July, 1996

GENI History and Milestone report

Dear GENI Friend,

In the Peace Corps as a teacher in the late 1960s, I had the privilege of living for two years in Nigeria. I did have lights in the house provided by the school, as well as a wet bar size refrigerator, running water and a flush toilet. Few others did. Blackouts were common. I was in many, many villages where there was no electricity. Access to sanitation was poor, and we would never, under any circumstances, drink tap water. Those who did contracted potentially deadly cases of amoebic dysentery. Being in the constant humidity of the tropics, our luxury vacation was a half-day trip to Lagos to an air conditioned, high rise hotel where we could bathe and actually stay dry when we got out, until we stepped out of the building.

That experience sparked my first appreciation for electricity. I discovered that reliable and abundant electricity determines most of the necessities, comforts and luxuries I enjoy in this culture. My level of good health, my education, my mobility, and access to a job as a woman in the developed world would not exist without electricity. Most of the women and children in Nigeria spend their entire day collecting wood and water, shopping or selling at the open markets or preparing meals for their families. Most walk. Some take a taxi. There is time only for a few to attend school. In some cases, an entire village will pool their money to send one child, usually a boy, to school.

That was 25 years ago. At the time, Nigeria was the most populous country in Africa with 55 million people. Today, it is still the most populous with 112 million. That is more than double in 25 years. What was inadequate then is grossly inadequate today and will be into the future unless something happens quickly to change this scenario.

I first learned of GENI two years ago. GENI's message, to interconnect electrical power grids between countries and continents, with an emphasis on linking remote renewable energy resources, makes practical sense to me. The relationship between electricity and a decent living condition, especially population stability, is within my own experience. Consider these benchmarks comparing Nigeria to the developed world: birth rates (45 per 1000 vs. 14); longevity (50 years vs. 76 years); infant mortality (84 per 1000 pop. compared to 8). While the condition for Nigeria (and other developing countries) may seem hopeless, there is evidence that it can be altered.

Recently, I gained a certain perspective on this stark contrast. Because of my son's history project, I dug out and read my family genealogy. As new immigrants from Germany over 200 years ago, the five Yeisers settled in Pennsylvania; many migrated south to Danville, Kentucky. Families had between 5 and 12 births; many families lost 2 to 4 children in birth or infancy; several women died in childbirth; others were lost to small pox, chicken pox, influenza, and wars. Those numbers changed very rapidly once electricity became widespread in this country, especially in the rural areas. Now our population is stable, except for the influx from other countries. So what we see in developing countries today was once our own condition. Electricity was fundamental to altering that condition. When GENI asserts that electricity will increase living conditions and help stabilize population, there is both statistical evidence and our individual personal experience to substantiate it.

The developing countries can avoid our mistakes. We used fossil fuel to generate electricity and are now suffering the consequences in environmental damage and challenges to our very health. Renewables, abundant and virtually unlimited, would allow developing countries to circumvent our mistakes and would allow developed countries to reverse a deadly trend.

Your donation in support of the research, education and advocacy work of GENI facilitates the reversal of unacceptable trends on our planet. A shift is possible. We need your financial help today to do this vital work. Please contribute as generously as you are able. Enclosed is a form for you to mail or fax to us with your contribution.

This work is very personal to me. I do it for the lives of my children and their children. Thank you for sharing in this tremendous challenge.

In partnership for the planet,

Patricia Stevens
Executive Director

Keywords : GENI History and Milestone report, sustainable development, global energy network institute, international electricity transmission, grid, power, environmental educational programs, peace, zero population growth, stabilization, life expectancy, infant mortality, free world energy trends, deforestation, climate change, global warming, world game, uhv, hvdc, hvac