Tuesday, June 30, 2015

MUSINGS FROM PRIYADARSHINI KARVE: Toll tax and Sustainability





Yesterday, I was on the road, and benefited from the new decision of the Government of Maharashtra state to exempt light motor vehicles from the toll tax on several roads. Today's musings is about looking at the whole toll tax issue through the lens of sustainability. 

Road infrastructure is an important component of development. In the last few decades, road infrastructure has been created through what is called as the pubic-private partnership. In this case, the tasks of mapping the road, and acquiring the land etc is done by the government, the actual road construction is carried out by a private party, which is then allowed to collect toll from the road users to defray their expenses and make profit on their investment. The calculation of the toll tax (amount and duration of staying in force) is dependent on the actual investment of the private party, and an estimation of how many and what type of vehicles will be using the road, and how those numbers will change over the years. 

I am sure almost everyone reading this blog has passed through some toll plaza somewhere. Have you ever noticed the toll tax amounts for different kinds of vehicles? The light motor vehicles or cars have the least tax. As the passenger carrying capacity increases, the tax increases. The goods transport vehicles pay even more, and again as the vehicles get heavier the tax increases. 

When a government decides to exempt a certain class of vehicles from the toll tax, what exactly does that mean? The private party who has build the road and collecting the toll, is certainly not going to agree to collecting less than what they are promised in the original contract with the government. So, by exempting a certain class of vehicles, whatever is the shortfall will have to be given to the private party by the government. I feel that this decision is unjust on several levels. 

Firstly, a portion of the money that I pay as tax is going to be used for paying toll on roads that I may never use. By the way, please understand that EVERY citizen of this country is a tax payer. We have a tendency of thinking only about income tax when we talk about 'tax payers' but everyone pays sales tax and service tax on all goods and services purchased, everyone also pays various local body taxes, etc. The various arms of the government use all the tax money from all these various taxes to run the government. Therefore if a portion of this money is to be used for 'subsidising' people who use a particular mode of transport on toll roads, every citizen is involved, whether paying income tax or not. And who is it that is getting subsidised in this case? It is the people who can buy cars worth hundreds of thousands of rupees if not millions, or those who can afford to hire taxis for traveling around. How fair is it that a lower middle class non-car owner's hard earned money should be used for subsiding these people?

Secondly, this decision is also unjust from environmental perspective. It does make sense that the toll tax should be higher for vehicles with more people or vehicles with heavier loads, etc. However, if the government does want to exempt some people from the toll tax (for whatever reasons) it makes more sense to lighten the toll tax burden on public transport vehicles. A vehicle that is carrying more passengers occupies less space on the road, and results into less carbon emissions per person than say air conditioned cars with just one person in each car. A pro-sustainable development government should use the opportunity of giving any sops like this to also gently nudge people towards environmentally responsible behaviour. Of course this alone will not make people keep their cars home and travel by buses, but every little bit directed to that aim will add up and eventually create a situation where it would make more sense to travel by a bus than by a car. 


Those were my thoughts as we passed through each toll plaza without having to pay any tax... What do you think?  

Priyadarshini Karve
Director 
Samuchit Enviro Tech



#BeModernBeResponsibleBeRespectful


    Samuchit Enviro Tech.     samuchit@samuchit.com     www.samuchit.com

Monday, June 29, 2015

Monday Quiz is here!

Monday Quiz is here...


Q: Which three of the below waste products are safe and helpful to compost? 
  1. Dairy products
  2. Egg shells 
  3. Sawdust
  4. Lard (of meat)
  5. Fish bones 
  6. Tea-bags 
  7. Pet waste

We await correct answers!


Last week's question was about the most common type of waste that litters the oceans with the options (Bags, plastic beverage bottles, cigarettes, food packaging)
The correct answer is : Cigarettes.
- Statistics showed that volunteers from International Coastal Cleanup removed almost 2 million cigarette and cigarette filters in their most recent efforts to clean litter from the all oceans around the world.

