These trees have helped you, this sky has helped you, this water has helped you, this earth created you. Nature is your mother. How can the mother be against you? You have come out of her. But you think I am as an individual, and then the fight arises. It is one-sided. You start the fight, and nature goes on laughing, God goes on enjoying. Even in a small child, the moment he starts feeling I, the fight arises. OSHO The Empty Boat, Chapter-10
Live naturally. Live peacefully. Live inwardly. Just give a little time to yourself, being alone, being silent, just watching the inner scene of your mind. Slowly, slowly thoughts disappear. Slowly, slowly one day the mind is so still, so silent as if it is not there. Just this silence... in this moment you are not here, as if the whole Buddha Hall is empty.
In this silence within you, you will find a new dimension of life. In this dimension greed does not exist, sex does not exist, anger does not exist, violence does not exist. It is not a credit to you; it is the new dimension beyond mind where love exists, pure, unpolluted by any biological urge; where compassion exists for no other reason -- not to get any reward in heaven -- because compassion is a reward unto itself.
A deep longing exists to share all that treasure that you have discovered within yourself, and to shout from the housetops to the people, "You are not poor! Paradise is within you.
You need not be beggars, you are born emperors." You just have to discover your empire, and your empire is not of the outside world; your empire is of your own interiority. It is within you and it has always been there, just waiting for you to come home.
Love will come, and will come in abundance -- so much that you cannot contain it. You will find it is overflowing you, it is reaching all directions.
Just discover your hidden splendor.
Life can be simply a song, a song of joy.
Life can be simply a dance, a celebration, a continuous celebration. All that you have to learn is a life-affirmative lifestyle.
I call only that man religious who is life-affirmative. All those who are life-negative may think they are religious; they are not. Their sadness shows they are not. Their seriousness shows they are not.
A man of authentic religion will have a sense of humor. It is our universe, it is our home. We are not orphans. This earth is our mother. This sky is our father. This whole vast universe is for us, and we are for it.
In fact, there is no division between us and the whole. We are organically joined with it, we are part of one orchestra.
To feel this music of existence is the only religion that I can accept as authentic, as valid. It does not have any scriptures, it need not have. It does not have any statues of God, because it does not believe in any hypotheses. It has nothing to worship, it has only to be silent, and out of that silence comes gratitude, prayer, and the whole existence turns into a godliness.
There is no God as a person. God is spread all over: in the trees, in the birds, in the animals, in humanity, in the wise, in the otherwise. OSHO The Invitation, Chapter-30
Waste heat refers to heat produced by machines, electrical equipment and industrial processes for which no useful application is found, and is regarded as a waste by-product. When produced by humans, or by human activities, it is a component of anthropogenic heat, which additionally includes unintentional heat leakage, such as from space heating. Waste heat is thought by some to contribute to the urban heat island effect. (An urban heat island is a metropolitan area which is significantly warmer than its surrounding rural areas). The biggest point sources of waste heat originate from machines such as electrical generators or industrial processes, such as steel or glass production. The burning of transport fuels is a major contribution to waste heat.
The largest proportions of total waste heat are from power stations and vehicle engines. The largest single sources are power stations and industrial plants such as oil refineries and steelmaking plants.
Cooling towers which allow power stations to maintain the low side of the temperature difference essential for conversion of heat differences to other forms of energy. Discarded or "Waste" heat that is lost to the environment may instead be used to advantage.
Industrial processes, such as oil refining steelmaking or glassmaking are major sources of waste heat. Although small in terms of power, the disposal of waste heat from microchips and other electronic components, represents a significant engineering challenge. This necessitates the use of fans, heat sinks, etc. to dispose of the heat.
Animals, including humans, create heat as a result of metabolism. In warm conditions, this heat exceeds a level required for homeostasis in warm-blooded animals, and is disposed of by various thermoregulation methods such as sweating and panting.
It is often difficult to find useful applications for large quantities of low temperature heat energy, so the heat is qualified as waste heat and rejected to the environment. Economically most convenient is the rejection of such heat to water from a sea, lake or river. If sufficient cooling water is not available, the plant has to be equipped with a cooling tower to reject the waste heat into the atmosphere.
Uses
Waste of the by-product heat is reduced if a cogeneration system is used, also known as a Combined Heat and Power (COP) system. Limitations to the use of by-product heat arise primarily from the engineering cost/efficiency challenges in effectively utilizing small temperature differences to generate other forms of energy. Applications utilizing waste heat include swimming pool heating, paper mills and cold chain logistics (by the use of Absorption refrigerators).
There are many different approaches to transfer thermal energy to electricity, these approches are mostly still in development. The organic Rankine cycle is a very known approach, it is an electricity generation process where an organic substance is used as working medium instead of water. The benefit is that this process can utilise lower temperatures for the production of electricity than the regular water steam cycle. By help of ORC-modules it is possible to turn this previously wasted energy economically into electricity. Another approach is by using thermogenerator, the delta change in temperature causes a small electric current to flow between two plates by phenomenon such as the Seebeck effect. Another way for the electrification of heat is the Thermoacoustic hot air engine.
