I had been travelling for several days so hadn’t managed to reading your comment, and now that I have, wow…blown away! Thanks for sharing your expertise, no doubt borne out of experiences from the SED projects you were involved in. I actually feel like it belongs in a post of it’s own, rather than a comment on this article.

The thoughts you have offered are eminently reasonable and, with a little unified effort, completely capable of implementation. There is a common undercurrent behind your suggestions, and that is: how can we ensure that certain countries aren’t harmed by the actions of others (or by institutions that are heavily influenced by them), and even taking it a step further, how do we achieve win-win situations for all concerned (like you mention – converting challenges to opportunities).

The minimal prerequisite towards a lasting solution – and numerous Baha’i-inspired texts bear testament to this – is humble recognition that we are all citizens of one planet, that we’re all in this together, and that even if we think we can derive short-term benefits from ignoring this fact, sooner or later it will hit us hard. The present financial crisis is just a mild example – numerous other catastrophes lie in wait.

Biofuel engines have one great advantage: They produce only 20% of CO2 of normal gasoline engines of comparable size with 30% increase in power and 20% decrease in cost (meaning the cost on my wallet). The cost factor would even improve, once this kind of fuel were produced on a larger scale. As we all know, CO2 is the main cause for global warming. Another advantage of the so called bioflex engines is, that you can mix biofuel with any percentage of normal fuel without damaging your engine. This makes you independent of the currently not very widespread supply in biofuel access points. Which gives these engines a very practical advantage over (bio-)gas engines, at least in most countries. As I live in Switzerland, where up until now 100% of biofuel is being produced from cellulose left-overs from the timber-to-paper-production, there is also no bad concience for starving children anywhere involved. At least not now. But it is clear that given the current increase in bioflex car sales, this source will be exploited within the next two years…

Farmers in Switzerland and the world over are thinking of changing from their current crop – whatever they grow – to switch to biofuel crops. Why? Because the price of those crops is rising steeply which in turn promises them a higher income and therefore a better outcome. In fact, they would grow anything to make a better living, be it tobacco, hops, vine, marihuana, as long it’s not prohibited. Let’s face it: No small farmer can survive on food-crops here anyway with the cheap competition from EU-countries and US large producers.

Ziegler is a well known environmentalist, Swiss by the way. And I have always admired his courage to speak up and fight for the environment, the species and the underpriveledged. His idea to halt this process for a few years in order to think properly about its consequences and to come up with specialised crops which don’t compete with food-crops is certainly reasonable.

As a Bahá’í, I also agree with all the statements brought forward in this post in terms of applying spiritual principles to economic problems and to respect the rights of anyone concerned. In order to do that, let me therefore shed a light on some more facettes to this global and complicated issue, knowing that my grasp is far from complete.

Let’s take the symptom of rising food prices. Why are they rising? Because the US produced some 19 million tons of corn for ethanol? Unlikely. Although US Foreign Affairs Reps. estimate that by 2008, some 30% of corn production in the US will be dedicated to biofuel production, which is surely significant, the main reason for the huge price increase I suspect to be mere speculation and maybe also some transport cost. Speculation on the basis not only of depleting corn ressources but also and mainly on the basis of the oil price hype. Transport cost induced likewise. Since the oil bubble burst with the financial crisis we will also see those crop prices tumble.

As I said, farmers will always go for the crop that pays the most for the input. It’s as easy as that. The question is: Will this be a threat or a chance for developing countries? Having served myself in Southern Africa for more than three years in social development projects, among them sustainable agriculture ones, I can think of ways in which this new situation could infact be a blessing in disguise for poor countries.

Some food for thought:
- What if the US and other large producers were’nt interested in producing food crop anymore?
- What if the US, EU and China would not dump their surplus in corn every year into third world markets (tarnished as aid) while destroing the very livelihood of any local farming initiative?
- What if the worlds fuel consumption depended on plants instead of crude oil?
- What would this do to the forces and values governing today’s economic systems?
- What would in such a scenario be the economic significance of agricultural states with no or little mineral resources?
- Could this finally help them to get a better status in WTO negotiations?
- Will this be a new source of much needed foreign currency income which could be used for much needed food and medicine?
- Will local availability of fuel make poor countries less vulnerable to fluctuations in oil prices?
- Will this help third world governments to become more independent? (Mugabe is a dictator, yes, and a bad one, too. But the worse criminals and the true responsibles for the current disaster in Zimbabwe are the World Bank, the IMF, the G8 and the Financial Sector in South Africa and Great Britan, to mention just a few, who weren’t men enough to help Mugabe solve the Land Question in this beautiful country ten years ago, which they could have with a lumpy quarter billion USD – but that’s another story).

Well, before I get taken too far away , what would the spiritual principals be now, supporting those processes? It would maybe mean that this time, we should not allow patents on fuel-efficient crops be held for more than a couple of years by those who found them. We should stop financial gambling with – anything for that matter, but especially with – food. We should initiate and support projects which help rebuild and sustain local agriculture and its access to local and global markets. We should regulate the ratio between food-crops and fuel-crops with – yes – duties and taxes, but this time in favour of the poor and not necessarily in favour of our own country.

I’m sure, you can come up with many more ideas on how to use this opportunity to build a more just economic environment instead of merely fighting it. We will not, however, be able to stop the process. Well, that’s why I finally bought a hybrid! And I won’t even tell you that I owned a ‘68 Oldsmobile until recently (sniff!).

When I look at this video, it appears that biofuel produced this way is also edible so the products can serve multiple purposes as needed. The products also fit the culture and utilize plants that are well-established in the area and non-invasive. So, simply viewed, this projects suits this area.

It might not suit another area with a different culture or climate. In other words- one size does not fit all and each circumstance should be examined for its unique needs and opportunities, especially by the people who are the stakeholders – the people who live in the area.

The framework for a world civilization outlined by Baha’u'llah is truly a gift from God and is beginning to permeate the minds and hearts of humans everywhere.

One little tool that I have found useful in dealing with the application of world-community consciousness on a personal, pragmatic level is what Rotarians call the 4-way test.

Of the things we think, say and do,

Is it the Truth?
Is it fair to all concerned?
Will it build good will and better friendships?
Will it be beneficial to all concerned?