Winners for last week: Mr. Dayaghan Rane and Ojas Mirikar



#BeModernBeResponsibleBeRespectful

    Samuchit Enviro Tech.     samuchit@samuchit.com     www.samuchit.com

Friday, June 26, 2015

Friday Feed : Climate change departure coming our way!

Pictorial representation of when climatic changes would affect respective cities around the globe!





#BeModernBeResponsibleBeRespectful


    Samuchit Enviro Tech.     samuchit@samuchit.com     www.samuchit.com

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Rains have arrived in Pune!
Celebrate rains this year with our much awaited monsoon sale..


And for those of you who are still contemplating on how to do their bit for the environment, we are offering this sale, where you can gift yourself and/or others with environmental-friendly concepts; and join our club of environment-responsible people!

Complete gifting ideas and solutions - in the most responsible way!


#BeModernBeResponsibleBeRespectful

    Samuchit Enviro Tech.     samuchit@samuchit.com     www.samuchit.com

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Green Audits

Green Audits!
A significant step towards financial saving through environmental sustainability...

Why Green Audit?
An assessment of existing activities and systems and improve their environmental sustainability - for a purely selfish motive - financial saving through optimisation of resource utilisation. 



Samuchit Enviro Tech (SET) and Institute of Community Organisation research (ICOR) have joined hands to perform Green Audits of educational campuses with the below focus areas:



Apart from these, Samuchit Enviro Tech also conducts Green Audits of IT companies, restaurants, organisations, small and large set-ups, schools, colleges, etc. Get in touch with us at samuchit@samuchit.com to know more.




#BeModernBeResponsibleBeRespectful

    Samuchit Enviro Tech.     samuchit@samuchit.com     www.samuchit.com

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

MUSINGS FROM PRIYADARSHINI KARVE: Is Sustainable Urbanisation Realistic?

In the last week's MUSING I raised several questions regarding urbanisation. A similar brainstorming a couple of years ago got me thinking about sustainable urbanisation, and I started reading up on the same, and discussing some half baked ideas with other people. This in turn lead me to be part of an initiative - participatory environmental audit of an eduational campus. 

For any system to be sustainable, it should meet two conditions:

1. All the input resources required to keep  the system up and running should be either renewable/recyclable, or inexhaustible.
2. The lifecycle of any resource inputting into the system should be highly efficient and produce minimal ‘waste’ and pollution. 

An urban ecosystem in turn is a complex of several sub-systems. Think about your own urban neighbourhood, if you live in a city, or any urban neighbourhood that you may have visited. There are:
- houses (from high rise buildings and mansions to slums and shanties), shops (from malls to general stores to roadside vendors), 
- schools and colleges, health care centers (from individual doctor's consulting rooms to hospitals), 
- service industries (restaurants, hotels, ticketing agents, couriers, car mechanics, electronics and electric repair shops, barbers, tailors, etc.), 
some manufacturing units (metal fabricators, furniture makers, food processors like bakeries, etc.), 
- public service providers like post offices, banks, bus depots, local train stations, fire stations, municipal ward offices, etc., 
- features like gardens, open plots, natural wilderness, lakes, sections of river, hills, etc., 
- infrastructure also includes roads, footpaths, cycle tracks, train tracks, bridges, traffic intersections, gardens, water supply systems, electric supply systems, phone lines, ehternet cables, sewage system, waste collection/management system, etc. 

Each of these can be viewed as a subsystem and we can examine it through the lens of the above two conditions. If we can make each subsystem sustainable to the best extent possible, and then also establish the logical linkages between the subsystems, the urban system, which is the complex of all of these, can become environmentally sustainable.  


So where do we start? The logical place to start is educational institutes in urban areas. There are several advantages of this starting point. 

* Today's students are tomorrow's drivers of economy. It is to be hoped that if they get a first hand understanding of environmental sustainability, they may embrace the basic principles as a way of life at homes and work places. 

* An educational campus is a miniature version of the city itself, but at a much smaller and manageable scale. 

* Since environmental education is part of the curricula in all streams of education, any activity carried out to assess and improve environmental 
sustainability of the campus can be carried out as a curricular or co-curricular activity. 

* The managements of educational campuses should be receptive to the idea because in the long run, minimising material and energy use translates into monetary savings. 


