Have a great year filled with joy and happiness! Happy New Year from the Project Jatropha Team!
"Our aspirations are our possibilities."~Samuel Johnson
Love,
Adarsha
Apoorva
Callie
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Happy New Year!
Have a great year filled with joy and happiness! Happy New Year from the Project Jatropha Team!
"Our aspirations are our possibilities."~Samuel Johnson
Love,
Adarsha
Apoorva
Callie
Part 2 of Copenhagen Analysis
One of the reasons for "business as usual" at the Copenhagen meetings is because many people, don't get the magnitude of the impacts of climate change. For instance, a 2-3 degrees Celsius increase in global temperatures over the course of the next 50-100 years (the estimates vary considerably, so I'll use these longer range for the sake of my example), is not very perceptible, as it is over the course of one, or even two or three lifetimes. In addition, the consequences, such as a rise in sea levels of only a couple feet, or weather that's a few degrees warmer, don't seem to be too significant. Yet, the impacts of global warming can lead to the destabilization of nations (such as Bangladesh and drought-ridden countries), and the deaths of millions (due to increased droughts, increased range of diseases, and increased severe weather-hurricanes, El Nino's, etc., and changes in "normal" weather patterns [changes in monsoon times, etc.]). Yet, if the people dying or getting injured aren't close to us, then many people can't relate and therefore can't understand or altogether dismiss climate change as a mild threat, when in reality, it is one of the greatest threats ever. Consequently and regretfully, I believe that until a large number of people are suddenly and detrimentally affected by climate change very close to/in America, the issue will take a backseat.
-Sincerely,
Adarsha
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Pointing fingers at soot : An article from The Hindu
Hey readers of our blog!
I thought of sharing this interesting article from The Hindu with you all. Happy Holidays!
~Apoorva
Pointing fingers at soot
N. Gopal Raj
Short Life: While CO2 stays in the atmosphere for centuries, soot stays aloft only for days to weeks; ozone persists for just weeks to months.-- Photo: AFP
Soot absorbs 80 per cent of the solar radiation it receives; directly warms the atmosphere
It is no longer just greenhouses gases and their ability to produce global warming that scientists worry about. Concern has been growing over the role played by soot.
Fine particles of soot result from the incomplete burning of fossil fuels and biomass. Soot is produced by diesel engines, the burning of coal, forest fires, burning of crop residues and when firewood and dung is used as household fuel.
Soot particles absorb 80 per cent of the solar radiation they receive and directly warm the atmosphere, said S.K. Satheesh of the Centre for Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore.
Cloud burn off
Absorption of sunlight by soot could heat the surrounding atmosphere to such an extent that clouds “burn off,” suggested Dr Satheesh in paper published in Nature in 2000 that was co-authored with V. Ramanathan of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in California.
Soot in the atmosphere could be having as much as 60 per cent of the current global warming effect of carbon dioxide, observed Prof. Ramanathan and G. Carmichael in a review paper published in Nature Geoscience in 2008.
The increased levels of soot and other pollutants in the atmosphere were reducing monsoon rainfall over India, said Prof. Ramanathan and others in another paper in 2005. Droughts might double in frequency if the emissions continued unabated.
However, William Lau of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre in the U.S. and others have suggested that the soot from northern India along with dust from the deserts of western China, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Middle East were producing an ’elevated heat pump’ over Tibet.
The effects
The rising hot air produced by enhanced heating drew in warm and moist air over the Indian subcontinent. Consequently, there could be an “advance of the rainy periods and subsequently an intensification of the Indian summer monsoon,” they remarked in a paper published in 2006.
More recently, there has been concern over soot hastening the melting of the Himalayan glaciers.
“Over areas of the Himalayas, the rate of warming is more than five times faster than warming globally, remarked Dr. Lau at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union in California earlier this month. The ‘elevated heat pump’ could be contributing as much or more to atmospheric warming in the Himalayas as greenhouse gases.
Besides, soot being deposited directly on the glaciers too seemed to be playing a part. Chinese and American scientists published this month the results of research that looked at ice cores from the Tibetan Plateau. “We find evidence that black soot aerosols deposited on Tibetan glaciers have been a significant contributing factor to observed rapid glacier retreat,” reported James Hansen, director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, and others in their paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the U.S.A.
Cutting soot emission
In a recent article in the magazine Foreign Affairs, Jessica Seddon Wallack, director of the Centre for Development Finance at the Institute for Financial Management and Research in Chennai, and Prof. Ramanathan have argued that reducing soot and ozone precursors could rapidly slow the pace of global warming, thus giving efforts to cut carbon dioxide emissions time to get off the ground.
Emissions of soot and ozone precursors could be brought down significantly at relatively low cost with technologies that already existed. While carbon dioxide could remain in the atmosphere for centuries, soot stayed aloft only for days to weeks while ozone persisted for just weeks to months.
Reducing the emissions of these pollutants would quickly lower their concentration in the atmosphere and, in turn, their impact on global warming, they pointed out.
For U.S. dollars 15 billion, 500 million households could be provided with clean stoves, Prof. Ramanathan was quoted as saying in a recent media report. These families were currently using firewood, coal and dung as fuel and the switch would greatly reduce soot production.
Undesired result
Cutting soot levels in the atmosphere might produce the opposite effect – an increase in warming rather than a reduction, pointed out Dr. Satheesh,. He received the Bhatnagar Award this year.
Much of the warming of the atmosphere occurred when the earth’s surface became heated by radiation from the sun. Removing soot could increase the amount of sunlight reaching the surface, thereby leading to greater warming of the atmosphere.
One recent study showed evidence of such an effect in California where reduction in soot levels after about 1980 led to a statewide surface temperature increase.
Keywords: carbon emissions, soot, soot emission, NASA
I thought of sharing this interesting article from The Hindu with you all. Happy Holidays!
~Apoorva
Pointing fingers at soot
N. Gopal Raj
Short Life: While CO2 stays in the atmosphere for centuries, soot stays aloft only for days to weeks; ozone persists for just weeks to months.-- Photo: AFP
Soot absorbs 80 per cent of the solar radiation it receives; directly warms the atmosphere
It is no longer just greenhouses gases and their ability to produce global warming that scientists worry about. Concern has been growing over the role played by soot.
Fine particles of soot result from the incomplete burning of fossil fuels and biomass. Soot is produced by diesel engines, the burning of coal, forest fires, burning of crop residues and when firewood and dung is used as household fuel.
Soot particles absorb 80 per cent of the solar radiation they receive and directly warm the atmosphere, said S.K. Satheesh of the Centre for Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore.
Cloud burn off
Absorption of sunlight by soot could heat the surrounding atmosphere to such an extent that clouds “burn off,” suggested Dr Satheesh in paper published in Nature in 2000 that was co-authored with V. Ramanathan of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in California.
Soot in the atmosphere could be having as much as 60 per cent of the current global warming effect of carbon dioxide, observed Prof. Ramanathan and G. Carmichael in a review paper published in Nature Geoscience in 2008.
The increased levels of soot and other pollutants in the atmosphere were reducing monsoon rainfall over India, said Prof. Ramanathan and others in another paper in 2005. Droughts might double in frequency if the emissions continued unabated.
However, William Lau of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre in the U.S. and others have suggested that the soot from northern India along with dust from the deserts of western China, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Middle East were producing an ’elevated heat pump’ over Tibet.
The effects
The rising hot air produced by enhanced heating drew in warm and moist air over the Indian subcontinent. Consequently, there could be an “advance of the rainy periods and subsequently an intensification of the Indian summer monsoon,” they remarked in a paper published in 2006.
More recently, there has been concern over soot hastening the melting of the Himalayan glaciers.
“Over areas of the Himalayas, the rate of warming is more than five times faster than warming globally, remarked Dr. Lau at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union in California earlier this month. The ‘elevated heat pump’ could be contributing as much or more to atmospheric warming in the Himalayas as greenhouse gases.
Besides, soot being deposited directly on the glaciers too seemed to be playing a part. Chinese and American scientists published this month the results of research that looked at ice cores from the Tibetan Plateau. “We find evidence that black soot aerosols deposited on Tibetan glaciers have been a significant contributing factor to observed rapid glacier retreat,” reported James Hansen, director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, and others in their paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the U.S.A.
Cutting soot emission
In a recent article in the magazine Foreign Affairs, Jessica Seddon Wallack, director of the Centre for Development Finance at the Institute for Financial Management and Research in Chennai, and Prof. Ramanathan have argued that reducing soot and ozone precursors could rapidly slow the pace of global warming, thus giving efforts to cut carbon dioxide emissions time to get off the ground.
Emissions of soot and ozone precursors could be brought down significantly at relatively low cost with technologies that already existed. While carbon dioxide could remain in the atmosphere for centuries, soot stayed aloft only for days to weeks while ozone persisted for just weeks to months.
Reducing the emissions of these pollutants would quickly lower their concentration in the atmosphere and, in turn, their impact on global warming, they pointed out.
For U.S. dollars 15 billion, 500 million households could be provided with clean stoves, Prof. Ramanathan was quoted as saying in a recent media report. These families were currently using firewood, coal and dung as fuel and the switch would greatly reduce soot production.
Undesired result
Cutting soot levels in the atmosphere might produce the opposite effect – an increase in warming rather than a reduction, pointed out Dr. Satheesh,. He received the Bhatnagar Award this year.
Much of the warming of the atmosphere occurred when the earth’s surface became heated by radiation from the sun. Removing soot could increase the amount of sunlight reaching the surface, thereby leading to greater warming of the atmosphere.
One recent study showed evidence of such an effect in California where reduction in soot levels after about 1980 led to a statewide surface temperature increase.
Keywords: carbon emissions, soot, soot emission, NASA
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
We can challenge India on Copenhagen goals: US TNN 22 December 2009, 01:24am IST
* China
* India
* US
* Copenhagen talks
NEW DELHI: Even though the final document in Copenhagen contained no legally binding commitments by anybody, US officials are claiming the right to unilaterally verify or review what India and other countries are doing.
Forced to defend the deal, White House senior advisor David Axelrod told CNN that the Copenhagen Accord would allow US verification. "Now China and India have set goals. We are going to be able to review what they are doing. We are going to be able to challenge them if they do not meet those goals," Axelrod said.
