A Hotter Future Is Certain, but How Hot Is Up to Us.

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The ‘solar canals’ making smart use of India’s space

Solar energy is clean, but it usually takes up huge tracts of land. In India, an alternative is turning the country’s canals into glittering trails of solar panels.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com

So far, eight Indian states have commissioned canal solar projects. “These innovative projects can provide cheap and consistent electricity to millions of farmers and improve their profits,” says Jolly. And there is more potential to maximise renewable power from India’s canals, if solar farms above were combined with hydro-power from below, as researchers such as Sabah Usmani, an analyst at the Environmental Defense Fund, have suggested.
With their water-cooled efficiency, and mutual benefits for the canals that run beneath, it looks likely that these snaking, glittering solar canals will become a much more common sight in India.
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Lots of positives I am seeing these days

India is the world's 3rd largest consumer of electricity and the world's 3rd largest renewable energy producer with 46.3% of energy capacity installed as of October 2024 (203.18 GW of 452.69 GW) coming from renewable sources

just like France/Germany and US have added Nuclear power to renewables we have Hydro which is the leader. but the curve in solar is reassuring !

1920px-India_renewable_electricity_production.svg.png
 
:) anything new and someone will have a problem and the comments in that article themselves are representative of it !!

In a country like india EV vehicles are found to be very specific to cities but Hydrogen is being explored primarily as an alternative to Fossil fuel . I believe large Hydrogen plants are being setup by private players for specific use cases

There have been several studies here specifically from logistics, cost and infrastructure all of them leading to a long term Green hydrogen strategy as being good.

The US and most of europe are pushing more for Nuclear power , which has been redesigned as "Sustainable" despite there being no clarity on spent fuel radioactivity. Anyway electricity will be their most feasible option like the article above.

India's power is only 2% nuclear and an increasing solar/wind focus but simply not enough it might make sense to focus on an alternate source. I believe Arab nations, japan and even Germany and Spain are creating a Hydrogen focus along with india.

I am sure it will be a multi pronged strategy with different fuel for different cases. long distance like trains Hydrogen is a fantastic option.
 
True that most new discoveries are met with some scepticism at first, till they prove themselves to be practical and economical.
But it’s not an emotional decision, rather one to be made using science, economic viability and public safety. It is conceivable that advancements in scientific tech in the future could make useable hydrogen storage possible at less than cryogenic temperatures and thus worth investing in.
 

Ultra-fast chargers can refill electric car batteries in minutes​

Speedy new chargers from Chinese automaker BYD take just 5 minutes to restore 400 kilometres of an electric car’s range
www.newscientist.com

Ultra-fast chargers can refill electric car batteries in minutes

Speedy new chargers from Chinese automaker BYD take just 5 minutes to restore 400 kilometres of an electric car’s range
www.newscientist.com www.newscientist.com
 
"There are brave new alternatives being proposed, that move away from growth-based economies to ones that are just and equitable, which do not require us to live in austerity"

Its like asking an audiophile to give up his Pure class A tube Amp and take up class D :eek::eek:
 
arj said:
"There are brave new alternatives being proposed, that move away from growth-based economies to ones that are just and equitable, which do not require us to live in austerity"

Its like asking an audiophile to give up his Pure class A tube Amp and take up class D :eek::eek:
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Yes, age old conundrum: no pain; no gain
Sometimes it builds up like an unavoidable infected wisdom tooth extraction decision too. Excruciating pain till it’s done.😎
 
if it was about 1 or 2 or a small group of people or monarchy it might have been plausible. But since this a democracy the "Selfish gene" takes over ..so I am not betting on it :(
 
arj said:
if it was about 1 or 2 or a small group of people or monarchy it might have been plausible. But since this a democracy the "Selfish gene" takes over ..so I am not betting on it :(
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I was thinking that’s not a bad description of our current situation too 😊.
 
Well china is the closest to an autocracy..dont see them doing it.
India nothing ever gets done anyway since time immemorial.anything there is a protest and stoppage and a backtrack and back to square 1.
US orange will not do it, Fat chance.
Most of Europe is so busy going rightwing and their discussions on it that they dont have time for anything else...Putin has his foot in the accelerator anyway.
And LATAM have other existential problems as does Africa.
Maybe New zealand/Australia..but that wii not change anything :)

So earth will be safe, human beings will all die or find a way or colonize Mars under Grand Vazier E-Musk :D
 
arj said:
colonize Mars
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The above mentioned TV documentary (The Plants) is definitely a must watch then. Besides breathtaking visuals and a fantastic narration it underlines the reality of why the third rock from the sun is supremely unique in harbouring life and why others, including Mars are inhospitable and incapable of supporting life. Mass extinction events happen every few billion years and are beyond our control but a self involved species mindlessly causing one will be a first.

