Green Earth Day...

Someone calls it the 'Earth Day', someone calls it the 'Green Day'. Do we need to shudder and get scary with tomes of news on global warming? Some basic questions come to our mind, Is the world really heating up? Are all the takes on greenhouse gas emissions just void talk or is something really happening? Or is there concrete statistics to augment the catastrophes and tragedies that may occur because of global warming, the world's greatest environmental threat, ...right now?

One school of researchers and analysts, feel that the greatest global threat is neither environmental nor scientific, but a self-created political fiasco.

The problem here is not that of climate change per se, but rather that of the sophisticated scientific brainwashing that has been inflicted on the public, bureaucrats and politicians alike. Governments generally choose not to receive policy advice on climate from independent scientists. Rather, they seek guidance from their own self-interested science bureaucracies and senior advisers, or from the IPCC itself. No matter how accurate it may be, cautious and politically non-correct science advice is not welcomed in Westminster, and nor is it widely reported.

But the other school the covers the rest majority feels that, 'Yes' there is a change in the world: climatic, environmental, societal, ecological and in other related domains.

Let's not get into the complex web of questions and the mesh of answers that would spring up. Let's tackle or talk about something that is very basic and affects our life in someway or the other.

How does it feel for someone who resides in Bangalore, to drive back home in the late evenings or in the afternoon? Has the summer temperature risen? Do you feel the same as you used to feel in the night, say ten years back in the city of Bangalore, incase of a power failure? Lets not delve into metrological data to find a reply to these questions. We experience this everyday and even one need not be educated in basics of science to understand the underlying causes. Each one of us knows that there are some external factors, few man-made and few natural, that are acting in a devious way to cause this state of suffocation.

Can we avoid this?

Yes, we can avoid this. Avoid not by indulging in big talks and sessions, like take the case of the US President, Bush. This chap goes around the world stating that we need to do this, we need to do that, the fast growing Asian economy is the biggest chimney for the disaster. Contrary to this, the US adds more pollutants and toxins to the atmosphere and environment than any other nation in the world. Let me not digress here and stick to the pivotal point, that is each one of us as a responsible citizen can make a difference.

There is a lady in Bangalore, Janet who has planted more than 650 trees so far in the city which today witnesses ruthless mowing down of trees for broadening of roads and adding new physical infrastructure to meet the needs of a growing economy.

I also know of an interesting initiative, spearheaded by a team of nature lovers, that has gathered momentum in the city of Mysore. The team is known as FORT (Friends Of Roadside Trees) and to know more you can check its site here.

Even the IT and technology firms have taken proactive actions to contribute towards this endeavor in their own smart ways. A couple of days back, I read an article that states how Google partially powers its huge data centers with solar power, using the energy derived from the solar photovoltaic panels.

Recently Yahoo! launched a magnificent information portal that is a one stop center to gather info about climate change and environmental news. The Yahoo! Green website page has a number of tabs, each catering to a specific topic, Global Warming, hints to lead a Green Lifestyle, etc. Two of the biggest internet giants, with their game plans for a greener world and this tickles, Michael Arrington from Techcrunch with a curious question: Google vs. Yahoo, who cares most about the environment?

Last weekend, I was in IIMB for the Barcamp and there was an interactive session on 'innovation'. The intention of introducing the word 'excogitation' or 'innovation' is to highlight the fact that with a little bit of out of the box thinking, we can recycle and reuse for a greener planet.

It's simple, just ride a special type of tricycle to a local water source, fill water to a small tank in the back of the tricycle. Pedal back home and by the time you reach home, you get a tank of 20 gallons of filtered water and also in the process you didn’t add any pollutants or toxins to the atmosphere. Add to this, you even did physical exercise while cycling.

Watch the video to see how it works.



Keep reading and remain connected.

Today one word 'reading' in my usual blog signature 'Keep reading and remain connected.' triggered a debatable question. To me reading (other than news and blogs) is synonymous with having my own hard copy of the books. This corresponds to a simple equation, books need pages, pages need paper, paper need trees to be felled. So am I responsible? or Should I turn fast to be an e-book lover? I am confused now.

Engineer 2008, to enquire, create and innovate...

Formerly known as KREC Surathkal, and now with the new name National Institute of Technology, Karnataka (NITK), this institute is one of the best places in India to spend the college days. Apart from being a top-notch engineering institute in India and ranked as one of the best schools in this nation for engineering talent, this college is a fun place to be in.