While this was probably intended to keep the enraged constituencies of US labour unions at bay, who had insisted that Barack Obama come back with a commitment from India and China for carbon cuts and their verification, these statements will only fuel a fire in countries like China and India. Besides, the government will be asked to come clean on whether the Copenhagen document was another nail in the Kyoto Protocol coffin.
The developed countries have tried all means to junk the protocol, and introduce a new framework where the developing countries take on some of the burden.
The US assertion is sure to figure in the debate in Rajya Sabha on Copenhagen text on Tuesday. Many political parties and NGOs have already come out against it, with the Left citing it as yet another instance of government succumbing to pressure from the US.
They are sure to cite Axelrod's remarks as vindication. "This was not the end of the road. The end of the road would have been the complete collapse of those talks. This is a great step forward," Axelrod said. Obama called it a meaningful beginning while British PM Gordon Brown lashed out at China and its friends.
The European nations, who were ultimately left out of the final deal-making, leaving Obama and the BASIC bloc (Brazil, South Africa, India and China) to strike the last bargain, are looking for more ways to get around the final text. In fact, over the next few months, the world will see a growing clamour to remove climate change negotiations from the UNFCCC and move it to a G20-like framework.
Sitaram Yechury of CPM, accusing the government of "shifting goalposts", said there was no clarity in the accord. "The accord is deeply ambiguous with several loopholes and the possibility of different interpretations, particularly with regard to emission cuts by developing countries, and fund and technology transfers," he said.
The government will be hard-pressed to defend signing on to the Copenhagen agreement, specially when there is no commitment from the developed countries on technology transfers. The battlelines were already drawn on Monday, with the Left parties leading the charge.
"Whether it is George Bush or Barack Obama, the narrow self-interests of America must prevail over the interests of the world community. The apprehensions of all poor nations that ultimately a deal will be imposed by the US has proved correct. It is a sorry spectacle of succumbing to US pressure," the CPI central secretariat said in a statement.
For Obama, it had a domestic political benefit. Since he stuck to the letter of the Waxman-Markey Bill in negotiating for a deal in Copenhagen, Obama had the added advantage of leveraging the climate deal to move his healthcare legislation forward.
QnA: Have the G77 countries been able to stall the West's attempts to kill the Koyoto Protocol?
Dear Blog Readers,
I thought of posting this interesting article from Times of India. I will follow up with the discussion soon.
Adarsha
* India
* US
* Copenhagen talks
NEW DELHI: Even though the final document in Copenhagen contained no legally binding commitments by anybody, US officials are claiming the right to unilaterally verify or review what India and other countries are doing.
Forced to defend the deal, White House senior advisor David Axelrod told CNN that the Copenhagen Accord would allow US verification. "Now China and India have set goals. We are going to be able to review what they are doing. We are going to be able to challenge them if they do not meet those goals," Axelrod said.
While this was probably intended to keep the enraged constituencies of US labour unions at bay, who had insisted that Barack Obama come back with a commitment from India and China for carbon cuts and their verification, these statements will only fuel a fire in countries like China and India. Besides, the government will be asked to come clean on whether the Copenhagen document was another nail in the Kyoto Protocol coffin.
The developed countries have tried all means to junk the protocol, and introduce a new framework where the developing countries take on some of the burden.
The US assertion is sure to figure in the debate in Rajya Sabha on Copenhagen text on Tuesday. Many political parties and NGOs have already come out against it, with the Left citing it as yet another instance of government succumbing to pressure from the US.
They are sure to cite Axelrod's remarks as vindication. "This was not the end of the road. The end of the road would have been the complete collapse of those talks. This is a great step forward," Axelrod said. Obama called it a meaningful beginning while British PM Gordon Brown lashed out at China and its friends.
The European nations, who were ultimately left out of the final deal-making, leaving Obama and the BASIC bloc (Brazil, South Africa, India and China) to strike the last bargain, are looking for more ways to get around the final text. In fact, over the next few months, the world will see a growing clamour to remove climate change negotiations from the UNFCCC and move it to a G20-like framework.
Sitaram Yechury of CPM, accusing the government of "shifting goalposts", said there was no clarity in the accord. "The accord is deeply ambiguous with several loopholes and the possibility of different interpretations, particularly with regard to emission cuts by developing countries, and fund and technology transfers," he said.
The government will be hard-pressed to defend signing on to the Copenhagen agreement, specially when there is no commitment from the developed countries on technology transfers. The battlelines were already drawn on Monday, with the Left parties leading the charge.
"Whether it is George Bush or Barack Obama, the narrow self-interests of America must prevail over the interests of the world community. The apprehensions of all poor nations that ultimately a deal will be imposed by the US has proved correct. It is a sorry spectacle of succumbing to US pressure," the CPI central secretariat said in a statement.
For Obama, it had a domestic political benefit. Since he stuck to the letter of the Waxman-Markey Bill in negotiating for a deal in Copenhagen, Obama had the added advantage of leveraging the climate deal to move his healthcare legislation forward.
QnA: Have the G77 countries been able to stall the West's attempts to kill the Koyoto Protocol?
Dear Blog Readers,
I thought of posting this interesting article from Times of India. I will follow up with the discussion soon.
Adarsha
Friday, December 18, 2009
Part 1 of an analysis about COP15
For the past couple of weeks, I have been closely following the Copenhagen meeting, and have posted several links on the blog. As of today, the meeting officially finished, and the results are…mixed, to say the least. The Guardian recently posted an article that highlighted the failures of the meeting (http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/dec/18/copenhagen-deal), and I agree with the general assessment presented in the article. The fact that no actual, tangible goals were set/fixed upon at the meeting is disappointing-yet, it shows business as usual in the world. Obama’s policy at the meeting seemed to be “don’t walk away empty-handed, get some goals accomplished, even if they’re reduced and rather modest.” The Guardian also had this interesting, and arguably accurate quote regarding the meeting as a whole: “Lumumba Di-Aping, chief negotiator for the G77 group of 130 developing countries, was scathing: ‘This deal will definitely result in massive devastation in Africa and small island states. It has the lowest level of ambition you can imagine. It's nothing short of climate change scepticism in action.’” Lumumba does have a point when he says that the negotiations produced a very small level of results. In fact, like stated earlier, no actual LIMITS were set…just a purposely ambiguous goal to make sure that temperature levels do not rise beyond 2 degrees Celsius this century. It’s important to note that no agreement on HOW this goal would be accomplished was reached. Obama even admitted that this meeting is only the beginning of much, much more work. Yet, at the same time, it is disappointing to see so little progress at the meeting. To read more about the differing opinions about the Copenhagen meeting, here’s another link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/climate
This is just part 1 of my analysis on the Copenhagen meetings, and several more parts will be posted in the coming week.
-Sincerely,
Adarsha
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Climate conference emits its share of carbon By MICHAEL CASEY, Associated Press Writer , Yahoo News
COPENHAGEN – If they fail to reach a climate deal in Copenhagen, world leaders flying in their private jets and huddling in five-star hotels will have little to show for their efforts beyond a big, fat carbon footprint.
The U.N. estimates 40,500 tons of carbon dioxide will be pumped into the atmosphere during the 12-day conference — 90 percent of it from flights. The rest comes from waste and electricity related to transport to and from the conference center and lodging in and around the Danish city.
Most of the leaders were flying either on commercial airlines or government-owned jets and Sweden was one of the few to announce plans to offset those aviation emissions — something it does routinely. Most are doing nothing to boost their green credentials and some saw no reason to treat their trip to the U.N. climate talks any differently.
"This prime minister is the last person in India or maybe even the world to do anything for effect," said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's spokesman Harish Khare. "It'll be a normal visit, like any other visit by the prime minister." Singh was scheduled to travel in a private jet to Copenhagen for security, his office said.
Those traveling on commercial flights include Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejajjiva, Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann and Finnish President Tarja Halonen.
Barack Obama is traveling on Air Force One, French President Nicolas Sarkozy in his special Airbus and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on a presidential jet nicknamed "Aerolula."
A handful of Europeans made a point of taking the train, like the environment ministers of the Netherlands and Switzerland.
Few environmentalists at the conference made an issue of the carbon footprints from more than 100 world leaders. They were more worried that governments are failing to make progress on reaching a global climate pact.
Norway's Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg — who often gives green advice to Norwegians — was criticized at home, however, for deciding to take a private jet from Oslo to Copenhagen rather than one of the 17 shuttles that daily make the hour-long run between the two Scandinavian capitals.
"If he tells everybody to take the bus, take the train, stop wasting energy, then you'd have to expect Stoltenberg to sacrifice something too," said Oerjan Holm, vice president of the Norwegian Conservation Society.
A statement from Stoltenberg's office said he decided to travel by private jet because he wanted the "flexibility" to match the somewhat unstable schedule of the climate conference. It added that the government buys carbon credits at the end of every year to offset the prime minister's air travels.
Some activists said leaders should at least find ways to make their trip more sustainable, especially if they aren't serious about reaching a deal.
"There is an obsession by world leaders to be able to come in here with big entourages on their special airplanes, land at the airport and be driven in big limousines, with bigger entourages," said Asad Rehman, spokesman for the environmental group Friends of the Earth.
"What they should be looking at is how they could travel here with the minimal carbon impact that they can have," he said. "But also, more importantly, are they coming here to actually sign a deal and make a deal that will save both the people and the planet? If they're coming here with an empty pocket and empty promises, then they should stay at home."
Susan Burns, the chief executive officer of the Global Footprint Network, a California-based sustainability research institute, said it would be wrong to scale back negotiations over concerns about carbon emissions, especially with so much work to be done.
"They should have a Copenhagen every month until they figure this out," Burns said. "We need to spend our carbon very wisely. And getting world leaders together and locking them in a room while they get this done is one such investment, as is investing it in the economy of the future."
Climate summits, which attract thousands of delegates and are often held in far-flung or glitzy locations like Barcelona and Rio de Janeiro, are easy targets for critics.
The last big climate conference, in 2007 on the Indonesian island of Bali, blew through 47,000 tons of carbon — equal to the daily emissions of Marseilles, one of the biggest cities in France. Delegates were criticized for running their air conditioners as they chatted in beach-side villas.
