Happy thanksgiving everyone. Today I am not only grateful for all the wonderful things in the world but also for God’s gift of life, this being my birthday. I am especially thankful to God for the love of my life and fiancé Nicole, for giving us two great leaders Obama and Manmohan Singh in these turbulent times, for all the wonderful things happening in the world towards building a sustainable future, and as always for the support of you all, my dear friends and family. Please remember to donate generously to your local food charities during these times of hardship. Yours, Sankar Random Thoughts (80) 11/25/2009 1. If you want to find information about safety and environmental impact of products there is a nice website called Goodguide.com that takes into account the impact of any particular product on the health, environment, on the workers who produced it (whether sweatshops or child labor was used, etc.,) . There is a new book out called “Ecological intelligence” by Daniel Goleman that talks about issues like lifecycle assessment of products, etc., 2. Teaching is not really about knowing the subject, or even having a passion for it, though both are essential. Teaching is really about understanding the audience. 3. (11/8/2009) The Rebirth of Pegasus: “Pegasus” is the Peugeot road bike that I bought used for $150 the same year as I moved to DC --1994. He is scarred, worn out and rusty in spots but man he can still fly. I have a special attachment to him because I have ridden him so much and there is no part of him that I haven’t taken apart and repaired or replaced. A few years ago I bought a hybrid bike with thick tires to ride on city streets and rough terrain (mostly the towpath – I don’t do real mountain biking). When I was away from DC in february-june of 2008 I had put away both bikes. After coming back I started using the hybrid because Pegasus needed some work. I enjoyed riding the hybrid, especially in the city, and due to various reasons never got around to getting Pegasus going again. Finally, after almost two years, a few weeks ago I got Pegasus out of his chains and cleaned him up a little. I removed the rusty chain and put a new one, with some moral support and a little physical help from my beloved. We went riding, she on the hybrid and me on Pegasus. But he still wasn’t completely alright because the back wheel was rubbing against the frame. It was like his hind legs were tied together and he was hobbling. Finally, today I managed to go to the same bike shop where I had replaced the back wheel (I did that when the original French wheel got stolen – the rest of Pegasus is almost all still French!). I told the repair shop overseer about it and he said the washer in the hub had worn out. He put in a used one for just $5, and it took only a minute! Elated, I got out and started riding. It was truly as if Pegasus was reborn. The weather was perfect for riding, with bright sunshine, clear blue skies and temperatures in the sixties. A lot of people were out riding. Pegasus reaches 20 mph effortlessly. I rode all the way down to Alexandria and had a little snack at the Mai Thai restaurant to celebrate. You may wonder why I write with so much sentiment about a bike. I have to say, you have to experience it to understand it. 4. (11/10/09) This is a great development [Thanks Francois for sending me]. Karen Armstrong and Rev. Tutu, two people I admire a lot, have started a movement to get all governments to observe the “global charter for compassion.” Their main point is that compassion and treating others as one would treat oneself is at the root of all the religions of the world. Here is the full story: http://www.cnn.com/2009/OPINION/11/10/armstrong.tutu.charter.compassion/index.html 5. (11/12/09) Another heart-warming renewable energy news: (From http://www.vortexhydroenergy.com ): A novel approach to extract energy from flowing water currents. It is unlike any other ocean energy or low-head hydropower concept. VIVACE is based on the extensively studied phenomenon of Vortex Induced Vibrations (VIV), which was first observed 500 years ago by Leonardo DaVinci in the form of “Aeolian Tones.” For decades, engineers have been trying to prevent VIV from damaging offshore equipment and structures. By maximizing and exploiting VIV rather than spoiling and preventing it, VIVACE takes this ‘problem’ and transforms it into a valuable resource for mankind. 6. Love is about getting rid of “me” and embracing “us.” 7. I hope liberals in this country start a movement to show random kindness to conservatives. Only that could break through the toxic environment that exists today in American politics. What better test of your commitment to love and peace than to show it to your most vocal opponents? Also, we need to prevent the worst of the corporate hegemonists from winning over working class whites. The working class people should know that Obama, minorities and immigrants are their friend, and that the real threat to their freedom comes from the corporate interests (perhaps, hopefully, a minority of the corporate world) who seek to control everything. We should not make the mistake of marginalizing or ridiculing the opposition. Part of the reason for this toxic environment is this tendency on the part of liberals to do exactly that. 8. As much as I believe we should show kindness to rank and file conservatives, the more I understand the more I am convinced that the efforts by a small group of powerful interests to prevent any advances in social justice and equality must be resisted. If Gandhi were alive today he would do exactly that. Their actions are motivated by greed, hatred and power-intoxication. As such they are immoral and harmful to the world, and ultimately, themselves. We should resist them with all our strength but through nonviolence and love. I am also convinced that similar dark forces are, unfortunately, in power in countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran. [Read Maziar bahari’s article on Iran during his captivity and Fareed Zakaria’s article on Pakistan, both in Newsweek]. To make matters worse, they rule in the name of Allah. While due to my pacifist principles I cannot condone violence against even such evil powers, I can understand that Obama, being the representative of a nation and world most of which is not ready for nonviolence, has to resort to military action. 