I am not a nature guy. Neither am I a photography guy. But, this post _might_ smell of those elements. Ignore such thoughts.
Of the many things that contribute in making IIT Madras "IIT Madras", one big factor is the deers deer and one relatively lesser but more prestigious is the blackbucks.
When I came here four years ago, I remember someone with the mike saying that there are 11 blackbucks on campus: 7 male and 4 female. I remember thinking then, that it pays more to be a male blackbuck in the insti than a male student. Damn you JEE! Anyway, the count of the deers deer, if I remember right was put at 40.
One fact that was said then but somehow gets lost in the woods often is that IIT Madras is the only university in the world to be in a reserved forest. (No, this post is not about IIT Madras and it's glory. Patience.)
Past month, staying here, I noticed there were many more blackbucks (and one whitebuck - too :P ) and deers deer than I had ever seen. It was a comforting sight because these animals were said to be on the brink on extinction and that insti is not a viable enough eco-sytstem for them. Armed with my phone - I did snap a few pictures. There is only as much you can shoot with a 2 MP camera embedded in your SMS-device! And while I was capturing the pictures, my friends found it to be 'amusing' and 'gay' that I, after staying here for four years, was taking pics of deers deer.
The following are the different pics I took at different times on different days. FYI, deers deer are the ones with the spots. Blackbucks are the ones without. Unfortunately, my photography has lead to spots on both. IIT Madras has often benefitted from the legacy of the forest:
All our Shaastra, Saarang articles begin with "It is that time of the year when the woods are buzzing with [Insert Shaastra-ish or Saarang-ish word]". Most of our brochures, howsoever small the number may be, would mention "sprawling 650-acre campus set in the forests". The Director could make jokes about the monkeys - the ones living inside the room and ones on the trees. Our nature-conscious GATE-clearing students get to complain of dogs attacking deers deer in a mail addressed to all the 5000-odd people on campus.
Monkeys are not featured in this article. I am thoroughly pissed with them because they broke a wash-basin in the bog. It is a totally different issue that there has hardly been any water in the one that has managed to survive:
Prof. A: "You know what? Vikas was supposed to get a Nobel prize for his ppt, but last minute he got pipped." (Prof. A to Prof. B, with all his sarcasm in the world, when I just entered the Viva room.) Me: Sir... Err.. Umm.. Err.. Okk.. Sir
Prof A: "Ya ya, Vikas will make a good ppt. So be very careful!", throwing caution to everyone in the room, for no real reason. Me: Sir... Err.. Umm.. Err.. Okk.. Sir
"Vikas, I don't want a sales pitch. Better show me some meat." Prof. C after looking at my first slide. Me: Sir... Err.. Umm.. Err.. Okk.. Sir
"So, you are basically saying that if we decrease usage of vehicles, we can save energy. Thats all?" Prof. A after I had explained for over half-an-hour on how we can save energy in the transportation sector. Me: Sir... Err.. Umm.. Err.. No.... Sir
Me: "Sir, there are two sides to the climate debate...." Prof. A : "That everybody knows. Tell me what you have done." (It's unfair! It's not common sense!) Me: Sir... Err.. Umm.. Err.. Okk.. Sir
Prof. A."You went and worked with economists and became one yourself. I wanted you to convert them to technologists!" Me: Sir... Err.. Umm.. Err.. Okk.. Sir
Prof. C. : "What you said over the last 20 minutes is just common sense. Show me some mathematical models" Firstly, it was NOT common sense. I swear by god. Secondly, and I quote myself "But Sir, my company did not want me to develop mathematical models, they just wanted a framework." Prof A. : "But that is what I want you to do: change the way they work!" Me: Sir... Err.. Umm.. Err.. Okk.. Sir
Prof. A.: "Just because you are thanking me, don't think that I will give you extra marks", when I was at the Acknowledgements slide. Me: Sir... Err.. Umm.. Err.. Okk.. Sir
Prof. B : "You should put the source of data in every slide, unless ofcourse you deliberately want to confuse us.." Prof. A : ".. which he is very capable of." Me: Sir... Err.. Umm.. Err.. Okk.. Sir
*************** Well.. you win some, you lose some.
It won't be a herculean task to figure out who was the BOSS today in the viva committee. And who was looking like a big big loser.
