Let’s cut our noses. Yes Prime Minister! October 31, 2009
Posted by Sunil Malhotra in Copenhagen, Global Warming, Nature, Sustainability, Sustainable Innovation, climate change, environment.Tags: Carbon emissions, climate change, Economic development, environment, Globalization, Greenhouse gas, India, Indian economy, Indian environment, International Energy Agency, Jairam Ramesh, Monsoon, United States
1 comment so far
Two of my favourite subjects here – the fascinating global warming debate and India’s bollywood style negotiation script. Hopenhagen is around the corner and will make Kyoto passe. We love being underdogs because like our movies, the hero comes from behind in a good-over-evil victory lap while the crowd applauds his heroic antics.
Two wrongs don’t make a right, and I fully intend the pun.
US spews Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) into the atmosphere when India sleeps. [Pat on back .. I'm getting good at puns]Now India wants America to pay for their long and sinful polluting behaviour. And guess what, if they don’t, we’ll have an equal right to kill the planet first so we’re even. That’s the craziest example of serving our self interests I’ve come across. It’s almost like saying that since I just found out that my neighbour has been raping my mother for 20 years, the way to punish him is by killing my own mother. (more…)
Uncapitalistic “Glacial” Innovation August 14, 2009
Posted by Sunil Malhotra in Design Thinking, Entrepreneurship, Everything 2.0, Global Warming, Innovation, Sustainability, Sustainable Innovation, climate change.Tags: Capitalism, climate change, cost effective, Disruption, environment, Freshwater, Glacier, Global Warming, Himalayas, Ladakh, Leh, radical innovation, social responsibility, Sustainable development
add a comment
Now this is innovation,
- disrputive, passion driven and socially responsible, sustainable & non-capitalistic - not what management gurus are touting.
- Chewang Norphel, Director of the Leh Nutrition Project.
Glaciers are the sole source of fresh water for the Buddhist farmers who make up more than 70% of the population in this rugged range between Pakistan and China. But rising temperatures have seen the icy snow retreat by dozens of feet each year — to find evidence of global warming, the farmers simply have to glance up from their fields and see the rising patches of brown where, once, all was white. Knowing no alternative, they pray harder for rain and snow.
But Chewang Norphel has gone beyond prayer. The 73-year-old civil engineer has come up with a solution that won’t exactly save the ancient glaciers, but it could stave off a looming irrigation crisis.
Norphel has created artificial glaciers, frozen pools of glacier run-off perched above the farmers’ fields … [read the full article here].
Highlights:
-
His innovation has been hailed as an elegantly simple and cheap [I'd substitute this word by 'cost effective']solution to a devastating problem.
-
Only local materials are needed, and the villagers themselves can build and maintain them.
I’m so inspired …
Related articles by Zemanta
- Global warming shrinks glacier at alarming rate (telegraph.co.uk)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_c.png?x-id=17fe4a4c-9bf8-4e21-88cb-589f86927bdb)
Paulo Coelho’s Counterpoint to my take on Climate change August 10, 2009
Posted by Sunil Malhotra in Business, Innovation, Nature, Perception, Sustainability.Tags: activism, climate change, environment, Global Warming, Mother Earth, Nature, Opposing Views, Paulo Coelho, Sustainable retreat, Thought leadership, Western Thought
1 comment so far
Image via Wikipedia
Over the weekend, my wife was reading my last blog post [Climate Change Bollywood Ishtyle] and, at the same time, Paulo Coelho’s – The Winner Stands Alone. I suspect she may have been hoping against hope that his literary talent will rub off on me through her! And guess what, she suddenly found herself reading about his take on climate change. Synchronicity? Disbelievingly I listened as she read out the following lines that, Coelho – through one of the central characters [Hamid] – professes. His take is quite the antithesis [counterpoint] of my view. It cannot be too good for my ego to even consider such a course but there’s something in there that’s worth a closer look. I have reproduced the lines here …
- Paulo Coelho’s blog
Whenever he [Hamid] reads articles in newspapers or magazines written by politicians using Global Warming or the destruction of the environment as a platform for their electoral campaigns, he thinks:
‘How can we be so arrogant? The planet is, was and always will be stronger than us. We can’t destroy it; if we overstep the mark, the planet will simply erase us from its surface and carry on existing. Why don’t they start talking about not letting the planet destroy us?
‘Because “saving the planet” gives a sense of power, action and nobility. Whereas ” not letting the planet destroy us“ might lead to feelings of despair and impotence, and to a realisation of just how very limited our capabilities are.’
I know this sounds crazy guys, but I can’t help agreeing with him. Sorry Mr. Ego, you’ll have to eat humble pie this time!!
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_c.png?x-id=03add918-c198-40d0-b885-4016194c80ed)
Tech things for granted. August 4, 2009
Posted by Sunil Malhotra in Everything 2.0, General, Leadership, Politics, Sustainability, Sustainable Innovation.Tags: activism, climate change, Consciousness, Earth, environment, Gaia, Gandhi, Recycling, social responsibility, Sustainable development, Sustainable retreat
2 comments
I met a classmate a couple of weeks ago after 20-odd years. He’s doing stuff at the leading edges of – you guessed it - 
IPTV. The passion with which he explained the potential of the technology, and what it could do, sucked me into a discussion of fancy features; about how we could provide seamless interactivity with the back ends of Amazon, Walmart, Nike, D&G, etc. and how people could order pizzas from the comfort of their TV couches without as much as lifting a finger (after all, you’d only have to press a couple of buttons on the remote handset to achieve the impossible).
Whoa! Not so fast folks. The next time you are relaxing and watching your favorite TV program — think!
Innovation 101 – “Enjoy life while you can” May 6, 2009
Posted by Sunil Malhotra in Innovation, Innovation 101, Leadership Innovation, Perception, Sustainability, Sustainable Innovation, Wisdom of the leaders.Tags: activism, climate change, environment, Gaia, Innovation 101, James Lovelock, Thought leadership, wisdom
1 comment so far
James Lovelock doesn’t think we will need innovation 10 years on. Not because the business world will find a new jazzword to hang their marketing spiels on but ’scarily’ because planet earth wouldn’t exist. According to Lovelock, by the end of the century, 80% of the world’s population will disappear and half of Britain will be under water. And to prove his point, the octagenarian is buying a ticket to outer space.
James Lovelock - Gaia Theory
Climate science maverick James Lovelock believes catastrophe is inevitable, carbon offsetting is a joke and ethical living a scam.’Therefore’, he says, ’Enjoy life while you can’ via ‘Enjoy life while you can’ | Environment | The Guardian.
This is one scary take on climate change and sustainable development. (more…)