Situated in a secluded place, far away from the Mangalore city, this small hamlet of Surathkal has a picturesque beach which is just stone's throw distance from the college campus. The salt laden winds, the smell of fish on the highways near the campus, living on a shoe string budget, the road side tea stall @ Krishna, the clean surroundings of red bench on the beach and the lighthouse, all these make the life at this place for a period of four years, a never to forget experience in the lives of those who graduate from this esteemed institute.

NITK hosts, an annual technical fest, 'Engineer' each year and over the years it has grown not only in volumes but also has been a platform for some interesting discussion to celebrate the spirit of engineering. It also highlights, the impact the engineers can make to the society. Engineer 2007 was a well organized event, which brought together students from more than 120 colleges from within India and abroad. The symposium attracted the talent across India and also a gamut of sponsors with prize money worth Rs. 9 lakh.

The highlights of Engineer 2007 were video conferences with world-renowned scientists, including Bjarne Stroustrup, the creator of C++ and Prof. John C Mather, a Nobel laureate in Physics. The Last Word, a debate about Government Expenditure on Higher Education, saw many eminent personalities discussing and debating on very important topics and the how the engineering fraternity should take more responsible steps. Prof. Deepak Phatak, Subrao Nilekani Chair in KReSIT, IIT Bombay and Dr. Anil K Gupta, Executive Vice Chairperson, National Innovation Foundation were some of the chief speakers at this event.



A workshop on building underwater robots by IURS (the Indian Underwater Robotics Society), a hardware workshop by Ashish Derhgawen, a young IT student from New Delhi was one of the most featured workshops. There were many such events and open house discussions. Events like these opens up new avenues for discussion and research and adds new dimension in the thought process of graduates. I personally feel that an event of such proportion has many benefits: helps students to plan and organize as the entire show is managed by a students committee, it helps to meet students from varied backgrounds and share ideas, and also makes students realize that there is a big world to explore outside, rather than settling for a career in the regular IT and services industry that paints a rosy picture in the pre-placement talks.

I also feel that this is most apt time for the students to explore as there are ample opportunities on the fray, the market is healthy and needs young blood doused with energy, innovation, entrepreneurship and ideas. To support my point, at the previous year's competition, few of the featured contests, were Mushaca, where participants were invited to create original software applications that could benefit from the use of a three-degrees-of-freedom mouse (pioneered by Dr. Tim Poston and Srikanth MB, IISc Bangalore) and Mock Stock, an online stock exchange simulation.

I feel that this year’s fest, Engineer 2008 will be even better, bigger and loftier., and all those who can make there, just rush to Surathkal, to Think, Create and Engineer. More details here..

Keep reading and remain connected.

(If you watched the video clipping, there was one line that I liked the most: 'The qualification if you wish to be innovative is not that you become front benchers but become back benchers'.)

Rush Rush to Head Start...

The Indian economy is on an upturn mode and there is lot of action and acceleration in various industries across varied segments. On a personal front, what I like is there are many people, at least the number is exploding who want to shake up the world of business and technology, driving away from serving in companies and starting something on their own. So if you are one such person or even otherwise someone who likes technology, business, ideas and innovation, make sure that you don't miss this Big Bang event Head Start happening from the 18th-20th Jan'08 at Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. Well if you are taking the auto rickshaw, to reach this place, tell the autowala Tata Institute as that's how this Mecca of research and technology is known to the common people.

Head Start is a showcase of most exciting products and technology in India, of course with a new color, goal, and impact and definitely has a broader goal and vision.


So what is that what makes this event exceptional and prodigious? In most of the existing showcase events, we often end up meeting people with ideas, VCs and entrepreneurs. That's definitely an Olympian concept. But at, Head Start, it has all these and also covers the entire innovation lifecycle in one place and under one umbrella. This means the participation is holistic from all the players in the innovation lifecycle: academicians, researchers, entrepreneurs, solution architects, marketers, large companies, technology geeks, venture capitalists and customers, etc. The synergy among all these discrete communities to discuss and debate is one of the focal spark points to accelerate the pace of innovation in India. There are many topics to be discussed across domains such as:

• Consumer Services
• Mobility & Communications
• Silicon & Embedded Systems
• Enterprise Applications and Development Tools

The Agenda tab on the main page of the site is a good place to get a bird's eye view. Do have a look and participate in this exhilarating event.

Have fun.

Keep reading and remain connected.