What
is the planet's Critical Path?
The GENI Initiative was founded
in 1986 after Peter Meisen read "Critical
Path" (St. Martin's Press, 1981) by R.
Buckminster Fuller. Called "the Leonardo da
Vinci of the 20th Century," Bucky Fuller was
a visionary engineer who committed his life
to finding systems and artifacts that would
improve the quality of life for all humanity.
One such tool is the World Game(TM) simulation,
which assesses all human needs, trends, planetary
resources and asks the question: How do we
make the world work for 100% of all humanity
in the shortest possible time through spontaneous
cooperation without ecological damage or the
disadvantage of anyone? In the book "Critical
Path", he answered this question many
times. The premiere strategy is to interconnect
the electrical energy networks between nations
and continents, with an emphasis on tapping
local and remote renewable energy resources.
Bucky expands on this plan throughout the
book.
Excerpts
from Critical Path
Comprehensive
Anticipatory Design Science
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Latin
American Power Integration:
On occasion, there is a significant
leap forward in the progress of the GENI Initiative.
There are those times when GENI definitely
influenced the process and policy-making.
Latin America has embraced this strategy for
peace and sustainable development! How?
Bill Richardson, US Energy Secretary, hosted
all of the Latin American Energy Ministers
recently (July 28-31, 1999) in New Orleans
as a part of the Summit of the Americas begun
in 1995. GENI was honored to be invited by
the U.S. Department of Energy to attend and
set up our exhibit. First, GENI researched
the web site for the conference:
http://www.americasenergy.org (no longer available)
Listed were all the North and South American
ministers and contacts about 50 people in
all. We pre-mailed a letter and substantive
information package to each, detailing the
benefits and technical foundation of the strategy
to interconnect electrical systems. We asked
them to consider this strategy during the
conference.
See our cover letter (July
14th) sent to all the energy ministers in
the Western Hemisphere:
GENI
Letter to Bill Richardson, U.S. Secretary
of Energy, July 14, 1999
See the resulting U.S. Dept
of Energy Press Release (July 29th) that states
their collective commitment:
U.S.
Department Of Energy News Release, July 29,
1999
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U.S.-Africa Energy
Ministers Meeting
The Ministers responsible for
energy for the countries of the African continent
or their representatives and the Secretary
of Energy of the United States, hereby referred
to as the Energy Ministers, met in Tucson,
Arizona, on December 13-15, 1999, and discussed
the unique needs of Africa, including its
serious energy shortages, limited access to
exploitation and consumption of energy, and
heavy dependence on traditional energy resources,
taking into account its diversity and enormous
potential .
U.S.-Africa
Meeting Details, December 13-15, 1999
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Middle-East
Grid Connection
The most developed scheme is
a project to link Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Turkey,
and Iraq. The first major step was taken in
1989, when the state electricity companies
from the five participating countries appointed
CIC, a consortium of Canadian companies, Ontario
Hydro and Hydro-Quebec International, to prepare
an initial feasibility study. Funded by the
Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank and
the Kuwait-based Arab Fund for Economic and
Social Development (AFESD) , the study reviewed
interconnection alternatives, set out basic
technical specifications, examined the economics
of the alternatives and suggested a draft
interconnection agreement.
Middle-East
Grid Connection Details, April 17, 2000
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APREC
(Asia Pacific Rim Electricity Cooperation)
It is desirable to promote
power production where renewable energy is
abundant, and electricity trade exists. This
is one of the most practical solutions to
achieve both environmental protection and
sustainable growth globally.
APREC
Details, May 13, 2000
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