Anthropogenic Heat
Anthropogenic heat is heat generated by humans and human activity. The American Meteorological Society defines it as "Heat released to the atmosphere as a result of human activities, often involving combustion of fuels. Sources include industrial plants, space heating and cooling, human metabolism, and vehicle exhausts. In cities this source typically contributes 15–50 W m−2 to the local heat balance, and several hundred W m−2 in the center of large cities in cold climates and industrial areas."
Estimates of anthropogenic heat generation can be made by totaling all the energy used for heating and cooling, running appliances, transportation, and industrial processes, plus that directly emitted by human metabolism.
Environmental Impact
AH is a small influence on rural temperatures, and becomes more significant in dense urban areas. It is one contributor to urban heat islands. Other human-caused effects (such as changes to albedo, or loss of evaporative cooling) that might contribute to urban heat islands are not considered to be anthropogenic heat by this definition.
Anthropogenic heat is a much smaller contributor to global warming than are greenhouse gases.
Although waste heat has been shown to have influence on regional climates, climate forcing from waste heat is not normally calculated in state-of-the-art global climate simulations.
Message for Copenhagen,
The Hindu, Sunday, Nov 15, 2009, Kalpana Sharma
The environment ultimately is about people and this must drive the negotiations at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Denmark next month.
It is the most vulnerable, the poorest, who will be hit the hardest if the earth continues to grow warmer.
Local solutions: Lessons from the women of Ladakh...
Prime Ministers, Presidents, Environment Ministers, scientists, journalists and bureaucrats the world over are counting the days to December 7, when they will gather in impressive numbers at Copenhagen, Denmark for the United Nations Climate Change Conference to discuss what can and should be done about global warming. They will quibble over how to fix responsibility, they will fight over words in long documents, they will challenge evidence presented as proof of the crisis, and they will negotiate percentages and deadlines for curbing emissions of greenhouse gases.
Regardless of how the responsibility for the current mess is apportioned, one factor that everyone agrees on is that it is the most vulnerable, the poorest, those who depend on the environment, who will be hit the hardest if the earth continues to grow warmer. Yet, the most vulnerable are also, often, the most sensitive and the most sensible when it comes to making environmental choices.
Fragile ecology
To understand this, travel up to the rooftop of India, the high Himalayas where in a veritable desert sits Ladakh, a land of history and spectacular geography. Here you see no trees but the presence of those silent snow-capped peaks more than makes up for this. Here streams are so clear you can see every pebble over which their waters flow. Here men and women are strong and sturdy as they battle the harsh climatic conditions every day. Yet the extremes in climate have not affected the Ladakhi approach towards life and people. Hill people are generally known to be friendly. But Ladakhis must qualify as some of the friendliest and kindest people I have ever encountered.
Especially impressive are the women of Ladakh. Kundes Dolma is the Vice President of the Women's Alliance, an organisation set up more than two decades back by a remarkable Norwegian woman who made Ladakh her home, Helena Norberg-Hodge. Ms. Dolma, her weathered face wearing a perpetual smile, recounts the work of her organisation. She tells us how they have managed to stop the use of polythene bags in Leh for the past 10 years. “We saw the problems polythene bags caused for our cattle, which swallowed them and also how they blocked the natural streams that flowed into Leh,” she says. So the women campaigned for an end to plastic bags and today no shopkeeper in the town will sell you goods in a plastic bag.
With the growing number of tourists visiting the town, this is not easy to sustain. But the women continue to campaign and monitor. But what do they do about the impact on resources, such as water, in the face of growing tourism? A decade ago, people in Leh had enough water from the snow-fed streams. Today there are only a few of such streams and the quantity of water in them is notably less. “I worry about the coming generation because of the water scarcity”, says Ms. Dolma.
Some scientists hold that what Leh experiences today is the consequences of decades of accumulation of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide in the earth's atmosphere. This has resulted in a rise in temperature affecting the glaciers in high mountain ranges like the Himalayas. The evidence of this is still being gathered. Glaciers are notoriously inaccessible and tests and surveys have to be conducted over a span of time to convincingly establish that there is a change in the amount of ice accumulating in them each year. It may take many more years before such scientific proof is available.
But the observations of women like Kundes Dolma suggest that some significant changes have begun to take place and that these cannot be ignored.
Women also tell us that part of the problem is the manner in which Leh is developing. Instead of traditional forms of building that consisted of using mud and rocks, materials that are locally available and suitable for the dry climate of Leh, people are now using cement and concrete to build hotels and guesthouses. Instead of the traditional dry toilets, where no water is used and that produce a mountain of manure for the fields after a few months, people are now using flush toilets that use up precious water. Instead of depending on water from the mountain streams and shallow wells, hoteliers are now sinking tube wells that draw out water from deep in the ground.