So how do we improve the environmental sustainability of an educational campus? The first step in the process is to do an environmental audit. If we want people to take ownership of a process, then it is important to involve them in the process. So we need a methodology for a participatory environmental audit. 

The thinking evolved along these lines, and in the process I also interacted with several other likeminded people. The concept is still evolving, but we have come up with a methodology and have already carried out the process for a couple of educational campuses. The outcomes have been enriching both for the institutions and for the teams that have been involved in the process. The team at each location has included some of us as experts/consultants, as well as the teachers and students of the institutions. 

From my personal perspective, being part of this process has given me a better insight into how an urban ecosystem can be pushed towards maximum possible sustainability within practical constrains. The exercise has also given me the belief that sustainable urbanisation is realistically possible. There are however some challenges... but more about this, next week!  

Priyadarshini Karve
Director 
Samuchit Enviro Tech


#BeModernBeResponsibleBeRespectful

    Samuchit Enviro Tech.     samuchit@samuchit.com     www.samuchit.com

Monday, June 22, 2015

Monday Quiz is here!

Monday Quiz is here...


Q: Which is the most common type of debris that litters the oceans?

- Bags
- Plastic beverage bottles
- Cigarettes
- Food packaging


We await correct answers!






#BeModernBeResponsibleBeRespectful



    Samuchit Enviro Tech.     samuchit@samuchit.com     www.samuchit.com

Friday, June 19, 2015

Plastic bag ban ordinance


Here...we found this slogan in an American shop, as a support for plastic bag ban ordinance...



Have you started carrying your own reusable bags?



#BeModernBeResponsibleBeRespectful



    Samuchit Enviro Tech.     samuchit@samuchit.com     www.samuchit.com

Thursday, June 18, 2015

A question to everyone from one of our readers...


One of our readers, Meera Rotti, has placed a very interesting and valid question for other fellow readers.



Q) If we have to buy pure groceries (or all the stuff- from groceries to cosmetics to handloom clothing) and pay the farmer/producer on fair-trade principle (without involving middle-men or dealers), we need to shell out at least 3 times more money than what we are paying now. So in order to be able to pay that much, we need to earn in that proportion and this, by my own experience, calls for a lifestyle that is resource and energy intensive (living in city and working in corporate industry). So is it that only the creamy-layer would be able to enjoy the benefits pure organic fair-trade produce and middle-class people like me wishing to access these products should start farming for self-sufficiency?

Readers, pour in your thoughts! Let us start a healthy discussion!

#StartAnInteraction


#BeModernBeResponsibleBeRespectful


    Samuchit Enviro Tech.     samuchit@samuchit.com     www.samuchit.com

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Bamboo lamps : A gifting blessing..

Weddings, celebrations, birthdays, parties, return gifts, corporate giftings....
We do brainstorm on gifting ideas all the time for all occassions...

Samuchit proudly brings to you, a gift, that is environment-friendly, hand-crafted, no mechanical processing, and is still totally elegant! Nature is going to smile at us!




Bamboo lamps is one of the latest additions to our list of products, and Samuchit is very happy to support talented local artisans who make these.

Samuchit promotes these gifting ideas at extremely affordable prices. Pocket-friendly for you, environment-friendly for the nature!

Your time to take the responsible step towards doing your bit for the environment. Let your actions do the talking!

To get more information about these lamps, their pricing range and features, hit the link 
or visit our website www.samuchit.com and look for Sustainable Lifestyle Products.





#BeModernBeResponsibleBeRespectful



    Samuchit Enviro Tech.     samuchit@samuchit.com     www.samuchit.com

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

MUSINGS FROM PRIYADARSHINI KARVE: Urbanisation - Where do we go from here??

At the beginning of 20th century, urban population was 20% of the total human population. In 2010, 50% human population was living in urban area. The number of urban residents is growing by nearly 60 million every year. In India, we don't need statistics to see how rapidly we are urbanising. 

But have you ever wondered, what exactly is it that makes 'urban' different from 'rural'? Is it infrastructure? amenities? employment opportunities? population density? all of these? more?

