What we leave behind....

We often complain of everyone's attitude towards energy saving(and for that reason everything that involves self-vigilance) and try to imagine that some (idealist) superhero would come to save us during dire times!!  We say things like "nobody ever cares" ...... but how much does each one of us care to save for the future and for the mutual benefit of everyone? 

There's enough hypocrisy in every statement made where everyone's attitude is blamed, for we discount our own, whenever we make such statements.This process of snubbing one's own conscience manifests itself at large in all entities of collective interest including the government that we 'consciously' elect ( and corruption just happens thereafter)! The plain truth is that the hypocrit in each one of us is to be blamed.

Ignorance isn't bliss when issues get too knotty and the responsiblity to untie them rests collectively with us! The first thing we need to be aware of is the carbon footprint which is pretty much an indicator of what we'd leave behind if we don't act on the situation anytime soon. Here's what one needs to know about carbon footprint:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_footprint

What needs to be understood is that each one of us is reponsible directly for environmental pollution and no one really reserves any right to firsk away this responsibility. If this may seem to interefere with the so-called 'freedom' (that we so desperately fight for), then we should remind ourselves of the fact that our lackadaisical attitude would only steal others' freedom to live a normal healthy life.

The first and foremost thing that an individual can do to reduce one's carbon footprint is to reduce electricity consumption by turning off lights, fans, heaters and all electrical/electronic appliances when not necessary. Exercising an appropriate level of vigilance in deciding how many devices need to be turned on in a particular place is necessary. To get a better idea about how much household appliances contribute to the carbon footprint check this out:
http://www.carbonfootprint.com/energyconsumption.html

All said (but not done yet), only sustained actions result in perceptible change and for the very same reason it is necessary for us to integrate these habits with our lifestyle.

Indeed, you need to save today to survive tomorrow!

Sustain-a-Build

URJA and EPAC present 'Sustain-a-Build' -a green building based event in Quark 2012.

Green building is a vast area as such and is of great interest to a wide spectrum of people starting from students interested in energy conservation to top notch industrialists.

So much do we say(but often don't do) about energy saving and the fact that judicious use of energy becomes possible only if it becomes part of our lifestyle, without giving these words as much as a moment's thought after muttering them! So, how does one go about integrating this concept with one's lifestyle? Lifestyle for one is defined by the place where you live and living in a building constructed on the lines of Green building codes helps one make a bold statement in this regard.

How much have we embraced them? So far, so bad! Let it be no more! It's time that we started considering Green building techniques more seriously. Sustain-a-Build gives you the opportunity to explore the power of green building techniques and the smart, new face of innovation!


Check out this link to know more about the event:

http://www.bits-quark.org/2012/sustainabuild

IIT Chennai-Shaastra's InterUniversity Sustainability Challenge

Here's a wonderful competition for all those who wish to see a much more energy efficient and clean campus loaded with sustainable technologies.
It's all about having IDEAS for technology-driven projects for making our campus/surrounding areas SUSTAINABLE....
Check out this website for more details:
http://www.shaastra.org/2011/main/events/InteruniversitySustainabilityChallenge/
The last date for preliminary entries is 18 Sept.


This is what the event organizers have to say about it.......have a look to get a brief idea about the event :
Know more about the IIT Madras - The Inter University Sustainability Challenge..... With the IUSC, we're aiming at one particular aspect of sustainability & technology innovation - re-modeling our respective campuses by converting them into highly self-sustainable & futuristic entities - by implementing innovative technologies - which are designed & developed in-house by the students themselves & are co-implemented with industry and international organization collaboration!
And so, we're inviting teams from colleges across India to pit themselves against each other in a race to see who can make the biggest difference for our planet. Also..............
Apart from a hefty prize for the winning teams - cash prize of INR 50,000, there's also a huge bonus....
Teams that participate will get funding and mentoring for a large-scale green project of their choice in their home campus!.... That too, it may be supported by awesome organizations, such as the United Nations Environment Program, Centre for Environment Education, various Industries & mentored by various International organizations such as Harvard Sustainability Initiative and AASHE, USA to name a few......
And it doesn't stop there! Finalist teams will also receive a Fellowship for an on-site 3 days training program with field trip to Auroville & also conducting an audit of IIT Madras campus. Post this training program, the students will get recognized as 'Certified in Environmental Auditing & Sustainable Technologies.' This certification has got international recognition. Additionally, all participating teams get a 'Pioneer College' entry to the India Campus Sustainability Network - affiliated to the global counterparts - which have various International Universities as members!


Anyone interested in participating in this event and in need of help can contact me(Vignesh-vigneshgreycell@gmail.com-9657295859).
Help your friends who are participating by giving them your valuable ideas!!


ALL THE BEST!!!

The Earthquake, Japan, Nuclear energy and Renewable energy

One (not so) fine day, earthquake hit Japan and therein was born a Tsunami ... and then there was chaos.....well everyone's aware of the recent Tsunami which blew up large parts of Japan and wrecked it badly.
I don't really know what it is that Japan has with Nuclear stuff but this one's more than a coincidence - after the nuclear bombs back then, it's another nuclear explosion (which has less to do with America though!) this time due to the critical location of the Nuclear plant. The Fukushima nuclear plant complex located north of Tokyo and abominably close to the epicenter of 8.9 magnitude quake suffered two colossal explosions-one on the D-Day and the other on Monday- both of which have either turned ears deaf or have fallen on deaf ears, or so I thought till this article caught my attention :

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/14/us-nuclear-japan-industry-idUSTRE72D3T620110314?feedType=RSS&feedName=GCA-GreenBusiness

The repercussions of this explosion (and the shut down of 11 major nuclear reactors) are not yet fully known as far as the effect on life is to be concerned (some emails about rumors of rain clouds contaminated with nuclear waste are doing the rounds!)
but it has certainly had an effect on major nuclear energy producers (and guzzlers)-the EU and Americas. Many European nations have suspended their plans to extend the life of existing nuclear power stations, expand their services and to approve of new nuclear power stations. It is also expected that the disaster might give renewables and greener fuels such as LNG sectors a boost in the quest for safer energy. Most of the nations are now eager to study the impact of this incident and some have already started proposing ways to harness green energy and to make better use of renewables. Organizations supporting green energy are more optimistic and are keen to extend the idea of switching to greener means of energy production.