WEBVTT

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- It's our great pleasure today

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to have our speaker, Ruth Santiago

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from Comite Dialogo Ambiental.

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Also as a renowned lawyer and
environmental health advocate,

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Ruth is a resident of
the municipality Salinas

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in Puerto Rico, where she
has worked with community

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and environmental organizations,
fisheries associations

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and many other groups
over the past 30 years

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on projects ranging from
a community newspaper

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to a rooftop solar energy pilot project.

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So she has helped the establishment

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of broad alliances to
prevent the water pollution

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from landfills, power plant emissions

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and the discharges and the
coal combustion residual waste.

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Mrs. Santiago earned degrees

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from the Lehigh University
and at Columbia Law School.

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She is also the recipient
of the Sierra Club's-

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- [Whitney] We maintain the pace

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but I expect peace to actually increase.

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- Whitney, if you can
mute yourself, thank you.

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- [Whitney] Yes, I'm sorry.

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- Mrs. Santiago is also the Sierra Club's

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2018 Robert Bullard Environmental
Justice Award awardee.

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So without further ado, please join me

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in welcoming Ruth for
giving her presentation.

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- Hello, everyone.

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Thank you, Dr. Chen and doctors Du Brow

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and for all of the students and others

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who are tuning in to this meeting.

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I'm happy to be with you

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and I'm so glad that you're interested

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in the environmental
justice, climate justice

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and health issues here in Puerto Rico.

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And so what I'll do now
is I'll pull up my...

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I have a presentation with some slides

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just to facilitate the talk.

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Okay. Here we go.

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So I hope, can everyone see that okay?

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- Yes.

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- Okay, great.

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So this is obviously a talk

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about what we're working very intensely on

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and for the transformation in Puerto Rico

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of the energy system or the
electric system in particular,

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and the environmental and
racial justice implication,

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public health implications of
the current system we have.

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But first I'm gonna go actually

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to what our community-based

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and civil society based solutions are

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for achieving environmental
and racial justice

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in public health.

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Justice, you can say as well.

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Well, I love to show this map

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because sometimes people don't really know

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where Puerto Rico is.

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And so you can see here
it's in the Caribbean Sea

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and it's called the smallest
of the larger Antilles

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and the largest of the smaller Antilles.

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And it's a relationship on energy issues

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throughout the whole Caribbean

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which I'll discuss a little bit later.

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So as I said, I wanna go to
the positive aspect here first.

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And I'm sort of using this terminology

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about a Green New Deal

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and applying it to the local context

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to talk about the work that I'm doing

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with not only Comite Dialogo Ambiental

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but other community,
environmental, civil society groups

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in general, which I'll
show you in a little while

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the list of at least the
founding organizations.

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So basically, we are proposing
community empowerment

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through participation
in the electric system

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as what are known as prosumers,

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not just passive
consumers, but communities,

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people being able to participate

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in the electric system as producers.

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And that usually means with rooftop solar,

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and often coupled with battery
energy storage systems.

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And although we have been
working for quite a few years

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on this proposal, obviously
with Hurricane Maria

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in September of 2017

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and other so-called natural disasters.

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And I say so-called,
because hurricanes of course

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are natural phenomena,

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but we know that they
are being aggravated.

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They're becoming more
intense and more frequent

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with the climate crisis.

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So what happened, especially
after Hurricane Maria

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although it's happened
for the past 30 years

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that I can recall is
that the electric grid,

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what what was known as the transmission

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and distribution system, T&D system,

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was totally impacted, brought down

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and was not able to
transmit or distribute power

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throughout the island.

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And so there were many
lessons that we learned

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and one of them was certainly

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that communities must
become energy literate

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and can actually implement measures

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to mitigate, to some extent, the damages

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related to these centralized
fossil fuel-based

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energy systems that we see

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and that prevails here in Puerto Rico.

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So communities should
be active participants.

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And our public utility,
which is known as PREPA

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the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority.

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Another big lesson learned
was that PREPA needs

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a radical transformation, both in terms

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of the technology that it
uses and as to its governance,

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to be more representative

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of the civil society
sectors here in Puerto Rico.

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And then of course, after
every major disaster

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declaration or situation
that has happened here

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in Puerto Rico, and as Puerto Rico

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is a territory of the United States,

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And by the way, we are,

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Puerto Ricans are American
citizens, US citizens.

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The federal agencies came in,

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both the Federal Emergency
Management Agency

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and Housing and Urban Development,

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to provide funding which
did not materialize.

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And to a large extent,

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especially the more permanent
repairs reconstruction funding

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has not yet arrived even.

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So we are proposing that
when these funds do arrive,

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do get actually transferred

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to the government of Puerto Rico,

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that, and prior to that transfer,

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that the federal government
earmark those funds

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so that the public utility, PREPA,

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works with organized communities and local

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renewable energy contractors
to totally transform

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the way that our electric system is built,

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and do so in a way that
permits energy participation

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by prosumers, I should say, communities,

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the civil society here.

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And we call that energy democracy.

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So I actually have a little note there.

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And if anyone is interested
in collaborating,

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we do need help in convincing FEMA and HUD

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to earmark those funds

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and basically enable the transformation

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of the electric system

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to a prosumer friendly approach,

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as opposed to the centralized approach

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that I'll talk about later

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and you'll see some of the
slides and see what I mean.

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So, one of the reasons why

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we are proposing primarily
rooftop or onsite solar,

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battery energy storage systems,

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energy efficiency programs
and energy literacy programs

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is because the groups, including
Comite Dialogo Ambiental,

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but also many other groups,

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about 10 other groups
that we're working with

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have participated as what
are known as interveners,

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formal interveners, in a process called

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the integrated resource plan for PREPA,

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Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority.

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And so many jurisdictions
have these very intense

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planning processes for the
future of the electric grids

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in their respective jurisdictions.

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So I'm pretty sure Connecticut has one,

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but, I shouldn't say, but
many, many jurisdictions

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have public utility commissions.

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They might call them something different.

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Sometimes they're called
public service commissions,

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et cetera, that require electric companies

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to submit to them the planning for say,

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maybe the next 20 years,
the period can vary.

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But it's to try to determine
what the energy needs will be

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in a certain timeframe.

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Although usually there's
like an action plan

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for the first five years

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and the document obviously can be revised

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in three years sometimes.

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That's the case here.

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And as it's a pretty sophisticated process

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that requires a lot of inputs

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in terms of demand projections,
energy demand projections,

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evaluating the current fleet,

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determining new technologies,
forecasting fuel prices,

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et cetera, et cetera,
just population trends,

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just a lot of inputs in order to come out,

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and modeling, to determine
what the best mix

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of energy infrastructure or programs.

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It can be non-wire alternatives

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which if you wanna get into that,

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we can talk about those, but
basically we participated

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in this process, both in the first one

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and now on the second
proceeding and discovered

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that PREPA's contractors,
Siemens Industry,

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actually found that onsite,
customer-sited alternatives,

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that's basically rooftop solar.

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Could be micro wind as well.

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Customer-sited alternatives
are the most economic option

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in Puerto Rico for energy generation.

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And it would be significantly lower

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than the total rate that
PREPA would charge rate payers

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if say, we did business as usual.

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But it's something that
we never understood

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in this process was that in
fact, in spite of the fact

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that rooftop solar was
by its own admission,

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the PREPA's contractor, Siemens Industry,

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saying this is the cheapest way,

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at the end of the 20-year planning period,

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they only included about 10%

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of onsite or customer-sited
solar or energy generation

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in the generation mix at the
end of the planning period.

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So this made no sense to us.

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And that's why we've
been working very hard

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to actually push this alternative

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and steer away from the other things

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that I'll show you a little further along,

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and we have lot of support for that,

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and not the least of which

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is a recent National
Renewable Energy Labs study

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that indicates that Puerto
Rico has four to five times

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the rooftop potential or
residential solar potential

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than the actual demand on the island.

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And that over a decade ago,

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faculty at the University
of Puerto Rico said

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pretty much the same thing

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and coined this phrase
about the rooftop resource.

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Any of you who've been here

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or know anything about Puerto Rico

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is as you saw on the map,

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it's a limited geographic extension

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but very sprawling kind of development.

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You might call it the
LA model of development.

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Sprawling housing projects
and the commercial centers.

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And so there's lots of rooftop space here.

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And what we've also been able to show

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is that renewables plus storage

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can supply even the critical energy needs.

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That is hospitals, first responders,

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water supply, et cetera.

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And that coupled with
energy efficiency programs,

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smart metering, demand
response time reviews

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can even reduce further the
need for energy generation.

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I'm sorry for all this
wording on the slide.

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So basically, let's see, did I jump?

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Okay, where am I here?

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Okay.

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So yeah, this is a simple
sort of representation

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of what we're saying.

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People can now participate
in energy generation.

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And at the community
level, it's even better

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because we can have micro grids
in case for whatever reason,

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given rooftops are not appropriate.

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And so this is another way

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to explain basically the same thing.

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We're really talking
about beyond technology.

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A technological change.

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This is not just a techno change,

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not just going to renewables.

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Not all renewables are
sustainable, we posit.

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Because first of all,

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we are not in favor necessarily

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of land-based renewable energy systems

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and actually don't favor
that for many, many reasons.

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And we do believe that
it's more sustainable

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to use existing structures
and not impact open land

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or ecologically sensitive
areas or agricultural land.

264
00:15:08.390 --> 00:15:11.210
I know California has a similar provision

265
00:15:11.210 --> 00:15:13.690
about protection for agricultural lands.

266
00:15:13.690 --> 00:15:18.140
And we do favor, as I mentioned,
community shared solar

267
00:15:18.140 --> 00:15:23.140
so that the socioeconomic
benefits of this generation

268
00:15:24.090 --> 00:15:26.163
is received by the communities.

269
00:15:29.300 --> 00:15:34.123
And it entails citizen empowerment.

270
00:15:35.180 --> 00:15:37.240
Coupled with this technology

271
00:15:37.240 --> 00:15:39.503
to achieve social and
environmental justice.

