Category Archives: environment

Happy Spring

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A salute to the Spring of 2013

Another day, a beautiful day. The mild temperature of sunny afternoon. A welcome change.

The wintery chill is finally fading; the days growing longer, the nights shrinking. The morning frost is short lived. The winter attire and warm clothes are a thing of the yesterday. Strolling down the street in a spring jackets – it feels much lighter, much nicer; you can finally breathe the freshness of new air. A welcome change.

Yes, another day and another season; it is finally starting to feel like spring again!

The small green buds are starting to peep from the naked tree branches. The green hue is returning to the brown dead grass. The ponds are no longer frozen; a pair of white swimming swans declare that the spring is finally here – the proof if you still need one. The outdoors are inviting again, with open arms. Continue reading →

Protect the kids, protect the future, not the guns!

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Strict Gun Laws – we owe this to our children

The guns kill, there is no doubt about it. The guns are made to kill – animals, people, anything you aim at. The guns are the means to kill and assault. Yet, it is a sad fact that guns are so easily available, so accessible to everyone and anyone with little effort.

Guns are a part of American life, a part of the culture. There is a history of gun ownership in USA; it is a part of growing up – a hobby, a habit.

But, how good is a past tradition if it is ruining the future? Be it an old habit or an age-old tradition, some bad habits need to go, so do the traditions. It is about time, about time to change the gun ownership tradition in America. In fact, it is already too late.

In the recent years, we have witness more and mover mass killings, more and more gun violence on a large scale. Shooting little kids in the schools, killing innocent students in the university campuses, gunning down peaceful worshipers for no reason…..too many killings on daily basis, too much gun violence.

It is a shame that powerful NRA, the National Rifle Association, is single handedly controlling the gun laws in this country. Disguising itself as the defender of Second Amendment rights, NRA is spending lots of money advertising the pro-gun agenda and lobbying the congress to support pro-gun stance. What the NRA does is simply disgusting and down right dirty. It is very vocal against any gun controls including the right to own semi-automatic weapons, the guns that can spit out 100s bullets per minute. Why anyone need these assault weapons is beyond any common logic, beyond any rationale. Continue reading →

Summer of 2012

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Time – moments put together.
Moments adding up to the continuous flow of life.
The tree of life growing moment by moment, day-by day, season-by-season.
The moments – sweet and sour – some memorable, most of them forgettable.
Summer. The summer of 2012; another season.
Another phase, another period punctuated by the scattered memories.
Summer of 1912 can be summed up in one word – heat.
Relentless heat; unforgettable!!

Heat, the dry heat.
The endless summer heat-wave.
Long days of summer and the long periods of droughts.
No rains for weeks, a rare tease of light sprinkles in between.
Dry ground. Dry ponds.
Dead grass, thirsty gardens.
Thirsty gardens, cornless cobs, shriveling fruits, withering leaves….
The sun bombarding the earth day after day… Continue reading →

Fraility of life – A short term memory

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Life does not cease to be funny when people die any more than it ceases to be serious when people laugh. ~George Bernard Shaw

The earthquake and tsunami in Japan make us realize how precious yet how fragile life is! In fact, if we look around, we are constantly reminded of the fact that life is short; it is easily perishable. Every day, there is something or someone pointing to this sad truth.

yes, it is sad, if you think about it; the thoughts about your own demise can easily put you off. May be that is why we rarely think about it – uncertain in time yet a sure ending of our journey!

There is nothing you can do about this; this is life along with the last chapter. You can delay the inevitable by being careful – eating healthy, hiding in the basement and never crossing the train track… You can postpone it if you are lucky, but it is the law of nature; you can delay it but you cannot avoid it.

In spite of the well known path and a steady march towards the end, we are are rarely bothered by it. We barely think about it. We see others go, but you never imagine yourself in that coffin.

We need something big, something catastrophic to remind us of the temporary nature of our existence. Events like death of a loved one, Japanese earthquake and tsunami are the wake-up calls that remind us that nothing is predictable; anything is possible on a given day.

