Chennai Corporation Makes Positive Promises - Hope They Keep Them

This link was sent by my old friend Kulasekaran, who often comments here: http://beta.thehindu.com/news/cities/Chennai/article1913.ece Like Kulasekaran, I am cautiously optmistic about this proposal. When the Chennai Corporation does decide to do something, it does it well. I remember growing up on Broadway (then known as Popham's Broadway) as a boy and of the squalor that became a part of the road in the 1980s and thence through the 1990s. Loansquare Park which I would walk past as a boy became a public toliet and trucks ("lorries" in the quaint Raj Era English that Indians speak) would be illegally aprked over there all the time. But, shortly before I moved to the USA, seven years ago, I chanced to ride through the road right from the Old Jail Road / Stanley Hospital end through NSC Bose road and I was surprised at how well it had been cleaned up. It was still more crowded than when I was a boy, four decades ago, but that is inevitable - India has a lot more people now than it had back then. What was surprising was how clean the place had become after the filthy mess that it had become in the 80s and 90s.

If the Chennai Corporation does a good job of using the energy of the sun in one of the hottest and sunniest places in India to power government buildings, I think it could do a superb job. Chennai does have some of the best educated people in India and its educational institutions are second to none in India. I would urge the Corporation to look not just at Corpration buildings but also to look at the Police Quarters in Egmore and at Broadway, the new wholesale market at Koyambedu etc. The State Transport Corporation could also use this form of lighting at the various bus terminii and at the Moffusil Bus Stand at Koyambedu. There are many places in Chennai which could use clean energy.

With my fingers crossed, I would like to invite visitors here to please watch this space!

Semi Finalists in a Tough California Clean Tech Contest

I was sent this link by my good friend of many years, engineer and entrepreneur in India, Kulasekaran, who is also a supporter of this blog and a frequent discussion participant here: http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/ariel-schwartz/sustainability/5-clean-tech-open-startups-watch The California Clean Tech Open is a major contest in an environment and technology conscious state, to support new businesses with innovative technologies, business plans and ideas etc. The five semi-finalists here could well become major corporations in the future and bring about a mini revolution (or a major one) considering that they have amde it this far in the contest.

Of the listed companies, the one that interests me the most in the potential that it offers for South Asia, is Armageddon Energy: http://www.armageddonenergy.com/ Their design for mount them yourself solar photovoltaic cells is something that could be extremely useful in the electric supply deficient cities and small towns in South Asia. While I am fascinated by the idea of do it yourself zero net energy homes like the Parco Homes designs: http://www.parcohomes.com/Parco_Homes/Parco_Homes.html unfortunately, I don't think that South Asia has the vision or foresight to look ahead at technologies like these. Parco are one of many companies with very interesting zero net energy home designs - I have written about others on this blog - unfortunately, this very good idea, is not likely to appeal to Jaikishan or Jahangir Average. And therein, lies a tragedy . . .

My thanks to Kulasekaran for sending me the Fast Company link. This is one more website that I shall make it a point to watch in the future.