272
00:15:41.060 --> 00:15:44.960
And so this is the actual site

273
00:15:44.960 --> 00:15:47.080
for our civil society proposal.

274
00:15:47.080 --> 00:15:48.520
It's called Queremos Sol.

275
00:15:48.520 --> 00:15:50.500
We want sun is the translation.

276
00:15:50.500 --> 00:15:54.320
And the groups, the founding
groups are down here.

277
00:15:54.320 --> 00:15:58.160
And they include not just
community environmental groups,

278
00:15:58.160 --> 00:16:02.290
but also you will see that the PREPA,

279
00:16:02.290 --> 00:16:05.130
the largest PREPA union is here.

280
00:16:05.130 --> 00:16:09.800
The Professional Workers Association,

281
00:16:09.800 --> 00:16:12.720
faculty members at the
University of Puerto Rico,

282
00:16:12.720 --> 00:16:15.060
the Institute for Energy Economics

283
00:16:15.060 --> 00:16:17.113
and Financial Analysis, et cetera.

284
00:16:18.320 --> 00:16:21.940
Alright, so that was the...

285
00:16:21.940 --> 00:16:24.620
I wanted to put the solutions first.

286
00:16:24.620 --> 00:16:26.520
I think it's important that people know

287
00:16:26.520 --> 00:16:29.700
that we we have a very viable alternative

288
00:16:29.700 --> 00:16:31.780
that we've studied very closely

289
00:16:31.780 --> 00:16:35.300
and are convinced that
it can be implemented.

290
00:16:35.300 --> 00:16:39.623
But, now bringing you
back to where we are,

291
00:16:41.690 --> 00:16:46.690
we have in Puerto Rico about
97% fossil fuel generation

292
00:16:50.350 --> 00:16:52.483
in terms of energy supply.

293
00:16:53.810 --> 00:16:58.810
And part of that is a coal
burning power plant called AES.

294
00:16:59.010 --> 00:17:02.090
It's headquartered in Arlington, Virginia.

295
00:17:02.090 --> 00:17:03.780
The full name is Applied Energy Systems,

296
00:17:03.780 --> 00:17:07.803
but the plant here is
called AES Puerto Rico.

297
00:17:08.650 --> 00:17:13.650
And it's been a very problematic operation

298
00:17:15.877 --> 00:17:18.760
both in terms of an environmental,

299
00:17:18.760 --> 00:17:23.760
health and racial aspects
and I'll explain why.

300
00:17:23.840 --> 00:17:28.840
I'll start this with a trip
that we participated in

301
00:17:30.010 --> 00:17:32.883
to Colombia, South America,

302
00:17:34.710 --> 00:17:36.920
which happens to be the
fifth largest exporter

303
00:17:36.920 --> 00:17:37.890
of coal in the world.

304
00:17:37.890 --> 00:17:39.540
And they export just all over.

305
00:17:39.540 --> 00:17:42.960
Turkey, Ireland, Puerto
Rico, the US everywhere.

306
00:17:42.960 --> 00:17:47.960
And we actually visited
El Cerrejon in La Guajira,

307
00:17:48.050 --> 00:17:50.630
which is one of the largest
open pit mines in the world.

308
00:17:50.630 --> 00:17:54.680
But a lot of the coal that is
burned here by the AES plant

309
00:17:54.680 --> 00:17:56.913
and here in southeastern Puerto Rico is,

310
00:17:58.070 --> 00:18:01.210
it comes from El Cesar
in Colombia as well.

311
00:18:01.210 --> 00:18:02.330
And so these are...

312
00:18:03.810 --> 00:18:06.083
As you can see,

313
00:18:09.010 --> 00:18:10.490
transnational companies,

314
00:18:10.490 --> 00:18:12.950
like really big names in the energy field.

315
00:18:12.950 --> 00:18:15.120
BHP Billington, Anglo American, Glencore.

316
00:18:15.120 --> 00:18:17.590
Those are European, but
previously it was ExxonMobil

317
00:18:17.590 --> 00:18:20.600
that was operating at Cerrejon.

318
00:18:20.600 --> 00:18:24.320
And they pay royalties to
the Colombian government

319
00:18:24.320 --> 00:18:28.700
but the impacts have been just terrible

320
00:18:28.700 --> 00:18:31.340
in terms of public health there

321
00:18:31.340 --> 00:18:33.620
and displacement of the Wayuu

322
00:18:33.620 --> 00:18:35.593
and Afro-descendant communities.

323
00:18:36.560 --> 00:18:38.073
Many of the communities claim

324
00:18:38.073 --> 00:18:41.630
there've been no previous
consultation or informed consent

325
00:18:41.630 --> 00:18:44.193
in order to use their lands, their water,

326
00:18:45.300 --> 00:18:47.400
the water resources that we saw,

327
00:18:47.400 --> 00:18:51.180
and I'll show you a
photograph terribly impacted.

328
00:18:51.180 --> 00:18:55.970
And in addition to that,
when we visited the mine

329
00:18:55.970 --> 00:18:57.423
and all of the open pits,

330
00:18:58.690 --> 00:19:01.530
we saw that there's a lot of water usage

331
00:19:01.530 --> 00:19:04.020
to do a lot of dust control at the mine.

332
00:19:04.020 --> 00:19:07.100
And yet outside in the towns nearby,

333
00:19:07.100 --> 00:19:10.140
people often do not have running water.

334
00:19:10.140 --> 00:19:13.700
So terrible environmental
justice issue there.

335
00:19:13.700 --> 00:19:18.700
And this is the smallest open
pit mine, El Tajo Patilla,

336
00:19:20.100 --> 00:19:21.430
they call it.

337
00:19:21.430 --> 00:19:26.430
And Dr. Hilda Lorenz and I
participated in this meeting

338
00:19:28.980 --> 00:19:33.390
with a group called witness for peace

339
00:19:34.430 --> 00:19:37.543
organized by Dr. Aviva Chomsky.

340
00:19:38.700 --> 00:19:42.600
And so this is one of the tributaries

341
00:19:42.600 --> 00:19:45.808
to Rio Rancheria that we saw

342
00:19:45.808 --> 00:19:47.800
a couple of years ago on our trip,

343
00:19:47.800 --> 00:19:49.140
and that has now been...

344
00:19:49.140 --> 00:19:50.160
It was in the process.

345
00:19:50.160 --> 00:19:52.960
There was an ongoing controversy

346
00:19:52.960 --> 00:19:56.440
about whether the mine
could change the course

347
00:19:56.440 --> 00:19:58.370
of this tributary and it did,

348
00:19:58.370 --> 00:20:01.420
and this would be the 14th tributary

349
00:20:01.420 --> 00:20:05.910
that was impacted by
the mining operations.

350
00:20:05.910 --> 00:20:10.190
And so people understandably
are very concerned

351
00:20:10.190 --> 00:20:11.640
about their lack of access to water.

352
00:20:11.640 --> 00:20:12.760
You can see in the sign.

353
00:20:12.760 --> 00:20:15.957
It says, "We're defending
our access to water."

354
00:20:16.950 --> 00:20:21.950
And the mining companies
basically are the primary culprits

355
00:20:22.900 --> 00:20:26.100
for the lack of access
to water in Colombia,

356
00:20:26.100 --> 00:20:28.290
in those mining communities.

357
00:20:28.290 --> 00:20:30.200
So let's get back to Puerto Rico.

358
00:20:30.200 --> 00:20:34.900
And as you can see, this
is sort of a picture

359
00:20:34.900 --> 00:20:38.320
of the trajectory of the
hurricanes in the past.

360
00:20:38.320 --> 00:20:40.473
I think this is the past 100 years.

361
00:20:41.820 --> 00:20:44.500
And they all usually
come in through the east

362
00:20:44.500 --> 00:20:46.360
and then go out through the west.

363
00:20:46.360 --> 00:20:49.610
And the next slide will
show you what that means

364
00:20:49.610 --> 00:20:51.540
in terms of the electric system.

365
00:20:51.540 --> 00:20:54.240
So these are the major electric lines.

366
00:20:54.240 --> 00:20:57.930
I'm here in Salinas and
AS is here in Guayama.

367
00:20:57.930 --> 00:20:59.107
This is southwestern Puerto Rico.

368
00:20:59.107 --> 00:21:00.940
And what you can see,
these big, blue lines,

369
00:21:00.940 --> 00:21:03.550
they're high voltage transmission lines.

370
00:21:03.550 --> 00:21:05.390
So Puerto Rico has a peculiarity

371
00:21:05.390 --> 00:21:07.480
that most of its energy generation

372
00:21:07.480 --> 00:21:08.720
is on the southern coastal.

373
00:21:08.720 --> 00:21:12.040
You see those big numbers,
those are the big power plants.

374
00:21:12.040 --> 00:21:16.410
And most of its energy
demand is on the north coast

375
00:21:16.410 --> 00:21:20.210
in the San Juan Metro area
and other places in the north.

376
00:21:20.210 --> 00:21:23.400
And so these lines, think of it again,

377
00:21:23.400 --> 00:21:26.770
are impacted constantly, not
just after Hurricane Maria

378
00:21:26.770 --> 00:21:31.770
by hurricanes coming in
and taking down in part,

379
00:21:32.250 --> 00:21:35.330
usually it was in part, right after...

380
00:21:35.330 --> 00:21:37.020
I mean, I don't wanna
go into all the detail,

381
00:21:37.020 --> 00:21:40.220
but Hurricane Hugo on, part,

382
00:21:40.220 --> 00:21:42.620
always part of these lines were impacted.

383
00:21:42.620 --> 00:21:45.260
And Hurricane Maria was, well,

384
00:21:45.260 --> 00:21:50.260
it's sort of unique in
that everything went down.

385
00:21:50.830 --> 00:21:53.280
So we were 100% without power.