This time, it's the idling limos waiting in subzero temperatures to shuttle delegates between their hotels and the conference center.
Organizers from the Danish government said they were doing everything they could to minimize the conference's carbon footprint.
They have reduced emissions 20 percent through a number of energy efficiency measures, promoted public transport, encouraged hotels to provide environmentally certified rooms and installed efficient lighting in the conference center, according to Jan-Christoph Napierski, who heads conference logistics for the Danish Foreign Ministry.
They are offsetting the rest of the emissions by investing in a program to upgrade antiquated brick kilns in Bangladesh with the help of the World Bank.
"Bangladesh is one of the countries hardest hit by climate change and there's a great need to assist the country with technology and capital contributions," said conference president Connie Hedegaard. "In addition, the project will result in significant environmental improvements for the local community, where particle pollution from the existing old brick works is clearly visible."
Copyright © 2009 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved
The U.N. estimates 40,500 tons of carbon dioxide will be pumped into the atmosphere during the 12-day conference — 90 percent of it from flights. The rest comes from waste and electricity related to transport to and from the conference center and lodging in and around the Danish city.
Most of the leaders were flying either on commercial airlines or government-owned jets and Sweden was one of the few to announce plans to offset those aviation emissions — something it does routinely. Most are doing nothing to boost their green credentials and some saw no reason to treat their trip to the U.N. climate talks any differently.
"This prime minister is the last person in India or maybe even the world to do anything for effect," said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's spokesman Harish Khare. "It'll be a normal visit, like any other visit by the prime minister." Singh was scheduled to travel in a private jet to Copenhagen for security, his office said.
Those traveling on commercial flights include Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejajjiva, Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann and Finnish President Tarja Halonen.
Barack Obama is traveling on Air Force One, French President Nicolas Sarkozy in his special Airbus and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on a presidential jet nicknamed "Aerolula."
A handful of Europeans made a point of taking the train, like the environment ministers of the Netherlands and Switzerland.
Few environmentalists at the conference made an issue of the carbon footprints from more than 100 world leaders. They were more worried that governments are failing to make progress on reaching a global climate pact.
Norway's Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg — who often gives green advice to Norwegians — was criticized at home, however, for deciding to take a private jet from Oslo to Copenhagen rather than one of the 17 shuttles that daily make the hour-long run between the two Scandinavian capitals.
"If he tells everybody to take the bus, take the train, stop wasting energy, then you'd have to expect Stoltenberg to sacrifice something too," said Oerjan Holm, vice president of the Norwegian Conservation Society.
A statement from Stoltenberg's office said he decided to travel by private jet because he wanted the "flexibility" to match the somewhat unstable schedule of the climate conference. It added that the government buys carbon credits at the end of every year to offset the prime minister's air travels.
Some activists said leaders should at least find ways to make their trip more sustainable, especially if they aren't serious about reaching a deal.
"There is an obsession by world leaders to be able to come in here with big entourages on their special airplanes, land at the airport and be driven in big limousines, with bigger entourages," said Asad Rehman, spokesman for the environmental group Friends of the Earth.
"What they should be looking at is how they could travel here with the minimal carbon impact that they can have," he said. "But also, more importantly, are they coming here to actually sign a deal and make a deal that will save both the people and the planet? If they're coming here with an empty pocket and empty promises, then they should stay at home."
Susan Burns, the chief executive officer of the Global Footprint Network, a California-based sustainability research institute, said it would be wrong to scale back negotiations over concerns about carbon emissions, especially with so much work to be done.
"They should have a Copenhagen every month until they figure this out," Burns said. "We need to spend our carbon very wisely. And getting world leaders together and locking them in a room while they get this done is one such investment, as is investing it in the economy of the future."
Climate summits, which attract thousands of delegates and are often held in far-flung or glitzy locations like Barcelona and Rio de Janeiro, are easy targets for critics.
The last big climate conference, in 2007 on the Indonesian island of Bali, blew through 47,000 tons of carbon — equal to the daily emissions of Marseilles, one of the biggest cities in France. Delegates were criticized for running their air conditioners as they chatted in beach-side villas.
This time, it's the idling limos waiting in subzero temperatures to shuttle delegates between their hotels and the conference center.
Organizers from the Danish government said they were doing everything they could to minimize the conference's carbon footprint.
They have reduced emissions 20 percent through a number of energy efficiency measures, promoted public transport, encouraged hotels to provide environmentally certified rooms and installed efficient lighting in the conference center, according to Jan-Christoph Napierski, who heads conference logistics for the Danish Foreign Ministry.
They are offsetting the rest of the emissions by investing in a program to upgrade antiquated brick kilns in Bangladesh with the help of the World Bank.
"Bangladesh is one of the countries hardest hit by climate change and there's a great need to assist the country with technology and capital contributions," said conference president Connie Hedegaard. "In addition, the project will result in significant environmental improvements for the local community, where particle pollution from the existing old brick works is clearly visible."
Copyright © 2009 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Girls (and Boys) Gone Wild
Why should policymakers, investors, and businesspeople care about youth in Copenhagen? 1
* Terry Tamminen
11 Dec 2009 11:30 AM
by Terry Tamminen
*
Posted in
o Politics,
o Climate & Energy,
o Business,
o Living Green
Grist\\'s coverage of Copenhagen climate talks
Of the estimated 20,000 people converging on the U.N. climate conference this week and next, half of them are expected to be under the age of 30. My colleague in Copenhagen, Kristina Haddad, reports, “I observed that many in the crowds of people were young. Most were wearing t-shirts or passing out flyers that essentially pleaded for the world leaders to do the right thing—to stop the talking and compromise and really do something about this crisis or they will have no future.”
She went on to describe how a group from India unraveled a banner at the conference center that had notes, drawings and messages from hundreds of children making similar demands. Others took cellphone photos of themselves with a cardboard cutout of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (the real Governator will speak to delegates next week about the benefits of a low carbon economy). And organized groups of these young people met with U.N. climate czar, Yvo deBoer, to press their views.
“Trust is something that is earned,” he told them, “and the [climate negotiations] process is something that has not yet earned your trust. Keep it up…negotiators must be reminded of why they are doing what they are doing.”
Other than the anti-war campaigns of the 1970s, it’s hard to recall a movement that has been so embraced, even motivated, by the world’s youth. Solving the climate crisis is not the only thing these young people are focused on—they are also inventing, embracing, and sharing the solutions. Twitter, Facebook, Badoo, Bebo, MySpace, and Flickr are among the most active social networks that are ablaze with discussion about climate change and tips of what to buy, what to avoid, and other ways to reduce their carbon footprints.
Why should policymakers, investors, or businesspeople care about this? Because these are the voters and consumers of the next 50 years and they’re very serious about this low carbon thing. A marketing exec once explained to me why the 18-34 age group was so important—they will buy several cars, for example, in their remaining lifetime, while someone at age 55 may only buy one more. He wanted those youthful eyes, ears, and brand loyalty focused on his products and spent millions to understand that coveted age group. Ditto the politicians, as they think of future elections.
Well, neither marketers nor political consultants need spend a penny on polls and focus groups this month, but should spend a few minutes surfing the web and looking at the social networking sites to understand how deeply rooted this youthful interest is when it comes to climate change. Then, look at your own products—supply chain, corporate carbon footprint, packaging, and other contributors to their carbon footprints. If a reasonable observer (or an angry, unreasonable youth) would consider your products a net plus for climate change, find a way to communicate that and become part of the solution. If your products are more on the carbon-heavy side, I suggest a makeover pronto.
Mr. DeBoer is right—trust on this topic must be earned, but any investment now by a company to be a meaningful part of these young people’s low-carbon future will pay handsome dividends for generations to come.
Terry Tamminen is the former secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency and is now a policy adviser and author. His latest book is Lives Per Gallon: The True Cost of our Oil Addiction.
Why should policymakers, investors, and businesspeople care about youth in Copenhagen? 1
* Terry Tamminen
11 Dec 2009 11:30 AM
by Terry Tamminen
*
Posted in
o Politics,
o Climate & Energy,
o Business,
o Living Green
Grist\\'s coverage of Copenhagen climate talks
Of the estimated 20,000 people converging on the U.N. climate conference this week and next, half of them are expected to be under the age of 30. My colleague in Copenhagen, Kristina Haddad, reports, “I observed that many in the crowds of people were young. Most were wearing t-shirts or passing out flyers that essentially pleaded for the world leaders to do the right thing—to stop the talking and compromise and really do something about this crisis or they will have no future.”
She went on to describe how a group from India unraveled a banner at the conference center that had notes, drawings and messages from hundreds of children making similar demands. Others took cellphone photos of themselves with a cardboard cutout of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (the real Governator will speak to delegates next week about the benefits of a low carbon economy). And organized groups of these young people met with U.N. climate czar, Yvo deBoer, to press their views.
“Trust is something that is earned,” he told them, “and the [climate negotiations] process is something that has not yet earned your trust. Keep it up…negotiators must be reminded of why they are doing what they are doing.”
Other than the anti-war campaigns of the 1970s, it’s hard to recall a movement that has been so embraced, even motivated, by the world’s youth. Solving the climate crisis is not the only thing these young people are focused on—they are also inventing, embracing, and sharing the solutions. Twitter, Facebook, Badoo, Bebo, MySpace, and Flickr are among the most active social networks that are ablaze with discussion about climate change and tips of what to buy, what to avoid, and other ways to reduce their carbon footprints.
Why should policymakers, investors, or businesspeople care about this? Because these are the voters and consumers of the next 50 years and they’re very serious about this low carbon thing. A marketing exec once explained to me why the 18-34 age group was so important—they will buy several cars, for example, in their remaining lifetime, while someone at age 55 may only buy one more. He wanted those youthful eyes, ears, and brand loyalty focused on his products and spent millions to understand that coveted age group. Ditto the politicians, as they think of future elections.
Well, neither marketers nor political consultants need spend a penny on polls and focus groups this month, but should spend a few minutes surfing the web and looking at the social networking sites to understand how deeply rooted this youthful interest is when it comes to climate change. Then, look at your own products—supply chain, corporate carbon footprint, packaging, and other contributors to their carbon footprints. If a reasonable observer (or an angry, unreasonable youth) would consider your products a net plus for climate change, find a way to communicate that and become part of the solution. If your products are more on the carbon-heavy side, I suggest a makeover pronto.
