Electric car “filling station”
An electric filling in New York
The first public trial of a system that “refills” electric cars in minutes will be launched this month. The Californian company Better Place will test its automated battery-swap stations in Tokyo.
It is the latest element in the company’s ambitious plans to build the world’s first infrastructure networks for electric cars by the start of next year.
Globally, road vehicles generate around a fifth of carbon dioxide emissions. The figure is the same for the U.K. According to a study for the country’s Department for Transport, widespread adoption of electric vehicles with a range of 48 km or more could halve road transport emissions.
One of the biggest challenges, however, to the large-scale implementation of electric cars is the problem of infrastructure for recharging.
Better Place has come up with a model which involves building networks of charging points and battery-switch stations. At these a robotic mechanism will swap the empty battery in a car for a fully charged one. This means electric cars can be “refilled” in minutes, rather than taking several hours to charge their batteries.
On April 26 in Tokyo, Better Place will begin the first public trial of its battery-switching stations. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2010
Reference Link
http://www.hindu.com/2010/04/07/stories/2010040758191800.htm
Courtesy
The Hindu
Smart classroom project to be launched
City colleges to sign MoU with C-DIT
Initial cost of classroom project estimated
at Rs. 20 lakh
Website of cluster of colleges to come up
as part of the project
KOCHI, India: The Ernakulam cluster of colleges is getting ready to take learning beyond the conventional textbook experience by initiating the ‘smart classroom’ project on the campuses.
The cluster, which consists of Maharaja’s College; Government College, Thripunithura; Sanskrit College, Thripunithura; and Cochin College, will soon sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Centre for Development of Imaging Technology (C-DIT) to launch the ambitious programme.
Explaining that the aim of the project is to explore the immense opportunities being offered by information and communication technology in higher education, U. A. Mohandas, Principal of Maharajas College and chairperson of the Ernakulam cluster, told The Hindu on Tuesday that the initial cost of the smart classroom project is estimated at Rs. 20 lakh.
Stating that colleges involved in the cluster will be networked to reap the maximum benefit of modern technological advancements, Prof. Mohandas said that the smart classrooms will have audio-visual presentations and digital equipment that could be used for enhancing the learning process on the campus.
Smart classrooms will be equipped with the state-of-art computers, interactive panel and interactive whiteboards.
It will provide the faculty members with necessary tools that will help in enriching the student learning experience, he said.
Certificate programme
C-DIT will offer its certificate programmes in areas related to information technology, as part of the agreement.
Students will also have the option of taking up short-term courses being offered by the organisation. C-DIT’s expertise in the field of academic training will be utilised fully for the success of the project.
Prof. Mohandas said that a website of the cluster of colleges will also come up in connection with the smart classroom programme.
The interactive website will have details about the programmes being offered by partner colleges.
It will also provide information on the joint programmes being initiated by the Ernakulam cluster of colleges.
The smart classroom project is one among the various programmes being launched by the Ernakulam cluster of colleges.
An initiative of the State Higher Education Council, the Ernakulam cluster had received Rs. one crore assistance from the council for kick-starting several academic programmes during the last financial year.
Reference Link
http://www.hindu.com/2010/04/07/stories/2010040761850300.htm
Courtesy
The Hindu
Labelling environment
COIMBATORE, India: Students passionate about notebook labels have a good reason to cheer about. The environmentally sensitive more so.
They can use labels carrying pictures of wildlife found in Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. Not only that they can get to know the types of animals, reptiles and birds that populate the sanctuary, common name and scientific name as well.
There are 24 labels carrying pictures of birds, mammals, reptiles and butterflies, says nature enthusiast and faculty, PSG College of Arts and Science C.R. Jayaprakash. “The idea is to let children know about wildlife in their neighbourhood.”
The 24 pictures on the labels are his in that he captured in camera the animals or birds during his sojourns into the NBR. He has also accommodated the background.
“The background is for letting children know the kind of habitat the animals or birds live in.”
Since the news of the labels spread through a post in his blog (www.crjayaprakash.com), many schools and environment organisations have evinced interest, he says, and adds enquiries have also come from other states.
Reference Link
http://www.hindu.com/2010/04/07/stories/2010040751080200.htm
Courtesy
The Hindu
Waste management begins at home
A Ward Councillor shows the way Photo: S. Siva Saravanan
SIGNIFICANT STEP:N. Tamilselvi (right), Councillor representing Ward 34 of Coimbatore Corporation, explains the composting-at-home process.
COIMBATORE, India: At a time when the Coimbatore Corporation is embarking upon a massive solid waste management project to dispose of nearly 800 tonnes of waste a day, a micro-level effort is taking shape in Ward 43 to reduce the amount of waste transferred from a house to the Corporation’s community bins.
Ward councillor N. Tamilselvi has initiated the practice of home composting that can be done in apartments and even small line houses. Demonstrating it at her first floor house, Ms. Tamilselvi points out that space can never be a constraint to waste reduction.
The councillor demonstrates a three-pot system of converting vegetable waste into manure through a simple procedure. But, she points out that only raw vegetable waste should be used and not cooked ones.
Salt
“Salt in the cooked vegetable waste will spoil the entire process. It will not facilitate composting,” she says.
Layers of onion peel, chopped waste of greens and other vegetables and egg shells are sprinkled with cow dung slurry in a pot of 15 kg capacity. The waste decomposes and turns into manure. It is then transferred to another pot, with the layers’ position getting shuffled in the process. This enables complete composting.
The manure is then put through a sieve on its way to the third pot where it will acquire the form of fine manure.
