The Challenges and Promise of Reunion Island
I embarked on an $18,000 (just expenses) trip in October and November of 2005 to Reunion Island, located in the Indian Ocean, then going on to Paris, Oslo, Bergen and London. The expense was high because there were some paid upgraded segments. This was certainly in the top 10 of worst and best trips, showing enormous promise for future interaction (see The Free Hydrogen Age and the Blue Revolution in Book 1). Mauritius was a late add-on, and a pleasant one. They are my hope for the Blue Revolution.
Dear Friends:
By now you have probably received at least one of eleven chapters of my month long trip to the Indian Ocean and Europe. For some, it will only take you a second to delete this as SPAM. For others who actually might be interested in gaining some closure, this is a collection of the most memorable experiences and anecdotes, in chronological order:
a. After flying (actual air time) about 28 hours, I landed on Reunion Island, east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. Reunion, about the size of Oahu, at the same Latitude (but they are South and we are North—close to being our antipode), with about the same population and a balanced, but different, ethnic mix of Africains, French, Chinese and Indian, is a state and, as it has turned out, “welfare” department of France. There seem to be tolerable racial relations, although those walking the markets look only to be brown/black. I actually asked someone why I don't see too many Chinese, and the response was: they are in their shops. Perhaps true, but nevertheless, disconcerting.
Unemployment might be as high as 50%, but the government payments are quite good (the unemployed take vacations to Mauritius), although crime is distressing, most probably because of an underlying drug problem. However, I don't think I saw a beggar or homeless person. The French government subsidizes gasoline and electricity prices to maintain equality with the nation. But, to cut future costs, there is heavy pressure for conversion to coal, a policy being questioned by the island president, Paul Verges (left), who is someone I could well look like if I lived to the age of 85. Verges wants renewable energy and ocean resources, thus the reason why I am here, for they are just where we were 30 years ago: dying sugar industry, potential geothermal resources and a wealth of renewable options.
Their meetings typically started with breakfast at 7AM and ended after dinner at 11PM. Worse, 95% of all official discussions were in French. My PhD language was French, but I know more Japanese than French, and anyone who knows me, knows that I don't know any Japanese. Amazingly, though, among the 100 or so conferees over the two weeks, I never saw anyone doze off. Even more of a surprise, as fatigued and jet-lagged as I was during these psychologically arduous sessions, I must have been too tired to fall asleep during these interminable discussions, as I hardly knew what was being said. They were all genuinely interested and dedicated to do something about their energy problem, and the planning staff was like super-humans: spoke a variety of languages, were nice, helpful, progressive and well educated. My primary contact, Laurens Gautret, from France, had a PhD in astrophysics, and recently returned from Chile, where he had a project searching for extrasolar planets, an interest area of mine, to settle on this island (his wife is from Reunion).
There are two other problems: mosquitoes and cockroaches. In Norway, if you see a leaf rolling on the ground, it is a leaf. In Reunion, it will probably be a roach, especially at night. Actually, I exaggerate, for there are probably more large cockroaches on my roof area on warm nights than in any equivalent space on that island. I did, though, have an encounter here with the largest flying cockroach I have ever seen. The mosquitoes, though, were the truly worrisome factor. Just this year, Chikungunya appeared. 5,000 now have been infected, and the symptoms are like Dengue Fever, but with a lot more pain.
Week One was like hell for me, as my glasses fell apart on the flight over, I contracted a cold, had an uneasy stomach, experienced marginal hotels, was subjected to Creole food (okay once a month, but not six meals in a row), and always, there was the worry about Chikungunya. My body was very unhappy with me for subjecting it to this ordeal.
b. Week Two began at an especial nadir. We were asked to appear at 9AM for an “easy” hike up a mountain to visit a renewable energy site, stay overnight and hike back the next day. However, the directions were to douse yourself with mosquito repellent (Chikungunya!!) and bring a change of clothing. I showed up in hush puppies and a Wal-Mart shopping bag with my clothes. They were passing out large—two liter—bottles of water, a yard long French roll and some cheese to the hikers. That was to be the food/drink for the next two days. Save for me and one other, everyone else had professional backpacks and hiking boots. Someone had mentioned to me that there was a water shortage and there were no showers available at the site. As I looked so out of place, in one of my best ever exhibitions of extemporaneous brilliance—escape became a mandatory solution—I went up to my contact and indicated that my room reeked of tobacco smoke and I had a bad cold (both necessary exaggerations, although this hotel, or, at least, my room, was pretty bad), and instead of joining them, I would be moving hotels (there was a recently built Concorde Bellepierre (below right) I read in the travel guide that looked appealing). He hesitated, then said he would drive me up there and sign me in, for he was an experienced hiker (at some point in the potential challenging march, he had to assist that other person who, like me, was not prepared to undertake this expedition) and could easily catch up with the group. I weakly objected, but he fortunately was insistent, which was a good thing, because you essentially needed to speak French to make this transition into the Concorde.
