Official Blog: Voices of women in technology

Official Blog: Voices of women in technology

China’s Cancer Villages

Posted on February 27, 2013

The miracle economic boom in China has come with its own set of health disasters. Not only have the country’s main cities been affected by hazardous  pollution but industrial and agricultural boom has led to far flung contamination of ground water and air. The water and rivers across the country are contaminated with chemicals and sludge from industries and smelting plants . As more and more residents drink this toxic water cases of cancer are being discovered by the dozen in these cancer villages.

A huge rise in stories of cancer driven deaths in rural regions have become rampant and as the economy grows at breakneck speed the government is at its wits end, grappling with more and more environmental disasters. A Cleaning up act of pollution in urban areas by the government merely implies shifting and relocating the toxic industries to rural and far flung areas.

There has been a recent public outcry against rising cases of lung cancer caused by the pollution smog that enveloped cities like Beijing in early January. Cancer is now officially China’s biggest killer and one in every fourth person dies from cancer related death in the city. That’s an abysmal 80% increase in the mortality rate from cancer over the past 30 years. 

The issue has been addressed by environmentalists for a long time and in 2009, Deng Fei, an investigative journalist used the Google maps to plot out worst cancer hit villages in China. Communities and villagers that live close to Recycling factories for e waste showed highest incidences of cancer. They were exposed to carcinogens in the air and water supply. In other places where smelting plants exist, cases of lead poisoning are on the rise.  

But now, the new five year plan drafted by the government brings hope as the government has finally acknowledged the environmental disasters occurring in the country. The document states, “ “In recent years, toxic and hazardous chemical pollution has caused many environmental disasters, cutting off drinking water supplies, and even leading to severe health and social problems such as ‘cancer villages’”. 

The initial plan is to locate and clamp down those hotspots that have been identified as Cancer Clusters. Nearly 58 toxic chemical production plants face a possible closure in the near future. This step will hope to bring down the level of the occurrence in a positive way.

Asteroid and Meteors galore in this year 2013. While news of an asteroid whizzing by very close to the Earth over the Indian Ocean was viral, reports of meteors falling from the sky high up in the Ural mountains became top headlines. Had the two occurred together one can only imagine and fear the catastrophe of the aftermath. Scientists however reiterate that the two incidents are not connected.  

Lets begin with  the meteor shower. As millions of unsuspecting Russians drove to work around 9:20 am on the morning of February 15 2013, a meteorite entered the Earth's atmosphere exploding nine times starting at altitudes of 55 kilometers, this was seen as bright showers entering the Earth by people.The meteor was about one third the diameter of the asteroid 2012 DA 14 and eyewitness accounts state that it was brighter than the Sun with a trail blazing for almost 30 seconds before impact. 

The Russian military found a crater which was 6 meters wide. The Russian Academy of Science reported that the meteorite weighed 10 tonnes before it entered the Earth's atmosphere. Almost 1000 people are reported to be dead as news of many injured from the glass breaking shards still comes in. 

Its surprising though that with modern equipment and technology why the path of the meteorite was not detected. NASA later stated that the trajectory of the asteroid as well as that of the meteor were opposite to each other. While one was travelling North to South the other whizzed past in the opposite direction. Early detection and warnings certainly might have prevented the loss of life.

NASA however had early predictions of the Asteroid DA 14. This was first seen by the Spanish scientists early last year. The Asteroid DA14  went past the Earth's surface almost 27,357 kilometers (23, 230 miles) away and is said to have originated from the solar system's asteroid belt situated between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Live stream and much hype was related to this astral event as millions attended the event organised by NASA to watch the asteroids path as it whizzed past the Earth's surface.

As of now neither the United States nor Russia have equipment or the technology to prevent a meteor strike . There are ideas as to how to detect and deflect space matter . Some of the more brilliant ones are -

• Using a  Robotic Space Vehicle to gently change the path of the asteroid
• Dropping nuclear bombs on the surface or near the asteroid to enable it to change its trajectory
• Trying to melt it 
• Cooling it down with solar shields and finally ,
•  Flying a spacecraft close to an asteroid, which would exert a gravitational pull.