Well.. you win some, you lose some.
PS: Fellow mates can add their quotes in the comment section, or let me know so that I can add an _update here. :-)
PS2: An old post on quotable quotes from Inter-IIT Sports Meet 2007 can be accessed here
To my Dad, who has given me much much more than a middle name, here's wishing a Very Happy Father's Day and a lifetime of health and happiness!
To the CEO of my life, here's acknowledging his contribution in making me, me.
PS: I don't think I can ever pen my thoughts about my dad - it is just too pure, and yet too complex a relationship to be expressed through the mere medium of words.
One. I was walking from SAC to ICSR after attending some counselling intro talk for JEE. There was this dude (to be on the safer side, let me call him uncle) who was showing off a *pistol* tucked in his trouser. You don't see such things often in the insti. I don't think you are meant to. I reckon he was a parent who had come down for counselling of his ward. But, it was evident that he had no intentions of hiding his little equipment. Anyway, after a momentary shock, I thought I should take a pic and upload it here! :-) And so I did.
Two. No prizes for guessing where this second pic is from. Though, you may warrant a guess as to whose hand it is in the picture. And which new brand of cigarette has just entered the market. Looking at the pic, I could have written another article titled 'How cigarette is clogging our system', but I think I am about 40 years away from that. For now, it just amused me!
I think it is an amazing marketing strategy to sell black-coloured cigarettes. It is an instant differentiator. Perhaps, if it was not black - I would not have remembered it and the guy/girl in the pic who bought it would not have bought it in the first place. Will we soon see pink and yellow coloured cigarettes also? Or do we already have them in circulation?
PS: I am also wondering if I will be getting anonymous commenters giving me gyaan on how IITians are addicted to cigarettes and all that. And how we are plundering tax-payers' money. And how we are a burden on the nation. :-P
Ok, anonymous, CHILL. I am just kidding. .And no, ofcourse not, we are not arrogant and pompous. :-)
Following is an article I authored for the Energy Bulletin of IIT Madras. It is a beginner's guide to understanding the hype and the ballyhoo of climate change and green energy.
My previous article titled 'At The Crossroads: India's Energy Demands' can be accessed here.
---------
More than 10,000 people from about 200 countries of the world will meet later this year at Copenhagen, Denmark in what has been touted to be the most important meeting ever to address the growing issue of global warming.
Convention of Parties (COP) – 15, as it is called, is a forum where leaders and policymakers from all over the globe will meet and decide the future course of action on the impending doom of climate change. Kyoto protocol, although a significant legislation, never could satisfy the environmentalists and they complained of political ill-will towards climate change mitigation. The United States which is the largest contributor of greenhouse gases in the world, was never party to the Kyoto protocol. This fact is often used by critics to undermine the effectiveness of Kyoto protocol. China, the second largest emitter was not bound by Kyoto protocol to reduce its emissions. The Kyoto protocol covered countries responsible for only 29 pc of global emissions, leaving out countries like US, China and India. The very scale at which the treaty operates made tracking and verifying governmental actions and claims impractical.
The 2 degree Celsius barrier:
The academia is unanimous in its opinion that a more than 2 C rise in global temperature from 1990 to 2050 will have adverse effects on human population. Some scientists warn that CO2 levels must be kept below 350 ppm (or about 1.5 C increase in temperature) to avoid serious impacts. Current levels are around 386 ppm, growing at an annual rate of 2.1 ppm. 450 ppm levels offer a 50 pc chance to keep the temperature change below 2 C and scientists argue that a 50 pc chance is not good enough when dealing with climate because the effects could be catastrophic.