9. (11/24/09) I met somebody from Detroit, MI during a hike the past weekend. He said he was not an optimist and that he didn’t see things turning around in Detroit. Then today I saw this nice article in the New York Times which talks about a new industry in Michigan that is offering a glimmer of hope. It also happened to be a favorite of mine, namely a solar panel factory: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/24/opinion/24herbert.html?emc=eta1 10. I was dumbfounded by these facts and anecdotes from a debate on the Economist about who is doing more to combat climate change – China or the US? You can read the whole thing at http://www.economist.com/debate/days/view/417 By Peggy Liu of The Economist: a.According to the Center for American Progress, "If (China's targets are) fully realized, it will translate to an annual reduction of over 1bn tons of CO2 emitted per year, starting in 2010." This is more than three times the total reduction target for the EU. b. For example, China is well on its way towards 15% energy mix from renewables by 2020. c. Installed wind power capacity at the end of 2008 was 12GW, fourth highest in the world. This capacity is expected to triple by 2011 to 35GW, and grow more than tenfold to 150 GW by 2020. This growth will largely come from seven new wind farms for 120GW of additional capacity, the power equivalent of 240 large coal-power plants. d. China is also building a strong transmission grid that will allow for quicker and more reliable integration of renewable energy, whereas the United States is struggling with mapping out an efficient plan to add new grid lines among its highly fragmented network. e. China's energy consumption per head is still only 30% that of an average United States citizen and China has doubled the annual income of over 200m of its poorest citizens. So yes, China has added an additional 70GW of coal-fired power plants each year for the past few years. But in the last three years, China has shut down hundreds of small, inefficient coal plants, totalling 7% of all China's generation capacity. Since 2003, China's coal-plant fleet has actually been more efficient than that of the United States. FutureGen, the US-based carbon capture sequestration for zero-emission coal plant, stalled in 2008 and has only recently been revived. China's GreenGen is already in the construction phase and is set to be fully operational by 2011. Collaborators include American companies, Peabody Energy and Duke Energy. f. The energy intensity of China has decreased approximately 65% over the last 30 years. Compare this with the United States, which decreased by approximately 30% during the same timeframe. g. The United States announced $1 billion in stimulus for clean energy projects as part of the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of February 2009. Since the fourth quarter of 2008, China has allocated $3.37 billion for energy saving, anti-pollution, ecological and environmental protection projects. According to the Cleantech Group, China's total investment in new energy is expected to surpass $440 billion by 2020. h. In China, (unlike the US, where investment is via tax credits for private companies) money is being invested in a basketful of carefully selected clean energy experiments. The ones that have been deemed most successful will be replicated across the country in rapid succession. At last count, this includes but is not limited to: 40 different eco-cities Four different smart grid pilot cities 21 LED street light cities 13 electric vehicle cities i. China's one-child policy reduces energy demand and is the arguably the most effective way the country can mitigate climate change. In the 20 years up to 1999, China's one-child policy is estimated to have reduced population growth by 300m people—almost the population of the United States—and CO2 by 1.3 billion tons in 2005. j. China is also bubbling up another cultural revolution, this time one that sends it back to its roots of reduce and reuse. An NGO activist, Sherri Liao, successfully pushed the 26/20 policy throughout government buildings (keep the temperature below 26C in the summer and above 20C in the winter). Chinese government officials constantly use the refrain, "We must not follow the West in their consumption patterns!" A leading actress, Li Bingbing, says she uses her bathtub water to flush her toilet at home. Can we convince people living in McMansions to do the same? k. One day last July, distribution of free thin plastic bags in grocery stores—the sort Americans use every day—were banned across China for environmental reasons. China Trade News says that China used plastic bags at a rate of 3 billion bags every day, and that this prolific bag use required the consumption of 5m tons, or 37m barrels, of refined crude oil every year for plastic bags alone. Overnight, China's citizens changed their behaviour and now use cloth bags en masse. This simple policy shows how uniquely effective China can be with a central, united act. On the other hand, here is the rebuttal by Max Schulz: They have nothing to do with saving the planet but everything to do with establishing a competitive economic advantage over the United States. Carbon regulation in the United States will hike energy costs and drive opportunity and economic growth to low-cost China. That will only increase China's greenhouse gas emissions further. Don't be fooled by China's "facts", either. Yes, China is investing heavily in green tech, but it is investing in every energy technology as it seeks to fuel continued economic growth. "Wind energy is developing fast, but coal-fired power is developing even faster," conceded the Greenpeace China's climate director to the New York Times. China's renewable energy push is minuscule compared to its fossil fuel binge, and no amount of green veneer can cover up that coal hard fact. Furthermore, much of China's renewable technology production is designed for export. 11. I was looking for some conservative media today, just to see what the other side is talking about when it came to Obama’s impending decision on Afghanistan. Being tired of the “fair and balanced” foxnews, I looked up a St.Louis, MO newspaper, since this was as middle of the country as you can get. Indeed I was pleasantly surprised by a very well balanced and thoughtful article about the economy, in an otherwise conservative leaning newspaper. This really puts other media outlets, liberal or conservative, to shame. It is nice to read a thoughtful article amid all the partisan noises that one hears these days: http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-platform/published-editorials/2009/11/dislocated-in- america/