386
00:21:53.280 --> 00:21:55.430
So basically what we see

387
00:21:55.430 --> 00:21:57.280
is that the current electric system

388
00:21:57.280 --> 00:22:00.970
is this very centralized
transmission distribution,

389
00:22:00.970 --> 00:22:03.990
lots of fossil generation.

390
00:22:03.990 --> 00:22:08.990
PREPA owns about 4,630
megawatts of fossil generation

391
00:22:09.530 --> 00:22:12.770
and about 100 megawatts of hydroelectric

392
00:22:12.770 --> 00:22:15.930
but only about 60, maybe
even less are functional

393
00:22:15.930 --> 00:22:18.743
in the hydro generation.

394
00:22:20.141 --> 00:22:21.700
PREPA also has contracts.

395
00:22:21.700 --> 00:22:24.100
What they call power purchase
and operation agreements

396
00:22:24.100 --> 00:22:25.580
with private companies.

397
00:22:25.580 --> 00:22:27.260
One is called EcoElectrica.

398
00:22:27.260 --> 00:22:30.440
It's a gas-fired power plant
in southwestern Puerto Rico.

399
00:22:30.440 --> 00:22:32.500
And I mentioned AES,

400
00:22:32.500 --> 00:22:35.670
which I'm gonna get into
more detail further along

401
00:22:35.670 --> 00:22:38.473
is a coal burning power plant.

402
00:22:40.730 --> 00:22:44.630
Also PREPA has some
renewable energy projects,

403
00:22:44.630 --> 00:22:47.470
very small amount that it has

404
00:22:47.470 --> 00:22:49.720
power purchase and
operation agreements with.

405
00:22:49.720 --> 00:22:52.240
Problem with these projects are not just

406
00:22:52.240 --> 00:22:55.780
the land requirements involved,
but also that they depend

407
00:22:55.780 --> 00:22:57.747
on this vulnerable
centralized transmission

408
00:22:57.747 --> 00:23:02.130
and distribution system,
because they're sited far away

409
00:23:02.130 --> 00:23:06.140
from the the man center.

410
00:23:06.140 --> 00:23:07.480
So where the energy is needed.

411
00:23:07.480 --> 00:23:12.480
So they were also out of
service after the hurricane.

412
00:23:14.340 --> 00:23:16.879
And, but there is some...

413
00:23:16.879 --> 00:23:19.150
And this has increased
probably about 100 megawatts

414
00:23:19.150 --> 00:23:22.260
of installed, distributed
or onsite generation.

415
00:23:22.260 --> 00:23:25.510
And that held up the best
after the hurricanes.

416
00:23:25.510 --> 00:23:30.510
And we need to realize that
energy demand in Puerto Rico

417
00:23:31.200 --> 00:23:34.020
is decreasing constantly.

418
00:23:34.020 --> 00:23:37.750
And it is now, right now,
it's under 2000 megawatts.

419
00:23:37.750 --> 00:23:40.150
And in the summer, it
goes up a little bit more,

420
00:23:40.150 --> 00:23:43.530
but as you can see, we
have about three times

421
00:23:43.530 --> 00:23:48.490
the installed generation
capacity as the demand.

422
00:23:48.490 --> 00:23:51.800
So this is sort of a pie
chart that I prepared

423
00:23:51.800 --> 00:23:54.410
talking about our energy mix showing,

424
00:23:54.410 --> 00:23:56.580
and then what Siemens Industry

425
00:23:56.580 --> 00:23:58.490
along with PREPA were proposing.

426
00:23:58.490 --> 00:24:02.290
And it's basically a, this.

427
00:24:02.290 --> 00:24:07.290
It's a huge, huge rollout of
what is known as natural gas.

428
00:24:11.250 --> 00:24:13.643
Otherwise, methane gas.

429
00:24:14.690 --> 00:24:19.690
And the gas as you know, is largely,

430
00:24:23.270 --> 00:24:28.165
the gas boom is largely a
result of the fracking industry

431
00:24:28.165 --> 00:24:31.900
that especially has started.

432
00:24:31.900 --> 00:24:36.900
Or since I guess about the early 2000s

433
00:24:36.960 --> 00:24:39.680
just took off in the
States and elsewhere now.

434
00:24:39.680 --> 00:24:42.620
So there's fracking in a lot
of other countries as well

435
00:24:42.620 --> 00:24:47.170
and so basically a glut of fracked gas

436
00:24:47.170 --> 00:24:52.170
that is being pushed onto
places like Puerto Rico,

437
00:24:53.830 --> 00:24:56.280
Jamaica, other places in the Caribbean,

438
00:24:56.280 --> 00:24:58.553
Mexico, Latin America in general.

439
00:24:59.430 --> 00:25:01.530
And this was part of Siemens' plans

440
00:25:01.530 --> 00:25:04.260
Siemens and the government
of Puerto Rico plan

441
00:25:04.260 --> 00:25:08.800
in the IRP to build
all of these terminals,

442
00:25:08.800 --> 00:25:12.970
both offshore, onshore, LNG terminals.

443
00:25:12.970 --> 00:25:16.120
And the reason why it's
liquified natural gas

444
00:25:16.120 --> 00:25:19.080
is because you probably all know that gas

445
00:25:19.080 --> 00:25:23.590
in its liquid state is a smaller volume.

446
00:25:23.590 --> 00:25:26.630
A lot smaller, takes up a lot less space

447
00:25:26.630 --> 00:25:29.040
and that's how they can transport it

448
00:25:29.040 --> 00:25:32.230
to the Caribbean and other places.

449
00:25:32.230 --> 00:25:35.020
But so that was the plan.

450
00:25:35.020 --> 00:25:38.960
And also you probably all know

451
00:25:38.960 --> 00:25:43.810
that Puerto Rico was
even before the hurricane

452
00:25:43.810 --> 00:25:47.520
in the midst of an
economic and fiscal crisis,

453
00:25:47.520 --> 00:25:49.870
in addition to the climate crisis.

454
00:25:49.870 --> 00:25:51.100
We've also had earthquakes

455
00:25:51.100 --> 00:25:53.823
and now of course, the COVID pandemic.

456
00:25:55.200 --> 00:26:00.200
And unfortunately we have
not been able to respond

457
00:26:00.200 --> 00:26:04.700
to all of these crises due in large part

458
00:26:04.700 --> 00:26:09.460
to the development policies
that have been implemented

459
00:26:09.460 --> 00:26:12.920
since the late 1940s,
starting with what was known

460
00:26:12.920 --> 00:26:17.650
as Operation Bootstrap,
which centered on...

461
00:26:17.650 --> 00:26:21.380
Operation Bootstrap was a
rapid industrialization project

462
00:26:21.380 --> 00:26:24.170
moving away from say, Shirky monoculture,

463
00:26:24.170 --> 00:26:26.040
which was what happened

464
00:26:26.040 --> 00:26:29.830
during the first half of
the 20th century in PR.

465
00:26:29.830 --> 00:26:33.910
So this rapid
industrialization project was,

466
00:26:33.910 --> 00:26:35.970
or program by the government was centered

467
00:26:35.970 --> 00:26:40.940
on incredibly generous
corporate tax exemption policies

468
00:26:40.940 --> 00:26:43.270
at every level, right?

469
00:26:43.270 --> 00:26:46.720
It was at the Puerto Rico
state level, municipal,

470
00:26:46.720 --> 00:26:48.120
just all kinds of tax breaks

471
00:26:49.704 --> 00:26:53.230
to entice foreign corporations,

472
00:26:53.230 --> 00:26:56.142
mostly US-based corporations,
a lot of Canadian as well

473
00:26:56.142 --> 00:27:01.142
and European corporates
interests coming in

474
00:27:01.600 --> 00:27:03.570
to invest in Puerto Rico.

475
00:27:03.570 --> 00:27:07.550
And that was also coupled by
even federal tax exemptions,

476
00:27:07.550 --> 00:27:10.380
what was known as the
IRS code section 936,

477
00:27:10.380 --> 00:27:12.590
although it had different iterations.

478
00:27:12.590 --> 00:27:17.420
But basically the idea was
to attract these industries

479
00:27:17.420 --> 00:27:22.230
and have them create jobs
locally and alleviate poverty

480
00:27:22.230 --> 00:27:23.180
but it didn't work.

481
00:27:24.580 --> 00:27:26.320
And so we still have currently

482
00:27:26.320 --> 00:27:31.320
about a 46% poverty rate and
a very high unemployment rate.

483
00:27:33.270 --> 00:27:36.620
And in Salinas here in
southeastern Puerto Rico,

484
00:27:36.620 --> 00:27:39.640
Salinas, Guayama,
Arroyo, it's even higher.

485
00:27:39.640 --> 00:27:41.480
It's much higher.

486
00:27:41.480 --> 00:27:43.910
The median household income
here is about one third

487
00:27:43.910 --> 00:27:46.500
that of the US, and yet we pay

488
00:27:46.500 --> 00:27:51.280
about the second or third
highest electric rates

489
00:27:51.280 --> 00:27:53.023
of any US jurisdiction.

490
00:27:54.100 --> 00:27:56.980
And the government is heavily indebted.

491
00:27:56.980 --> 00:27:59.540
Has a huge debt, which you may know

492
00:27:59.540 --> 00:28:03.557
has led to a bankruptcy type case

493
00:28:05.010 --> 00:28:07.460
for the Puerto Rico government.

494
00:28:07.460 --> 00:28:09.780
And it's coupled with
an emergency management

495
00:28:09.780 --> 00:28:12.730
and bankruptcy provisions.

496
00:28:12.730 --> 00:28:14.700
And there's been mass migration.

497
00:28:14.700 --> 00:28:16.810
About some 100,000 people,

498
00:28:16.810 --> 00:28:19.000
mostly working aged people.

499
00:28:19.000 --> 00:28:22.220
And lots of professionals, doctors.

500
00:28:22.220 --> 00:28:26.150
And so what we're seeing,
especially in this region

501
00:28:26.150 --> 00:28:28.940
in southeastern Puerto Rico
known as the Guayama region

502
00:28:28.940 --> 00:28:32.470
is even higher poverty rates
and unemployment rates.