Ms. Tamilselvi says she has done a short-term course in waste management at the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University. “While Corporation Commissioner Anshul Mishra provides immense encouragement to good waste management practices, environmental scientist at the university P. Subramaniam provides constant guidance,” she says.
After the course, she studied the waste generation in her ward and found that it was 300 gm a person a day. A family of five generates 1.5 kg. This is taken as the average raw kitchen waste generation for home composting.
The process of filling the first pot goes on for 10 days. Each layer of 1.5 kg of waste a day is sprinkled with the cow dung slurry.
After 10 days, this is transferred to the second pot and allowed to dry up as manure. “If the vegetable waste is cut into fine pieces, the transformation into manure will be faster,” she says.
At present, 30 houses in her ward have offered to join the ward-level project after being trained by her. The ward is among the nine (out of the total 72) in the city that have been chosen by the Corporation as model wards for waste management. “I am willing to teach this to more people in the city free of cost because this concept has to catch on,” she says.
This type of composting will reduce the burden of waste management on the Corporation. Hotels and other eateries too can practice this, she says. “When building plans are submitted to the Corporation, the civic body can insist on such basic, micro-level waste management as a condition for approval,” she suggests.
“This too can be made mandatory as parking space and rain water harvesting. It is not expensive and the manure can fetch money. Two kg of waste can be produced out of 15 kg of waste. A 15 kg pot costs only Rs.60 and the sieve costs Rs.30. The manure can be sold at Rs.2 a kg,” she explains.
Uzhavar Sandhais can make the best out of this concept. The shandies can have composting pits instead of pots because of the high volume of vegetable waste, she says.
People think that the worms in the composting pot will cause health problems. “The worms will remain always at the base of the pot. They will not come to the surface. One can even have food, sitting near the pots. No stench comes from these,” she contends.
Reference Link
http://www.hindu.com/2010/04/07/stories/2010040761060300.htm
Courtesy
The Hindu
Plastic waste to be bought from residents
Corporation launches segregation programme in Aminjikarai File photo
The decision to purchase recyclable plastic waste would encourage source segregation and help in better waste management.
CHENNAI, India: Mayor M.Subramanian on Tuesday announced that the Chennai Corporation would purchase recyclable plastic waste from residents at Rs.2 per kg.
Launching the civic body’s source segregation programme in Aminjikarai by distributing plastic bags to the residents, he said that initially the project would be implemented in three wards each in six zones and expanded to all wards.
“We are presently asking the staff who collect the plastic waste on tricycles to sell the materials and take the money. Later, when the project is expanded we would be selling it to companies that are interested in procuring such recyclable material.”
The Corporation is already implementing source segregation in Kilpauk Zone in wards 64, 66, 67 and 68 where ITC is collecting such recyclable waste at Rs.2.50 per kg.
Mr.Subramanian said though the civic body had announced that it would distribute jute bags for collection of plastic and paper waste, it decided to use plastic bags as jute bags were very costly. Tenders would be called for purchase of low cost bags of jute.
Corporation Commissioner Rajesh Lakhoni said plastic wastes comprised 5 per cent of the total waste generated in the city, which is about 90 tonnes. “If that waste is segregated along with dry papers and cardboards, it would reduce the burden on the garbage dumps.”
The civic body had earlier called for expression of interest (EOI) from companies that wanted to emulate the ITC model.
However officials said that as the response was not very encouraging, it decided to implement the project on its own.
Reference Link
http://www.hindu.com/2010/04/07/stories/2010040760510200.htm
Courtesy
The Hindu
Growth-oriented new textile policy within two months
The draft will be submitted to the Cabinet for approval
State can ask universities to set up extension campus and offer textile-related certified courses
CHENNAI, India: To attract new investments in handlooms and textile sector, increase productivity and generate more employment, the State government will come out with a growth-oriented textile policy within the next two months, said Abdul Azeez, Convener of Traditional Industries, FICCI, Tamil Nadu, on Thursday.
The first meeting under the chairmanship of Handlooms and Textiles Minister K.K.S.S.R. Ramachandran took place recently, which was attended by over 50 persons including government officials, representatives of CII, FICCI, TEA, SIMA and PDEXCIL among others.
“We have been asked to give our views or suggestions that will be incorporated into the draft policy. After the end of the current Assembly session, the draft will be submitted to the Cabinet for approval. As the previous textile policy was announced during 1998, we have sought some changes,” Mr. Azeez told The Hindu.
On its part, the industry representatives have asked the State to enable them to increase working hours; ensure power supply, provide insurance cover and ask IIT to come out with appropriate technology to deal with pollution problems.
Manickam Ramaswami, former chairman, CII-Tamil Nadu State Council, said that the policy should be framed to consolidate the sector instead of fragmenting it with sector-specific or size specific incentives or packages. Mentioning that only 2.5 lakh students out of 9 lakh students opt for higher studies after completing plus two exams every year, he suggested an ‘earn and learn’ method.
“These students seek employment as they do not have money to pay fees for higher studies or they are forced to look after their parents. Firstly, we have suggested setting up hostels near the big textile mills or textile clusters either in Public Private Partnership or private partnership. The State government can ask the existing universities to set up extension campus and offer them textile related certified courses. The students can work for eight hours a day and take up the course in the evenings,” Mr. Ramaswami said.
State government officials said that it was only a preliminary meeting to brief the industry representatives about the new textiles policy.
“The policy will cover handloom, powerloom, khadi and textile garment sector and will be released in the next two months,” they added.
Reference Link
http://www.hindu.com/2010/04/07/stories/2010040757800600.htm
Courtesy
The Hindu
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