The current scenario: developing v/s developed nations
Optimists are betting their money on COP 15 to evolve a new consensus among the nations of the world. They are hoping that the Obama administration, along with the other leaders of the world, takes strong and concrete steps. But there are already signs of discord. Developing countries like India and China demand that the rich countries decrease their emissions levels 40 pc below 1990 levels by 2020. The rich countries, which benefitted from an earlier industrial revolution, should take more drastic steps than developing countries which maintain that strong climate change sanctions could hamper their economic progress.
Japan, a leading emitter or GHG recently announced that it intends to reduce its emission levels by 15 % in 2020 as compared to 2005 levels. Critics argue that this is not enough and such shallow commitments by rich countries will not drive countries like India and China towards stronger action. Japanese government, on the other hand, defends their decision by arguing that Japan is already a very carbon-efficient economy and any further increase in efficiency will be unrealistic. Japan emits less relative to other major economies. Though it has the second largest economy, behind the US, it ranks fifth in global emissions, behind US, China, Russia and India.
The European Union has committed to 20 pc reduction by 2020 as compared to 1990 levels and by 30 pc if other rich countries follow suit. The congressional panel in US recently cleared a bill that aims at a 6 pc reduction in CO2 levels from 1990 to 2020. Overall, the developed nations have offered to reduce their emissions by about 8pc to 14 pc, whilst a reduction of 40 pc by them is required to carry any real hope of mitigating the change. Clearly, the developing world is at loggerheads with the developed nations.
FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS:
Another important consensus that needs to evolve at COP 15 is the architecture of financial instruments needed to curb climate change. The Kyoto protocol adapted a cap-and-trade mechanism. Cap-and-trade mechanisms put a ceiling (cap) on consumption/production of a commodity and then the involved parties can trade the sanctions. Kyoto protocol imposed upper limits on carbon emissions for about 37 developed countries (called Annex-I countries). The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) was the preferred cap-and-trade mechanism adopted at Kyoto which allowed Annex-I countries to trade Carbon Emission Reductions (CERs) with developing countries (called non-Annex I countries).A CER is a carbon credit which is equivalent to a reduction of 1 ton of carbon dioxide.
The Clean Development Mechanism and why it is not the solution:
The intentions of the CDM were noble – impose continually stricter sanctions on rich countries so that they shift towards a greener economy and in the process, the developing nations benefit from the green investments. In order to earn carbon credits, the rich countries would invest in developing countries, thereby enabling technology transfer. All the nations of the world therefore had economic incentives to reduce carbon emissions.
However, recent research suggests that CDM has been very ineffective in reducing carbon emissions. The market architecture of CDM stresses on carbon credits as a tool for mitigation. The private players in the carbon credit market have suitably taken up “low-hanging” projects to generate carbon credits – projects that are easy and cheap to execute but which do not significantly aid sustainable development. It has been reported that of the CER production, 51 % are from HFC destruction and N2O capture that do not deliver any sustainability benefits.Also, when developing countries themselves would have sanctions in the future, all the cheap abatement options would already have been exploited by the rich countries, leaving them at a disadvantage.
Interestingly, the carbon market is predicted to be the largest commodity market in the near future, slated to rise to $400 billion by 2012 -2015 from about $ 11 billion in 2005. Critics describe this as a “market for hot air” and accuse legislators of creating an artificial scarcity when none existed. With such a huge financial value attached to the market, industry lobbyists are working hard to retain the CDM. The CDM is particularly prone to manipulation by politicians and polluters. Also, given the advanced stage to which countries have committed themselves towards the CDM, it is highly unlikely that the COP 15 will see any major changes in the architecture of CDM.
A Carbon Tax regime: advantages and bottlenecks
The cap-and-trade is a quantity-based approach. A large fraction of economists and environmentalists advocate the use of price-based mechanisms. Experts suggest the use of a “carbon tax”, as a pigovian pollution tax for a global public good. There will no country emissions quota, no trading and no reference period. It will be a tax on services and goods that will increase every year at a rate commensurate with desired abatement of emissions. Although the intricacies of this system are complex and need substantial discussion to be agreeable across the countries, it offers many benefits. Al Gore says “tax what you burn and not what you earn” – he advocates the implementation of carbon tax, while reducing other taxes so that the consumer has a disincentive when buying a gas-guzzling car or coal-produced electricity as against a hybrid vehicle or hydel/wind power.