503
00:28:32.470 --> 00:28:35.060
Schools and hospital closings.

504
00:28:35.060 --> 00:28:38.615
And this is what we call...

505
00:28:38.615 --> 00:28:41.716
So then, sorry, the name
of the statute is PROMESA,

506
00:28:41.716 --> 00:28:43.190
the Puerto Rico Oversight Management

507
00:28:43.190 --> 00:28:44.783
and Economic Stability Act.

508
00:28:46.660 --> 00:28:48.300
There's been no economic stability.

509
00:28:48.300 --> 00:28:51.080
It's just leading to
poverty as the sign says.

510
00:28:51.080 --> 00:28:52.480
(speaking in foreign language)

511
00:28:52.480 --> 00:28:56.450
And so those statistics that I mentioned

512
00:28:56.450 --> 00:29:00.160
in terms of southeastern
Puerto Rico are one part

513
00:29:00.160 --> 00:29:03.840
of the environmental justice problem here.

514
00:29:03.840 --> 00:29:06.450
The other part of the
environmental justice problem here

515
00:29:06.450 --> 00:29:08.920
is that most of the...

516
00:29:08.920 --> 00:29:11.980
The two most contaminating
power plants on the island

517
00:29:11.980 --> 00:29:15.140
are located in this
region, in Guayama region

518
00:29:15.140 --> 00:29:17.130
here in southeastern Puerto Rico.

519
00:29:17.130 --> 00:29:18.330
And they are, as I mentioned,

520
00:29:18.330 --> 00:29:20.400
the AES coal-burning power plant,

521
00:29:20.400 --> 00:29:23.330
and the largest electrical
complex in Puerto Rico,

522
00:29:23.330 --> 00:29:25.820
the Aguirre Power Complex.

523
00:29:25.820 --> 00:29:30.410
So they are one and two in
terms of toxic emissions.

524
00:29:30.410 --> 00:29:32.170
And you'll see something else

525
00:29:32.170 --> 00:29:36.430
about AES in the coming slides.

526
00:29:36.430 --> 00:29:40.800
So obviously, coal
combustion from the AES plant

527
00:29:42.040 --> 00:29:47.040
includes CO2 emissions, mercury,
many other heavy metals.

528
00:29:49.870 --> 00:29:53.000
But in addition to that,
people are also impacted.

529
00:29:53.000 --> 00:29:54.330
And very few people think

530
00:29:54.330 --> 00:29:57.290
about the energy water nexus,

531
00:29:57.290 --> 00:30:02.290
but it's very critical here because AES

532
00:30:02.810 --> 00:30:04.330
extracts water from what is known

533
00:30:04.330 --> 00:30:06.890
as the South Coast Aquifer.

534
00:30:06.890 --> 00:30:09.920
That South Coast Aquifer
is the sole source

535
00:30:09.920 --> 00:30:12.453
of potable water for tens
of thousands of people.

536
00:30:13.930 --> 00:30:18.453
And then in addition to
that, AES discharges,

537
00:30:19.580 --> 00:30:22.080
for a while, it was supposed to be

538
00:30:22.080 --> 00:30:24.810
a zero water discharge facility

539
00:30:24.810 --> 00:30:26.940
but it was actually from the beginning

540
00:30:26.940 --> 00:30:30.433
illegally discharging
contaminated water into the bay.

541
00:30:32.070 --> 00:30:35.540
And it also has contaminated
the South Coast Aquifer,

542
00:30:35.540 --> 00:30:37.710
not only extracting water

543
00:30:37.710 --> 00:30:41.680
but also contaminating the
water with coal ash waste

544
00:30:41.680 --> 00:30:45.380
or formerly known as coal
combustion residuals.

545
00:30:45.380 --> 00:30:49.900
Because this plant, incredibly
has no disposal facility

546
00:30:49.900 --> 00:30:53.180
for the millions of tons of coal ash waste

547
00:30:53.180 --> 00:30:55.750
that it generates or it has generated.

548
00:30:55.750 --> 00:30:57.840
It's about 300,000 a year.

549
00:30:57.840 --> 00:30:59.160
This is the slide.

550
00:30:59.160 --> 00:31:03.680
So if you look at this
photograph on the left here,

551
00:31:03.680 --> 00:31:05.230
my left, I hope it's your left.

552
00:31:06.970 --> 00:31:08.460
This is coal ash waste.

553
00:31:08.460 --> 00:31:12.943
And as you can see, it's going
into a storm water system.

554
00:31:14.320 --> 00:31:17.599
And that means, of course,
that other water bodies

555
00:31:17.599 --> 00:31:20.620
will be contaminated
with this coal ash waste.

556
00:31:20.620 --> 00:31:24.580
So coal ash waste or
coal combustion residuals

557
00:31:24.580 --> 00:31:26.530
are basically a...

558
00:31:27.600 --> 00:31:30.550
What's left after burning coal.

559
00:31:30.550 --> 00:31:35.260
And because it's inorganic,
are the heavy metals

560
00:31:35.260 --> 00:31:37.440
and the radioactive isotopes

561
00:31:37.440 --> 00:31:39.670
and that's what coal ash waste is.

562
00:31:39.670 --> 00:31:41.340
And by the way, this is a huge problem

563
00:31:41.340 --> 00:31:42.870
in the States as well.

564
00:31:42.870 --> 00:31:45.390
Because as you can see, about 100 million.

565
00:31:45.390 --> 00:31:47.730
That's even with the closure
of all the coal plants,

566
00:31:47.730 --> 00:31:50.110
of many coal plants in the States

567
00:31:50.110 --> 00:31:52.120
there's still quite a few operating

568
00:31:52.120 --> 00:31:57.120
and they generate about 100
million tons of coal ash waste.

569
00:31:57.960 --> 00:32:02.920
Some of it is used, what they
call as a beneficial product.

570
00:32:02.920 --> 00:32:07.300
And some of it is
encapsulated in gypsum board.

571
00:32:07.300 --> 00:32:11.490
But a lot of it, most
of it is either disposed

572
00:32:11.490 --> 00:32:14.570
in impoundments which
leach the contaminants

573
00:32:14.570 --> 00:32:18.560
into other water bodies or at waste hills,

574
00:32:18.560 --> 00:32:22.210
which if not properly lined
and managed can also leach.

575
00:32:22.210 --> 00:32:26.130
So that, as I said, that the
AES plant here generates.

576
00:32:26.130 --> 00:32:29.120
And this is what it looks like.

577
00:32:29.120 --> 00:32:33.733
And this coal ash mountain was exposed,

578
00:32:34.980 --> 00:32:39.150
is constantly exposed
to the hurricane winds

579
00:32:39.150 --> 00:32:41.630
or just regular Caribbean breeze.

580
00:32:41.630 --> 00:32:46.590
And also, especially after,
during the hurricanes,

581
00:32:46.590 --> 00:32:48.763
it gets dispersed quite a bit.

582
00:32:50.030 --> 00:32:52.510
And so this is the sort of the detail

583
00:32:52.510 --> 00:32:55.010
of the kinds of things that we found

584
00:32:55.010 --> 00:32:57.320
in a test of the coal ash waste

585
00:32:57.320 --> 00:32:59.230
here on the AES coal ash.

586
00:32:59.230 --> 00:33:01.313
So you can see these are pretty hefty,

587
00:33:02.180 --> 00:33:03.910
heavy metals of concern.

588
00:33:03.910 --> 00:33:07.730
Arsenic, barium, boron,
manganese, selenium, vanadium,

589
00:33:07.730 --> 00:33:11.630
among other elevated levels
of metals and alpha particles.

590
00:33:11.630 --> 00:33:15.563
And so it is, it does include
radioactive materials.

591
00:33:17.160 --> 00:33:22.160
And so the reason why
this has been happening

592
00:33:23.150 --> 00:33:26.170
in the States for over a
century and here in Puerto Rico

593
00:33:26.170 --> 00:33:28.160
since the AES plant opened up

594
00:33:28.160 --> 00:33:32.807
was because the test that was used

595
00:33:33.820 --> 00:33:38.350
to determine the leaching
potential of coal ash waste,

596
00:33:38.350 --> 00:33:42.130
that is the ability to
release these heavy metals

597
00:33:42.130 --> 00:33:46.580
into the environment, was for
many years not the right test.

598
00:33:46.580 --> 00:33:50.300
And so this new test
is, we were able to get

599
00:33:51.710 --> 00:33:55.210
the coal ash here tested
with this new framework,

600
00:33:55.210 --> 00:33:59.440
which does determine
the leaching capacities

601
00:33:59.440 --> 00:34:03.160
of this coal ash waste
into groundwater surface,

602
00:34:03.160 --> 00:34:06.780
superficial water into the land.

603
00:34:06.780 --> 00:34:10.470
And so what happened as a result

604
00:34:10.470 --> 00:34:12.200
of all of these investigations

605
00:34:12.200 --> 00:34:14.330
is that we were able to get

606
00:34:14.330 --> 00:34:16.130
the University of Puerto
Rico Graduate School

607
00:34:16.130 --> 00:34:20.470
of Public Health do two
epidemiological studies.

608
00:34:20.470 --> 00:34:23.170
And they both basically confirm

609
00:34:23.170 --> 00:34:26.070
that the communities in Guayama closest

610
00:34:26.070 --> 00:34:30.670
to the AES coal plant have
multiple times the incidence

611
00:34:30.670 --> 00:34:34.133
of respiratory disease,
cardiovascular diseases,

612
00:34:35.470 --> 00:34:40.470
cancers obviously, and
even spontaneous abortions,

613
00:34:40.670 --> 00:34:43.890
more so than the control community

614
00:34:43.890 --> 00:34:45.720
in northeast Puerto Rico,

615
00:34:45.720 --> 00:34:50.720
not impacted by the coal ash waste.