Familiar yet strange
The result is water shortage, and no recharge of natural underground aquifers. With less snow in the winter, the quantity of water in the streams has decreased. You now see boys pushing carts full of canisters of water on the streets of Leh, a sight that was unfamiliar in previous years.
In a harsh climate, you need fuel to keep warm. In Leh, people can get gas, although at a higher price. But in the scattered settlements, perched on the steep mountains — where access to a road means walking for three or four days — the only source of fuel is what can be foraged in terms of fuel wood. Dry shrubs and bushes provide a tenuous source of fuel for heating and cooking. It is this dependence on nature for something as basic as fuel that joins the women of Ladakh with millions of women in the rest of India.
Ironically, all this talk of global warming has suddenly drawn attention to the way poor women cook in India. There is talk of inventing smokeless chullahs. The concern for this is more out of the growing awareness that carbon particles thrown up by the burning of fuel wood and coal also contribute to global warming than the health of the women who sit in small, badly ventilated rooms and inhale the toxic smoke from these stoves.
More than two decades back, in the early 1980s, before there was any serious talk of climate change, the concern for women's health, and a recognition of the importance of this, had led architects and engineers to design smokeless chullahsand propagate their use in the villages. Women like Madhu Sarin, a Chandigarh-based architect, designed the Nada chullahin consultation with the women who would eventually use it. She understood their concerns and built the chullahsaccordingly. It required engagement with the women, not experimentation in a laboratory.
Today, smokeless chullahsare once again being talked about, but are being designed by people who know nothing about the kind of food women cook in our villages. If policy had been propelled by a genuine concern for the health of millions of women, who not only inhale the smoke but also spend hours foraging for the fuel wood, today India would have been in a position to tell the world that it has curbed the emission of carbon particles not because of international pressure but because it cares for its people.
Whether the earth warms or cools, whether the oceans rise or the glaciers recede, ultimately environment is about people. It impacts their lives, every aspect of it. It is this concern that must drive negotiations in Copenhagen or anywhere else in the future.
A Comprehensive Assessment Report on the Current State of Management of the Country’s Natural Resources, and a Roadmap for India to Embark on the Path of Sustainable Development
New Delhi, Delhi, India, Friday, November 20, 2009 -- (Business Wire India)
On Earth Day 1995, TERI made a commitment that was reflective of our philosophy of sustainable development and protection of the country’s natural resources and the environment. Two years later, commemorating India’s 50th Independence Day, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) presented the first GREEN India Report (‘Looking back to Think ahead’) to Mr. I. K. Gujral, the then Prime Minister of India, and his cabinet colleagues. The sequel to the study was released today by Mr. Jairam Ramesh, Hon'ble Minister of State for Environment and Forests in the presence of Dr RK Pachauri, Director General TERI, Dr Vijay Kelkar, Chairman, 13th Finance Commission.
Talking about the importance of the report, Dr RK Pachauri, said “This project started in 1995 to see the state of India's natural resources. Environment, development and quality of life have been the focus of the same. This report has looked at trends, economic cost of degradation and priority issues in environment management in India. The central point to our report is distributive justice -- much of the turmoil today is due to degradation of resources. Hence, for the benefit of the society, we need to have a different approach. The issues define the state of the society -- it is estimated that 4% of GDP is lost due to depletion and resource degradation and we are also paying a huge toll in terms of loss of human life. Our endeavor is to reorient the mindset towards environment.”
While releasing the report, Mr. Jairam Ramesh, said “This is a commendable work done by TERI and is indeed path breaking in nature as it also suggests a way forward to the existing challenges. It is time to mainstream environment concerns and its costs needs to be accounted in GDP. This report is an ambitious agenda. Dr Pachauri has talked about many key issues including -- environment governance. It is important to evolve new models of environment governance that is independent of govt. bodies. MoEF will look into this comprehensive document and find ways with TERI on how the suggestions can be implemented.”
The updated GREEN India 2047 report shows that while some steps have been taken to deal with the problem, in several areas the situation has actually worsened. This forward looking study comes at an opportune time, more so as we are now nearing the Copenhagen Conference of the Parties on climate change.
The first GREEN India 2047 report was a detailed analysis of India’s record of management of its natural resources -- and how choices need to be made for the country to embark on a path of truly sustainable development -- as evidenced by facts and information relating to the 50 years from 1947 to 1997. It was an assessment of where we are likely to end up by 2047, a full hundred years after India’s independence, if we continued on the same path.
