The Clay Mine and Other Matters

A friend, Hamza shared a searing well-known poem : ‘Mitti Ki Khan’ by Afzal Ahmed Syed. Hamza reads it here for us. 

It describes the fate of those tied to work in slavery like conditions. 

Some 40 million people or one in every 200 people are languishing in slavery across the globe, according to the International Labor Organization. This might well be a conservative figure as many forms of slavery are invisible and largely unreported. Yet the figure is more than three times higher than the roughly 13 million people captured and sold as slaves between the 16th and 19th centuries in the transatlantic slave trade.

About 70 percent of slaves are women and girls, while children account for 25 percent or 10 million slaves worldwide.

Slavery is a highly lucrative business in the modern world that generates as much as US$150 billion in profits every year.

Slavery is a condition or practice that people accept against their will, ranging from forced labor, debt bondage, forced marriage and human trafficking to the commercial sex industry.

China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, India, Indonesia, Iran, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, the Philippines and Russia account for 60 percent of modern-day slaves.

Endemic poverty, unsafe migration, weak governance and abuses of cultural practices, are all blamed for fuelling slavery in Asian nations. But a major driving force is a lack of anti-slavery legislation in many countries, which means one cannot be prosecuted and punished in a criminal court for putting another human being into slavery.

Some 94 out 193 member states have not passed laws prohibiting slavery.  Most of these countries are in Asia. Most Asian nations have anti-trafficking and labor laws but such legislation does not necessarily address slavery.

Asia is both a source and a destination of human trafficking, one of the many forms of slavery.

Global supply chains for agriculture, construction, fishing, clothing, fashion, beauty and the sex industry are feeding grounds for trafficking. The global sex industry has some 4.5 million women and girls trapped in perpetual slavery and about two-thirds of them are in the Asia-Pacific.

Every year, tens of thousands of poor young girls and women from relatively impoverished regions like South Asia are trafficked and sold into the sex industry in well-off countries in Southeast Asia, East Asia, the Middle East and even Europe.

India is home to the largest numbers of slaves, ranging from 14 to 18 million with women and girls making up the majority. It is a major source country for sex trafficking to Southeast and East Asia and a prime destination of sex trafficking from other South Asian countries. According to a 2017 study, India has around 16 million sex workers and about 37 percent are minors.

A common and cruel form of modern-day slavery in South Asia is debt bondage. Under this unlawful and humiliating system, men, women, children and even entire families are enslaved by the debt holder to repay debts through endless labor. The debt holder often squeezes laborers with psychological pressure and physical violence, denies freedom of movement and offers a lump-sum amount that is never enough for survival. A bonded worker remains enslaved until death.

Debt bondage is still prevalent in agriculture, brick kilns, construction sites, rice mills, embroidery and garment factories, stone quarries and even private houses. Pakistan has an estimated 2.1 million bonded laborers out of 3.1 million people living in slavery. The bonded labor system still exists in agriculture, brick making, carpet weaving, mining, fishing, domestic work and handicraft production, where a significant number of laborers are children.

The above referenced poem entitled 'Clay Mine' allegorically refers to their situation.

There is a shocking article on the plight of workers in the tea industry in Bangladesh. From what I could gather, several large tea estates are still owned by the British. 

The Clay Mine poem was written in the context of those selling everything they had to be able to migrate to the middle east to make a decent living. But many low-level workers suffer terribly in unjust systems in the middle east to this day. 

Sadly, it appears that some Western democracies are making up their labour shortages via the same very exploitative systems. 

The Why and Impacts of the Energy Crisis

Why is there an Energy Crisis ? 

Renewables do not supply enough energy to replace coal and natural gas. 

Ageing, less efficient coal plants had been shut down in parts of the world and that has also led to power shortages. 

Price of coal and natural gas (the latter used to produce power and also heat homes in the developed world) has risen 250-300 % over one year. There are shortages of both in Europe, China and India. 

Australia, Indonesia, South Africa etc. are big exporters of coal, and countries are vying to get shipments from them. 

Energy prices to customers are controlled in many regions of the world and energy producers are suffering catastrophic losses as a result of the price rise. They have stopped / reduced importing coal / natural gas. Many countries are contemplating supporting such energy companies tide over some of their losses. 

Shipping vessels which bring the coal have also been in short supply all over the world for many reasons.

The emerging impacts of the energy crisis

India meets around three-quarters of its demand locally, but heavy rains have flooded mines and key transport routes. Coal inventories at Indian power plants fell to around 8 million tons at the end of September, about 76% less than a year earlier.

A lack of coal means factories could shut in India. Supplies to power plants are currently short by between 60,000 and 80,000 tons a day on the impact of the prolonged rains that have drenched coal pits. More than half the power plants are on alert for outages.

Supplies of coal are being diverted away from key customers including aluminum smelters and steel mills.

“Until supplies stabilize completely, we are likely to see power outages in some pockets, while customers elsewhere may be asked to pay more for power,” said a Director at ratings firm Crisil.

 In China, industrial users of natural gas including makers of ceramics, glass, and cement may respond by raising prices. If Chinese factories have to contend with widespread power shortages, global prices for steel and aluminum will jump. 

Economies that can’t afford the fuel—such as Pakistan or Bangla­desh—could simply grind to a halt.

“If the winter is actually cold, my concern is we will not have enough gas for use for heating in parts of Europe,” the US State Department’s adviser for energy security said.

The stage is set for an all-out scramble among Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and South America for shipments of LNG from exporters such as the Qatar, Trinidad and Tobago.