616
00:34:50.990 --> 00:34:55.990
And so, as I said, that the coal industry

617
00:34:56.550 --> 00:34:59.370
for a very long time has promoted

618
00:34:59.370 --> 00:35:00.910
the so-called beneficial use.

619
00:35:00.910 --> 00:35:05.130
They even call it, they give
it these really cute names

620
00:35:05.130 --> 00:35:07.040
like Agremax here in Puerto Rico,

621
00:35:07.040 --> 00:35:11.170
and in Florida, I think
it's called easy...

622
00:35:12.590 --> 00:35:14.170
I'm sorry, I forget what it is

623
00:35:14.170 --> 00:35:18.540
but the coal industry has really marketed

624
00:35:18.540 --> 00:35:20.240
its coal ash waste very well.

625
00:35:20.240 --> 00:35:23.660
But as you can see in the photograph,

626
00:35:23.660 --> 00:35:26.480
this is a housing development
that was being built.

627
00:35:26.480 --> 00:35:29.100
I talk about sprawling
housing construction here.

628
00:35:29.100 --> 00:35:31.790
Here is an example, but it was filled

629
00:35:31.790 --> 00:35:35.260
with coal ash waste, coal
combustion residuals.

630
00:35:35.260 --> 00:35:36.930
And during the construction,

631
00:35:36.930 --> 00:35:40.460
all of the fuel treated dust
was constantly in the air.

632
00:35:40.460 --> 00:35:43.810
And it was used primarily
in flood prone areas

633
00:35:43.810 --> 00:35:47.230
above the sole-source aquifer
in proximity to wetlands

634
00:35:47.230 --> 00:35:49.063
and ecologically sensitive areas.

635
00:35:50.240 --> 00:35:51.850
And also heavily populated areas

636
00:35:51.850 --> 00:35:53.190
because Puerto Rico is one

637
00:35:53.190 --> 00:35:56.003
of the most heavily populated
places in the world.

638
00:35:57.550 --> 00:36:01.160
And this, by the way is also
a very big problem in India,

639
00:36:01.160 --> 00:36:02.903
in many other places.

640
00:36:04.300 --> 00:36:07.660
So, it has led to
unsustainable development

641
00:36:07.660 --> 00:36:12.660
and impacts to, for example,
mangrove, canals, et cetera.

642
00:36:14.040 --> 00:36:16.870
And this, in the photograph you can see,

643
00:36:16.870 --> 00:36:19.660
this was a storm water retention pond

644
00:36:19.660 --> 00:36:21.920
built with coal ash waste.

645
00:36:21.920 --> 00:36:25.550
So obviously this leeches into the water.

646
00:36:25.550 --> 00:36:27.830
That connects with the groundwater

647
00:36:27.830 --> 00:36:30.873
and also discharges into a nearby river.

648
00:36:31.930 --> 00:36:36.930
So this is getting to be
a very widespread problem.

649
00:36:41.070 --> 00:36:46.070
So we do now have a
law to prohibit the use

650
00:36:49.600 --> 00:36:51.200
of the coal ash waste as film material

651
00:36:51.200 --> 00:36:53.063
and for these uses.

652
00:36:55.600 --> 00:36:58.430
But it is very much a race
to the bottom phenomenon,

653
00:36:58.430 --> 00:37:01.680
where industries or jurisdictions

654
00:37:01.680 --> 00:37:05.760
both in the US and globally
seek to attract low cost.

655
00:37:05.760 --> 00:37:08.023
And I put that, you
know, within air quotes.

656
00:37:10.450 --> 00:37:14.780
Low cost, except the
externalities are very high cost.

657
00:37:14.780 --> 00:37:17.250
And then, so this is a classic definition

658
00:37:17.250 --> 00:37:19.160
of environmental injustice

659
00:37:19.160 --> 00:37:23.290
that jurisdictions that
have the ability to regulate

660
00:37:23.290 --> 00:37:25.670
do not exercise or do not implement

661
00:37:25.670 --> 00:37:27.430
those protective elements.

662
00:37:27.430 --> 00:37:32.028
There's lax enforcement and
really insufficient resources

663
00:37:32.028 --> 00:37:33.570
on the part of the government

664
00:37:33.570 --> 00:37:36.980
to enforce any existing provisions.

665
00:37:36.980 --> 00:37:38.763
And so you see more and more of it.

666
00:37:39.730 --> 00:37:43.850
This is what we call environmental
and racial injustice.

667
00:37:43.850 --> 00:37:46.200
That was actually in the photograph.

668
00:37:46.200 --> 00:37:51.200
A child playing among a
pile of coal ash waste

669
00:37:51.790 --> 00:37:56.790
of heavy metals and radioactive materials.

670
00:37:58.150 --> 00:38:02.663
And so that coupled, this
disproportionate impact

671
00:38:04.270 --> 00:38:05.770
and burden on people,

672
00:38:05.770 --> 00:38:09.840
coupled with the
environmental justice criteria

673
00:38:09.840 --> 00:38:13.000
that include a higher than average

674
00:38:13.000 --> 00:38:14.810
or higher than the Puerto Rico average

675
00:38:14.810 --> 00:38:18.630
Afro-descendant community,
closing of hospitals

676
00:38:20.658 --> 00:38:24.380
and the high poverty rates

677
00:38:24.380 --> 00:38:29.380
creates a situation where
people are unjustly burdened.

678
00:38:32.430 --> 00:38:36.330
But as I said, the AES corporation

679
00:38:38.040 --> 00:38:40.410
actually marketed this coal ash

680
00:38:40.410 --> 00:38:42.770
and created a sham recycling operation

681
00:38:42.770 --> 00:38:46.493
till about, as I recall, 2012.

682
00:38:48.420 --> 00:38:52.400
And we are getting some
kind of regulation now.

683
00:38:52.400 --> 00:38:55.860
As I mentioned, there is a
law that was passed last year

684
00:38:55.860 --> 00:38:59.170
and we're awaiting a
regulation to prohibit

685
00:38:59.170 --> 00:39:00.007
the use of the...

686
00:39:00.007 --> 00:39:02.853
The unencapsulated use of coal ash waste.

687
00:39:04.060 --> 00:39:05.970
And this is just citing authorities

688
00:39:05.970 --> 00:39:09.170
about how political bodies
like municipal governments

689
00:39:09.170 --> 00:39:12.620
have what is known as the police power

690
00:39:12.620 --> 00:39:16.123
to safeguard the health
and welfare of residents.

691
00:39:18.460 --> 00:39:23.217
And of course, there's this
problem with federal preemption

692
00:39:24.250 --> 00:39:29.250
and which set of laws will actually apply.

693
00:39:29.690 --> 00:39:34.410
And in effect, although
we've gotten about,

694
00:39:34.410 --> 00:39:38.040
I think it was about
15 municipal ordinances

695
00:39:38.040 --> 00:39:40.470
out of the 78 municipalities
here in Puerto Rico

696
00:39:40.470 --> 00:39:45.470
had passed provisions to prevent
the use of coal ash waste.

697
00:39:46.070 --> 00:39:49.570
Basically, that was preempted later on.

698
00:39:49.570 --> 00:39:53.090
But then we got the law
passed that prohibits the use

699
00:39:53.090 --> 00:39:55.610
of the coal ash waste.

700
00:39:55.610 --> 00:39:56.443
And that's just

701
00:39:56.443 --> 00:39:58.740
like citing the Resource
Conservation Recovery Act

702
00:39:58.740 --> 00:40:03.740
that the states within
the federalism system,

703
00:40:06.190 --> 00:40:08.120
and Puerto Rico for that purpose

704
00:40:08.120 --> 00:40:12.370
is considered a state, are not prohibited

705
00:40:12.370 --> 00:40:15.300
from either the state or
its political subdivisions.

706
00:40:15.300 --> 00:40:18.720
That is like the municipalities,
counties, et cetera.

707
00:40:18.720 --> 00:40:21.670
from imposing stricter requirements

708
00:40:21.670 --> 00:40:25.390
on these kinds of operations,

709
00:40:25.390 --> 00:40:30.213
such as, including site selection
and imposing regulations.

710
00:40:31.860 --> 00:40:36.320
But of course, the regulatory
and litigation costs are high

711
00:40:36.320 --> 00:40:40.397
in order to achieve
the kinds of provisions

712
00:40:42.650 --> 00:40:46.160
that are protective of human
health and the environment.

713
00:40:46.160 --> 00:40:49.180
And so it puts the burden

714
00:40:49.180 --> 00:40:52.321
on environmental justice communities

715
00:40:52.321 --> 00:40:57.321
and state governments or
local government entities.

716
00:40:59.770 --> 00:41:03.020
So now, I'm jumping over
to the Dominican Republic

717
00:41:03.020 --> 00:41:04.950
just because I wanted to close the circle

718
00:41:04.950 --> 00:41:08.050
about how we saw in Colombia,

719
00:41:08.050 --> 00:41:10.180
the extraction process going on.

720
00:41:10.180 --> 00:41:15.180
Here in Puerto Rico, it's
the combustion of the coal

721
00:41:15.830 --> 00:41:17.180
that creates a coal ash waste

722
00:41:17.180 --> 00:41:20.393
and all of the emissions and
water contamination, et cetera.

723
00:41:21.250 --> 00:41:24.317
What happened with the coal
ash waste in Puerto Rico

724
00:41:24.317 --> 00:41:27.193
was that it was taken to
the Dominican Republic,

725
00:41:28.570 --> 00:41:30.270
to a place called Arroyo Barril

726
00:41:32.182 --> 00:41:36.930
and people were told
that they could use this

727
00:41:36.930 --> 00:41:40.380
as film material, or they can use this

728
00:41:40.380 --> 00:41:43.790
as construction material
within their own homes.

729
00:41:43.790 --> 00:41:45.730
And apparently did so.

730
00:41:45.730 --> 00:41:50.620
And suddenly, children
were born with defects.

731
00:41:50.620 --> 00:41:55.620
As you can see in the photo,
the child is missing his arms.

