Touchdown India!

As this is my first personal, non-academic blog, I would like to begin by THANKING YOU my friends and family for following me on this great big adventure.  I will try to keep this updated as often as possible and I cannot wait to share with you all my adventures in person.

To start, I must regale you with the tail of 36-36-36.  From the moment we left for the Greenville Airport to touchdown in India we took 36 hours, 36 minutes, and 36 seconds.  A pretty cool omen for the beginning of our trip and TOTALLY worth the extra five hours we spent being rerouted from our destination.  We took two separate planes from Washington Dulles to Frankfurt.  I was on the second plane, so we had plenty of time in Dulles to amuse ourselves...

Here we have Alexa's first attempt at planking. The joys of the Internet.

The flight from Frankfurt could easily be considered by some as the flight from hell (it took 12 hours instead of 8), but I was so excited and so amused by the personal TVs that I really didn't care all that much. When we were on our (FIRST) descent into Chennai, we felt a sudden uplift and we were once again pulling away.  Apparently the plane landing before us had a "rough landing" and was blocking the runway.  We began to circle but after a ten hour flight, fuel was becoming a problem.  We diverted to Bangalore which became our first touchdown in India (though we did not leave the plane).  After a few hours of hanging out on the tarmac we took off again for our second (and successful) trip to Chennai.

Customs gave us a bit of scare, but I think they just liked keeping us on our toes. Other than that, I saw very little of the inefficient bureaucracy that India is so famed for.  We hung around collecting our baggage for another half hour or so, then we ventured out into the real India for the first time.

It is difficult to describe what it feels like to be so totally surrounded by people who are so different and so intent to stare at you.  I admit that I was a little excited sitting around Greenville talking about how exotic I would seem with my red hair and blue eyes, but the reality of that situation was surprisingly tense.  I think what made me so hyper aware was how mindful I was of my luggage and how nervous I felt to encounter pickpockets and shady cab drivers.  In reality there was little to be nervous about. I said goodbye to my backpack and watched as it was loaded into the back of a suspicious looking lorry, and climbed into a dark van sent by Madras Christian College.

And so began the most terrifying/amazing car ride through Chennai.  The number of times I had to stop myself from letting out a string of curse words is only second to the number of times I said "this is just so COOL!"  We saw a variety of oddities unique to India including a cow in the middle of the highway, pedestrians taking on four lanes of traffic like it was their jobs, roadside shrines, and most alarmingly the number of slums and residences that lined the roads.  The poverty in India is just so matter-of-fact.  To say that it is in your face would be inaccurate; it is simply an acknowledged way of life.  I would like to return to this subject after I have spent a more significant time in these areas.

So, as we pulled suddenly off an urban road into a wooded paradise, I couldn't help but feel all my excitement mount again.  We were driving down a country road in the middle of an urban explosion, and it made me truly appreciate the peaceful retreat that our lodgings would offer us.  We pulled up to MCC's International Guest House and were promptly shown to the dining room (from where I am now writing this blog).  This common space is used for both eating, meeting, and connecting with the world outside India.  We shared a cup of deliciously sweetened coffee and worked out our room assignments for our stay here. Please keep in mind that all of this occurred before six in the morning...

THIS IS WHERE I WAS GOING TO SHOW YOU A HILARIOUS PHOTO OF SOME OF MY COMPATRIOTS IN THE VAN AS WE LEFT THE AIRPORT. UNFORTUNATELY, INTERNATIONAL INTERNET IS SHOWING ITS TRUE COLORS.

 YOU MAY VIEW THE PHOTO IN MY FACEBOOK PHOTO ALBUM. YOU'LL KNOW WHEN YOU SEE IT...

After all the niceties had been observed, we scrambled to our rooms for the one thing that had been on our mind: sleep.  Unfortunately sleep was overtaken by unpacking and exploring our rooms, our bathrooms (worth a blog of its own), and the general area.  The IGH is absolutely lovely and is so much more comfortable and relaxing than I had anticipated.  My three roommates and I had more than enough space to keep our belongings.  I have not yet tried the bed for fear I will never get up off of it. I did try out our new bathing system--the bucket shower.  Quite simply, you fill the bucket with hot water, soap down what needs to get clean, and rinse off with a small pail.  It was much more refreshing than I had anticipated and I think I could incorporate it into my summer routine as a personal sustainability initiative.



We are extremely lucky to have actual western toilets with running water.
In the back, you see our shower.  India is already an adventure and I love it.

 After that we split into little groups to explore MCC's campus.  The amount of wildlife that is just hanging out at MCC is almost staggering.  Just sitting on the porch you hear more animals than you ever knew even existed in a forest, and just walking around we encountered wild dogs, incredible numbers of deer, giant fruit bats (which make an awful racket), an assortment of interesting insects, and wild boar.  These animals are so acclimatized to human presence that they will practically come right up to you, especially the deer.

