My first photography assignment

My first photography assignment. Black & White Abstraction. I had to shoot about 140 pictures. Create a contact sheet out of that. Select 3 pictures I really liked and submit them for evaluation. I got a B-

I have the other two pictures here. Guess I shouldn't be quitting my day job any time soon :)

Quote of the day
"Photography to the amateur is recreation, to the professional it is work, and hard work too, no matter how pleasurable it may be."~Edward Weston

My Bangalore

Torrential rains over the last couple of days have left the city of Bangalore soaked. Once again, lack of drainage has left low lying parts of the city submerged. Suresh heblikar is an environmentalist from Bangalore. He squarely blames the mess at utter lack of planning and environment standards. I agree.

Kalyan Varma is a blogger from the Bangalore. He has a post titled I'm in Venice.

The Bangalore of the late 80s and the early 90s will always have a special place in my heart. The city was (is) called the garden city. Back then, the IT boom was just happening. Bangalore was not on the "radar" yet. The city had a charm to it. The weather was always pleasant and the heart of the city was lined by beautiful tall trees. Gardens you could walk in. Lakes you could admire. Small restaurants here and there that served some delicious South Indian food and that heavenly filter coffee.

That is then. This is now. IT has transformed this once charming city into a bustling business hub. Today, Bangalore is responsible for a third of the annual $17.2 bn software export. This success story has a sad side to it. Lop sided planning and city development. The city just couldn't cope up with the amount of people and the business that came in. Today, traffic jams, pollution and water scarcity have become an every day affair. Once upon a time, the city had over 200 lakes. That now stands at 60.

It is always heartening to know that there are folks who are doing something about it. Suresh Heblikar is part of a Bangalore afforestation and transformation effort in Koodlu and Koramangla. These projects are being carried out with the help of the Indo-Norwegian Environment Programme.

In the hope that there will be more Suresh Heblikars and that one day we will all get our Bangalore back.

Quote of the day
"Environment must not be a fashion; it must rather be a passion"~Suresh Heblikar

Blog Quake Day

Today is Blog Quake Day. This is a Desipundit effort to channel attention and much needed help to the earthquake hit regions.

Many employers are now matching any and all employee donations. Please do help
The American Red Cross Asian Earthquake Appeal
The Salvation Army South Asia Earthquake Relief
United States Fund for UNICEF
UNICEF, UK


Quote of the day (via Locana)
"Neither nature's fury nor human compassion recognizes political boundaries. It is in our culture to help one's own and one's neighbours in an hour of need"~ Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India

A riot of colors

Fall is finally here. It is my favorite time of the year. Although monsoon will always remain my favorite favorite.




Quote of the day
"How strange that Nature does not knock, and yet does not intrude!" ~Emily Dickinson

Against all odds

"Education is power. People can be trampled on if they are not educated. But if they are educated they can fight back"~Mukhtar Mai

Apathy is lethal. Is mere empathy also lethal ?

My Washington DC trip last week was again a successful "public transportation only" trip. I found the DC subway system very user friendly. Absolutely stress free. Plenty of time to read and reflect. Plenty of reflecting, I did. There was this one thing that occupied my thoughts. It was this photograph of a 50 year old Indian tusker. The photograph was taken by Yathin of Ichthyophaga ichthyaetus inside the Bandipur national forest.



A few weeks after the photograph was taken, the tusker was found shot dead. The tusker was shot, with a powerful muzzle loading gun, into its right temple, when it was drinking water. A 2.5 cm steel rod was used in the gun as a projectile.

Yathin is a passionate wildlife photographer. The news made him and all his readers very sad. I wondered if there was something that we all could do about it. I badly wanted to do something.

A few days later Yathin broke the news that the poachers were arrested . That was some consolation. But here is a shocker...The punishment for such a heinous crime is a fine of 10,000 rupees ( about $220) and/or 3 year imprisonment. I don't mean to insult peanuts, but this punishment is nothing but peanuts. Like Yathin says, true justice would be done only when the rich international gang behind it is behind bars. The only silver lining to the story is the fact that the local villagers and a few politicians helped arrest the criminals.

So what is my point ? My point is this...Everyone agrees that apathy is lethal. We all empathize. But is empathy enough ? The poachers would have escaped had it not been for the locals. Like the local villagers, can we the bloggers and readers do something ? Can we make a positive difference?

