Global warming and the Kyoto Box

Covering Greenland's ice with reflective cloth, dumping iron compounds in the ocean to cause algae growth and reduce CO₂, putting thousands of small lenses into space to dim the sun's rays- these are few of the more radical ways that scientists have suggested to combat global warming. Impressive though they might seem, most of these ideas are just not feasible enough to be taken seriously.Yet the effects of global warming are increasing day by day, even as I write this. It is thus a situation where we are trying to clean up the mess we have made but seem to lack the tools for the job. And so, it's really heartening to see people coming up with simple little solutions to a problem which seems too large to contain. The Kyoto Box, developed by Jon Bohmer, is one such solution.

The Kyoto Box is probably the simplest, cheapest, most portable solar cooker ever.

It consists of 5 parts - two different sized cardboard boxes, aluminium foil, black paint and a transparent cover. The simplicity of its box-in-box construction can be clearly seen from the picture. The space between the two boxes may be filled with easily available insulating material like straw, and the cover helps trap the

heat inside(taste of your own medicine, Global Warming?!). The Kyoto Box can be used to purify water and cook food. It can be packed flat so that thousands can fit in the back of a truck, and given its low cost, might prove to be a boon to

millions who still use firewood for cooking.

The obvious advantages of using this innovative device include reduction in CO₂emissions and less deforestation, not to mention saving thousands who would otherwise succumb to smoke inhalation from indoor cooking( According to the WHO,1.6 million people die this way every year).

The manufacturers claim that temperatures inside the box can reach more than 150^oC on a sunny day, but even a temperature lower than 100^oC is enough to yield reasonably clean water and pasteurize food, as shown by the scale below.

Out of the box designs like the Kyoto Box are proof that we don't need to use cutting edge technology and spend millions to fight worldwide environmental crises. Of course, it is not a quick fix that will drastically reduce our impact on the planet, but it surely is one of the small but effective steps we can take to keep that impact in check.

About Me part II

A little piece I'd written as my 'about me' on orkut some time back-

Funny how your life gains meaning one moment and loses it the next.

And the more you dig, the harder and seemingly more pointless it gets. But its like Aragorn says,"There's always Hope". Because the time will come when you see the bigger picture-realize that in the end, everything always makes sense. You come to know that even the worst experiences have something to teach; and that the way you realize the true value of happiness is through pain,as of trust through betrayal, and of life through a brush with death. And slowly, very slowly,life begins to unfold, as you begin to see the world as a whole and not in parts- in countries, cultures, men, mentalities, and points of view...

The Nature of Change

In the last few years there has been a notable change in the attitude of young people in this country. Rang De Basanti re-introduced us to a side of ourselves which we had forgotten since our struggle for independence. Watching a bunch of seemingly wayward youth initiate a revolution, we suddenly became aware of the power we hold within ourselves. Events like the 26/7 floods, the 11/7 train bombings and the 26/11 attack made us see the urgency and importance of exercising this power. We now know that the youth of this country have tremendous potential and that within each of us there is a force strong enough to change the world.

But then why are things not changing, at least in the way and to the extent which we would like them to? We know what is wrong, we know that we have the power to make it right, and in spite of this we don't see things moving at the required pace. This great roadblock of stagnation just doesn't seem to budge no matter which direction we push it from.

But I think that's where we are mistaken - direction. We forget that 'change' is a vector quantity, which means-for those of you you who never paid attention in physics class-it has both a magnitude and a direction. Both these attributes are important. Yet in our fascination of power, authority and influence, we forget the responsibility that comes along with them.

The reason why no substantial changes are seen is simple. The majority of people in this country are dumbass idiots who know nothing more than to follow, obey, worship and suffer at the hands of the very people they helped to elect and glorify. And I don't mean just politicians. Cricketers, actors, businessmen and whoever else we thoughtlessly assume to be one of the 'good guys', are a part of this group. They all have power over us [ When actor Salman Khan was accused of killing black bucks and running over people with his car, it was pitiful to see schoolchildren protesting on the streets against his arrest. We do need to be more unassuming about these people.]

We gave them that power simply because most of us were impressed by them(the others were either bullied or just didn't care enough). Yet we knew that these people had no direction, except for that of their own twisted selfish motives.
The unthinking majority is so easily impressed exactly because it is 'unthinking', and that is what needs to be changed first.

