Bye bye Fossil fuels?

Many products are now available online from companies like First Solar, Evergreen Solar and GoGreensolar that will reduce our carbon footprint. Cheap easy to install solar panels, wind turbines can be used to generate a percentage of our energy use and with the expected implementation of a smart grid (which I will talk about at another time) any excess energy can be sold to electric company. Not only will we reduce our dependence on environmentally costly fuel but also have the opportunity to reduce the dependence of others.

A case study: This was reported in the economist last year. Farmers on a small island of the coast of Denmark, were encouraged by the government to place wind turbines on their farms. I am not aware if any subsidies were provided, but the farming community invested in the several turbines over the last few years and have succesully generated enough power to be able to sell it to the electric company which then supplies it to the main land. Denmark now generates 15% of it power from wind,(17000 megawatts of electricity) which was made possible by encouraging schemes such as these.

I don't want to lecture but this is an opportunity for each one of us to make a difference. So approach your local community organization, city or town hall to implement applicable clean energy technology. If thats not possible you can buy panels or turbines for your home and reduce your footprint.

What tragedy of commons?

A bit dated this article might be, but it will be relevant until we overcome the tragedy that is staring us in the face. At the expense of sounding like a broken record, I will once again talk about global warming and the urgency of taking steps to combat this phenomenon.

Elinor Ostrom, a political scientist, won the Nobel Prize for Economics recently. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences recognized her "for her analysis of economic governance," saying her work had demonstrated how common property could be successfully managed by groups using it thus debunking the tragedy of commons. Each of us working in groups can compromise for the conservation and thereby the rejuvenation of resources.

Renewable energies are getting cheaper by the day. The problem so far has been that coal was extremely cheap to use compared to the energy obtained through Solar and Wind technologies. In Jan 2009, First Solar announced that they had beaten the industry milestone of $1 per watt of solar energy. Compared to the prices per watt of coal this is still expensive. While the renewable energy companies work on the innovation, we can lend a hand by driving demand. It has always been the case that demand leads to innovation. Kinda like necessity and invention.

Hard work

GIVING 103% AT WORK

We have all been to those meetings where someone wants over 100% Here's to achieving 103%. Here's a little
math that might prove helpful in the future!

What makes life 100%?

If:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

equals:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

then:
H A R D W O R K
8 1 18 4 23 15 18 11 = 98 % Only

K N O W L E D G E
11 14 15 23 12 5 4 7 5 = 96 % Only

But:
A T T I T U D E
1 20 20 9 20 21 4 5 = 100 %

However:
B U L L * * * T
2 21 12 12 19 8 9 20 = 103%

Urgent Changes to the UNSC

It has been over 60 years since WWII. The victors granted themselves a special position on the geo political arena by creating the UNSC and giving themselves the power of the veto. This veto power has been used on many instances to thwart progress and also as a tool to instigate peace or war. I am not arguing against the veto power, but against limited number that it has been granted to. It is important now to acknowledge that the UNSC permanent membership is outdated and does not truly represent the interests of the globe. It only represents the vested interest of the few powerful nations.

England and France: As the EU becomes more organized and stable its only fair that the position that these two countries hold in the UNSC be handed over to the EU as it truly represents the interests of Europe and not just those of the two countries.

Russia, China and USA: No changes here

Expansion of the UNSC: To be truly democratic the UN needs to expand the UNSC. There is nor representation of South America, Africa, South Asia. It important that every continent is represented in the council and also important that a large population like that of South Asia be given a place in the council. The BRIC countries Brazil and India would be the ideal candidates for this purpose. Brazil is the largest country in South America and India has a population of more than 1 billion.

There is no way that the current council will allow an expansion. Who would want to share power or be interfered with by more than what they already face. China will oppose India’s entry and Brazil will be opposed by the Venezuela, Bolivia among others. For this purpose the UNSC should be temporarily stripped of the veto power, a vote with equal weight from each country taken, the UNSC expanded and then the UNSC be handed back the veto.

The cap and trade story

I cannot tell you about the what the cap and trade will achieve better that this video. While the best of the solutions available right now, the control over the cap and trade should rest with individual governments completely.The trade should be regulated, somewhat, to ensure fair play.

Its easy to be satisfied with what we have right now but as the video will show you, and history has constantly proved, businesses will try to serve themselves, not the planet.

Link to video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pA6FSy6EKrM

Possibilan-ism

To expand out horizons we must first admit ignorance. -Olivia Judson

Everybody seems to be dealing in certainties, even in this age. Religious institutions and cults are certain that their book explain everything and only that is the truth, Atheists are certain that the path science has adopted is the best way forward and both are at each throats. I was, until recently, a part of the latter.