Mr. DeBoer is right—trust on this topic must be earned, but any investment now by a company to be a meaningful part of these young people’s low-carbon future will pay handsome dividends for generations to come.
Terry Tamminen is the former secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency and is now a policy adviser and author. His latest book is Lives Per Gallon: The True Cost of our Oil Addiction.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
Sunday, November 29, 2009
The importance of transparency and credibility in award applications
Dear friends,
We hope that you all had a great Thanksgiving. This post addresses several concerns and questions raised by the followers about the awards. Let me start this by informing you that I am no expert in this field. However, I would like to share my opinion as we have applied and won a couple of international and national team and individual awards last year. Our team is relatively small compared to a team of 8-10 members. I will try and address all of your concerns by saying one vital point. The accuracy of the information in the application is very, very important. If one stretches the truth, the whole credibility of the project will be at stake.I can't stress this enough.
1. We do have a big panel/advisory committee consisting of very educated adults which include teachers, scientists, and NPO directors, both from India and USA. We welcome their constructive criticism. In my opinion, having adult mentors like your school teachers is very vital for getting objective advice.
2.In our case, the adult mentors have pointed us in the direction of award. They have nominated us for individual awards as well.
3. An application for a team award should be very simple. Many of the team awards allow 8-10 kids to be a part of the team. I strongly feel that the whole team should pool in their individual efforts to make a strong application. Having said that, there is a catch. Some of the team applications have individual pages, where every team member must write about his/her personal contribution/individual role in the project. Every team member has to be very honest and write accurately . If the team is bigger, maybe the team can consult an adult mentor to check the credibility of the individual pages. The awards committee will not care who has done what, they look at the overall accomplishment as a team. On the individual page, one needs to write a first person story rather than saying WE. You have to stick to what you have done.
4. If 2-3 people have done a task together, then it it best to write their names along with yours instead of being ambiguous and writing we.
5. Applying to individual awards is rather simple. Most of the top awards need a nomination. One of the teachers or adult mentors usually nominate the students. In my opinion,it is also okay to approach a teacher asking for a nomination if you think you have a strong case.
6. More than one person from the same team can apply for the individual award. Anyone can apply for the individual award. You don't need permission from the team but in my opinion, it is a good idea to inform the other teammates that you are planning to apply for the award. Here the accuracy is vital. I can't stress this enough. Individual awards will be based on what that particular person has done. You can't write what the team has done. That would be wrong. If an individual stretches the truth, the whole credibility of the project will be at stake. To give you an example, I was nominated for Brower Youth Awards 2009. Though I am the leader, I can't claim that we raised $15,000 in two year. The word we is very ambiguous. what I have to write is the team raised $15,000. Supposing I have raised $5000 under my leadership, I have to be very specific, and write something like under my leadership the team raised $5000 of the total 15,000.
7. Trust me, if your application is considered for the award, the committee will check the credibility of the application from several sources. There will be interviews, required references, etc. to back up your claim.
8. The number of years worked is very important. There will be eligibility rules. You will have to have spent a minimum amount of time before you apply. In most cases you need at least one year of service, unless you have done an extraordinary accomplishment, then I am sure you can make an exception. However, for team awards, you can be a new member, and if the other team mates agree, then you can be a part of the team.
9. The important thing is, you need to be able to defend your position on the project. One of you have asked me that you have raised $4000 or so, with no title. I don't think that you need to worry. In your individual application/page you specify that you have raised $4000 out of total $5000. I think you may need a mentor intervention if the treasurer or the financial director in charge who has spent 14 months on the project also claims that he/she has raised $5000 under his/her leadership.
10. About co-nominations for individual awards, My sister Apoorva and I are cofounders and we did not apply for any individual awards. We were nominated. I think this was possible because we were siblings living under the same roof. But I may be wrong. It might be a good idea to approach the Awards Committee before making the application ready.
11. On a final note, in my opinion, having adult advisers is the key step to the problem solving. They will be more objective and impartial. One thing to remember is, the committee checks the credibility of the application. As long as you stick to the truth, whether it is a team or individual award, you have nothing to worry about.
I hope this helps. Good luck to all of you for the upcoming awards/contests.
Sincerely,
Adarsha
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Fund Facts
Dr. Anuradha Rajput with Adarsha and Apoorva at the 2009 International Eco Hero Awards Reception on October 24, 2009.
.JPG)
Hello Blog Followers,
This is Apoorva Rangan. I thought of addressing the fund raising issues in this post in response to several comments and questions. First of all, I am very happy to inform you all that we have been successful in fulfilling the financial obligation of $15,000 towards the phase I and II of our project. I would like to take this opportunity to thank two very important people from our advisory committee for our success. First of all, Mrs. Michelle Lacourciere, executive director of Sirona Cares foundation, sponsored our project to attain a nonprofit status. This was a big deal for us. We could not have done this by ourselves, because we learned that the annual operating cost of a nonprofit organization itself is very expensive. As Sirona Cares foundation handles that for us, any funds we collect directly goes into our project. Though this is remarkable, Sirona Cares is not financially sponsoring our project. We need to come up with the funds on our own. With the current global recession, fund raising has been one of our main challenges.
As I am the cofounder of the project, and took the financial Director’s role from day one, I know how we have come up with every single penny! Ours is a unique project with a unique approach to fund collections. This is where Dr. Anuradha Rajput’s role comes in. She has been our financial anchor in India, in addition to being a member in our advisory committee. We started the project with a total sum of $650, which was the cash prize Adarsha won in the CA State spelling championship in 2006. By October 2009, we have roughly $15,000. Pretty impressive right? Firstly, Dr. Rajput guided us in the right direction. She researched the available awards in the environmental service area and nominated us. The first award that we won as a team was the 2009 T4PE Gold service award. The team (Adarsha, Callie and I) won $1000 together and we all contributed the entire cash prize towards the project. Next, she nominated Adarsha and me for The International Eco Hero award 2009, and the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes 2009 for which we both won a total of $500 and $2500 respectively. Adarsha and I donated that entirely towards project Jatropha. Very recently Adarsha won the Brower Youth Award 2009. He received a cash prize of $3000 which he contributed towards the project. So far, we have collected $7000 from the awards alone. We want to thank Dr. Adrianna Smyth for nominating Adarsha for Brower Youth Award. In addition, Adarsha also donated his annual earnings of $1200, and adding the $650 of his earlier contribution so far makes our total to $8850. I collected the rest of the $6150 from the generous donors in India introduced by Dr. Rajput. We’d also like to thank to our family and friends for their contributions toward our project. This is a short summary of our fund raising tactics.
Lately Callie and I have been exploring other fund raising opportunities. Callie suggested that we do a bracelet sale in the local schools! Not any bracelet, but ones that are popular in our project site. These are the colorful glass bangles that the rural women wear. I took Callie’s suggestion and contacted Dr. Rajput for help again. Luckily, she was visiting CA in October. She lives in Bangalore which is 120 miles away from the project site. As we needed the bulk supply, she took the help of 10 of the workers to find 200 bangles from 12 different shops. She packed them carefully and delivered them to us three weeks ago. Next step is to make the sale. We will let you know how this plan works out soon. Wish us good luck!
Here's a glimpse of the bangles!
~Apoorva
.JPG)
Hello Blog Followers,
This is Apoorva Rangan. I thought of addressing the fund raising issues in this post in response to several comments and questions. First of all, I am very happy to inform you all that we have been successful in fulfilling the financial obligation of $15,000 towards the phase I and II of our project. I would like to take this opportunity to thank two very important people from our advisory committee for our success. First of all, Mrs. Michelle Lacourciere, executive director of Sirona Cares foundation, sponsored our project to attain a nonprofit status. This was a big deal for us. We could not have done this by ourselves, because we learned that the annual operating cost of a nonprofit organization itself is very expensive. As Sirona Cares foundation handles that for us, any funds we collect directly goes into our project. Though this is remarkable, Sirona Cares is not financially sponsoring our project. We need to come up with the funds on our own. With the current global recession, fund raising has been one of our main challenges.
As I am the cofounder of the project, and took the financial Director’s role from day one, I know how we have come up with every single penny! Ours is a unique project with a unique approach to fund collections. This is where Dr. Anuradha Rajput’s role comes in. She has been our financial anchor in India, in addition to being a member in our advisory committee. We started the project with a total sum of $650, which was the cash prize Adarsha won in the CA State spelling championship in 2006. By October 2009, we have roughly $15,000. Pretty impressive right? Firstly, Dr. Rajput guided us in the right direction. She researched the available awards in the environmental service area and nominated us. The first award that we won as a team was the 2009 T4PE Gold service award. The team (Adarsha, Callie and I) won $1000 together and we all contributed the entire cash prize towards the project. Next, she nominated Adarsha and me for The International Eco Hero award 2009, and the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes 2009 for which we both won a total of $500 and $2500 respectively. Adarsha and I donated that entirely towards project Jatropha. Very recently Adarsha won the Brower Youth Award 2009. He received a cash prize of $3000 which he contributed towards the project. So far, we have collected $7000 from the awards alone. We want to thank Dr. Adrianna Smyth for nominating Adarsha for Brower Youth Award. In addition, Adarsha also donated his annual earnings of $1200, and adding the $650 of his earlier contribution so far makes our total to $8850. I collected the rest of the $6150 from the generous donors in India introduced by Dr. Rajput. We’d also like to thank to our family and friends for their contributions toward our project. This is a short summary of our fund raising tactics.
Lately Callie and I have been exploring other fund raising opportunities. Callie suggested that we do a bracelet sale in the local schools! Not any bracelet, but ones that are popular in our project site. These are the colorful glass bangles that the rural women wear. I took Callie’s suggestion and contacted Dr. Rajput for help again. Luckily, she was visiting CA in October. She lives in Bangalore which is 120 miles away from the project site. As we needed the bulk supply, she took the help of 10 of the workers to find 200 bangles from 12 different shops. She packed them carefully and delivered them to us three weeks ago. Next step is to make the sale. We will let you know how this plan works out soon. Wish us good luck!
Here's a glimpse of the bangles!