The study found that India was losing over 10 percent of its GDP on account of environmental damage and degradation of natural resources. This was essentially because of steady loss of wealth in several spheres including forest and biodiversity, excessive depletion of ground water resources, pollution of rivers and most importantly air pollution in several parts of the country which imposed very heavy costs in the form of health effects and absenteeism from work for those who suffered from several respiratory and other diseases caused by air pollution.
A total of 11 to 26 percent of agricultural output was being lost on account of soil degradation, part of which was caused by human actions. One major message from the findings of the study was that protecting the environment was not merely the dream of environmentalists and activists but an urgent imperative for all those responsible for a vast range of economic activities.
This report argues that the key lies in defining a path of development in India that ensures removal of poverty and, at the same time, protects and conserves the natural resources. The priority is in understanding what is at stake – and the possible solutions.
A number of corporate organizations -- IOC, NTPC, HDFC, Punj Lloyd Ltd. and Gujarat Ambuja Cements Ltd. are supporting this phase of TERI’s painstaking research.
Use Compact Fluorescent Bulbs: Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) will help increase your energy efficiency.
Use reusable bags.
Up to 20 percent of heating and cooling energy is lost due to poorly sealed or insulated ducts in your home. Make sure your ducts are properly insulated and install weather stripping around windows and doors for a better seal.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Reducing your garbage by 25 percent will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1,000 pounds per year. Recycling aluminum cans, glass bottles, plastic, cardboard and newspapers can reduce your home's impact by 850 pounds of carbon dioxide per year. Decreasing carbon dioxide emissions can help stop global warming.
Conserve Water: Purifying and distributing water takes lots of energy. You can make simple changes to reduce the amount of water you use. Replacing an older toilet can save about 7,500 gallons of water a year. Fixing a leak in a toilet can save as much as 200 gallons a day. Use low-flow shower heads and turn your water heater thermostat down to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. These steps can add up to serious savings on your water and energy bills.
Air Dry Your Clothes: Line-dry your clothes in the spring and summer instead of using the dryer.
Buy Products Locally Buy locally and reduce the amount of energy required to drive your products to your store.
Buy Minimally Packaged Goods: Less packaging could reduce your garbage by about 10%.
Plant a Tree: Trees suck up carbon dioxide and make clean air for us to breathe.
Turn off Your Computer: Shut off your computer when not in use.
These trees have helped you, this sky has helped you, this water has helped you, this earth created you. Nature is your mother. How can the mother be against you? You have come out of her. But you think I am as an individual, and then the fight arises. It is one-sided. You start the fight, and nature goes on laughing, God goes on enjoying. Even in a small child, the moment he starts feeling I, the fight arises.
Live naturally. Live peacefully. Live inwardly. Just give a little time to yourself, being alone, being silent, just watching the inner scene of your mind. Slowly, slowly thoughts disappear. Slowly, slowly one day the mind is so still, so silent as if it is not there. Just this silence... in this moment you are not here, as if the whole Buddha Hall is empty.
Waste heat refers to heat produced by machines, electrical equipment and industrial processes for which no useful application is found, and is regarded as a waste by-product. When produced by humans, or by human activities, it is a component of anthropogenic heat, which additionally includes unintentional heat leakage, such as from space heating. Waste heat is thought by some to contribute to the urban heat island effect. (An urban heat island is a metropolitan area which is significantly warmer than its surrounding rural areas). The biggest point sources of waste heat originate from machines such as electrical generators or industrial processes, such as steel or glass production. The burning of transport fuels is a major contribution to waste heat.
On Earth Day 1995, TERI made a commitment that was reflective of our philosophy of sustainable development and protection of the country’s natural resources and the environment. Two years later, commemorating India’s 50th Independence Day, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) presented the first GREEN India Report (‘Looking back to Think ahead’) to Mr. I. K. Gujral, the then Prime Minister of India, and his cabinet colleagues. The sequel to the study was released today by Mr. Jairam Ramesh, Hon'ble Minister of State for Environment and Forests in the presence of Dr RK Pachauri, Director General TERI, Dr Vijay Kelkar, Chairman, 13th Finance Commission.
While releasing the report, Mr. Jairam Ramesh, said “This is a commendable work done by TERI and is indeed path breaking in nature as it also suggests a way forward to the existing challenges. It is time to mainstream environment concerns and its costs needs to be accounted in GDP. This report is an ambitious agenda. Dr Pachauri has talked about many key issues including -- environment governance. It is important to evolve new models of environment governance that is independent of govt. bodies. MoEF will look into this comprehensive document and find ways with TERI on how the suggestions can be implemented.”
The study found that India was losing over 10 percent of its GDP on account of environmental damage and degradation of natural resources. This was essentially because of steady loss of wealth in several spheres including forest and biodiversity, excessive depletion of ground water resources, pollution of rivers and most importantly air pollution in several parts of the country which imposed very heavy costs in the form of health effects and absenteeism from work for those who suffered from several respiratory and other diseases caused by air pollution. 