David Eagleman introduced Possibilan-ism. "Possibilans are those that celebrate the vastness of our ignorance, are unwilling to commit to any particular made-up story, and take pleasure in entertaining multiple hypotheses." This is the simplest yet the best definition. There is no church, no principles to adhere to -only a recognition of our ignorance and an adaptation of the middle path. David Eaglemen presented this view in his book and SUM and will follow up in his 2010 book "Why I am a possibilan".

So open up and explore this possibility.

Bhopal: 25 years later

When the Yes Men declared that Dow chemicals would further compensate victims of Union Carbides negligence, everybody cheered (except Dow stockholders), when it was revealed that this declaration was a scam not everybody jeered. The people of Bhopal after losing all hope were happy that they have not been forgotten, often the case with the tragedies brought about by the west onto the rest. The western media castigated these proponents of justice, upon the revelation, as if they had caused the tragedy in Bhopal.

25 years of demonstrations, of watching loved ones die, of deformed infants, of polluted water and most of all of absolutely no justice. The paltry grand that some of the victims received has long been spent. Dow chemicals compensated 4 individuals with 4 billion dollars and a city with 470 million dollars. Assuming 1 million people were affected in Bhopal, according to the equation of the American Judiciary and Dow, 1 American life is equal to 250K lives of Indians. Cynical and preposterous, yes I will be. The action of Dow and America force me to be. Not one single high level person was prosecuted for the travesty in Bhopal. All Bhopal got was a grand/person, a hospital after 7 years of legal battle. The audacity of Union carbide to fight this case for 7 years and the human element advertisements only serve to anger. This was not an accident, it was negligence.

Wanted: A Leader

There are numerous organizations raising awareness about global warming all around the world. Europe has taken greater initiative among the west and the rest. The prime minister and presidents of the world have pledged to reduce their carbon output/intensity. But these are only pledge. It remains to be seen how many countries actually live upto this. It might end up like the land-mine initiative that many countries signed onto, but only Rwanda finished on schedule.

Whats is missing is a global leader, a true leader not the constituent pleasing politicians that are guiding us right now. A leader that is ready to do away with the myopic agendas of politicians, and put forth the simplest of arguments .i.e if we don't do something, we are going to become extinct. Yes extinct. Think Dinosaurs or the Dodos.

There is currently no such leader on the horizon. Al gore could have been it. But he seems the weak willed type, lot of talk less do. He has the potential but is not utilizing it. Ban ki Moon, well UN heads can and have achieved too little. Hu Jintao, yes the Chinese president. He wield a lot of influence in China and can therefore lead by example. Tony Blair, another Al gore and a liar.

The new EU president, ummm his name...ahhhh. Obama, Obama, Obama. Way too much on his hands. Musharaff, ok i am getting desperate. Well I cant think of anyone. (please comment if you can).

A crude experiment for Global warming skeptics

A simple experiment for the global warming skeptics. This experiment can be performed using household equipment.

Reagents & Equipment:

A 4 liter bottle with about 3 liter of water.

About a liter of dye in a plastic bag ( Pick a dark color)

A stand to hold the dye above the bottle.

A needle

Experiment:

Setup stand over the bottle of water, with the dye bad

Poke a tiny hole into the bag of dye

Let dye drip into bottle of water.

Observation:

Over a period of time(depending on volume of each drop) the water in the bottle takes up the color of the dye

Inference:

Dye makes water colorful

Well that was an analogy if u will. 50% of the global warming problems is from CO2 (crude dye example). As the amount of CO2(dye) increases in a finite environment it begins to affect that environment. Yes plants and algae take up CO2 and release O2. But as we dump more and more Co2 into the atmosphere and cut down billions of trees we are seriously disturbing the balance. There was no equivalent to the plants in the experiment, it was not necessary. The experiment was only to demonstrate a point and, I u can carry it out if you want. The pollutant cannot go anywhere and will affect the environment they are in.

Now, for those of you who say that this is a natural cycle of the earth to warm up a few degree every few 100,00 years, another experiment is necessary which is beyond my scope for now. But I will tell you this, even if this is a cycle that the earth is going through, do you people think that it is healthy to pollute. To not do anything about the CO2 and to continue using dirty energy as we do will only spell doom for the planet. The end date will be postponed but its possibility is still definite.

Let not delude ourselves anymore and believe what is easy to live with, but take the hard medicine to ensure the a healthy future for mother.