732
00:41:56.010 --> 00:41:58.300
And there were quite a few cases

733
00:41:58.300 --> 00:42:02.160
that were brought and
ultimately settled by AES.

734
00:42:02.160 --> 00:42:04.310
This is the first settlement agreement

735
00:42:04.310 --> 00:42:09.310
when AES was sued by the
government of Dominican Republic.

736
00:42:11.930 --> 00:42:14.930
And then let's go to another
island in the Caribbean

737
00:42:14.930 --> 00:42:19.140
that is trying to move away
from fossil fuel generation.

738
00:42:19.140 --> 00:42:21.750
And I really liked what...

739
00:42:21.750 --> 00:42:25.640
This was a conference I
attended on the climate crisis.

740
00:42:25.640 --> 00:42:29.543
And the message that
they were transmitting

741
00:42:34.200 --> 00:42:38.470
is that the key to success
was that energy prices

742
00:42:38.470 --> 00:42:40.600
in the US Virgin Islands were high,

743
00:42:40.600 --> 00:42:43.420
but they are no higher than
what energy prices should be

744
00:42:43.420 --> 00:42:46.880
if the external costs
of burning fossil fuel,

745
00:42:46.880 --> 00:42:48.840
pollution, climate
change, and it should say,

746
00:42:48.840 --> 00:42:52.623
health impacts are considered.

747
00:42:54.030 --> 00:42:56.030
Okay, so this is...

748
00:42:56.030 --> 00:42:58.670
Well, I think this is
my next to last slide.

749
00:42:58.670 --> 00:43:02.410
This was a symbolic
protest that was held here

750
00:43:02.410 --> 00:43:05.480
in Puerto Rico after hurricane Maria.

751
00:43:05.480 --> 00:43:08.820
The shoes represent people who passed away

752
00:43:08.820 --> 00:43:11.340
as a result of the hurricane

753
00:43:11.340 --> 00:43:16.340
and to a large extent of
not having electric power.

754
00:43:16.460 --> 00:43:18.810
And that number is disputed

755
00:43:18.810 --> 00:43:22.993
but it's anywhere between about
3000, 5000 people that died.

756
00:43:24.310 --> 00:43:29.310
And so this in the map here
on top shows Puerto Rico

757
00:43:29.640 --> 00:43:32.663
prior and after the hurricane.

758
00:43:33.590 --> 00:43:37.570
And so, I wanna emphasize

759
00:43:37.570 --> 00:43:41.380
that when we talk about the transformation

760
00:43:41.380 --> 00:43:43.100
that's needed here in Puerto Rico,

761
00:43:43.100 --> 00:43:46.210
it's not just about not
burning fossil fuels.

762
00:43:46.210 --> 00:43:51.120
It's also about not transmitting
energy long distances

763
00:43:51.120 --> 00:43:54.620
because as we said, these
transmission systems

764
00:43:54.620 --> 00:43:58.250
and distribution systems
are vulnerable and can,

765
00:43:58.250 --> 00:44:00.470
even with renewable energy projects being,

766
00:44:00.470 --> 00:44:02.710
say, down here in Southern Puerto Rico,

767
00:44:02.710 --> 00:44:04.300
they need to be transmitted.

768
00:44:04.300 --> 00:44:07.550
And so that's why we talk
about onsite and rooftop solar

769
00:44:07.550 --> 00:44:10.680
as being a better solution.

770
00:44:10.680 --> 00:44:14.520
And because these transmission
systems lose energy

771
00:44:14.520 --> 00:44:18.080
on the way, and also are very expensive

772
00:44:18.080 --> 00:44:21.450
and represent sort of an opportunity cost

773
00:44:21.450 --> 00:44:26.450
against actually onsite energy generation,

774
00:44:28.550 --> 00:44:31.780
which by definition has to be cleaner

775
00:44:31.780 --> 00:44:33.893
so as not to impact public health.

776
00:44:35.200 --> 00:44:40.200
And so that I think is the issue.

777
00:44:40.240 --> 00:44:42.810
Should we be rebuilding with the existing

778
00:44:42.810 --> 00:44:45.490
centralized fossil fuel system?

779
00:44:45.490 --> 00:44:49.970
Or can we convince FEMA, HUD
and the federal government

780
00:44:49.970 --> 00:44:53.850
to allow for onsite generation.

781
00:44:53.850 --> 00:44:55.450
Rooftop solar primarily coupled

782
00:44:55.450 --> 00:44:58.150
with battery energy storage systems

783
00:44:58.150 --> 00:45:02.760
and thereby protect public health here.

784
00:45:02.760 --> 00:45:06.740
And that I think is all.

785
00:45:06.740 --> 00:45:10.483
And if you have any
questions, please feel free.

786
00:45:12.290 --> 00:45:13.270
- Thanks, Ruth.

787
00:45:13.270 --> 00:45:15.350
This is very wonderful presentation.

788
00:45:15.350 --> 00:45:19.020
And you talk about the
environmental and racial justice

789
00:45:19.020 --> 00:45:20.850
not just within Puerto Rico

790
00:45:20.850 --> 00:45:25.130
but also in the frontline
communities in Colombia

791
00:45:25.130 --> 00:45:27.990
and also in the Dominican Republic.

792
00:45:27.990 --> 00:45:30.920
So a lot of powerful messages here.

793
00:45:30.920 --> 00:45:35.120
I do have a lot of questions
students already submitted.

794
00:45:35.120 --> 00:45:38.550
And for all the audiences,
if you have questions,

795
00:45:38.550 --> 00:45:42.410
please type in your
questions in the chat box.

796
00:45:42.410 --> 00:45:47.410
So Ruth, you mentioned
about the coal ash waste

797
00:45:47.630 --> 00:45:52.160
and how it could be, you
know, during the hurricane,

798
00:45:52.160 --> 00:45:55.800
during the big storms, the
ashes can flood into the water

799
00:45:56.710 --> 00:45:59.250
and this makes no doubt

800
00:45:59.250 --> 00:46:02.870
that the coal ash waste
are very vulnerable

801
00:46:02.870 --> 00:46:05.680
to this climate disaster.

802
00:46:05.680 --> 00:46:07.450
For the students that
are actually wondering,

803
00:46:07.450 --> 00:46:09.950
a lot this clean energy options

804
00:46:09.950 --> 00:46:14.130
like the solar, roof
solar energy projects.

805
00:46:14.130 --> 00:46:16.110
Have you considered

806
00:46:16.110 --> 00:46:19.710
how that this new renewable energy system,

807
00:46:19.710 --> 00:46:23.800
the resistance to the climate disasters

808
00:46:23.800 --> 00:46:25.573
in particular, the hurricanes?

809
00:46:26.630 --> 00:46:30.380
- Okay, well, if I'm
understanding correctly,

810
00:46:30.380 --> 00:46:34.210
so, are you saying how resistant

811
00:46:34.210 --> 00:46:37.940
are rooftop solar
installations to the climate,

812
00:46:37.940 --> 00:46:39.810
to the increased hurricanes?

813
00:46:39.810 --> 00:46:43.997
Well, what we found is that
they do pretty well because...

814
00:46:46.460 --> 00:46:49.090
I don't have official
data, but it's between

815
00:46:49.090 --> 00:46:52.580
five and 10% of the panels
were impacted by the hurricane

816
00:46:52.580 --> 00:46:56.053
as opposed to 80% of
the transmission system.

817
00:46:57.230 --> 00:47:00.500
And the interesting thing about panels.

818
00:47:00.500 --> 00:47:05.500
One, is they can be hardened
to withstand very strong winds.

819
00:47:05.820 --> 00:47:08.480
Second, because of the
latitude where we are,

820
00:47:08.480 --> 00:47:11.100
especially here in Puerto
Rico, they're almost flat.

821
00:47:11.100 --> 00:47:13.640
They don't need that 45 angles,

822
00:47:13.640 --> 00:47:17.420
as, you know, further a
jurisdiction further in the north.

823
00:47:17.420 --> 00:47:21.570
And third, people here even have contests

824
00:47:21.570 --> 00:47:25.673
to take down their panels and
see how fast they can do it.

825
00:47:26.600 --> 00:47:30.970
So I've heard 20 minutes
for a very smaller rate.

826
00:47:30.970 --> 00:47:33.550
We also promote very smaller
rates for critical needs

827
00:47:33.550 --> 00:47:38.550
within the household, like four
to six panels and batteries.

828
00:47:38.570 --> 00:47:40.890
And so they can be taken down as well.

829
00:47:40.890 --> 00:47:42.780
So there are many options.

830
00:47:42.780 --> 00:47:47.780
And like I said, even what
we saw is that solar farms

831
00:47:50.830 --> 00:47:54.390
and wind farms did not hold
up during the hurricane

832
00:47:54.390 --> 00:47:57.250
as well as the panels on rooftops.

833
00:47:57.250 --> 00:47:58.780
For example, there was a wind farm

834
00:47:58.780 --> 00:48:01.480
on the eastern coast of Puerto
Rico, which no longer exists.

835
00:48:01.480 --> 00:48:03.570
It was called Punta Lima.

836
00:48:03.570 --> 00:48:06.600
The hurricane took it away.

837
00:48:06.600 --> 00:48:09.410
And the panels on the east coast there

838
00:48:09.410 --> 00:48:14.410
that were on a wind farm
also would severely damaged.

839
00:48:15.930 --> 00:48:18.243
But yeah, the rooftop
holds up pretty well.

840
00:48:19.672 --> 00:48:21.540
- I think, yeah, that's very promising

841
00:48:21.540 --> 00:48:23.193
and very interesting.

842
00:48:24.661 --> 00:48:28.790
That is great news to the transition.

843
00:48:28.790 --> 00:48:32.370
This second question the
students are kind of wondering

844
00:48:32.370 --> 00:48:35.250
is regarding the renewable energy.

845
00:48:35.250 --> 00:48:38.050
Here, we're mostly talking
about the solar energy,

846
00:48:38.050 --> 00:48:41.240
but have you, could you
give us more information

847
00:48:41.240 --> 00:48:44.250
regarding other types of renewable energy

848
00:48:44.250 --> 00:48:49.250
like the tide power or other,
like offshore wind power?