When humans settled down about ten thousand years ago, these were all small settlements focused on agriculture, fishing, and animal husbandry. How and why did some settlements grew bigger and became 'towns'? 

This happened often as accidents of geography - some places were convenient trading posts. It also happened due to accidents of history - the leader of a particular town had better administration, law and order, or encouraged arts and crafts, etc., so people preferred to flock and settle there. Some towns were chosen to be centres of administration of a region, and thus grew in stature and size.  Places of significance to religions practiced by people, also grew in prominence. 

The transition from 'town' to 'city' was not very common in this pre-industrialisation era, and was mostly driven by a deliberate plan and design. 

The rapid, uncontrolled, and apparently uncontrollable urbanisation of towns everywhere is another 'gift' of industrialisation. Especially the discovery of petroleum made it faster and cheaper to transport goods and people over long distances. Industrialisation expanded the production capacities, necessitating transport over ever longer distances to reach out to more consumers. Therefore the 'growth' of a town was no longer limited by the resources available in its neighbourhood - anything and everything could be imported from beyond the neighbourhood, even from far away lands, provided you had the financial resources. 

But the cities have just grown and grown and grown! And their insatiable hunger is sucking out resources from all over the world! The resultant resource scarcity in other areas forces people to migrate to the cities, and that further adds to the resources required to be brought into the city! It has become a vicious cycle, moreover the process is becoming highly unsustainable. 

So what is the solution? As pointed out in an earlier musing, the options of  (a) giving up everything created by human civilisation over the past ten thousand years and returning  back to nomadic life, and (b) forcing people to give up cities and return to simple agriculture based lifestyle, are no longer going to solve our problem. It is also unfair to 'freeze' the urbanisation and ban immigration! 

How should urban centres evolve then so as to be able to absorb more incoming people, and yet be sustainable? 

Priyadarshini Karve
Director
Samuchit Enviro Tech


#BeModernBeResponsibleBeRespectful

    Samuchit Enviro Tech.     samuchit@samuchit.com     www.samuchit.com

Monday, June 15, 2015

Monday Quiz is here!


Monday Quiz!


This week, we take a detour. We do not ask you any question; you ask us!

Ask your doubts, share your ideas, grow your knowledge, exchange your views, interact with the experts!

And all of that, right here right now!





#StartAnInteraction




#BeModernBeResponsibleBeRespectful

    Samuchit Enviro Tech.     samuchit@samuchit.com     www.samuchit.com

Friday, June 12, 2015

Calculate your carbon footprint today and know your own carbon emissions


Have you ever calculated your carbon footprint?

Carbon footprint is the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere as a result of the 
activities of a particular individual, organisation, or community.





Want to know your own carbon emission? Samuchit Enviro Tech has developed a calculator in a simple excel format which help you calculate your own carbon footprint. All you have to do is answer a few question, and voila, it calculates for you!

Get in touch with us today to get the calculator and take a responsible step towards reducing your own carbon emission.



#BeModernBeResponsibleBeRespectful

    Samuchit Enviro Tech.     samuchit@samuchit.com     www.samuchit.com

Thursday, June 11, 2015

Pigeons : Pesky pests or survivors?







I never really bothered to give them a second thought, but their raw-egg-like droppings on my balcony fence made me notice them. What a way to make your presence felt! 
Washing balcony floor and fence every morning, to get rid of the crispy white droppings, is now a daily morning ritual in most households.

So the question we cannot help asking ourselves is: how did the pigeon menace get out of hands all over the world, in the past few decades?

To a great extent, human civilisation is responsible for flourishing pigeon's lives in more ways than one. Humans domesticated pigeons almost 5000 years ago, and that number officially declined after World War II, when food and water became scarce in many European countries.

Unfortunately for humans, pigeons are highly adaptable birds.  Our housing, buildings, flats, etc. are perfect nesting places for pigeons - they live off the ducts, panes and closed spaces within human habitation. Because nesting is easily possible, a sharp growth in their population is seen. The enclosed concrete structures also protect the birds from predators, drastic climatic conditions, etc.