Desalination is unaffordable and destructive of the environment & livelihoods

According to the International Desalination Association (IDA), there are around 18,426 desalination plants spread across 150 countries, benefitting as many as 300 million people.

55 % of Israel’s domestic water consumption is manufactured and many countries, especially in the arid regions of Northern Africa and the Middle East, find desalination a relatively cheaper option compared to other alternatives.

India’s average annual rainfall is about 1,200 mm. In contrast, middle eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar get much less than 100 mm a year. Many developed countries in Europe and even the US, get much less rain than India (715 mm 
yearly for the latter). 

Rain at Plant / Prabas007 / CC-BY-SA 4.0

Desalination as a “solution” for Tamil Nadu’s water problem is what social activists disparagingly refer to as a ‘technofix’. Technofixes and their proponents are dangerous because they aggravate the problem that they claim to address by lulling society into a false sense of complacency. Their actions highlight dubious benefits even as it exacts a heavy price on the environment and invisible and marginalised sections of society.

A new mission on desalination is in the works in India, according to union minister of earth sciences, Harsh Vardhan. Despite the reliance on desalination, countries like Israel have invested heavily in securing their water sources and recycling used water. For example, Israel treats close to 85 percent of its wastewater which it then uses for irrigation, gardening and industrial purposes. In fact in 2005, less than seven percent of Israel’s total water needs was met through desalination plants.

Another country that is often on the cutting edge of technology and practicality is Singapore. It is working to ramp up the recycling of treated sewage as well as construct more desalination plants. The plan is to increase water supply from the former source from 30 % to 50 % and the latter from 10 % to 30 %.

Singapore River / Formulax / CC-BY-SA 2.0.

In 2002, Singapore reclaimed water from a sewage treatment plant at an additional cost of 30 cents per thousand litres using advanced membranes, filtration and disinfection. Desalinated water is more expensive by two and a half times at 78 cents per thousand litre, and Singapore is resorting to it only as it has little land to store rainwater.

With the ongoing awareness programmes, Singapore's National Water Agency aims to reduce per capita domestic water use to less than 150 ltrs by 2020. Compare that to over 400 ltrs per day use by US residents and 550 ltrs per day by UAE residents, when living standards of Singapore residents are not thought to be poorer compared to USA and UAE. So responsible planning and use need to go hand and in hand with planning for new water sources. 

Critics decry the high cost and high energy consumption of desalination, which can have a negative impact on the environment and on our oceans. Desalinating 1 cubic meter (1000 litres) of water requires 3.5 units of electricity per 1000 litres. In comparison, the average daily electricity consumption of an Indian household is about 3 units of electricity.

Kanchipuram, India / McKay Savage / CC-BY-SA 2.0

Thus, an average family of five consuming 675 ltrs for domestic use at the rate of 135 ltrs per capita (the norm suggested by the Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organisation for cities with piped water supply where sewerage system is existing/ contemplated) will increase its electricity usage per day by nearly 80 % (an addition of about 2.3 units of electricity) simply to use desalinated water - even if the desalinated water production cost is subsidized by the State. 

Together, the two desalination plants in Chennai are estimated to consume between 500,000 to 700,000 units of electricity each day if they run at full capacity– enough to power 2 lakh households for a day. The electricity required to run the desalination plants will come from power plants, which have their own negative impacts on the environment, climate change and human health. 

The end-user price for water manufactured at the newer, lower-cost Nemmeli desalination plant located in Chennai is about Rs 50 per 1000 litres or Rs. 34 for 675 ltrs a day for a family of five. A month's usage thus translates to more than Rs. 1000 for such a family. 

Arizona Cap Canal / US Govt.

In contrast, the average cost of production of the conventional piped supply of water is almost one fourth the cost of production in desalination plants. For example, Chennai Metrowater buys water from the Minjur desalination plant at 54 per kilolitre (Kl). On the other hand, conventional sources cost 13/Kl. Thus the water supply for an average family would cost about Rs. 9 a day or about Rs. 260 a month if the water was sourced from conventional sources. 

Even in Israel which is tom-tommed to have the most cost efficient technologies for desalination, the price of desalinated water is ILS 2.50 per cubic meter (ILS - Israeli New Shekel), while brackish water pumped up from underground acquifers, costs only ILS 1.00 per cubic meter. Israel’s Sorek plant, which is the largest in the world, can produce a thousand litres of drinking water for 58 cents which is still nearly double the cost of recycling wastewater in Singapore. 

According to the Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India, on an average, the cost of conversion of sea water into desalinated water is about 10 paise per litre of water produced. That would imply a Rs. 100 cost per 1000 ltrs of water produced !

And as to proponents of using desalinated water for agriculture - just the water costs of producing a kilo of rice using desalinated water will be about Rs 100 in Tamil Nadu.

Palm Tree Farm in Israel/ Tiia Monto / CC-BY-SA 3.0

The glowing articles in the media about the transformation of Israeli agriculture due to desalination, fail to highlight the costs and contexts within which such a transformation can be justified. Israel’s water needs are paltry compared to India's. Israeli agro-climatic conditions are vastly different. The arid regions of Israel do not receive the kind of rainfall that many regions of India get. And Israel grows vegetable and fruit crops suited to its arid lands, unlike much of India focusing on water intensive crops. 

Beyond the links to climate problems, marine biologists warn that widespread desalinisation could take a heavy toll on ocean biodiversity; as such facilities’ intake pipes essentially vacuum up and inadvertently kill, millions of plankton, fish eggs, fish larvae and other microbial organisms that constitute the base layer of the marine food chain. Marine fisheries, which are an important source of inexpensive protein and livelihood for lakhs of fishworkers, will be harmed.