849
00:48:52.870 --> 00:48:53.870
- Right. Yeah.

850
00:48:53.870 --> 00:48:57.230
We've discussed that a lot
of those other options.

851
00:48:57.230 --> 00:49:00.500
Offshore wind largely has the
problem with the hurricanes.

852
00:49:00.500 --> 00:49:05.500
I think jurisdictions that
are prone to hurricanes

853
00:49:05.650 --> 00:49:10.650
would be probably better served by systems

854
00:49:12.860 --> 00:49:17.290
that don't don't have
these vertical structures

855
00:49:17.290 --> 00:49:21.090
because they are impacted by hurricanes.

856
00:49:21.090 --> 00:49:24.700
And as you know, even the hurricanes now

857
00:49:24.700 --> 00:49:29.700
are even reaching the northeast US.

858
00:49:29.930 --> 00:49:34.930
So I don't know how well offshore wind

859
00:49:35.020 --> 00:49:36.470
is gonna hold up to that.

860
00:49:36.470 --> 00:49:38.010
That remains to be seen.

861
00:49:38.010 --> 00:49:39.340
That on the one hand.

862
00:49:39.340 --> 00:49:41.950
In terms of tidal energy,

863
00:49:41.950 --> 00:49:43.710
there's an experiment going on right now

864
00:49:43.710 --> 00:49:46.720
in southeastern Puerto Rico offshore.

865
00:49:46.720 --> 00:49:49.680
I don't know too much about
it, but I am concerned

866
00:49:49.680 --> 00:49:53.560
and I think those of us who
are in the environmental field

867
00:49:53.560 --> 00:49:56.403
are concerned about impacts
to the water column,

868
00:49:57.300 --> 00:50:00.300
because a lot of the reproduction

869
00:50:00.300 --> 00:50:05.220
of marine species like egg larvae,

870
00:50:05.220 --> 00:50:09.450
and egg and fish larvae and eggs can,

871
00:50:09.450 --> 00:50:14.450
I think be impacted by a
manipulation of the water

872
00:50:14.720 --> 00:50:19.720
from the shallow, sorry,
the bottom part of the ocean

873
00:50:19.790 --> 00:50:20.623
to the top.

874
00:50:20.623 --> 00:50:23.120
And I think that's how basically it works.

875
00:50:23.120 --> 00:50:26.810
So I think that might create
some unexpected impacts

876
00:50:26.810 --> 00:50:28.453
in the marine environment.

877
00:50:30.480 --> 00:50:33.790
So that also to me is a question mark.

878
00:50:33.790 --> 00:50:34.623
- Ruth, thanks.

879
00:50:34.623 --> 00:50:37.260
Yes, we do need to consider
not just human health

880
00:50:37.260 --> 00:50:40.793
but also like the coastal
environmental ecosystems.

881
00:50:41.640 --> 00:50:45.750
So another question from the audience is,

882
00:50:45.750 --> 00:50:49.570
the first one is from Maggie asking.

883
00:50:49.570 --> 00:50:53.090
I was going to ask how
much interconnectivity

884
00:50:53.090 --> 00:50:57.520
there is in support of
Puerto Rico's advocacy

885
00:50:57.520 --> 00:51:00.150
as part of global advocacy.

886
00:51:00.150 --> 00:51:05.150
I'm not sure it's a
question or just a comment.

887
00:51:07.460 --> 00:51:08.630
- Okay.

888
00:51:08.630 --> 00:51:11.580
Well, in terms of this, for example,

889
00:51:11.580 --> 00:51:14.630
the work that we've done on coal,

890
00:51:14.630 --> 00:51:19.630
anti-coal combustion and
especially coal ash waste work,

891
00:51:20.480 --> 00:51:23.103
it is almost on a global scale.

892
00:51:23.970 --> 00:51:27.640
We have been working with
groups throughout the US.

893
00:51:27.640 --> 00:51:32.640
We were actually part of a
listserv throughout the US.

894
00:51:34.100 --> 00:51:37.090
I think there are people
from other countries as well,

895
00:51:37.090 --> 00:51:40.220
and we've done, had some
connections, as I said,

896
00:51:40.220 --> 00:51:45.220
with the Dominican Republic,
Colombia, Virgin islands,

897
00:51:45.310 --> 00:51:47.850
here in the Caribbean basin area,

898
00:51:47.850 --> 00:51:52.850
and some experiences in
other countries as well,

899
00:51:53.840 --> 00:51:57.560
on especially the coal ash waste issue.

900
00:51:57.560 --> 00:51:58.830
It's a huge problem.

901
00:51:58.830 --> 00:52:03.630
It's like the asbestos of our time

902
00:52:05.320 --> 00:52:07.450
in terms of the implications that it has

903
00:52:08.320 --> 00:52:12.850
for dispersing into air, water, land

904
00:52:13.700 --> 00:52:15.433
and affecting public health.

905
00:52:16.640 --> 00:52:18.210
In terms of renewable energy,

906
00:52:18.210 --> 00:52:21.850
also, we're linked with
groups throughout the States

907
00:52:25.520 --> 00:52:30.520
and a little bit now with groups
in the Dominican Republic.

908
00:52:30.730 --> 00:52:32.268
Yeah.

909
00:52:32.268 --> 00:52:33.440
- Yeah. So, yeah.

910
00:52:33.440 --> 00:52:35.910
Since we're talking about
like the kind of connection

911
00:52:35.910 --> 00:52:39.720
with the mainland, there's one
question from the students.

912
00:52:39.720 --> 00:52:41.560
Is particular interested about,

913
00:52:41.560 --> 00:52:44.490
after the major storms, Hurricane Maria,

914
00:52:44.490 --> 00:52:48.420
lots of interests from the
mainland paid to Puerto Rico

915
00:52:48.420 --> 00:52:51.250
and especially after the Green New Deal.

916
00:52:51.250 --> 00:52:54.710
So do you feel that
there are more positives

917
00:52:54.710 --> 00:52:58.410
that come out of this increased attention

918
00:52:58.410 --> 00:53:01.290
from the mainland, the
politicians and the public

919
00:53:01.290 --> 00:53:02.653
or the other way?

920
00:53:04.540 --> 00:53:05.720
- Okay.

921
00:53:05.720 --> 00:53:06.553
Certainly.

922
00:53:06.553 --> 00:53:09.030
Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria

923
00:53:10.740 --> 00:53:13.810
became a better known place.

924
00:53:13.810 --> 00:53:18.520
I've often been to places where...

925
00:53:18.520 --> 00:53:20.360
And that's why I put the
map on my slide there

926
00:53:20.360 --> 00:53:23.500
because I've been to places
where people don't really know

927
00:53:23.500 --> 00:53:26.080
what or where Puerto Rico is.

928
00:53:26.080 --> 00:53:30.650
People in the States often,
especially before the hurricane,

929
00:53:30.650 --> 00:53:34.070
did not know that Puerto Rico
was part of the United States.

930
00:53:34.070 --> 00:53:36.023
That happened to me quite a lot.

931
00:53:37.230 --> 00:53:38.063
Yes.

932
00:53:38.063 --> 00:53:40.223
So this attention, this renewed attention,

933
00:53:41.160 --> 00:53:43.570
I think is largely positive.

934
00:53:43.570 --> 00:53:46.520
I think people have
good faith in the States

935
00:53:46.520 --> 00:53:49.620
and the Puerto Rican
diaspora were life savers

936
00:53:49.620 --> 00:53:53.550
after the hurricane because
the government did not respond.

937
00:53:53.550 --> 00:53:58.020
And people, we were in
touch with so many people

938
00:53:58.020 --> 00:53:59.880
and groups throughout the States

939
00:53:59.880 --> 00:54:01.890
that were trying to help the situation

940
00:54:01.890 --> 00:54:04.790
and in the solar energy field,

941
00:54:04.790 --> 00:54:09.260
not just in terms of
providing, first being,

942
00:54:09.260 --> 00:54:14.260
the first provision of food
and clean water and et cetera

943
00:54:14.330 --> 00:54:19.330
but also bringing in more and
more of the solar technology.

944
00:54:19.540 --> 00:54:22.090
So, I think it's definitely positive.

945
00:54:22.090 --> 00:54:25.400
Now, I should say, there's this
one negative part about it.

946
00:54:25.400 --> 00:54:29.040
And it was the natural gas industry.

947
00:54:29.040 --> 00:54:33.270
The LNG industry also came
in right after the hurricane.

948
00:54:33.270 --> 00:54:36.350
And you saw that Siemens Industry map

949
00:54:36.350 --> 00:54:39.950
talking about building all
of this LNG infrastructure

950
00:54:39.950 --> 00:54:40.930
on the island.

951
00:54:40.930 --> 00:54:44.770
And there has been, there
is sort of a battle going on

952
00:54:44.770 --> 00:54:47.260
for the electric system here,

953
00:54:47.260 --> 00:54:51.250
to rebuild it either as it
was with so-called hardening

954
00:54:51.250 --> 00:54:55.230
and undergrounding versus
what we are proposing

955
00:54:55.230 --> 00:54:59.070
in Queremos Sol, which is a civil society,

956
00:54:59.070 --> 00:55:03.573
prosumer oriented, energy democracy focus.

957
00:55:04.830 --> 00:55:05.880
- Ruth, thanks, yeah.

958
00:55:05.880 --> 00:55:10.880
I think regarding the
gas energy alternative

959
00:55:11.250 --> 00:55:13.970
on the fracking way is
another heated topic,

960
00:55:13.970 --> 00:55:18.090
which hopefully will
help some other speakers

961
00:55:18.090 --> 00:55:19.540
cover this in the future.

962
00:55:19.540 --> 00:55:22.130
But I do have another
question from the audience,

963
00:55:22.130 --> 00:55:23.130
from Kyle Wyche.

