North Africa : Social, Environmental and Political Issues

The authors begin by presenting that the precursors of an intense coupled system of an African easterly wave and a mesoscale convective system over the lee of Darfur Mountains around 1800 UTC, 12 August 2004 were traced back to the southern Arabian Peninsula, Asir Mountains, and Ethiopian Highlands using gridded satellite data, European Centre Medium-Range Weather Forecast Intermediate data, and the Advanced Research Weather Research and Forecasting model simulated data. Anticipated patterns of future energy use and consequent environmental impacts are discussed, along with potential solutions to current problems with the adoption of the Sahara Solar Breeder project plan. The relations between renewable energy and sustainable development are described with practical cases of the Sahara Solar Breeder energy policy and its portfolio in the context of continental and global clean energy supply. The authors seek to answer a question: Will the new technologies that have sustained globalization reinforce or undermine democracy?