AGAIN, I WANTED TO UPLOAD AN EPIC PICTURE OF A DEER WITH GIGANTIC ANTLERS, BUT INDIA IS NOT COOPERATING. FIND AT FACEBOOK.



Joy, Serena, and I split off to go on our own adventure of MCC's campus.  We discovered an abandoned area with newly planted trees, stamped around to scare away potential snakes, watched an IBM cricket game (that could be you Dad), made some interesting cricket-friends (apparently I am looking VERY CUTE today), and finally headed back to the IGH in search of sunscreen. (Photos of these encounters can be found at facebook, see a pattern?)

Finally, we settled into the wicker chairs on the back veranda and chatted about all the things that had taken place since arriving.  It feels like we have been here forever, but all of the above occurred in the six hours we have been in the country (which includes the writing of this blog).  I cannot wait to see what is in store when we truly begin to explore this fascinating country.

Check in soon for more updates!

Elizabeth Cook

The future of India's energy production and the need for renewable resources

India today is facing a unique problem in regards to its energy production and distribution.  It is trapped between statuses as a developed and developing country, with limited infrastructure but a huge energy demand.  While the grid is extensive, it lacks reliability or stability to further expand production of India’s dire demand for energy.  As an expanding economy and population take greater precedence on the world stage, India needs to develop its energy policies that will bring power to all of its people, and do so in a way which may be sustained in the long run.  India should focus its development on establishing multipurpose power plants and transfer stations that allow the country to develop green-energies instead of stagnating in a fixed infrastructure that would require extensive retrofitting to make compatible with the energy trends of the future.

In America, we have such a well-developed energy infrastructure that it makes transition extremely difficult.  The cost of converting all of our home to run of electricity or geothermal energy would be so extensive that it could bankrupt our entire country.  India is not facing this problem, because the grid the country runs on now already requires replacing and updating.  India is a blank slate; if they choose to follow the American model, they may find themselves without power in a hundred years when fossil fuels are no longer viable. Instead, India should utilize its natural potential for wind, hydroelectric, and solar power (1).  Currently, India gets 22% of its electricity from hydro-power, twice as much as the United States (1).  Also, due to geography and land utilization, India has the potential to generate 20% of its electricity by wind-power (2).  If India could combine these large scale projects with government subsidizes domestic solar panels (to be placed on roofs, etc) they could be producing more than half on their energy needs with renewable energy.  By becoming more energy independent (India currently imports 2/3 of its petroleum, (2)), India could harness its current economic growth and propel itself to the top of the global economy.

While it has the resources and potential to become a great leader in green technology, India faces many domestic challenges to developing its energy potential.  The challenges of establishing these energy systems lie in India’s current energy grid.  It is essentially a patchwork of wires and power plants across India from which so many people steal that it cannot be properly paid for to implement new systems or make large changes.  Also, the grid is very unstable, especially during times of peak use (2). Green energies largely produce clean electricity, but this needs a large system to hold the energy in batteries or utilize it immediately.  If the grid were to go down, then all the electricity produced during that time period would be lost.  India needs to better record and regulate its energy distribution, as well as hold users accountable for their use.  With an increase in revenue, power companies would be better able to maintain their grids and make improvements.  With a more efficient system, this would bring energy prices down in the long term.

Investing in energies which produce less of an environmental impact will be essential to solving some of India’s most pressing social problems (1).  Currently, land degradation and pollution (from coal mines, etc.) are pushing huge populations into city slums.  The health and social impacts that arise from these communities puts huge stress on the entire urban area, as well as providing and insufficient quality of life for the urban poor.  By better preserving the air, land, and water quality of the rural areas (destroyed by unsustainable energy production) India could alleviate many of the socio-economic pressures which are increasing impacting health and well being in rural and urban areas.

All fossil fuels are reaching (or have reached) their peaks in production.  Non-renewables are no longer an option for long term planning, and a country like India which expanding rapidly, both economically and demographically, cannot afford to bank its future on the old systems of the 20^th century.  The country has the geographic potential to become a leader in sustainable energy production; now it needs to commit to the project.  Doing so would alleviate energy pressures, decrease the severity of urban slums, and ensure an independent India.

References

1

1) Arora, D. (2010). Indian Renewable Energy Status Report Background Report for DIREC 2010. Indian Renewable Energy Status Report, _. Retrieved October 4, 2011, from http://courses.furman.edu/mod/resource/view.php?id=107596

2) South Asia. (2007). Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Status in India. ICLEI South Asia, _. Retrieved October 4, 2011, from http://www.mnes.nic/