Talking of adaptation, a huge change is seen in the eating patterns of pigeons. These birds are often seen feasting on left-over food or grains thrown by humans - another incentive for them to flourish.

On the other side, there is a race for survival for these pigeons, as nature's law of 'survival of the fittest' complies. Also, quality of life deteriorates as population rises. Pigeons are said to be aggressive attackers towards their own weaker or older ones; an attitude, which studies show, would probably never have been reported in their own natural surroundings. Studies by ornithologists have also confirmed that pigeons undergo high level of stress due to high density of nesting in human civilisations.
Besides, pigeons are said to transport bacteria, mites and other diseases that induce migraine, asthma, etc, among humans. 

So while we shoo off these juvenile pests from our surroundings, how many of us ever wonder that they are what they are because of us. Man cut down trees, forests, for civilisation, thus, ruining their natural habitat. Lack of trees force them into human civilisations. By saying this, I do not mean that humans should breed them, but implying that our actions are directly proportional in an adverse manner on the flora and fauna around us.

So in the background of all these statistics, I come back to the same question: are they living in our territory or have we bulldozed into theirs?


~Saili


#BeModernBeResponsibleBeRespectful

    Samuchit Enviro Tech.     samuchit@samuchit.com     www.samuchit.com

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Brand new look...what do you suggest?




Yes, we are giving ourselves a brand new look!
Very soon, Samuchit Enviro Tech would be undergoing a transformation of its website www.samuchit.com


Our designers and reviewers are working seriously towards this revamp.



As most Samuchit loyalists give us constant feedbacks and inputs on our processes, products, services, expos, website, etc; we would love to hear from you!



What are your suggestions, inputs, feedbacks about our website? What do we need to change? What would you like to see as viewers of our website?



Share your views with us, and we will share our new look with you soon!




#BeModernBeResponsibleBeRespectful


    Samuchit Enviro Tech.     samuchit@samuchit.com     www.samuchit.com

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

MUSINGS FROM PRIYADARSHINI KARVE: Celebrating Environment Day!

So, we have all 'celebrated' the Environment Day on 5 June. We have posted nice pictures and slogans as our status messages on social networking sites. Some of us have planted trees, and participated in cleanliness drives, or attended talks, discussions, etc. The one day of 'celebration' over, we have returned to our daily grind.... which often involves robbing the ecosystem and trashing the planet... so that we can once again 'celebrate' the Environment Day next year! 

Firstly, we need to realise that the term 'Environment Day' is in itself a misnomer. Actually we need to call it the 'Human Survival Day' or something like that. It is wrong to think that our actions are 'harming' the environment. The earth's environment has undertaken much more drastic changes than what we humans have done to it in our brief (relatively) existence so far. Our actions are jeopardising US - our future, our existence on this planet is what is in danger. 

This change in outlook is essential. Right now we are in a 'benevolent' mood, where we do things 'for the environment' and feel 'good and noble' about it all. As most of us look upon the Environment Day activities as  'philanthropy', we try to find that one action which will involve the least 'investment' (of time, effort, and money). Actions which can also generate some co-benefit like publicity, goodwill of potential customers, etc., are better! We are willing to 'expend' a little extra for these co-benefits. In other words, most of us focus on doing what is convenient and not what is necessary. 

On the other hand, if we think of Environment Day as a day to launch long term actions that might improve our chances of survival as a species, that might change the way we 'celebrate' this day. What is it that we can do all year round, so that the Environment Day itself becomes redundant? How can we use the generally increased focus on environmental issues on occasions like the Earth Day or the Environment Day, to educate and motivate ourselves and others to take up lifestyle changes or behavioural changes that will help us live in a better harmony with the environment for our own benefit? 

This year I tried to move in this direction, through Samuchit Enviro Tech. Over the last few weeks, we conducted one Samuchit Lifestyle Workshop for general public, one for an industry, and one site visit for general public to get a feel of a sustainable lifestyle. The overall feedback from participants has been positive, and I myself certainly feel invigorated and motivated to carry on with our 'Samuchit' (appropriate) work. 