~Apoorva
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
The Global Significance of Project Jatropha
I have met several environmentalists in the past eight months during workshops, presentations, and conferences. Most of them are very impressed with what Project Jatropha is doing, but some of them have asked me how the project helps America when the project site is all the way across the other side of the planet. In order to answer this question, we have made some changes in the web site home page and I thought of making a blog post too.
Carbon dioxide emissions are local, but their effects are global. There are one hundred and ninety four countries on this globe, big and small; their boundaries are fixed but the air that they breathe is shared. No matter who contributes how much to the CO2 burden, all nations suffer together. The USA is one of the largest producers of carbon dioxide in the world, and if we don't start decreasing emissions and transitioning away from fossil fuels, the repercussions will be felt throughout the world. We are looked upon as a world leader but if we do not lead by example, we are destined to be followers. It is of the utmost importance that this transition starts now, because if emissions are not curbed significantly by 2050, then the tipping point of climate change will be reached. In addition, a transition away from fossil fuels is key to not only creating countless new jobs in green industries, but also in mitigating the impact of peak oil and decrease the amount of pollutants in our atmosphere. This is where Project Jatropha comes in. Jatropha curcas is a carbon sink, taking carbon dioxide out of the air and putting it into the ground. The bio fuel produced by the seeds provides a clean, alternative source of energy that not only helps reduce emissions, but also is able to be used in all kinds of vehicles. In addition, by providing an alternative crop to tobacco for rural farmers, the burning of large quantities of firewood, which releases large amounts of carbon dioxide, can be reduced. By demonstrating that biofuels can be produced in a sustainable and economical way, Project Jatropha hopes to start a mass movement to mitigate climate change across the entire world.
Sincerely,
Adarsha
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Thank You Note from Adarsha Shivakumar
I would like to thank Mr. David Brower and his family for creating this award.
I would like to thank the following people for their help with Project Jatropha:
Our Collaborators:
-Mr. Rajegowda, the secretary of Parivarthana
-Dr. Sudheer Shetty the CEO of Labland Biotechs.
-Dr. Geetaa Singh, Managing Director of Labland Biotechs
Our Sponsor of nonprofit Status
-Mrs. Michelle Lacourciere, The Executive Director of Sirona Cares Foundation
-My teacher Dr. Adrianna Smyth for the nomination.
-Mr. Doug Senz , my swim coach and most importantly my life coach who made me believe anything is possible
-Dr. Anuradha Rajput our financial anchor in India.
- Mr. Drew Gerber, CEO, and Mr. Shannon Nicholson, VP of Sales, of Wasabi Publicity for taking a genuine interest in our project and offering guidance and support to construct and maintain the presskit 24/7 free of charge.
- My valuable Teammates, Apoorva Rangan and Callie Roberts, without you, I could not have done this
-Sharon Smith, Program Director, New Leaders Initiative and Brower Youth Awards,
-Earth Island Institute and Celia Alario our PR guru for all their help, support, time, advice and patience.
-I am very grateful to the farmers who are willingly participating in this social experiment.
-Finally I thank all my friends , faculty of the College Preparatory School and the followers of the blog.
Sincerely,
Adarsha
Adarsha Shivakumar Wins the 2009 Brower Youth Awards
Youth receive Brower Awards for environmental work
October 19th, 2009
By Harriet Blake
As the Nobel Prize Committee noted in awarding President Obama with the Nobel Peace Prize last week, the world is in a better place than it was a year ago.
The world also is in a better place thanks to six young people who are being honored on Tuesday for their heroic environmental efforts. The 2009 Brower Youth Awards, sponsored by Earth Island Institute, will be given to:
•Sierra Crane-Murdoch, 21, of Vermont, for helping unite the movement to fight coal.
•Adarsha Shivakumar, 16, of California, who has put into place a biofuel solution in rural India.
•Diana Lopez, 20, of Texas, who started an organic food source in San Antonio.
•Hai Vo, 22, of California, for transforming food purchasing at the University of California.
•Robin Bryan, 21, of Manitoba, whose project protects 1 million acres of forest in Canada from industrial logging.
•Alec Loorz, 15, of California, who initiated Kids vs. Global Warming and is the youngest presenter of Al Gore’s “The Climate Project.”
Each award recipient will receive a $3,000 cash prize and be recognized at 10th annual Brower Youth Awards Gala in San Francisco. The Earth Island Institute, which sponsors the Brower Youth Awards, is a nonprofit group that recognizes people who come up with solutions to protect the planet. The common thread that connects the six winners is their youthful idealism and shared passion.
Taken from http://www.greenrightnow.com/ktrk/2009/10/19/youth-receive-kudos-for-environmental-work-via-brower-awards/
October 19th, 2009
By Harriet Blake
As the Nobel Prize Committee noted in awarding President Obama with the Nobel Peace Prize last week, the world is in a better place than it was a year ago.
The world also is in a better place thanks to six young people who are being honored on Tuesday for their heroic environmental efforts. The 2009 Brower Youth Awards, sponsored by Earth Island Institute, will be given to:
•Sierra Crane-Murdoch, 21, of Vermont, for helping unite the movement to fight coal.
•Adarsha Shivakumar, 16, of California, who has put into place a biofuel solution in rural India.
•Diana Lopez, 20, of Texas, who started an organic food source in San Antonio.
•Hai Vo, 22, of California, for transforming food purchasing at the University of California.
•Robin Bryan, 21, of Manitoba, whose project protects 1 million acres of forest in Canada from industrial logging.
•Alec Loorz, 15, of California, who initiated Kids vs. Global Warming and is the youngest presenter of Al Gore’s “The Climate Project.”
Each award recipient will receive a $3,000 cash prize and be recognized at 10th annual Brower Youth Awards Gala in San Francisco. The Earth Island Institute, which sponsors the Brower Youth Awards, is a nonprofit group that recognizes people who come up with solutions to protect the planet. The common thread that connects the six winners is their youthful idealism and shared passion.
Taken from http://www.greenrightnow.com/ktrk/2009/10/19/youth-receive-kudos-for-environmental-work-via-brower-awards/
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Importance of Fertigation in Jatropha Cultivation
Dear readers,
We decided to make a new post to emphasize the importance of water and fertilizer in Jatropha cultivation in response to the recent comment by Mr. Ihab Kenya. We admit that we are not experts in Jatropha cultivation. This summer, Apoorva and I received agronomic training regarding Jatropha curcas. We rely on the advice of scientists like Dr. Sudheer Shetty and Dr Geetaa Singh, who are considered to be experts in Jatropha cultivation. We have repeatedly advised our participating farmers that moderate irrigation for the first few years of plant's life is vital. The following YouTube video explains it better. I have also attached a part of our previous blog post to make my point.
Jatropha curcas CAN grow in wasteland or marginal lands-however, it will NOT grow enough or produce enough fruit to be ECONOMICALLY VIABLE. Like any other cash crop, Jatropha needs to have inputs-fertilizer, water (these two mainly in the first 2-3 years of the plants life, where it is still in the important growth phase) and maintenance. Farmers cannot expect to get something from no input. I cannot stress this enough (hence the use of capitalization at strategic points)-although Jatropha can grow on poor soils, it needs care like any other crop in order to achieve its full potential. Rest assured, Project Jatropha is having the farmers plant the high-quality seedlings on rain-fed, decent soils and has also provided the farmers with agronomic training to enable them to maximize the seed output of the plants given. It is imperative that wherever Jatropha projects are undertaken, especially in coordination with small farmers, that an emphasis is placed on the need to cultivate the plant if one wants to produce an economically viable quantity of seeds.
Part of this video clip shows the difference between Jatropha plants with irrigation and without irrigation. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5HkDhNleqQ
Sincerely,
Adarsha
We decided to make a new post to emphasize the importance of water and fertilizer in Jatropha cultivation in response to the recent comment by Mr. Ihab Kenya. We admit that we are not experts in Jatropha cultivation. This summer, Apoorva and I received agronomic training regarding Jatropha curcas. We rely on the advice of scientists like Dr. Sudheer Shetty and Dr Geetaa Singh, who are considered to be experts in Jatropha cultivation. We have repeatedly advised our participating farmers that moderate irrigation for the first few years of plant's life is vital. The following YouTube video explains it better. I have also attached a part of our previous blog post to make my point.
Jatropha curcas CAN grow in wasteland or marginal lands-however, it will NOT grow enough or produce enough fruit to be ECONOMICALLY VIABLE. Like any other cash crop, Jatropha needs to have inputs-fertilizer, water (these two mainly in the first 2-3 years of the plants life, where it is still in the important growth phase) and maintenance. Farmers cannot expect to get something from no input. I cannot stress this enough (hence the use of capitalization at strategic points)-although Jatropha can grow on poor soils, it needs care like any other crop in order to achieve its full potential. Rest assured, Project Jatropha is having the farmers plant the high-quality seedlings on rain-fed, decent soils and has also provided the farmers with agronomic training to enable them to maximize the seed output of the plants given. It is imperative that wherever Jatropha projects are undertaken, especially in coordination with small farmers, that an emphasis is placed on the need to cultivate the plant if one wants to produce an economically viable quantity of seeds.
Part of this video clip shows the difference between Jatropha plants with irrigation and without irrigation. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5HkDhNleqQ
Sincerely,
Adarsha
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Barron Prize Announces 2009 National Winners
"Boulder, CO, September 15, 2009 – The Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes, an award that honors outstanding young leaders who have made a significant positive difference to people and our planet, announces its ten 2009 national winners.
The 2009 winners of the Barron Prize represent great diversity from all across the country. Winners each receive $2,500 to be applied to their higher education or to their service project. The 2009 winners are:
The 2009 winners are:
Otana, age 15, of California, whose in-depth research on the harmful pulmonary effects of ozone emitted from some air purifiers has led to a ban on the sale of these devices in the state of California.
Katie, age 11, of South Carolina, who has rallied hundreds of community members to assist her in creating several large-scale vegetable gardens in order to help feed the hungry.
Alexander, age 18, of New York, who founded “New York To New Orleans” (NY2NO), a non-profit group that has organized 15 trips for nearly 500 students from 35 different NYC high schools to do volunteer work in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans.
