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Monday, April 25, 2011

PAPER REFORMERATION

Replacing application paper with online forms

An estimate of the amount of paper used up by application forms every year:-
1. No. of application forms an institution distributes on average every year 5,000.
2. No. of pages the application, along with prospectus comprises 15.
3. No. of paper sheets such as institution uses 75,000.
4. No. of trees cut to produce 75,000 sheets 9.
5. No. of educational institutions in India 100,000.
6. Total number of trees that could be saved annually 900,000.
It is estimated that around 2.5 crore children seek school admission every year, each of them applying to an average of four schools. Thus, around 10 cr. Applications are submitted at the school level alone.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Green GDP a matter of Livelihoods

Edition-2
“A green GDP is not a matter of lifestyle but livelihoods-of small farmers and tribal’s,” Ramesh said, evoking the Chipko Andolan, the first social-ecological movement in independent India. Similarly, the cancer epidemics in Bhatinda caused by excessive pesticides use, and the lingering effects of the Bhopal gas leak show that the constituency for green sensibilities extends beyond the elite & the middle classes, he said.
On the third concern, climate, Ramesh advocated a calibrated approach: “we don’t have to be climate evangelists but we needn’t be atheists either.” The reasons: no other country bears the burnt of the changes in monsoon & climate change patterns as India does; around 300 million Indians on India’s coastline face the threat of a tsunami; & the retreat of Himalayan glaciers puts at risk the water security of all middle India. Finally, he said, India needs to worry about sustainability. Given the rapidly growing population of young people in India, it is incumbent on the present generation to ask what natural resources it will bequeath.

The environment minister defended his crusade against industrial projects that breach Indian environment laws. “Indians delight in passing laws & (take) greater delight in bypassing them,” he said.

SOURCE-INDIA TODAY CONCLAVE

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Green GDP a matter of Livelihoods

Edition-1
Industry’s most hated minister, Jairam Ramesh, whom his critics cite as the biggest treat to India’s GDP growth, stuck to his guns at the India Today Conclave.
Ever since he stepped into Paryavaran Bhawan in May 2009, Ramesh, Minister of State for Environment & Forests, has halted industrial projects at the rate of one a day, including many for clearances had been given as far as in 2006.
Addressing a session on “The way to a Green GDP”, Ramesh said there are fore concerns that had led him to his position on the tradeoff between growth & environment: livelihoods, public health, climate change & sustainability.
The MIT educated minister said that he was set in motion a process that will, by 2015, enable India to report a green GDP. Some evidence from World Bank report, “Changing Wealth of Nations” and a Cambridge university study suggest a substantial gap between GDP growth & real well-being measured by GDP adjusted for conservation of ecology & environment, he pointed out.

Monday, April 11, 2011

IT CAN BE MADE LESS DAMAGING TO THE ENVIRONMENT

Last Edition

At the back end, our rising appetite has led to more servers and more data centers. In fact, better use of IT can lead to, gains in energy efficiency. Data centers can be better managed along with being better located. Why should a data center be located in a concrete block in Navi-Mumbai, when it could be located at a much cooler Panchgani? Do people really care where their data is stored as they can access it whenever and wherever they want?
Moreover, each one of us can do his bit. This does not mean fewer videos on You Tube or shorter chats on cell phones. It means buying more environment-friendly hardware & better power management (switching off power or putting gadgets in sleep mode). It also means instead of long speeches at environment summits, the IT industry should become a leader in alternative energy solution.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

IT CAN BE MADE LESS DAMAGING TO THE ENVIRONMENT

Edition-2
So what is the solution? Patel says better connectivity means data centers do not need to be in cities, and thanks to technology, could be managed by very few people. Therefore, very few people could manage them. Therefore, they could be located near dairy farms not a revolutionary technology in India, where village people still use Cowdung cakes as domestic fuel. Patel says Cowdung can be processed in inexpensive digesters to produce methane, which can be burned to create power.
In addition, for the matter what about solar technology? India’s tryst with solar energy has been a start-stop affair so far. At least the mobile communication industry can take the lead here. Mobile towers can easily have solar cells mounted on top of them, which may not completely do away with the need for diesel generators, but could definitely cut down on the use of pollution fuel. Another idea is developing gadgets that run on solar power. A case in point; Samsung displayed a solar powered phone in 2009- the solar guru E1107. Sadly, it seems to have been a one-off case.

The IT industry and IT users, which include people reading this posting, should take the lead. Thanks to advances in technology, devices today are more energy efficient than their predecessors. But we also use more of them-more computers, more phones and more tablets.

Monday, April 4, 2011

IT CAN BE MADE LESS DAMAGING TO THE ENVIRONMENT

Edition-1
It may not seem much but the IT industry already makes for about two percent of the total electricity consumption in the world. This is rising every year as more & more people not only buy computers, but also log into social media sites, consume increasing hours of Internet video & store everything on the cloud.
India’s Environment minister Jairam Ramesh says he closes his ears every time leaders from the IT industry talk green. And if any of ever visited a data centre where thousands of computer servers are kept in room chilled at 18 to 20 degrees Celsius, you get an idea about the kind of energy consumption talking about.
To make matters worse, due to erratic electricity supply, most data centers and
IT offices in India are powered by diesel generators, which, despite advances in technology, are not what one would call environment friendly. Indeed, India’s much-touted mobile revolution has come on the back of diesel generators. Tens of thousands of gensets can be found across the country powering cell phone towers.

SOURCE-BT/KUSHAN MITRA