Green Future Technology

Green Future Technology

Recycling Paper

Posted on February 12, 2013

Recycling Paper is the process of turning waste paper into a new product. Typically recovered paper can put 80% of its contents into further use for recycling while 20% goes to landfills. For recycling, the recovered paper has to have no glossy ink and should not be coated with clay or any other material. This hampers the recycling process and does not produce the conventional scrap that can further be made into recycled paper. If we recycle paper we use 60% less energy than what we would use to make fresh new paper from wood pulp. We would therefore in fact be saving a lot many trees.

India lacks gravely in the awareness and the need to recycle paper. Annually only 20% of waste paper is recovered as the country lacks the collection, sorting and grading system of waste paper for proper utilization.In comparison developed countries have a very high recovery rate. Germany- 73%, Sweden- 69%, japan -60%, Western Europe-56%, the US -49% and Italy-45%.     

The Indian paper Industry uses wood, agricultural residue and some waste paper ( about 7%) to manufacture paper. The immediate need is to increase that percentage and to lessen the dumping in landfills by increasing recycling. 

Here are a few reasons we should recycle. 

• Recycling reduces GHG emissions and saves energy
• Paper Recycling helps in increasing the rate of Carbon absorption and slows the rate of Carbon release
• About 90 % of all paper pulp is produced from wood, recycling one tonne of newspaper saves one tonne of wood and recycling one tonne of printed paper saves slightly more than two tonnes of wood. 
• Recycling paper saves 14% of landfill space
• It requires less energy and water 
• It decreases sulphur Dioxide emissions
• Recycling one tonne of paper can save 17 trees
• you can power your TV for 31 hours by using energy from saving 1 tonne of newspaper
• Most papers can be recycled 8 times before being discarded.

Japanese plan to build a Wind Farm on the Baltic Sea near Denmark. This was confirmed by the officials who stated that the Wind farm would be built ten kilometers off the shore of Fukushima . This is the same place where the Earthquake with and intensity of 9.0 and a subsequent Tsunami struck Japan in 2011. The Japanese have sworn to replace Nuclear energy with Renewable energy. The Tsunami which took the life of millions was the biggest natural disaster ever to befall the Eastern shores. 

The most amazing fact is the attitude of the Japanese in the face of disaster. Having crippled back to normalcy the Japanese after the Tsunami have managed to reconstruct their economy and with an attitude change are finally making strides in sustainable development. They have our utmost respect. Having accepted that Nuclear energy poses great dangers and is a formidable source of uncontrollable energy the Japanese have decided that wind and Solar power will take them forth. 

The wind farm in question is the largest that will be built in the world.This new farm planned for Japan is expected to produce 1 gigawatt using just 143 turbines. The turbines will be placed on floating steel platforms which will be anchored to the ocean floor on the continental shelf. They will be kept upright and will be 200 meters high with a 200 megawatt capacity. The construction of this amazing wind farm will be completed in 2020. The Japanese have plans on becoming completely self reliant and energy independent from fossil fuels and nuclear energy by 2040. 

So great is the need and the ambition to adopt renewable energy that in addition to the wind farm, plans are also being drawn up for the biggest solar farm in the country. 

Green Future Technology

Green Future Technology

Gene Revolution-Boon or Bane?

Posted on January 16, 2013

Gene Revolution-Boon or Bane? How does a government feed a developing nation populated with over 1.22 billion people. Does it grow all the food, export more or adopt agricultural practices which are fast yielding and technically sound. Reading reports about food security in India from two controversial opinions can get a reader confused. After all, with so much information overload sometimes it gets difficult to form an opinion especially if one is not technically savvy in what is termed as ‘Gene/Biotechnology in agriculture’ language. 