Becca, age 18, of Utah, who created “AstroTots Space Camp for Little Dippers,” a free science camp for disadvantaged girls that is now offered in cities across the U.S.
Adarsha and Apoorva, ages 16 and 14, of California, who co-founded “Project Jatropha” to promote the use of the Jatropha plant as an eco-friendly and economically sustainable source of biofuel in rural India.
Emily, age 17, of South Carolina, who founded the “Need to Read Book Club,” a non-profit organization that has raised over $17,000 in order to buy and distribute nearly 4,000 new children’s books.
Jonathan, age 18, of Pennsylvania, who created “Helping Hunger,” a student-driven organization that “rescues” food from caterers and restaurants and transports it to soup kitchens and homeless shelters.
Sejal, age 17, of California, who founded “Girls Helping Girls,” a non-profit group that has trained over 5,000 girls in nearly twenty countries in tackling problems such as poverty, education, and health care in their communities.
Rachel, age 14, of Texas, who has written a book profiling non-Jews who rescued Jews during the Holocaust. Through sales of her book, she has raised $13,000 to help support elderly non-Jewish rescuers, most of whom are living in anonymity in Europe.
Sujay, age 15, of New York, who has invented a technique using genetically-modified bacteria to convert waste into ethanol at a fraction of its current cost. Sujay has also founded ReSight, Inc., a non-profit organization that provides sight-saving eye surgeries for disadvantaged children in Southern Asia.
The Barron Prize was founded by author T.A. Barron and named for his mother, Gloria Barron. "
We would like to thank T.A. Barron, the Barron Prize Founder, and Barbara Richmond, the Executive Director of the Barron Prize, for choosing us. We will be reinvesting the $2,500 back in to the expansion of Project Jatropha.
Sincerely,
Adarsha and Apoorva
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Answers and Explanations
Dear Dorris Eaton Families,
Thank you very much for your enthusiastic response. It's certainly a pleasant surprise. Mrs. Pentopoulos tells me that donations are pouring in, and this means a lot to us.
With regard to your concerns about the tax issues, yes, we have attained a nonprofit status due to the generous sponsorship of the Sirona Cares Foundation. Your donations are tax deductible no matter which project you plan on supporting. We have different projects which need your help. All the funds collected will go into one account, so if you are paying by check, please make the check payable to Project Jatropha.
The Global Call to Youth is the massive tree planting project. We are teaming up with Ms. Michelle Lacourciere, Executive Director of the Sirona Cares Foundation, our sponsor, to accomplish our goal. We are exploring all the possibilities to involve youth around the globe to participate in this project. One such effort is the planting of useful fruit saplings in orphanages and rural schools in Haiti, India, and in schools in low income neighborhoods in the Bay Area. We have already started this project in India. We have planted useful saplings in three rural schools near our project site. If you are particular about where your funds need to go, all you need to do is write an email to one of us and we will guarantee the funds will be used to provide saplings to the area of your interest. If you can sponsor more than 10 saplings for local schools and are interested in knowing the details about your sponsorship, we can even inform you what kind of saplings and where they are planted by a personal email. If you have any questions about the Global Call to Youth, please don't hesitate to send an email to me at adarsha@projectjatropha.com.
The Branching Out Movement is relatively new. This is involved with more humanitarian approach. For this, the Project Jatropha team collects clothing, flip flops and children books for the kids in orphanages in Haiti. Yes, these donations are tax deductible too. If you want more information about this please email callie@projectjatropha.com
I hope I have answered almost all of your concerns. We are very grateful for your donations. Please keep them coming.
ONE MORE IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!
Our Advisor, and partner Michelle Lacourciere 's work is featured in Silicon Valley Mercury News!!Please read the entire article by visiting
http://tinyurl.com/ybobwt4
Sincerely,
Adarsha
Sunday, October 4, 2009
What I've Been Thinking About Lately...
Start something new; think it will go one way, only to find it leads you down a totally different path.
Lately, I have been thinking about how much I have learned from working on Project Jatropha. Not about bio fuels, Jatropha seedlings, intercropping, but about people and their spirits. It is easy to see how we differ in our cultures, but not as easy at first to see the similarities. As I have learned about people who live far away, those with differing ways of life, customs, philosophies, I am realizing how much we are all truly the same.
No matter what our situation in life, people are able to be happy. I have learned that impoverished does not mean unhappy. There are many happy children in the orphanages; they are happy in their families, communities, and home. Their surroundings are what they know, and no matter how bad their life may seem to me, it is the life these children know. They smile, laugh, and play, rising above the impoverishment. It is this image that has taught me to respect all people, regardless of their plight in life. I have learned never to judge others.
Apoorva, my friend and partner in Project Jatropha took pictures of many of the children and women in rural southern India on their last trip in June. Apoorva had this wonderful picture of a very old woman, sitting alone on the dirt floor under a thatched roof, apparently with so little. I could see no running water, and no walls to shelter her. I felt so bad for such an old woman living in these poor conditions. Apoorva told me how this lady sits and sings. Again, very humbled. Try to think beyond your own perspective. TRY!
I have learned to respect the human spirit, because it is capable of having hope, and fighting to rise above life’s difficulties. The human spirit is truly amazingly optimistic, replenishing, and enduring; how wonderful a lesson I have learned from my work with Project Jatropha.
Humility learned from others.
One time when we offered shoes to children in an extremely rural area, we were turned down, they told us that these children had developed calluses on the bottom of their feet, and if they were to wear shoes and then not have them, their feet would bleed and blister. It seemed so obvious, but yet I never thought of it. Again, I was humbled. I truly feel humility at how little I know.
Through my work with Project Jatropha, I have learned of children who are orphaned and abandoned. Children who struggle to survive each day. They struggle with illness, malnutrition, and lack of water, shelter, clothing, and other basic needs. I am humbled by the good in people, those who help others and make personal sacrifices for others. The orphans in Haiti and India have wonderful selfless people there that are trying to take care of them. They have people like Michelle Lacourciere, Executive Director at Sirona Cares trying to support them in so many ways. She runs a foundation that works in third world communities to stop the progression of poverty and ecological destruction. In Haiti she has supplied children with medication and toiletries. She works with the Moringa Project that strives to reverse the effects of malnutrition. She has launched water projects to help orphanages have clean water. Through Michelle I have participated with Flip-Flop Fleet, an organization that provides shoes to impoverished children in third world countries. I have collected clothing, shoes, and funds from my friends and communities for children in Haiti and India. I have collected French children’s books for efforts in establishing Reading Rooms to encourage literacy and help children begin a love of reading. The more I do, the more I find needs to be done.
I have seen the beautiful faces of children in Haiti and India that have so little. How these images have motivated me to care, and to try and help. I am receiving less tangible rewards. Individual growth. Respect for others. Appreciation. Humility.
Much Love,
Callie
Lately, I have been thinking about how much I have learned from working on Project Jatropha. Not about bio fuels, Jatropha seedlings, intercropping, but about people and their spirits. It is easy to see how we differ in our cultures, but not as easy at first to see the similarities. As I have learned about people who live far away, those with differing ways of life, customs, philosophies, I am realizing how much we are all truly the same.
No matter what our situation in life, people are able to be happy. I have learned that impoverished does not mean unhappy. There are many happy children in the orphanages; they are happy in their families, communities, and home. Their surroundings are what they know, and no matter how bad their life may seem to me, it is the life these children know. They smile, laugh, and play, rising above the impoverishment. It is this image that has taught me to respect all people, regardless of their plight in life. I have learned never to judge others.
Apoorva, my friend and partner in Project Jatropha took pictures of many of the children and women in rural southern India on their last trip in June. Apoorva had this wonderful picture of a very old woman, sitting alone on the dirt floor under a thatched roof, apparently with so little. I could see no running water, and no walls to shelter her. I felt so bad for such an old woman living in these poor conditions. Apoorva told me how this lady sits and sings. Again, very humbled. Try to think beyond your own perspective. TRY!
I have learned to respect the human spirit, because it is capable of having hope, and fighting to rise above life’s difficulties. The human spirit is truly amazingly optimistic, replenishing, and enduring; how wonderful a lesson I have learned from my work with Project Jatropha.
Humility learned from others.
One time when we offered shoes to children in an extremely rural area, we were turned down, they told us that these children had developed calluses on the bottom of their feet, and if they were to wear shoes and then not have them, their feet would bleed and blister. It seemed so obvious, but yet I never thought of it. Again, I was humbled. I truly feel humility at how little I know.
Through my work with Project Jatropha, I have learned of children who are orphaned and abandoned. Children who struggle to survive each day. They struggle with illness, malnutrition, and lack of water, shelter, clothing, and other basic needs. I am humbled by the good in people, those who help others and make personal sacrifices for others. The orphans in Haiti and India have wonderful selfless people there that are trying to take care of them. They have people like Michelle Lacourciere, Executive Director at Sirona Cares trying to support them in so many ways. She runs a foundation that works in third world communities to stop the progression of poverty and ecological destruction. In Haiti she has supplied children with medication and toiletries. She works with the Moringa Project that strives to reverse the effects of malnutrition. She has launched water projects to help orphanages have clean water. Through Michelle I have participated with Flip-Flop Fleet, an organization that provides shoes to impoverished children in third world countries. I have collected clothing, shoes, and funds from my friends and communities for children in Haiti and India. I have collected French children’s books for efforts in establishing Reading Rooms to encourage literacy and help children begin a love of reading. The more I do, the more I find needs to be done.
I have seen the beautiful faces of children in Haiti and India that have so little. How these images have motivated me to care, and to try and help. I am receiving less tangible rewards. Individual growth. Respect for others. Appreciation. Humility.