My search led me to Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI). Founded in 1994 by Belinda Wright, the society has been aggressive against poaching. The society has been maintaining a database of poachers and poaching incidents. Analysis of this information has helped nab several international smuggling gangs. The first thing we all could do is notify them of a poaching incident.

They also list the email addresses of influential leaders. They encourage everyone to take a moment and write a few words. It is estimated that only 2% of India is under natural forest cover today. Wildlife is under extreme pressure.

Every little effort matters in preserving whatever little is left.

The email addresses
Manmohan Singh. Prime Minister of India (pmosb@pmo.nic.in)
A. Raja. Minister for Environment and Forests (mef@menf.delhi.nic.in)
P. Ghosh. Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests (prodipto_ghosh@nic.in)

Or, one can adopt a conservation project. For donations & other information about WPSI please do write to wpsi@vsnl.com


Quote of the day
" Small deeds done are better than great deeds planned" ~ Peter Marshall

Solar Decathlon. Washington DC

The Solar Decathlon brought together 18 teams of college students from around the globe to participate in a solar competition (sponsored mainly by the US Department of Energy). Their aim... To design, build, and operate the most energy-efficient and attractive solar-powered home. For a week or so, the lawns of National Mall Washington DC was transformed into a solar village. I was there to see it all. Two words .... Very cool !

I have always equated solar homes to regular homes with solar panels on the roof. Not any more!. Little did I know about phase change materials and its use to store energy. Solar thermal collectors that directly heat water and the space inside the house.

Little did I know of passive solar energy and the importance of daylighting to save energy. Low emissivity windows. Energy Recovery Ventilators (ERVs) that use heat exchangers to transfer heat from outgoing air to the incoming air.

Simply stated...Architecture, design, simplicity, efficiency and technology all play an important role.

The 18 teams were judged on all those categories. University of Colorado's solar home was declared the overall winner. Cornell University and California Polytechnic State University stood second and third respectively

University of Colorado's key focus was modularity to promote mass production and use of natural materials to promote true sustainable construction. The materials used range from soy, corn, sunflower, canola and coconut. They are awaiting a patent on their remarkable biobased (soy) Structural Insulated Panel (SIP). They call it the BIOSIP.

The Cornell University's called its home the smart home with all its systems controlled automatically.

I found its grey water recycling system quite interesting. All of the water from the shower and bathroom drains are sent to a greywater filtration wall consisting of plants, gravel, and rocks. Filtration and landscaping cleverly put together.

Cornell students were most excited about their silicon gel based Energy Recovery Ventilator (ERV). It considerably reduces the energy required to cool and heat the house. Finally a noble use for silicon gel :)


In sharp contrast to Cornell, California Polytechnic relied less on automation. Their mantra was simplicity. Very few gadgets and controls. The design was more geared towards the warmer climate of California. It is designed to optimize solar gain in winter and minimize heat gains in summer. It gives the residents of the house almost complete control.

For the example the shade panels (as seen in the photograph) can be moved forward or backward depending on the season to let more or less sun in.


The common thread to all the 18 homes was a local climate centric design. The Canadians designed their home to withstand extreme cold winters. The Spanish design was in tune with the Mediterranean lifestyle. The team from Puerto Rico payed attention to their island life and locally available and renewable material.

While all designs were good, I felt one in particular was exceptional and did not get its due credit. New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) was the only team to incorporate Hydrogen Fuel Cells into the mix. Electricity from a roof-mounted Photo Voltaic (PV) system is used to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen through electrolysis; the hydrogen is collected and stored and later used to power a fuel cell. The fuel cell recombines hydrogen with oxygen to supply electricity. This system replaces all those acid filled "not so environmental friendly" batteries.

The best part of the walk-through was when a volunteer from the NYIT team said this,

"Hydrogen is the most abundant thing on our planet. We wouldn't have to go to Iraq to get it".

There was immediate applause and cheer from the crowd.

Every team emphasized the fact the technology and the concepts used in their projects are not futuristic. GE makes them, BP Solar makes them and Home Depot supplies them. The technology is available today.

One has to applaud these students for their effort. They plan to take these projects back to their college and their communities to spread awareness, increase adoption and in some cases help draft new legislation. Hats off !. It is such a shame that the media coverage of this event was almost absent. These students deserve better.