A report in The Hindu suggests that genetically modified crops (or GM crops as they are called locally) being used by farmers in India should go back to the lab for further testing as these crops showed  high levels of toxicity resulting in serious health impacts. In a report published by scientific journal Food and Chemical Toxicology, long-term feeding trials on rats showed that females developed fatal mammary tumors and pituitary disorders while males suffered liver damage, developed kidney and skin tumors and experienced problems with their digestive system.

It is no wonder that in October 2012, a Technical Expert Commitee (TEC) appointed by the Supreme court of India issued a 10 year ban on field trials of genetically modified food crops. Basudeb Acharia, Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture opines that  GM (genetically modified ) crops  is not the panacea for food security in India. According to him, way back in the 1950′s we were producing 52 million tonnes of grain and are today producing 257 million tonnes without using GM technology.

So what is GM technology and how does one define Gene Revolution? It is the application of bio-technology in food production. It provides disease-free planting material and develops crops that resist pests and diseases, reducing use of chemicals that harm the environment and human health.

In India the process of using genetically modified crops began with the Green Revolution between the years 1960 to 2000. The then Minister for Food and Agriculture, Mr. C Subramaniam gave directives to farmers to use high yielding cereal crops which proved to be a boon for a nation close on the brink of a hunger disaster. India’s wheat yield increased more than threefold dramatically.

Clive James, founder and chair of ISAAA, has illustrated the importance of GM BT Cotton crops that have been delivered to India. These have brought spectacular benefits to farmers in the country.

Malcolm Elliot, the founding director of of the Norman Borlang Institute of Global Food Security says that he is deeply distressed by the outrageous claims made by the Anti Biotech groups in India who are campaigning against the use of this Green Technology . He further states that India’s consensus that gene techniques confer incremental toxicity is false and that newer and more precise techniques makes the product even safer. 

The debate on the pros and cons of genetically engineered/modified crops is universal and ongoing. The important question here is moving forward, by 2050 the world’s population will exceed nine billion and combined with environmental crises of producing food on less land with less water, few agrochemicals and less fossil fuels -how will the task of feeding the world be accomplished ?

Green Technology in the Future

Posted on January 15, 2013

Green Technology in the Future…..what do we mean when we say green Technology? Without sounding too technical and putting it simply , it means any technology that will use less energy and will be environmentally friendly. You have all heard of green products, green business and green buildings -today i want us to envision what the future will be like if we were to use Green technology. 

Green technology started in 1970′s as a reaction to the fact that oil prices were soaring and reserves and fossil fuels would run dry in the future.  Adopting a sustainable approach would certainly ensure a cleaner world for tomorrow. Green technology in the future is not about solar panels and wind turbines , it is in fact about the creative ideas and new areas of application of green technology. when the planet will be at the crossroads of a new upheaval…That is the time when these innovative green tech ideas will help us through.

• iFixit  with the help of Healthystuff.org analyzes the Chemicals in Your Cell Phone . According to the company all cellphones have components  made up of hazardous flame retardants, PVC, bromine, and heavy metals like lead, mercury, tin, calcium, and chromium. Many of them are hidden from the naked eye but can harm because of their toxicity. Given below is the result of the analysis on latest smartphones
  

• Solar Spray- A Norwegian company called EnSol AS is developing a solar spray which can be sprayed on windows converting them into Solar Panels…these can then be used to power your house by converting the Sun’s energy into energy. The spray is transparent so does not block out the light.

• TaHomA or “Total Home Automation”  promises to control the devices in your home by a touch on your ipad or iphone . It uses a professionally installed system called  ZWave  that talks to a central box. which is connected to your home via WiFi. Users can then control motorized shades, the thermostat and lights all from a single point.

• Powerleap- This company is harnessing the power of footsteps in public places with Spot( Self powered occupancy tag) its harvester energy from kinetic activity is sent to power wireless sensors where it is stored for use. Public places like train stations, parks, sidewalks and airports are some of the places where this can be used in the future.