Much Love,
Callie
Saturday, September 26, 2009
A Unique Experience with a dual role of a virtual farmer and plant pathologist
Pictures of microorganisms isolated from the seed coat of Jatropha Curcas
Gram Positive Rod
Gram Negative Cocci
Aspergillus
Rhizopus
Dear readers of our blog,
As we have received a couple of emails with inquiries about the training we underwent in Labland Biotechs in August 2009, we thought of sharing our experience. Labland Biotechs is a plant biotechnology company located in Mysore, India. It has a modern biotechnology lab and a green house for mass multiplication of different plants, including Jatropha curcas.They are our collaborators and advisers. They supplied the high quality Jatropha seedlings to the farmers and provided agronomic training. They have also made a commitment to buy the seeds from the farmers in two years. We thought of undergoing a training in order to get a first hand experience in Jatropha cultivation. It wasn't easy, but it was very educational. In the morning, we were virtual farmers getting ready to sow the Jatropha seeds. By afternoon, we were botany students learning about seed germination. The process involved softening the seed coats with a dilute hydrochloric acid solution in order to speed up germination. Next day we entered the farmers' world again as we created a batch of artificial soil that the seeds were planted in. The soil was a mixture of sand, red dirt, manure, and coconut husks, designed to supply plenty of water and nutrients to the seeds after they sprout. For a couple of days, we wore the masks of plant pathologists involved in isolating fungi that grows on Jatropha seeds. We have posted a couple of pictures of the fungi that we isolated. In addition,we wore the hats of a factory laborer and extracted oil from the dried seeds. Then, we became students of chemical engineering, as we learned the process of conversion of both regular, edible vegetable oils and Jatropha oil into biodiesel on both a commercial and laboratory scale. The training was a huge deal and by the end the day, we were extremely tired, but content. We are very glad that we underwent the training and developed a new respect for the farmers. We thank Dr. Sudheer Shetty, Dr. Geetaa Singh for giving us the opportunity to undergo the training. We also would like to thank Ms. Subina Narayan and Mr. Abignan Gurukar for training us.
Thanks for Reading!
~Apoorva and Adarsha
Gram Positive Rod
Gram Negative Cocci
Aspergillus
Rhizopus
Dear readers of our blog,
As we have received a couple of emails with inquiries about the training we underwent in Labland Biotechs in August 2009, we thought of sharing our experience. Labland Biotechs is a plant biotechnology company located in Mysore, India. It has a modern biotechnology lab and a green house for mass multiplication of different plants, including Jatropha curcas.They are our collaborators and advisers. They supplied the high quality Jatropha seedlings to the farmers and provided agronomic training. They have also made a commitment to buy the seeds from the farmers in two years. We thought of undergoing a training in order to get a first hand experience in Jatropha cultivation. It wasn't easy, but it was very educational. In the morning, we were virtual farmers getting ready to sow the Jatropha seeds. By afternoon, we were botany students learning about seed germination. The process involved softening the seed coats with a dilute hydrochloric acid solution in order to speed up germination. Next day we entered the farmers' world again as we created a batch of artificial soil that the seeds were planted in. The soil was a mixture of sand, red dirt, manure, and coconut husks, designed to supply plenty of water and nutrients to the seeds after they sprout. For a couple of days, we wore the masks of plant pathologists involved in isolating fungi that grows on Jatropha seeds. We have posted a couple of pictures of the fungi that we isolated. In addition,we wore the hats of a factory laborer and extracted oil from the dried seeds. Then, we became students of chemical engineering, as we learned the process of conversion of both regular, edible vegetable oils and Jatropha oil into biodiesel on both a commercial and laboratory scale. The training was a huge deal and by the end the day, we were extremely tired, but content. We are very glad that we underwent the training and developed a new respect for the farmers. We thank Dr. Sudheer Shetty, Dr. Geetaa Singh for giving us the opportunity to undergo the training. We also would like to thank Ms. Subina Narayan and Mr. Abignan Gurukar for training us.
Thanks for Reading!
~Apoorva and Adarsha
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Our New Logo!
Hello Followers of the Project Jatropha blog,
Adarsha, Apoorva, and I have decided that it’s time for Project Jatropha to have our own logo (shown below). I created about 10 different logos, and we choose this one because it shows our Earth delicately wrapped by a small seedling. In addition, we decided on it because our Project Jatropha symbolizes starting with small actions and growing to affect the entire globe. After all, our goal is to start on the small scale, and with trust, collaboration, and action build and build to spread awareness and change on a larger level. So, tell us what you think!
Thanks for following,
Love,
Callie
Adarsha, Apoorva, and I have decided that it’s time for Project Jatropha to have our own logo (shown below). I created about 10 different logos, and we choose this one because it shows our Earth delicately wrapped by a small seedling. In addition, we decided on it because our Project Jatropha symbolizes starting with small actions and growing to affect the entire globe. After all, our goal is to start on the small scale, and with trust, collaboration, and action build and build to spread awareness and change on a larger level. So, tell us what you think!
Thanks for following,
Love,
Callie
Sunday, September 13, 2009
A global call to youth by Project Jatropha Team
We are asking all youth from each and every corner of the globe to take responsibility and participate in the fight against climate change by planting at least one useful seedling. Let's plant one seedling at a time. You can start at your own backyard, school, or anywhere-you pick the place. If you try to understand the magnitude of the situation, and the difference that one action can make and how that action can influence others, then you can find a place to plant even one seedling. We are asking individuals, groups, organizations, schools to join us in this venture. If you do decide to do so, please let us know by dropping an email or writing on our blog so that we can include you as a participant member in this effort. We are setting a goal to plant one million trees in 10 years. Project Jatropha has kick-started this endeavor by planting 15,000 seedlings in Kirijaji and Thippalapura, two villages in South India. Please visit our web site to see the details. To help us achieve our goal, we will contact as many local schools as possible. In addition, we are also donating useful seedlings to selected schools which need financial assistance for buying plants. Please contact us and join the fight against climate change.
The ways in which you can help:
1.Planting seedlings and letting us know
2. Donating funds (which are tax-deductible, thanks to our NPO status) to purchase seedlings
3. Volunteering to help us plant in different schools
Sincerely,
Adarsha Shivakumar
Sunday, September 6, 2009
The Size and Effects of the Tobacco Industry in India
Adarsha and Apoorva with Puttaswami, a Tobacco Farmer near our farm in Hunsur in 2007
Apoorva and Adarsha with Puttaswami in 2009. We are trying to convince him to grow Jatropha in his farm by intercropping with Tobacco.
Dear followers of Project Jatropha,
The tobacco industry has such a hold in southern India, it's really hard to believe the scale unless you see the area itself. To give you an idea of the scale, the plot where Jatropha and ragi( finger millet) was around 30 by 120 feet. All the eye could see for miles in each direction was fields of tobacco. The scale of the industry means that all of the environmental impacts of tobacco get magnified as well. For instance, one kilogram of tobacco requires 5 kilograms of burnable material to cure it. Around 2 of the kilograms comes from cow pies, coconut husks, etc. However, the rest of the material is firewood. Now, when one considers that several hundred pounds of tobacco can be harvested per plot, one realizes that there is a lot of firewood is consumed in order to do so. Since even one village can have many acres worth of tobacco, it becomes apparent that vast quantities of firewood must be used, which consequently has profound effects on the forest. Right now the effects of deforestation are most noticeable on the edges of the nearby forest, where the wood is most easily accessible. I am sure that as the years pass by more and more of the forest will disappear. The deforestation and burning of the wood causes several problems, including large carbon dioxide and pollutant emissions, animal-human conflicts, and a loss of biodiversity. Let's not forget the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control which mandates the halving of tobacco production by 2020. The farmers are confused and they need help. We at project Jatropha are trying our best to provide alternative crops. As long as the farmers are open-minded, something will work out. We have to be optimistic.
Sincerely,
Adarsha
Apoorva and Adarsha with Puttaswami in 2009. We are trying to convince him to grow Jatropha in his farm by intercropping with Tobacco.
Dear followers of Project Jatropha,
The tobacco industry has such a hold in southern India, it's really hard to believe the scale unless you see the area itself. To give you an idea of the scale, the plot where Jatropha and ragi( finger millet) was around 30 by 120 feet. All the eye could see for miles in each direction was fields of tobacco. The scale of the industry means that all of the environmental impacts of tobacco get magnified as well. For instance, one kilogram of tobacco requires 5 kilograms of burnable material to cure it. Around 2 of the kilograms comes from cow pies, coconut husks, etc. However, the rest of the material is firewood. Now, when one considers that several hundred pounds of tobacco can be harvested per plot, one realizes that there is a lot of firewood is consumed in order to do so. Since even one village can have many acres worth of tobacco, it becomes apparent that vast quantities of firewood must be used, which consequently has profound effects on the forest. Right now the effects of deforestation are most noticeable on the edges of the nearby forest, where the wood is most easily accessible. I am sure that as the years pass by more and more of the forest will disappear. The deforestation and burning of the wood causes several problems, including large carbon dioxide and pollutant emissions, animal-human conflicts, and a loss of biodiversity. Let's not forget the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control which mandates the halving of tobacco production by 2020. The farmers are confused and they need help. We at project Jatropha are trying our best to provide alternative crops. As long as the farmers are open-minded, something will work out. We have to be optimistic.
Sincerely,
Adarsha
Friday, September 4, 2009
The startling connection between tobacco and village culture
During our stay this summer, we came across many interesting stories, which we'll soon be sharing with you one by one; however, we've concluded that the one we're about to tell you is the most shocking of all. The first time we heard this, we completely ignored it, thinking that the story was a gross exaggeration, or even a fabrication. But wherever we went, this story kept coming up from various sources. We'll narrate this story as one of the villagers. However, we cannot share the name of those involved to protect the confidentiality of the source(s). In rural India, almost all marriages are arranged. It's basically the boys' choice. The process goes something like this. Whenever there is a boy or a girl of marriageable age, it's mainly the parent's responsibility. The parents send words through friends and relatives in search of a groom or bride. Once they come to know there is an eligible match, the girl's side prays that the groom should agree to marry their daughter. Most of the time they aren't worried about what their daughter has to say. In the boy's home, it is a completely different story. This will be one of their choices. They don't even think they will be rejected. It's all up to them. If the boy says yes, the marriage will take place. If they say no, the marriage will not take place. Yet, this ISN'T the shocking part. This is where tobacco comes into play. All the farmers that grow tobacco need a license by the tobacco board to construct a processing barn and sell the processed tobacco. Everyone doesn't get this license, as one must have some economic status. Recently the issue of the tobacco license is very restricted. And the owners of these licenses have a sense of pride because having a license means that they're economically decent. In Hindu culture, most traditional families see if the boy and the girl's horoscopes match. It is very vital that the priest okay's the horoscopes. If the horoscope doesn't match, the relationship has no future (according to tradition). Interestingly, we found out from many SHG Members who have marriageable kids, they have a bigger problem than the horoscope match. The first thing the groom's side people ask is if they possess a....wait for it....tobacco license. We think that gives them a sense of assurance that the girl's parents can perform the wedding and possibly give them a dowry. As tobacco is THE crop all around Hunsur Taluk area, having a tobacco license gives the bride's side a peace of mind that they are in good shape and can be confident that they can find a suitable groom. They say they can sleep well at night knowing that they have a tobacco license. We never looked at tobacco cultivation with respect until this point. We were convinced that tobacco is the cash crop that is giving peace of mind to families who have many girls to be married. Now and then, we ask ourselves this question: if we plan on removing tobacco, what will we be doing to this aspect of the culture? Is the complete removal of tobacco a proper solution? How are we going to change a culture that is so dependent on tobacco? What do we do? We hope as we grow up we will find an answer for this question.