Do you have any more suggestions for us? Would you like to join hands with us on any such initiatives? Please let us know! 


Priyadarshini Karve
Director, 
Samuchit Enviro Tech



#BeModernBeResponsibleBeRespectful



    Samuchit Enviro Tech.     samuchit@samuchit.com     www.samuchit.com

Monday, June 8, 2015

Monday Quiz is here


Monday Quiz!


Q: How did you celebrate World Environment Day at home, work place or anywhere else?

Inspiring initiatives win...







#BeModernBeResponsibleBeRespectful

    Samuchit Enviro Tech.     samuchit@samuchit.com     www.samuchit.com

Friday, June 5, 2015

Its 5 June: World Environment Day




World Environment Day is here! 




Tell us how you would be a part of it!

We'll make it easier for you to think. Let's go on the following lines...

What to STOP :   ___________________________
What to START: ___________________________
What to CONTINUE: ________________________

Fill up your answers and share with us!
Email your answers to your friends!
Put them on your notice boards in offices (provided you print them on recycled paper, if you do!)
Circulate it on your groups in Whatsapp, and share it on your timeline on FB!




#BeModernBeResponsibleBeRespectful

    Samuchit Enviro Tech.     samuchit@samuchit.com     www.samuchit.com

Thursday, June 4, 2015

World Environment Day is one day away!


World Environment Day is one day away! 

And you are reading about it everywhere - on news, newspapers, Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp, trolls of SMS, office premises, etc. The world around you is gearing up to celebrate tomorrow.

Tell us how you would be a part of it!

We'll make it easier for you to think. Let's go on the following lines...

What to STOP :   ___________________________
What to START: ___________________________
What to CONTINUE: ________________________

Fill up your answers and share with us!
Email your answers to your friends!
Put them on your notice boards in offices (provided you print them on recycled paper, if you do!)
Circulate it on your groups in Whatsapp, and share it on your timeline on FB!





#BeModernBeResponsibleBeRespectful

    Samuchit Enviro Tech.     samuchit@samuchit.com     www.samuchit.com

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

World Environment Day is round the corner


World Environment Day is a couple days away!


Here's what Samuchit pledges to do




Tell us what's your pledge and how you plan to execute it?





#BeModernBeResponsibleBeRespectful

    Samuchit Enviro Tech.     samuchit@samuchit.com     www.samuchit.com

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

MUSINGS FROM PRIYADARSHINI KARVE: Nuclear Vs Renewable... Contd

In last week's MUSING, I tried to address a commonly expressed opinion: How can we possibly meet our exponentially growing requirement of energy, just through renewable energy sources? We have no option but to focus on nuclear power. My take on this is mostly from a sustainability perspective. In case you missed this post, here is the link:



Last week, I pointed out that we don't really need everything to be run on electricity, and that generation of electricity cannot possibly be the only focus if our goal is to achieve energy security. But let me keep that point aside. Let's for the sake of argument assume that we want to focus only on electricity generation. From that perspective, today, let me address the issue of why renewable energy is considered to be inadequate to meet our growing energy requirement, and the fallacies in that particular outlook.

As per the data available from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), as on 31 March 2013, the total installed power generation capacity within India was 223 GW. Out of this, only 2.1% came from nuclear power plants. On the other hand, 17.7% electricity came from hydropower, which too is a form of renewable energy, although it has a number of negative impacts. The contribution of renewable energy (the energy source is either inexhaustible or recoverable, AND there are relatively less or no environmental and social impacts) to the power generation was 12.3%. This did not include waste to power type of projects, which also can come under renewable, but are a bit controversial and anyway not contributing much at this point in time. The rest of the capacity was based on non-renewable fossil resources. So, obviously, already renewable energy seems to be playing a much bigger role in our electricity generation, compared to nuclear power. 

There are four major renewable energy sources that have been focused on for electricity generation in India. These are: wind, small hydro, Biomass (including co-generation using bagasse), and solar power. None of these resources have been used anywhere close to their 100% potential as on date. Again, to quote MNRE data, on 31 March 2013, 19% of the wind potential had been used, 20% of small hydro, 17% of biomass and less than 0.5% of solar was utilised. 