• Smartphone to PMC (Personal Mobile Computers)- The future holds exciting new prospects or our smartphones, They will move to your wrist and take the place of the watch. They will become your interface to every other device or machine you interact with. You only only need to wear that wristwatch or information glasses or headsets to control everything from a single location.

• Information Glasses- Eye tracking companies like Tobii will combine their technology with Augmented Reality where by these Information Glasses will send back information of the object you are viewing to your PMC and will interpret your intent. The results will then be transmitted back to you helping you to make decisions. Also called Hands-free control of electronic devices the user not only uses the eyes to navigate, but also to select on screen. Such Eye control is used by people who have speech impairments or physical disabilities. 

So there you are , these are glimpses of the future and they are not just ideas but are projects in the making…..The future of Technology is sure looking a lot greener.

Human impact on the Environment.

Posted

For 200 years we’ve been conquering Nature.
Now we’re beating it to death.
~ Tom McMillan

We Humans who have been on the planet for only 200,000 years have impacted the planet in ways that is difficult to imagine. Our life which is a miracle in the universe appeared some 4 billion years ago and yet our species has succeeded in disrupting the balance so essential to this  life.

Our Earth relies on a balance where every species has a symbiotic role to play. This is a  subtle fragile harmony which we humans, are slowly disrupting. We have changed the face of the world . Despite being vulnerable we have taken possession of every habitat and conquered territories like no other species before us. By simply existing in the over consumptive way that we do ,we humans have left an imprint on the world. 

Information regarding Human impact is vast and difficult to assimilate yet i put down a part of it that has caught the attention of many…

Air —-

Perhaps the largest impact that we have had is on the very air that we breathe. Household combustion devices, motor vehicles, industrial facilities and forest fires are common sources of air pollution. The WHO estimates that about 2 million people die prematurely every year as a result of Air Pollution. Vehicular Emissions, aircraft pollutants, overuse of coal based industrial units, brick kilns, cooking on coal cooktops have made India to be the largest air polluter in the world. The effects are here to stay as rice crop yields in southern India are falling, the brilliant white of the famous Taj Mahal  is slowly fading to a sickly yellow and birds and species are severely affected declining to more than half in just 10 years. Vapi in Gujarat is the  most polluted city in the country according to Central Pollution Control Board’s interim report on May 21, 2012. Beijing in China has recently been declared the most air polluted city in the world. New Delhi, the capital is covered with thick smog in winters which arises from the 1000 cars being added daily to the city. Asthma, choking, blindness, wheezing and even lung cancer are some of the diseases on the rise.

Water—–

 

Few realise the importance of water reserves left on the planet and know just how much is available. It is no surprise that we use the supply without a second thought. Polluting our remaining 69% of freshwater supply with chemical pesticides, herbicides, and chemical fertilizers and contaminating it with fossil fuels and emissions from heavy machinery. This water impacts plants, animals and marine life, its acidity leading to acid rain. According to a report by the UN, 90 percent of wastewater discharged daily in developing countries(80 % of urban waste in India) is untreated. This leads to the death of nearly 2.2 million people a year from diarrheal diseases. The rivers in India especially the Ganga and the Yamuna are so polluted that the smog can be seen from Google Earth.

Land—–

Polluting the land we live on is nothing short of shortsightedness. Over years we will realise the mistakes we make today. Human beings have degraded the soil of the planet. Our present culture knows only how to consume and misuse the natural resources. Mismanaged urban sprawls, migrations to cities and exposed landfills cause the highest amount of pollution. We have cut our forests, run our topsoil and expanded our agricultural practices to the extent that we do have made it a habit to overuse resources without a thought for tomorrow. Plastics from industries which are chemical laden are producing toxins and illegal dumping of waste is affecting us all. Our country India, which has more than 5000 cities generates about 40 million tonnes of Municipal Solid Waste per year today. The disposal of this waste is considered the responsibility of the government, yet what are we to achieve without the joint effort of the billion citizens who live in this country today. 