c. My Week Two was like Purgatory (which is a huge step up from Hell). This new hotel had an exercise room, plasma TV screen, a view of the city/ocean, an excellent French restaurant and, because of the relative elevation and dry climate, no prospects for Chikungunya. When the group returned, they stayed at that previous dump, while I luxuriated in the Concorde. This is one of the reasons why Americans are just not appreciated around the world. It's an attitude thing. However, I endeared myself with the conferees by repeatedly mentioning that, I, too, had severe problems with President George W. Bush. It turned out that, better yet, I could now opt out of certain whole morning and afternoons of meetings because I was sort of inconveniently located for the pick-up bus (that hill was a challenge). Anyway, I would not understand most of the discussion, so it was a relief for all involved. Week Two was actually enjoyable, for my comfort level was fine and I think I actually said a few things at rare opportunities that someday will help the island.
d. To be serious, Reunion has a shot at succeeding because, contrary to our beginnings, oil prices are now much higher, solar technologies are now largely proven (Hawaii was the international laboratory for renewables, which meant that everything that we tried essentially failed) and there is the fear of global climate warming. This is using some hindsight, but when we completed all those island energy self-sufficiency projects in the mid-seventies, the electricity part was deemed to be a given once the price of oil climbed higher (I think we will be right on this), but hydrogen was to be the key to the future, for if biomass (sugar cane) could be converted to bio-methanol, the production can be DOUBLED, if cost-effective hydrogen can be added in the process, and, the most promising aviation future had to be hydrogen jetliners. Unfortunately, because of the farm lobby, our Nation went ethanol, which will in time become obvious as a mistake because, given fiber, it is much more economical to produce methanol, which, in addition to replacing gasoline, also can be readily utilized by fuel cells. It is a shame that the National Aerospace Plane (which was supposed to use hydrogen fuel), which we helped create through the Matsunaga Hydrogen Act, was eventually killed by the Department of Defense, so the future of air travel will remain a problem, especially for Hawaii. A tiny island in the middle of the Pacific can affect the energy future of the nation and world. I now and then mentioned this potential for Reunion, and, later, in Mauritius. Someday, they will be energy independent and provide resources for Europe.
e. Well, for Week Three, go to next section on Mauritius…
f. Go on to following section on Norway…
h. Go on to London…
I'm now back home and this is also the 14th day since I left Reunion, so I, apparently, escaped the curse of Chikungunya. This is also my final trip anywhere. Almost for sure.
Aloha.
Pat
But, that was in 2005. In 2006, the staff of President Verges volunteered to look closer at the Free Hydrogen Economy. Let’s see, now. They are about the same size and population as Oahu. Tourism is important; the sudden calamity of Chikungunya has left them in a pickle. They have a dying sugar industry and their mother country wants to convert them into a coal economy. They just might be at that critical stage to enter doomsday, which is almost a necessary requirement for human societies to transcend normality. If France can be convinced to pick a year, say, 2020, for good vision, when renewable hydrogen is suddenly made free, Reunion might have as good a chance as any to tap her nation’s deep pockets to get a jump on what might be the only solution for humanity, too. Stay tuned. Reunion Island might just someday make my top place to live in my update of Simple Solutions, Book 2.
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The Dow Jones Industrials sunk 134 to 10,040, world markets all fell, and the Japan Nikkei settled below 9,000 at 8905. Gold jumped $8/toz to $1231 and crude oil slipped below $72/barrel. Even the Chicago Mercantile Exchange for petroleum in December of 2018 is now down to $89/barrel.
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Tropical Storm Mindulle at 65 MPH is just about making landfall over Vietnam; Tropical Storm Frank, also at 65 MPH, seems to be heading away from Mexico, and should become a hurricane, but is expected to hit cooler waters and weaken in a few days; and Hurricane Danielle is at 75 MPH, but none of the computer models predict landfall. There is another disturbance behind Danielle.
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