There are two major roadblocks for the carbon tax. Most of the arguments against it have come from a “it’s a tax and therefore it is bad” crowd. Taxes have never been welcomed by politicians for a fear of backlash from the public. Secondly, it is the unwillingness of a consumer to pay a higher price for a product although it translates to an overall saving over years.Consider the incandescent light bulb v/s CFLs debate. Although the CFL offers a longer lifespan and consumes significantly less energy than a light bulb, people tend to choose the incandescent light bulb because of its cost, which is a fraction of that of CFL. It has been estimated that the average US household might need to pay about $ 1500 per annum in 2020 if the government imposes such legislations. The average consumer responds only to economic incentives. Governments, therefore, have a strong role to ensure that there are adequate economic incentives for the consumer to switch to cleaner and greener products.
India, for one, has fared very poorly in this respect. Reva, the revolutionary electric car from a Bangalore-based company emits about 60 pc less carbon per kilometer as compared to other cars in the market. It costs about Rs. 4 Lakh against a Maruti which costs about 2.5- 3 Lakh and the new Nano which’ll be around 1.2 Lakh. In spite of the lower cost per km and lower emissions per km, Reva has managed to sell only about 1000 cars in India. Interestingly, Reva has sold about 2000 cars abroad in countries, many of which offer incentives for such environment-friendly products.
Cheap GHG emission reduction possibilities:
McKinsey & Co. in a recent report has identified developing Asian countries to possess about 60 pc of the world’s cheap GHG abatement potentials. These measures do not require any substantial investment and can be met with existing technologies. Measures like improving vehicle efficiency, better building design and greener power account for about 70 pc of low-cost abatement options. These measures require involve very little technology (like those in forestry or agriculture) or mature existing technologies like nuclear power and energy-efficient lighting.
Continuing on the same lines, a substantial public investment by governments (as opposed to private investments through CDM) will intensify the action to implement clean energy technologies. Past examples in the US - the JFK Apollo program in the 60’s, Carter Energy program in the late 70’s and lately the investment in security after 9/11 have accelerated the developments in those sectors. Governments across the world have to invest massively in clean energy technologies because no effort to achieve emission reductions will be possible without adopting cleaner energy over fossil-fuel based energy and currently low-carbon energy is significantly costlier.
Conclusion:
The COP-15 should develop a robust institutional framework for mitigation and adaptation, with enthusiastic participation from countries willing to take bold steps and embrace ambitious commitments. The stretch from here to Copenhagen is difficult and uncertain. It is imperative that the leaders and policymakers evolve consensus on mitigation practices and policies. Countries like the US need to own-up for their previous actions and lead the world in climate change efforts, while countries like India and China has a major role to play in deciding the future course of action. Copenhagen, in all probability, offers the last chance for the world to design a greener tomorrow and in these designs lay the fates of millions of poor people who are the most vulnerable to adverse climate change effects.
*******
The ticker on the side panel called 'Countdown to Copenhagen' is about COP 15. Should you need references, I'd be happy to share.
Of the few things that IIT Madras did not let me do in the past four years here, one was to let me interact with prospective students. But life came a full circle today. I am part of the JEE 2009 counselling here at the campus as a student counsellor - it is a true honour. And what an experience it has been!
So, there they were - hoardes of anxious students with the JEE counselling brochure.
What really struck me today was a fact that I had always known - the Indian higher education system, though extremely competitive and rigorous, does not equip you with decision-making tools. I could identify two very clear reasons. Firstly, parents are too protective of their children and essentially take all the decisions for their 'kids' even when they are 16, including important decisions pertaining to their careers. Secondly, the education environment does not encourage risk-taking, which implies that I would hesitate to take up an unchartered path.