Actually, this is the best survival mechanism that our brain has adapted to. We have learned to ignore our own demise. Even if we talk about it, we never really take it seriously. These are things beyond us, there are powers beyond our control that we can do nothing about. So perhaps, there is no point in worrying about something that is bound to happen – sooner or later.

And, it is good that we think very little about this temporary aspect of our existence. We have learned to look forward to the good things in our life, without looking TOO FAR into the future! It is amazing how we wrap ourselves in our own little world, our daily routines. A day comes, a night goes by and another day starts; the life continues. The frailty of life seldom bothers us. Continue reading →

A glimmer of hope – Indian sports in international arena

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Future of India in the international and global sports competitions

Indian is a country with population of 1.2 billion people;second largest in the world. Home or abroad, the Indians are known for their hard work and perseverance. And yet, when it come to the sports, India does not have much to show in the international arena. India has never been a top contender in the global sports competitions.

Yes, cricket is big; the country is crazed about the game. There are about ten competitive cricket playing nations in the world, and India is often often among the top ten! :) Beyond cricket, India does not really have much world presence in the sports and athletic competitions.

In the Olympics games, for example, India has miserably failed to deliver any world class performance. At one time, India used to rein supreme in the field hockey, but not anymore. The most medal that India has ever won in the Olympics are 3, in 2008 Olympics in Beijing. That is quite a dismal performance for a country of the size of India!

There have been numerous explanations for India’s lack of sports at the international level. Poverty, malnutrition, neglected infrastructure, lack of funding and equipment, political corruption and the predominance of cricket…..so many factors combined together have been blamed in the past.

However, it is worth noting that India is not the same country it used to be a few decades back. India, as a nation, has made a lots of headway; it has taken some giant steps in the right direction. The economy is booming and the influence of western culture including the western sports is everywhere. Could it be that the current prosperity may lead to a more competitive India at the international platform? It is quite possible. In fact, it seems that India may be on the right track for the first time. Continue reading →

Trash and litter in India? Who cares!

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Trash and Litter in India – A socially accepted behavior threats the environment and surroundings

During a recent visit to north India, (after a long time, I might add) I noticed something obvious. May be I was comparing everything to living abroad. Anyhow, on my way back to America, I wrote this post during a stop-over – while waiting for my connecting flight in Amsterdam.

All around the globe, the world is taking a note of India’s economic growth. The country has made tremendous progress over the last 10-15 years. It is something to be proud of, to be very proud.

However, we must acknowledge, if there is any aspect in which India or Indians have not moved forward – or moved very sluggishly, – is in the field of environmental cleanliness and taking care of the surroundings.

By ‘surroundings cleanliness’, I mean caring about our neighborhood hygiene and upkeep beyond the doorsteps of our own home.

If you look around, trash and litter is everywhere. Nobody seems to care about the waste, and how we discard it. If anything, we add to the garbage that is already abundant in the open and is everywhere. Littering a plastic cup on the road-side, after we are finished using it, is the norm. No one realize anything wrong with it. Throwing our waste on the street, and right outside our own house is a part of our daily routine. That’s how we are, that’s what we think is normal. Having waste and garbage scattered around everywhere does not bother us. We are content within ourselves as long as our house is polished clean up to the front doorstep. When it comes to surroundings, that’s where our responsibilities seem to end; that’s where we tend to stop – our doorsteps. Continue reading →

The Bloom Box –An energy magic box or just a hype?

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Every now and then, there comes something that makes you turn you head, that demands your attention regardless if you are ready or not.

Is the world ready for green energy to take over the day-to-day life?

The chatter is getting louder, about the possible next BIG thing. California Silicone Valley is buzzing with the new venture. Backed by the same powerful venture capitalist who once supported the start-ups like Netscape, Amazon and Google, the discussions about alternate power source are everywhere.