What we don’t realise is that we will never truly destroy the planet, it adapts to our actions and will change continuously. It is us as a species that will suffer, will we change our environment in such a manner so as to drive ourselves to extinction?

All species have been living in natural surrounding for years, it is only recently that humans have adapted to living in an inorganic world. We need to feel the responsibility , how will it be possible to live without clean drinking water, to not breathe clean air and to not have abundant fertile soil. Empowering ourselves with valuable information is the first step in this direction and that is what this website endeavors to do.It is always good to do something with what you know ……so Happy Reading…

India’s Mission to Mars

India’s Mission to Mars begins this year i.e 2013. After the unveiling of the probe ‘Mangalyaan’ at the Indian Science Congress in Kolkata on January 6, the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh formally announced the launch of a Space Exploration Programme to the Red Planet Mars in November 2013. 

This unmanned Scientific Space Mission follows on the heels of the launch of Curiosity, NASA’s Rover which successfully landed on Mars on August 6, 2012. This Rover has been sending back information which will serve as the foundation for possible manned missions to the Red Planet. Packed with cutting edge technology this probe is able to explore the surface of the planet with ease trying to determine if Mars has any microbial life.

India’s Space programmehas completed 29 Space Missions and using the help of private investors, the country hopes to fulfill long cherished dreams of leaping forward in a Space Age second to none and also becoming the only Asian country to send a mission to Mars.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will provide the launch Vehicle PSLV  at Sriharikota. The goal will be to study the climate, geology and the sustainability of life on the planet.

These formal announcements of Space exploration have come under deep criticism from British and American media as an estimated Rs 4500 crores are to be spent on the project which critics believe could be spent otherwise wisely as India is a developing country and needs to address other critical issues.

The Prime Minister has defended the programme saying that the step will benefit the Nation  in the long run leading  providing huge returns on the investment. It will also inspire the young  and talented citizens to take up careers in Science and Technology. After all it is the right of every Indian Child to explore Space.

Countries like China, Japan, UK, France and the US have already forged ahead in their mission to send unmanned scientific exploratory probes to Mars and a new exciting mission awaits called Mars One. This mission is launched by a Private Dutch Enterprise, its goal being to establish a Human settlement on Mars.

A global selection procedure will kick off this year to recruit healthy, resilient, adaptable, creative and resourceful people for a 8 long training programme to travel to Mars. This team will carry 2500 kg of cargo to set up residence on the Red planet in what can be named the first dream voyage of its kind.

Climate Refugees are people who must leave their homes and communities permanently because of the effects of climate change and global warming. In a study by International Organization for Migration it is predicted that there will be over 200 Million climate refugees globally by 2050.

Climate change is caused by natural events as well as human activities but its more recent face that of Global warming is the most catastrophic one. Burning Fossil fuels, cutting down trees and forests have led to the increase in greenhouse gases which are trapping the heat in the atmosphere leading to world wide rising of temperatures.

Global temperatures are predicted to rise by as much as 7.2 degrees F or 4 degrees C by the end of the century. Rising temperature are melting polar ice caps and glaciers leading to flooding and rising sea levels. Seas are expected to rise to 2 feet  by 2100. 

The most likely areas to be affected immediately are Bangladesh and island states in the Indian ocean like Maldives. Rising sea level rise may sink all 1,200 islands of Maldives forcing all Maldivians to find new places to live. similarly Scientists predict Bangladesh will lose 17 percent of its land by 2050 due to flooding caused by climate change.  Other areas where climate-related resettlement projects are under way are in Vietnam, Mozambique, on the Alaskan coast, the Chinese territory of Inner Mongolia and in the South Pacific.

For arable land the rising temperatures spell doom as it will lead to desertification. Countries in Africa like Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea will be threatened by drought and starvation. Landlocked areas of  Darfur in Sudan is where nomads battle villagers in a war over shrinking natural resources.

The world’s governments and relief agencies need to plan now to resettle millions of people expected to be displaced by climate change.