Ofcourse, the students are not to be blamed. Atleast, not entirely. It has been going on for a good two decades that I have been orbitting the sun. Specifically, talking of the JEE - the system has been treated to be such a big monster to tame that once you clear JEE, most people think of it as an end. I did too, in all probability. Now here comes what I have believed to be the biggest drawback of the current JEE phenomenon:
The students slog their days away in their coaching institutes and burn the proverbial oil during the nights. For two long years. At 16, what you should really be doing is explore the world, meet new people, have newer experiences, learn the shortcuts of overcoming the vicissitudes, read books, play cricket, watch porn, ATTEND HIGH SCHOOL... these experiences equip you with tools to decide what your life holds out for you. They put you in a much better position to gauge yourself and take that extra step in the direction that your dad (and your neighbour and your distant cousin) would never approve of.
Unfortunately, we spend those precious two years - when our personalities shape up and our true character is formed - mugging derivations and solving the JEE 2001 10-mark questions. And that does manifest in rather unfortunate ways: your social behaviour patters tend to become obscure and in reality, you are ill-equipped to face the true world, outside IIT. (Ofcourse, the four years at IIT does offer umpteen opportunities to make amends).
Another striking realisation, rather re-realisation that happened today: there just is not enough information out there for people to take informed decisions. It is a very peculiar situation: you have to take probably the most important decision of your life and there just is not a guy you can speak to about it at length. Yes, the counselling is meant to dislodge this information asymmetry, but as a parent told me today "We have never heard of anything apart from Computer Science, Electrical and Mechanical, how can we then decide between Metallurgy and Naval Architecture." And ten minutes of talk with a prof or a student is just not enough! This leads to making the best of the situation - look at last year's rankings and decide. And because you hardly explore options, you fail to ask the right questions. Most questions tend to be: "Which is better, Mechanical or Electrical?" "What is the pay package?" and so on.
But. That is the stark reality. I do not see the status-quo changing any soon. So, while it is still possible, let me trip a little bit:
Highlights of the day:
A parent hinting to me if it is possible to get a seat 'through other means' - on the day of admission, if someone does not join, can you help me to get that seat.
A boy pops out from the blue with the Question of the Day: "Is Aerospace Nice?" Speechless at the amazing depth of the question, I stumble to my senses and ask "Nice? As in?".. then, he breaks all rules of logical argument and beats his own Question of the Day: "Is it easy?"
"Is IIT safe.. I mean.. security is good?" This was the point when my heart said "Ofcourse not, there are landmines all over the place; I just saw three people dying when I was coming from the hostel. And Al-qaeda is recruiting from IITM this year." but I ended up saying "Ofcourse Sir, not to worry" with a polite, plastic smile.
Most asked question of the day "New IITs or NITs?". Perhaps, the most difficult question to answer and I really do feel for the students - IT IS a tough one. I think they should give it as part of JEE. Too much choice has really spoilt the meal for these new guys. I posed the same question to a faculty member from IIT Madras who was representing IIT Hyderabad, his answer was "In four-five years, everything will become old".
In conclusion, (which is how GMAT expects you finish an essay) the experience was amazing - meeting new people, answering their queries and partaking in their decision-making process. But, saddened at the extremely passive behaviour of most students and because of which anxious parents take all the decisions for them - not a healthy sign. Nope.
PS: Saturday is the first day of counselling for General Category students and I am really looking forward to hard-sell IIT Madras! Will post soon.
I, like everybody else, have a mortgage to pay. So, they want me to get a 'pseud' job. These guys here will give me an engineering degree very soon and ask me to leave. Others outside want me to have fun while I still can. Some people here are lost, like most other people here. A handful few here see that light at the end of the tunnel. She wouldn't believe me, though she says she does. And yes, to top it all, there is global warming, which I am told needs to be stopped.
Here I am trying my level best at changing the world, being a Douglas Adams. And I am, to change the world, quigga! View my complete profile
Email me: vikas DOT shen AT gmail DOT com. A turn-around time of less than 24 hours is assured unless the mail amounts to spam or requires (very) deep thought.