The US department of Energy website has a wealth of information at http://www.eere.energy.gov/solar_decathlon

Quote of the day
"What is the use of a house if you haven't got a tolerable planet to put it on?"
~ Henry David Thoreau

PS:
All the houses had arrays of roof mounted PV panels. Everyone except NYIT had arrays of batteries also to store electricity

South Asia Earthquake

So many dead. Every news site seems to be having a different death count. Tragic

In the aftermath of Katrina and the Tsunami, companies worldwide announced matching employee donation efforts. I am yet to see a similar response for the earthquake. I hope it happens.

These are a few of the relief agencies I found actively involved in the relief efforts.

The Indian Red Cross site seems to be having technical difficulties. They do not have an online donation program yet





Volunteers with UNICEF are on the ground providing relief. They do accept online donations.

New Hampshire. Live free or die

The first thing that comes to mind when you hear New Hampshire, is probably presidential primaries and elections. Right ?

Hart's Location with a population of just 37 along with Dixiville Notch are two counties that are among the first to vote and declare their results. And the media is all over it.

The tradition of midnight voting dates all the way back to 1948. Here is an interesting fact. Since 1996, the candidate who won the 37 votes of Hart's Location, went on to win the elections.

Having said all that, politics will be the last thing I will associate with New Hampshire. From now on, I will always think of the Green Mountain Ranges of New Hampshire, the water falls, the rivers, the farms, the lakes, the apples, the apple orchards and the friendly people.

Time just flew by and soon it was the last day. Like all trips, this one too had to end. On the way back, I stopped at a road sign that said fresh apples and cold apple cider. After a long day hike to Arethusa falls, the very mention of fresh apple cider made me giddy with thirst. Needless to say, the cider tasted yum.

The lady selling the cider asked me about my trip. I told her that I enjoyed every moment of it. I did wish, I arrived two weeks later. In time for the fall riot of colors.

Having gulped all the cider I could, I said my thank yous and good byes. I finally said, "You folks are so lucky to be living in such a beautiful place".

She smiled.

Million Dollar Toilet

People blog about books they read or movies they see. Me...I am going to blog about a toilet :)

I had mentioned my trip to Vermont earlier . The highlight of my trip undoubtedly was a visit to this million dollar toilet. It was featured in the NY Times about a month ago.



This is not just a toilet. It is a highway rest stop and a Vietnam veteran's memorial. It took about 6 million dollars to build it. Vermont has always been an environment conscious state. The toilet uses a state of the art, living organism based water filtration system. It purifies and recycles all of the waste toilet water.

The purification system is built by the company Living Systems Inc. The system consists of a series of modules. The used water goes through an anaerobic reactor, anoxic Reactor, biosolid holding tank, covered aerobic reactor, clarifier and hydroponic tanks. True to its name, a good amount of the clean up work is done by plants and bacteria.

In addition to the unique filtration system, the entire facility is heated and cooled by geo thermal heat sinks. Wow !

Critics of the project have questioned the high cost and the very need for such a thing. While the cost is high, I feel large scale adoption could make it a very viable and affordable solution. After all, water is a very precious commodity.

It makes me wonder if such a thing would work in India.Water is getting increasingly scarce and water conservation needs to be top priority. Faud Lokhandwala and Dr Bindeshwar Pathak are two innovators trying to revolutionize public toilets. Will try and find out what they have to say about all this.

Anyway, this is one toilet that puts "cool" back into flushing.

Vermont. Green mountain state

I swung by Vermont and New Hampshire last week. First stop was Vermont. True to its license plate, Vermont is indeed a green mountain state. Everywhere you go and everywhere you look, you will find mountains and mountains lush with greenery. I was like a kid in a candy store :)



For the most part, I stayed off the beaten path. One could go hours together not seeing a single soul. No traffic lights and definitely no Walmarts, Costcos and other eye sores. Every now and then one passes by an idyllic farm. The cows and the sheep would raise their heads curious to know who was passing by. They, like me, seemed to be enjoying the weather. The weather was a soothing cool. The morning mist would linger around making the mountains look even more majestic. Fall, just around the corner. The trees just waiting to burst into colors.



I have a few more pictures here . The highlight of the trip was a visit to the million dollar green toilet. All that and much more in my next post.