The fact that Oligarchs working hand in hand with despots to enrich and empower themselves elsewhere is a poor justification for us to follow the same path.

Unfortunately the (inconvenient?) facts are that we (all species, everywhere on earth) share the ecosystem that does not recognise national borders. The air we breathe, the water, the mineral ore and everything else we take for granted are all interconnected. It’s clear our current lifestyles and aspirations of a prosperous future are unrealistic and unsustainable if it’s based on plunder of natural resources to produce energy and wealth for all.

Droughts, extreme weather events and conflicts have caused huge human migration within and outside national borders leading to increased anti migrant sentiments, fear, protectionism, racism that enables despots’ rise to positions of power. They exploit the situation skilfully with a little help from their wealthy personal friends and propagandists. The disastrous concentration of power and wealth among a tiny minority is also kept out of public consciousness by distraction and deflection etc. (IPL, latest Bollywood scandal, language-culture fights and many more for our sensation seeking minds)

“The goal of the despot is to limit your imagination about what is possible without them, so you might never imagine more for yourself and the world you live in”. -Ashley C. Ford.

The sooner we look and see past the shortsighted rhetoric and gather the courage to think and decide for ourselves the better. But you are right, it does look bleak at the moment. However for the sake of our children and future generations the sooner we come to our senses the better. We do have choices. And I believe it has to start with the courage in reclaiming our personal moral compasses to guide us.

Abandonment of ethics and willingness to ignore what is right and wrong (that every religion teaches), enables us to justify anything and indulge in whataboutery, prejudice, fear and inertia. We may not share our consciences, but we cannot escape from our own whenever we finally acknowledge it.

The incredibly prescient Mohandas Gandhi one said: "There is enough for everybody's need but not for everyone's greed". While today’s situation is absolutely different from his lifetime this principle may still be relevant. Combined with sustainable lifestyle and consumption approaches it offers guidance on the way forward for us as a society and species. The transition and change is going to be inconvenient and often painful even (give up my car? Ouch!). We may not have all the answers to the perplexing questions but we are smart enough to understand all such actions however small or large we opt to consider.

Are we wise enough to start ? @arj, my friend, I know you are. Thank you for playing the devils advocate 😊

My apologies if I have offended anyone reading this. My intention is to draw attention to the larger scape, not offend.
 
At a deeply philosophical level , I found the books the Selfish gene along with Sapiens pretty insightful as to why are we what we are. in the end we are a collective Organization with selfish interests..hence the failure of Communism almost everywhere as "Some Animals are more equal" and a few the most equal

Advent of social media has made information and misinformation so widespread that anyone can believe what they want to believe and get any information one wants to prove it to oneself. In the end we all live in our own bubble/Bubbles reinforced by like minded group of people we prefer to interact with who promulgate the same within ourselves and hence strengthen that belief and very few extend thinking across to another "A bubble"

Since we are self regulated as a society and especially in a democracy the collective regulation is as mediocre as the public who votes ( who are statistically mediocre)..its sheer luck if any democracy get a collective leadership group who are progress oriented at least in some directions.


When the problem gets "bad enough" whatever that is, human ingenuity will do something ( Fatalistic thinking ? ) Our Future is dark or bright..but the next generation is brighter and will solve their own problems just like our own generation solved a lot of problems our earlier generation did.

Perhaps Wisdom is not to be too wise or intelligent but expect mediocrity ? Looking at how so called intelligent countries like Germany, Denmark, Dutch and South Korea are behaving..perhaps its better to keep expectations low and retain happiness :D
 
It's a sad thing that the relevant public authorities don't really care or value nature over here.
Just a few days ago I could see a large portion of trees on one of the hills near Goregoan in Mumbai shaved off I guess in the name of development. These hills are the homes to leopards and other wild animals and designated as forest area. But human encroachment is ever expanding at an inconvenience to other living beings.
 
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