964
00:55:23.130 --> 00:55:26.373
So, Kyle, do you want to ask yourself.

965
00:55:29.380 --> 00:55:31.750
- Sure, I'm happy to ask.

966
00:55:31.750 --> 00:55:33.210
I was kinda curious.

967
00:55:33.210 --> 00:55:35.330
We talked a lot about solar energy

968
00:55:35.330 --> 00:55:37.660
and that being a perfect renewable energy,

969
00:55:37.660 --> 00:55:38.810
but I'm also curious,

970
00:55:38.810 --> 00:55:41.320
what happens to the local
food waste in Puerto Rico?

971
00:55:41.320 --> 00:55:42.950
And if that is being reused,

972
00:55:42.950 --> 00:55:45.300
if it's going to compost,
anything like that.

973
00:55:45.300 --> 00:55:47.530
I'm particularly interested
in turning food waste

974
00:55:47.530 --> 00:55:49.850
into renewable energy, and then also

975
00:55:49.850 --> 00:55:52.040
a nutrient dense liquid plant fertilizers

976
00:55:52.040 --> 00:55:54.700
that can be used again
for crops or hydroponics

977
00:55:54.700 --> 00:55:57.310
instead of creating new
land for agriculture

978
00:55:57.310 --> 00:55:58.313
and things like that.

979
00:55:59.400 --> 00:56:01.300
- Okay, thanks for the question, Kyle.

980
00:56:02.180 --> 00:56:05.620
Yeah, we have a huge problem
here with our landfills.

981
00:56:05.620 --> 00:56:08.230
The first environmental
case I ever worked on

982
00:56:09.700 --> 00:56:13.340
back in the '90s was what would have been

983
00:56:13.340 --> 00:56:14.950
the largest landfill here.

984
00:56:14.950 --> 00:56:17.780
It was again over the South Coast Aquifer.

985
00:56:17.780 --> 00:56:21.280
So we were totally against
creating a big hole

986
00:56:21.280 --> 00:56:26.280
in the earth to potentially
contaminate the water supply.

987
00:56:26.580 --> 00:56:31.580
And we worked for many years
at Comite Dialogo Ambiental

988
00:56:32.394 --> 00:56:33.833
and many, many other groups.

989
00:56:35.153 --> 00:56:40.153
I have worked for the reduction,
reuse or recycling programs

990
00:56:42.500 --> 00:56:44.890
and composting, of course.

991
00:56:44.890 --> 00:56:47.700
It has not been successful at all.

992
00:56:47.700 --> 00:56:50.840
I have to say in all
honesty that we have a law

993
00:56:50.840 --> 00:56:55.733
with very ambitious goals
that have not been achieved.

994
00:56:56.870 --> 00:56:57.803
It's a fiasco.

995
00:56:59.495 --> 00:57:04.495
There've been numerous waste
energy projects proposed here

996
00:57:04.610 --> 00:57:09.610
that basically involve some
kind of some incineration

997
00:57:09.750 --> 00:57:13.270
or paralysis of those materials,

998
00:57:13.270 --> 00:57:17.640
that have been not acceptable
to civil society groups.

999
00:57:17.640 --> 00:57:20.550
In fact, one of the co-founding groups

1000
00:57:20.550 --> 00:57:24.980
of Queremos Sol, it's called,
Coalicion Anti-Incineracion,

1001
00:57:24.980 --> 00:57:27.160
anti-incineration coalition.

1002
00:57:27.160 --> 00:57:32.160
They have been very active in
fighting that sort of thing.

1003
00:57:32.980 --> 00:57:37.640
I don't know enough about the technologies

1004
00:57:37.640 --> 00:57:40.520
for waste management or...

1005
00:57:43.080 --> 00:57:44.043
Yeah.

1006
00:57:49.667 --> 00:57:51.413
Bio energy programs.

1007
00:57:51.413 --> 00:57:54.450
I confess, I don't know
enough about those.

1008
00:57:54.450 --> 00:57:57.660
In fact, I wanna say
something interesting though.

1009
00:57:57.660 --> 00:58:00.330
On Thursday, I think it is,

1010
00:58:00.330 --> 00:58:04.080
Yale is having a conference

1011
00:58:04.080 --> 00:58:08.670
or we're having this little
symposium or discussion

1012
00:58:08.670 --> 00:58:13.640
between groups from Puerto Rico and Cuba.

1013
00:58:13.640 --> 00:58:17.590
And in the materials that
the Cuban contingent sent,

1014
00:58:17.590 --> 00:58:22.590
they apparently do a lot of
that composting and biofuels

1015
00:58:24.190 --> 00:58:26.230
but I don't know.

1016
00:58:26.230 --> 00:58:29.733
I'm gonna learn, so sorry about that.

1017
00:58:31.400 --> 00:58:32.233
- Thanks, Ruth.

1018
00:58:32.233 --> 00:58:34.170
I think we are almost on time

1019
00:58:34.170 --> 00:58:37.410
and I do have one final
question from the audience

1020
00:58:37.410 --> 00:58:42.210
is regarding other system
of renewable energy,

1021
00:58:42.210 --> 00:58:44.020
you're talking about these projects.

1022
00:58:44.020 --> 00:58:45.480
Are they facing oppositions

1023
00:58:45.480 --> 00:58:47.660
from the coal plants in Puerto Rico?

1024
00:58:47.660 --> 00:58:51.530
What about the political atmosphere there?

1025
00:58:51.530 --> 00:58:54.860
Obviously, students are
also kind of wondering this.

1026
00:58:54.860 --> 00:58:55.870
- Oh yeah.

1027
00:58:55.870 --> 00:58:56.703
Okay.

1028
00:58:56.703 --> 00:59:00.660
So, the coal plant issue is, right now,

1029
00:59:00.660 --> 00:59:05.660
it's the the most known,
well-known environmental issue

1030
00:59:08.370 --> 00:59:10.280
and problem in Puerto Rico.

1031
00:59:10.280 --> 00:59:12.500
And there've been massive mobilizations

1032
00:59:12.500 --> 00:59:14.970
and all kinds of laws and regulations

1033
00:59:14.970 --> 00:59:18.460
and just everything
possible that fortunately

1034
00:59:18.460 --> 00:59:22.930
all of Puerto Rico has
basically joined in this fight.

1035
00:59:22.930 --> 00:59:25.430
And so there's a law that require,

1036
00:59:25.430 --> 00:59:27.210
and in the IRP, in fact,

1037
00:59:27.210 --> 00:59:29.150
the Integrated Resource
Plan that I mentioned

1038
00:59:29.150 --> 00:59:30.420
that we were a part of,

1039
00:59:30.420 --> 00:59:33.520
it states that the coal
burning power plant

1040
00:59:33.520 --> 00:59:35.610
has to shut down by 2027,

1041
00:59:35.610 --> 00:59:37.810
because that's when the power purchase

1042
00:59:37.810 --> 00:59:40.200
and operation agreement ends.

1043
00:59:40.200 --> 00:59:43.303
And actually the groups want
to shut it down before then.

1044
00:59:44.440 --> 00:59:49.440
So there has been quite a lot
of opposition to the coal.

1045
00:59:52.020 --> 00:59:54.500
And what we're saying is that instead,

1046
00:59:54.500 --> 00:59:59.180
we can use massive
rooftop solar installation

1047
00:59:59.180 --> 01:00:02.893
to substitute that plant
and other plants as well.

1048
01:00:04.200 --> 01:00:07.220
And we are seeing, for example,

1049
01:00:07.220 --> 01:00:10.750
there is also an ongoing
privatization process

1050
01:00:10.750 --> 01:00:12.960
of the Puerto Rico
Electric Power Authority.

1051
01:00:12.960 --> 01:00:15.740
And the company is a conglomerate

1052
01:00:15.740 --> 01:00:19.160
between Quanta Services and ATCO which,

1053
01:00:19.160 --> 01:00:22.660
one is a US and one is a Canadian company

1054
01:00:22.660 --> 01:00:25.550
that put together something
called Luma Energy

1055
01:00:25.550 --> 01:00:28.067
in order to operate the transmission

1056
01:00:28.067 --> 01:00:29.930
and distribution system here.

1057
01:00:29.930 --> 01:00:33.020
And they are very much
against onsite solar,

1058
01:00:33.020 --> 01:00:35.250
because their business is to keep

1059
01:00:35.250 --> 01:00:37.350
those long distance transmission

1060
01:00:37.350 --> 01:00:39.320
and distribution lines going

1061
01:00:39.320 --> 01:00:41.930
and take all those federal funds to do...

1062
01:00:41.930 --> 01:00:45.080
I call it trickle down energy.

1063
01:00:45.080 --> 01:00:49.340
When you do long distance
transmission distribution,

1064
01:00:49.340 --> 01:00:53.330
you're doing indirectly what
you can do more efficiently

1065
01:00:53.330 --> 01:00:57.220
with onsite generation, rooftop solar.

1066
01:00:57.220 --> 01:01:00.210
And, but so yes, we're seeing resistance

1067
01:01:00.210 --> 01:01:05.180
from the big gas and
oil and Siemens Industry

1068
01:01:05.180 --> 01:01:10.040
that sells big combined cycle generators

1069
01:01:10.040 --> 01:01:15.040
and Luma Energy and just
the usual fossil fuel

1070
01:01:15.180 --> 01:01:18.483
and centralized generation companies.

1071
01:01:19.450 --> 01:01:21.660
- Yeah, thank you for
sharing this perspective.

1072
01:01:21.660 --> 01:01:25.070
So with that, I think we
can end today's seminar.

1073
01:01:25.070 --> 01:01:27.230
So once again, thank you, Ruth

1074
01:01:27.230 --> 01:01:29.970
for giving this excellent presentation.

1075
01:01:29.970 --> 01:01:31.430
Very much appreciate.

1076
01:01:31.430 --> 01:01:34.630
And thank you all for coming
on this thing at the end.

1077
01:01:34.630 --> 01:01:35.693
- My pleasure.