Sincerely,
Apoorva and Adarsha
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
The importance of pruning cannot be emphasized enough in this title
Dear followers of Project Jatropha,
I feel that pruning is so important, that it merits its own blog post-which should say something. Jatropha flowers are borne on leaf axils of new growth . For this reason ,optimum new growth should be induced with aggressive pruning ,especially in the first two years . So, in order to maximize the seed yield , Labland Biotechs has taught the farmers to aggressively prune the Jatropha seedlings at specific times. Aggressive pruning entails cutting off the young blossoms and sometimes stems so that the plant branches out more, which will ultimately lead to (exponentially) more fruit being produced. This is critical, since Project Jatropha wants to maximize the economic viability of growing Jatropha; otherwise, the project will not succeed. I also feel that an example would better illustrate the multiple uses of pruning. Parivarthana decided to do an experiment of sorts with 5 of the plants from the Phase I farmers-they got permission to use them, don't worry. What they did was grow the plants using all of the agronomic practices taught at Labland Biotechs, and then prune the plants. Then, the cuttings were planted, grown using the agronomic methods taught by Labland, and rinse and repeat the process for 8 months. From the 5 original seedlings, 35 plants were obtained (including the originals). That's pretty remarkable. This example highlights the other use of pruning, which is to create more Jatropha seedlings.
Sincerely,
Adarsha
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
The DEED Children are Amazing!
Adarsha, Mr. Shrikanth, Apoorva, and the children discussing Project Jatropha
The DEED Children dancing!
Apoorva and Adarsha with the DEED Children
Dear readers of our blog,
As mentioned earlier, the Project Jatropha team visited DEED, a child labor rehabilitation, residential school. I thought of writing a bit more about our visit. This isn't an orphanage per se. However, some of the children are orphans. The rest from disturbed single parent families. Mr. Srikanth, the director of DEED, is an extraordinary human being. I have never met anybody like him in my entire life. He has dedicated his entire life to helping these unfortunate children. He along with his coworkers go deep into the Nagarahole Forest many times in a year looking for indigenous people. They are mainly honey gatherers. He brings the children of these people to their center. Though the kids have no exposure to formal schooling, they are exceptionally bright. The kids speak their own language and are very happy and lively. They are also amazing singers! We have recorded some of their songs, which We will be posting on Youtube shortly. Just by looking at the shadow of a tree, they can tell the time pretty accurately! We were really surprised. They can identify medicinal plants and their uses. We would love to share a story of a young boy, Chandra*. He was around 3 years old when he arrived at the DEED center. He always carried a knife in his hand. Whenever he saw a tree, he used to make a specific symbol using the knife. He was a very silent child. Within three years, he has learned three languages (English, Hindi, and Kannada), math, and science. Mr. Srikanth predicts he will become a very famous individual because of his extraordinary intelligence. We agree! Now Chandra is attending formal schooling, where he is acing all the subjects, even beyond two grade levels. Who knows how many more Chandras are wandering in the forest waiting to be rescued, so that they can have a real chance at attaining their maximum potential?
*Name has been changed to protect his identity
Sincerely,
Apoorva
The DEED Children dancing!
Apoorva and Adarsha with the DEED Children
Dear readers of our blog,
As mentioned earlier, the Project Jatropha team visited DEED, a child labor rehabilitation, residential school. I thought of writing a bit more about our visit. This isn't an orphanage per se. However, some of the children are orphans. The rest from disturbed single parent families. Mr. Srikanth, the director of DEED, is an extraordinary human being. I have never met anybody like him in my entire life. He has dedicated his entire life to helping these unfortunate children. He along with his coworkers go deep into the Nagarahole Forest many times in a year looking for indigenous people. They are mainly honey gatherers. He brings the children of these people to their center. Though the kids have no exposure to formal schooling, they are exceptionally bright. The kids speak their own language and are very happy and lively. They are also amazing singers! We have recorded some of their songs, which We will be posting on Youtube shortly. Just by looking at the shadow of a tree, they can tell the time pretty accurately! We were really surprised. They can identify medicinal plants and their uses. We would love to share a story of a young boy, Chandra*. He was around 3 years old when he arrived at the DEED center. He always carried a knife in his hand. Whenever he saw a tree, he used to make a specific symbol using the knife. He was a very silent child. Within three years, he has learned three languages (English, Hindi, and Kannada), math, and science. Mr. Srikanth predicts he will become a very famous individual because of his extraordinary intelligence. We agree! Now Chandra is attending formal schooling, where he is acing all the subjects, even beyond two grade levels. Who knows how many more Chandras are wandering in the forest waiting to be rescued, so that they can have a real chance at attaining their maximum potential?
*Name has been changed to protect his identity
Sincerely,
Apoorva
Monday, August 31, 2009
A sciency look into the future
Dear followers of Project Jatropha,
Jatropha curcas is a remarkable plant that has great potential for biofuel production and will almost certainly be a power player in said industry for some time to come. However, there are other pioneering biofuel technologies that are proving to have great potential: namely cellulosic and algal biofuel technologies. Both technologies have the capacity to produce very large quantities of biofuel, far in excess of what Jatropha or any other first-generation biofuel plant could make; both technologies could theoretically replace a good fraction of the fuel needs of America, as detailed in a recent Scientific American article: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=grassoline-biofuels-beyond-corn#comments. However, such technologies are still at least 10-15 years away due to economic and logistical issues that must be overcome in order to make these sources of biofuel competitive. In addition, it will take some time for those technologies to be perfected so that small, uneducated farmers could afford and operate them. Project Jatropha, on the other hand, is easy to understand among small farmers, and, from a financial perspective, relatively cheap. Regardless, there is a high probability that cellulosic and algal biofuel technologies will be a part of the myriad of ways to mitigate climate change. Until then though, Jatropha curcas and other biofuels such as switchgrass can act as very effective bridge biofuels that can at least partially supply the fuel needs of society.
Sincerely,
Adarsha
Sunday, August 30, 2009
A Unique Experience at the Project Site
Hi Readers of our Blog,
I want to share a very interesting story that happened during my visit to the Kirijaji village in the early weeks of my visit. Mosquitoes are one of the BIGGEST problems i faced. If I remember correctly, during the first week of my visit, there was no rain. The land was dry and it was scorching hot, but the good news was there weren't any mosquitoes. After the first week it started raining cats and dogs! Most of the time I was completely wet and I did try using an umbrella, but the second day it gave up on me. My umbrella was swept away by the harsh winds and got stuck in a Banyan tree! The village kids found it very funny, but soon came to my rescue. They asked me if I needed their help to get the umbrella out of the tree. Honestly, I didn't they could help, considering the oldest one was 8. From that day forward, I said goodbye to my umbrella and started wearing my raincoat. Now coming to the point, with the rainfall came the mosquitoes. I had taken all kinds of inspect repellents used for camping. Trust me they are no match for the mosquitoes of Kirijaji! In two days, I looked like as though I had chicken pox. My mosquito bites were itchy, but painful as well. I tried several oral antihistamines and topical creams. Nothing helped! One of senior SHG members', Padmama, a sweet lady came to my rescue. She suggested that I apply the extract of one of the local herbal plants. I looked at her face with disbelief. I was thinking in my mind, how can this leaf heal my mosquito bite wounds, when the powerful, expensive medicated creams given by my doctor didn't do the job. She showed me how to use the leaves, but the method didn't appeal to me. I refused the first day, but my rashes kept on increasing as the mosquitoes bit me more and more. By the third day, I was desperate to try anything. Padmama was patient enough to tend to my rashes. She patiently took the extract and applied it to my bites. She also showed me another plant that which can act as a mosquito repellant. Within two hours, I couldn't believe my own eyes. My rashes had reduced considerably and the mosquitoes didn't bother me at all! No more new bites! If I had the authority, I would have given Padmama a doctorate degree! I don't know the botanical name of the plant. I was just happy my bites were gone! I wish Adarsha was there with me at that time to do a scientific analysis of the plant. Well, there's always next time! :)
~Apoorva
Saturday, August 29, 2009
The Overarching Goal of Project Jatropha
Dear followers of Project Jatropha,
As you all know, Project Jatropha is an undertaking that aims to aid poor farmers in the Hunsur Taluk region and alleviate rural poverty and environmental destruction. But it can be said that the real, overarching goal of the project is to provide an example to other members of my generation who think about taking initiatives in their communities. There are individuals out there who undoubtedly have incredible humanitarian or environmentally geared ideas, but who are not sure whether or not to actually take action. Yet, in such a time, when a perfect storm of crises (including, but not limited to the fresh water crisis, peak oil, climate change, poverty, resource depletion, massive amounts of environmental destruction, and overpopulation), there can, and must not be a shortage of good ideas and young people who will take the lead in building the infrastructure of a new, more stable, cleaner, and better earth for us and future generations. We must fix the problems that have accumulated due to the actions of previous generations, but in doing so must also create a better world for future generations. There is no second chance now, because the fate of the world, and all of its inhabitants, be they animal, plant, or human, rests within the hands of this generation. The cost of failure is extinction, but the price of winning is a better world for all, including the future generations. We owe it to them to give them an earth that is more harmonious, instead of a barren, tainted wasteland that we are so close to creating as I speak. Er, type. Actually, post, but you get the point.
Sincerely,
Adarsha
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
