Shit! It's actually money down the drain

While oil prices are going down internationally; energy experts are suggesting that rather than reducing price of petrol and diesel – which in turn will lead to a much higher fuel bill (negating the advantage) as well as more pollution – the interest of India will be better served by using the surplus to fund the upgrade of existing inefficient power stations and refineries; as well as fund research, development and build out of infrastructure that uses alternate renewable and nonrenewable energy resources. The experts have my vote on this one and I add that the surplus could also go towards building cleaner and better public transport systems. http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/technology/transportation/public-transit/

 I stressed on public transport system because it is easiest to convert to using alternate fuels. Recently Google stopped its research in renewable energy as it found that the cost of extracting energy from renewable sources is just not competitive enough in comparison to fossil fuels; and unless there was a paradigm shift in either technology or source – preferably both – it will be difficult to convert private users. To do so, money needs to go into research and vested interests are always there to make sure that money goes into making existing polluting technologies cleaner rather than work on a disruptive path breaking model. http://www.vox.com/2014/11/19/7247103/google-renewable-energy-research

Theoretically, nuclear power is the closest we have got to qualify as clean energy; but the dark side of its misuse and the control of efficient raw material to be used as fuel in the hands of few nations, makes it generally unviable. I cannot understand why it is so hard for people to realize that the pollution from a fossil fuel plant on a daily basis is far deadlier to millions than the dread of nuclear radiation to a contained population in case of an accident – which in statistical term has resulted in lesser deaths than air travel. If smaller and safer reactors were developed for civilian use; the threat of huge stockpiles of nuclear waste than can be processed for weapons too would go down to near zero as these materials are not easy to collect and transport. Well, India is doing the right thing by looking at increasing nuclear capacity with the help of the Russians.

India to build nuclear reactors with Russia - Al Jazeera

While it’s not practical in most countries; solar energy is being called India’s shale. With global warming India will probably receive more of it and taping it as a source of clean energy is a bright thing to do.  When a sunlight poor nation like Germany can extract almost 50% of its energy requirement from the sun, there is no reason why India cannot meet at least 25% of its energy requirements from the same source and at the same time cut down its pollution level significantly. But installation of solar plants is neither cheap nor space effective – especially in a heavily populated nation where land is required for agriculture as well to feed the billions. The most efficient technology in this spectrum too comes from the west. I am surprised that our IIT cadets can build billion dollar apps but have not been able to take a lead in this front to tap a source of energy that is abundant and free. (If any of you read it and work on it and succeed make sure to send me some shares for switching on this tube light in you). India should learn a lesson from Saudi Arabia that is already thinking ahead of the curve. While it sells expensive oil to the rest of the world; it’s thinking of harnessing solar power for its own internal energy requirements. http://cleantechnica.com/2014/08/13/saudi-arabia-beat-us-low-cost-solar-punch/

If the Saudis have abundance of oil and sunlight; we too have another free energy source that we flush down the drain each day – excreta. With a billion plus population we produce an abundance of “pee” and “poop” and that is an almost free, unending and rich source of energy. The western world is perfecting fuel cells which use hydrogen extracted from – yes you guessed it – shit. It’s like oil – nothing gets wasted. After extraction of hydrogen and useful gases, the waste gets turned into water, compost to give back to the plants that sustain us. Now this is not a shitty idea but one that can make shit loads of money for the first movers willing to get their hands in this muck. https://www.engineeringforchange.org/news/2012/11/21/ten_ways_to_put_human_waste_to_use.html

This is the technology that India needs to procure from the US of A; where there have been quite a few advancements in this field, but not enough is being spent to make it commercially viable. Think of a future where the utility bills are linked to the shit one produces – the real thing and not the figurative one which too is produced in abundance. Now, if only we could convert that into something productive; India would be a land of billionaires.

                             

On a different note - would this not be great for India? Will sort out a whole lot of social problems. 

         

http://www.thetypical.com/2009/07/your-car-is-about-to-get-pissed.html

Your Car is About to Get Pissed

A scientist has developed a catalyst that can extract hydrogen from urine and says it could be used to power hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in the near future. Garadine Botte hasn’t received much federal funding for her project, though she’s got some people in the Department of Defense interested. Now soldiers can work as a team to cool their overheated truck and then fuel it up.

One of hydrogen’s biggest stumbling blocks to use as an alternative fuel is the amount of energy needed to produce it. And then there’s the matter of distributing it. Botte says her gadget eliminates such problems because it’s small enough to integrate into an automobile. Urine is also readily available — your body produces two to three liters of it each day, and it is the most abundant form of waste on the planet. We could treat waste water while fueling our cars.