If successful, the new energy source can replace the big power plants and eventually transmission line grid over time. Moreover, it is ‘green energy’, completely environment friendly, as there is no burning or combustion.

K.R. Sridhar, the CEO of Bloom Box, is the man behind the concept. The ambitious undertaking is already being trialed by EBay headquarters and many other corporations, as an alternate to the conventional energy.

Basically, in simplistic terms, the Bloom box invention is a fuel cell, a very skinny battery that always runs; that is always on. The slim wafer takes oxygen from one side, and fuel on the other. The two combine within the cell to create a chemical reaction to produces electricity. These tiny wafers or skinny slates are stacked up to compound the energy production.

According to Sridhar’s interview on CBS’s ‘60 Minute’, 2 boxes of these batteries – each box slightly bigger than Rubik’s Cube – can power up one US house, or 2 European house, or 4-6 houses in India around the clock.

If the promise holds true, this invention in the field of green energy could be one of the biggest breakthroughs of modern days. Continue reading →

A not so vain global fashion

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The fashions change with time, the trends evolve. The hairstyle, the shoes, the dress code..….everything changes as the time goes.

And, it is not just our dress code, it is not just how we present ourselves, the change is a part of every aspect of our lives. How we address each-other, how we greet someone, how we write, how we talk…..everything is so different compared to when we were kids.

When we were kids, smoking in public was a common scene; throwing trash on the roadside – or in the middle of the street – was not rare; kicking an empty can or a bottle down the street was normal. It was somewhat cool and expected.

But that is not the case anymore. The time has moved on, so has the social thinking, so has the new ‘cool’.

Now-a-days, people dress less formal; the greetings are more casual. It is no longer a fashion to smoke in a public place. You will get some dirty looks if you decide to toss your empty Coke or Pepsi bottle in the middle of the road.

So what is fashion now-a-days? What is the new cool?

Cleaning behind your own mess is considered cool now-a-days. If you refrain from smoking, your colleagues appreciate that – as non-smoking is the new trend. If you recycle your waste, you will earn some extra points from your neighbors and friends. Picking up someone else’s trash and throwing in the recycle or garbage bin nearby is all cool.

So next time, when you see an empty bottle or a can lying in the middle of the street, when you see a newspaper trashed along side-walk, it is okay to pick it up and throw it in the recycle bin. It is okay to remind a smoker in a public park that smoking is not allowed there; a mother with a small kid nearby will appreciate your gesture.

Now-a-days, here in North America, more and more households are switching to fuel efficient cars and trucks. People are starting to brag about how they are using environment friendly ideas – the solar lights, the energy efficient appliances, planting more trees in the neighborhood. ‘Going green’ is becoming a new topic of small talk……

It is the new trend; it is the new fashion that is catching up everywhere. Continue reading →

The Future of Global Climate Policy

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This is a guest post from Britney Wilkins; she writes at Online College.

As the United States and other developed nations continue to pressure developing nations to conform to their global-emissions protocol, it has in turn become a global debate that serves to affect the economies of these nations. With the United Nations climate conference looming closer in the calendar, countries such as India are getting ready to unleash their negotiation tactics in an effort to protect their nation’s own interests. There is a major difference between developed and developing nations which proves to be a debilitating constraint when attempting to allow them to grow at a rate Western nations grew at the same point in their evolution.
Countries such as India and China have opposed Western requests to decrease various carbon dioxide emissions and maintain that the West never had caps on similar emissions during the Industrial Revolution. Regardless of the time period, such emissions had the same debilitating results but also allowed many nations to reach the status point they are at today. Therefore, India maintains that it needs to release these types of emissions in order to become a fully developed nation. The recent bill passed in the United States by the House of Representatives has served to ruffle some feathers as the bill states that the U.S. will impose sanctions on countries that did not accept the binding emissions cuts. “Sanctioning” is a term that developing nations fear, as it has only served to further hamper the capacity of developing nations to grow and instead nearly sets them backward on the road to development. Continue reading →