The change needs to be directed; the power needs to be channelized., and for that, millions of minds need to be moulded - in the right way. The darkness of confusion has to be removed by the light of balanced righteous thinking.

I know that there are those of us who know they have the light. Those who know the importance of avoiding extremes when the world is going mad taking sides.

Those of us who know that anyone who tries to impress you by saying that he follows both Gandhiji and Hitler is just desperate for some attention.
Those who know that making a difference counts only as long as the difference is right one, irrespective of how big or impressive it is.
Those who understand the nature of change.

I think it is time for those of us to unite.

I Have A Dream

Waise toh I have many dreams and aspirations, but the one I'm about to describe is among the more daring ones. It also has more to do with the world as a whole rather than with me personally.

Now then. Looking at the present condition of India and the world(terrorism, corruption, poverty, etc), it might seem easy - even natural, to believe that all this will continue the way it is; that no matter how much effort anyone puts, we cannot make any significant changes in a situation that's going from bad to worse. Even if you set about gathering all the facts and gave the matter some serious thought, chances are you might come to the same conclusion. It all seems like a hopelessly entangled ball of string.

But I don't see it that way. For me, the world is still a beautiful place. Yes, beautiful. I believe that if we as humans are foolish enough to spoil it, then we as humans are also wise enough and capable enough to rebuild, restore and re-purify it. I dream of a world without nuclear weapons and terrorists; without discrimination and bias. A world without pollution and environmental degradation. A place where every child has an education, every youth has a job and every family a home; where every individual is learning to tap into his/her physical, intellectual, and spiritual potential and become a productive part of society. Where criminals are being convicted without delay by courts that uphold justice and humanity rather than laws and legislation.

A world where education teaches us to live and create happiness, rather than to just survive and make money; where people are quickly running out of reasons to indulge in things like thievery, fraud, murder, rape, terrorism, and war. There's a lot more, but I can already imagine you saying "Oh come on! Stop being so..."- Unrealistic?Impractical?Childish?Naive? It's called optimism actually, and if you're rolling your eyes now, then you need a good dose of it.

In the past I was one of those people who make sad profound statements under the pretext of being 'realistic' and not pessimistic. But over the years I have learnt that seeing the good side and believing in it really does make things happen. But will it work in the collective lives all the people in the world? Will it help us climb out of the pit which we've dug for ourselves? Can we save the world with some Optimism? There are only two entities that can answer these questions. One is the ever advancing arrow of time. The other is us.

P.S.
1. The title is that of Martin Luther King's famous 1969 speech. I'd die to make that kind of difference he made in the world. Plagiarism is not my way of impressing people. I just borrowed a title.
2. I took the picture with my Nokia 6300 outside Thane railway station in Feb '08, around 7:40 AM.

Open Book

Wondered why I named this blog Open book? Neither did I when I started it. Then a few days ago I wrote this poem which coincidentally also explains the blog name. Well the first part is not exactly a poem, but I don't write poems anyway so it doesn't matter.

Life is an Open Book Exam.
The Lesson is always there- right in front of my eyes.
Written on the face of every person I meet, scattered across my thoughts;
etched in every probe of my conscience,
hidden in every experience,
in every obvious and cryptic coincidence, in every twist of fate.
Scattered across my dreams; in lecture rooms, rain drops, and those pure delightful rays of sunlight.
Across every conversation and every confession.
In everything that went wrong and everything that went just right.
In every pang of guilt or envy, in every feeling of love.
In every insult and every hurt.
In every friend who stabbed and every friendship that could have been but wasn't...

(and now the bit that actually rhymes)

The hard part is to follow,
To do what I know is right.
To have faith in my instincts,
and not give up the fight.

But it's hard to keep the faith
in something I can't see.
Like in God or in the future,
whatever it may be.

What I need is inspiration-
perpetual as the sun.
To always come remind me
of all things to be done.

In search of such a brilliance
so far, I have been fruitless.
Although these diamonds in my path
surely can't be useless?

For inspiration is not found
in great epics or great tales.
It lies in the smallest things in life,
"God lies in the details"