So what is stopping the expansion of renewable energy sector? The limiting factor is land area. It is typically believed that because renewable energy sources are scattered (e.g., biomass), or intermittent (e.g., wind), or dilute (e.g., solar), the land area involved per MW power generation capacity is much more for a renewable-based unit compared to a coal fired power plant. 

I think this logic is faulty on two counts. 

Firstly, to make a fair comparison we need to include the area of the coal mine(s) contributing the coal to a power plant, and the land occupied by the mountain of ash generated by the power plant when we calculate the land area involved per MW power generation capacity. 

Secondly, we are assuming that the existing mode of power generation and distribution is the only option available. The system of generating a few hundred MW to a few GW of power at one location and then using a grid of wires to distribute it to places where electricity is required is a system that has worked well for coal fired power plants. However, when the same concept was used for hydroelectricity, it required construction of  large dams, which brought its own social and environmental issues, such as displacement of people, submergence of fertile land or ecologically valuable resources, impact on downstream water availability, etc. On the other hand, micro-hydel systems, which make use of small perennial water flows to generate small amount (typically a few hundred kW) of power for use in the vicinity of the system serve a local need at zero or very little social and environmental cost.  

Why are we then not transferring this lesson to power generation using other renewable energy sources? Is it really necessary to put up huge wind or solar energy farms? Wind and solar energy or waste/surplus biomass are available everywhere but in varying and small quantities. This is not necessarily a disadvantage. It actually allows us to design systems that match a local need with local availability of the resources, by combining two or more resources. Furthermore, renewable energy works the best when it is tailored for delivery of a specific service. Traditional water or wind mills, biomass fired boilers, etc., and modern solar lights, solar water heaters, etc., are excellent examples of this. 

Decentralisation has the additional advantage of more equitable energy access. Today, even if the grid covers more than 90% of the country, it does not mean that 90% of the population has 24/7 access to energy. How much power to flow through the wires going to a particular location is centrally governed, and the urban areas always get more electricity supply than the rural areas. This situation will not necessarily change simply by replacing coal fired power plants with nuclear power plants, or even by large wind or solar farms. On the other hand, if we focus on renewables and really want to make them work at high resource and energy efficiency, there is no option but to decentralise - wherein every city, town, village, factory, institution, etc., can have a power plant tailored to meet its requirement, independent of each other. Demand side energy management will have to be practiced to make the most of the power available from the local resources, which will keep us focused on our 'needs' and make the 'greed' based consumption appropriately costly. Having a large number of small and low tech power plants can also be a huge employment generator. 

With that I rest my case. Do you still believe in the inevitability of nuclear power for our development?

Note: The power generation related statistics in this write up is from the source: 

Priyadarshini Karve
Director





#BeModernBeResponsibleBeRespectful



    Samuchit Enviro Tech.     samuchit@samuchit.com     www.samuchit.com

Monday, June 1, 2015

Monday Quiz is here!

Monday Quiz is here!

This week's quiz can occupy a major portion of your brain, if you think over it!

Q: Every living creature on the earth contributes, in some way, to the cycle of ecological balance. Right from an ant to an antelope, every living organism has a job to do to complete nature's cycle. What is the job of humans, in this cycle? Where do humans stand in this chain and how do they bring about an ecological balance with their actions?
In other words, every other living creature has a reason to be on earth. What is this reason for humans?
(Please refrain from non-scientific, spiritual or religious answers)


Last week's question's answer is best explained by one of our most active reader...Read on.


Q: Which of the following sources of energy are NOT renewable?
        Ans : Petroleum 
Because Petroleum has limited life source being it is produced from fossil fuels.

After buried the plants  and animals in fact flora and fauna, under high pressure and Due to reaction of pressure and temperature , the biomass converted in  crude oil..... which after purification takes the form of Petroleum. The reserves of this source are limited and if  we use in uncontrollable manner once upon time if get finished and after that we had to go towards primitive stage otherwise either we had to generate the new source or save the source of petroleum................................... .  
Prof. Dayaghan S. Rane


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