed. To 
     people already living on the edge of existence, any 
     perturbation in energy costs was enough to cause significant 
     distress. The poorest people suffered the most with the 
     rising energy costs as what little dependency they had was 
     now out of reach.
       I've always believed that establishing a series of coal-
     fired power plants in countries such as Kenya (with simple 
     electrification to the villages) would be the best 
     advancement for the African people and the African 
     environment. An electric light bulb, a microwave oven and a 
     small heater in each home would make a dramatic difference in 
     the overall standard of living. No longer would a major 
     portion of time be spent on gathering inefficient and toxic 
     fuel. The serious health problems of hauling heavy loads and 
     lung poisoning would be much reduced. Women would be freed to 
     engage in activities of greater productivity and advancement. 
     Light on demand would allow for more learning to take place 
     and other activities to be completed. Electricity would also 
     foster a more efficient transfer of important information 
     from radio or television. And finally, the

[[Page E1078]]

     preservation of some of the most beautiful and diverse 
     habitats on the planet would be possible if wood were 
     eliminated as a source of energy.
       Providing energy from sources other than biomass (wood and 
     dung), such as coal-produced electricity, would bring longer 
     and better lives to the people of the developing world and 
     greater opportunity for the preservation of their natural 
     ecosystems. Let me assure you, not withstanding the views of 
     extreme environmentalists, that Africans do indeed want a 
     higher standard of living. They want to live longer and 
     healthier with less burden bearing and with 
     more opportunities to advance. New sources of affordable, 
     accessible energy would set them down the road of 
     achieving such aspirations.
       These experiences made it clear to me that affordable, 
     accessible energy was desperately needed in African 
     countries. But the energy issue is relevant here too. My 
     wife, Babs, is the President of the Board of Directors of the 
     Madison County Christian Women's Job Corps. This privately-
     funded, voluntarily-directed organization seeks to train 
     women to obtain the type of job skills needed today. Most of 
     the women, often single parents, are in financial crisis. 
     Increasing the cost of energy for these women would 
     disproportionately restrict their ability to provide for 
     themselves and their families. As in Africa, ideas for 
     limiting energy use, as embodied in the Kyoto protocol, 
     create the greatest hardships for the poorest among us. As I 
     mentioned in the Hearing, enacting any of these noblesounding 
     initiatives to deal with climate change through increased 
     energy costs, might make a wealthy urbanite or politician 
     feel good about themselves, but they would not improve the 
     environment and would most certainly degrade the lives of 
     those who need help now.
       I appreciate the opportunity to respond with further 
     explanation of my experiences in Africa and my views on 
     energy availability.
           Sincerely,

                                              John R. Christy,

     Director, Earth System Science Center, Professor, Atmospheric 
                                                          Science,
     Alabama State Climatologist.

                          ____________________