What is the COVID19 Message on 50th Anniversary of EARTHDAY?

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The health crisis brought home the message that human life is precious is the Country took extra ordinary measure to protect our lives at a huge cost to our economy. Trillions of Dollars spent and lot more to come in future. All of the Weapons to protect our nations proved worthless against this invisible enemy.

Warning by scientists were ignored for just 4 weeks and we all experienced the outcomes that no one imagined to cover many countries. Ignoring science was DEADLY.

I am reminded of the saying- Do not fool with mother nature! Is it possible that we did it  by ignoring all the Climate change warnings for last 10 years and the impact of environmental changes resulted in creation of new species or modifications of viruses as their fight for survival?

Once the current crisis is controlled then we will have some choices to make not to repeat this outcome. With this Crisis comes an Opportunity as the Chinese saying goes and they are now proving it by becoming the supplier of systems to fight the problem that originated at China. They are setting a smart example for seeking Prosperity.

What could Climate Smart Communities do on this  50th anniversary of Earth Day? Resolve to become Independent.

Let us think hard about all of the Infrastructure needs and select those items that generate long term savings by implementing efficiency and shifting to clean renewable energy sources. Recycle and reuse rainwater and food waste and plant as many trees as we can to convert the atmospheric CO2 to biomass for GHG reduction.

The independence concept can move us to growing locally and seek distributed generation to keep the money circulated locally to be resilient from economic losses when critical materials from imported sources are not able to reach us like we experienced recently.

It is time to use this Earth Day to celebrate 50th year with new resolve to seek economic independence and be resilient to fight future problems. Prosperity from Opportunity created by Crisis is the Key message. Do you agree?

Climate Change Solutions?

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I am preparing for a presentation to our Brighton Rotary Club on Monday Feb. 17th 2020.
The topic is about Climate Change and what to do about it.

I am aware that some folks just think it may not be caused by us humans. If you were drowning in a flood or be in the middle of a fire, would spent one second thinking about who is causing it? Probably not.

Well same applies to our home called earth. Living in Rochester NY for last 50 years I have seen the change and feel that the it is time to take actions that improve our world and make it safer for everyone.

Think about giving a gift of Nature to your community. It will be the legacy that can live forever.
There is no better way then creating small gardens with Trees and plants to cover the areas that have barren land or replace paved areas that remain idle with no traffic.

With Rotary help we are planning to build a Peace Garden at Rochester school 58 as a demonstration project. When completed during Summer of 2020, it will be a place where Teachers will take a small group of students and teach them about respecting nature, share thoughts about how Trees play a very important role to improve air quality and help create clouds by evapotranspiration.

We are happy to note that some Nations are now deciding to plant Millions of trees to fight Climate Change. As the planet warms ir would be essential to have shaded areas and Trillions of trees planted across the Globe.

This year on Earth Day take a pledge to do your part.

Thank you.

Ram Shrivastava

Earth Day 2017 A time for Celebration and expressing Gratitude to Science

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This is a special day to celebrate accomplishments and progress made in renewable energy field.
Who would have thought 5 years ago that Clean power could be made at the same cost as Coal? Technology advancements by scientists have given us efficient solar panels, smaller invertors, high capacity wind turbines for off shore application and compact battery storage.

There is no reason to doubt about progress in renewable energy field, because technology will lead us to better future. Corporations such as Apple, Walmart and Google would lead the world in showing  Green pathways and leave the polluting old technology behind.

As some experts  have said, the market place will decide the future and not wait for our Government to control what happens in this renewable energy field. It is time to train the coal miners to operate Solar and Wind farms or manufacture these system in America under Make in America plans.

It is not too far away when off shore wind turbines make 40% of the future renewable energy in New York and large commercial solar farm cover our landscape. Our goal of 50% renewable energy shall be met by 2030.

Our communities can now have community solar farms serving their residents and make power at same cost as the Utility. This energy independence goal is now achievable. Smart communities will demonstrate this as more examples are visible in America.

It is time to pray for good wisdom to be given to our leaders so a cleaner greener future awaits the next generation with efforts made by our generation.

Climate Change Solutions Sought at Paris Global Summit. Goals set to save the Earth!

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This is a historic day for the world. We are grateful for all the people who participated in the Paris meeting and made their contribution to the world.
There are folks that will point out what is not in the Climate Plan and others will point that at least this issue was publicly discussed over 2 weeks and a common consensus was reached by all.
Silently many technology research scientists work on new innovations that would be making transformation changes simply based on saving money for the people. Renewable energy is no longer a more expensive option. Solar and Wind can now compete with old  power production technologies and provide power at cheaper rates to the customers. Many progressive States like New York are promoting the distributed generation where the customer is encouraged to make their own power while connected to the grid.
The rapid rise of solar power was reflected by large commitments made by India, China and others.
What to expect in next 10 years? Whatever the Climate Plan says may be superseded by the reality that solar power is the smarter way to meet the future energy demands. Even solar PV power have been installed in oil rich middle eastern countries. What is next?
The future looks good for renewable energy and energy conservation, as the cheaper energy storage batteries will make the Utility companies not as relevant as in the past. If renewable power can be made for 5 cents per Kwh then why would anyone build a coal or oil fired power plants. It is time to shut these old polluting plants and shift to clean power.
God by to expensive oil is possible if all of us decide to curb our use and use most efficient clean fuels.
Seek energy independence for the sake of next generation and saving the earth!

For Power Consumers - We have the choice to Achieve Energy Freedom!

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Can 2015 be the beginning of new consumer movement that allows them to be free from the Utility? In New York State the Policies under review will take us closer to realizing this dream. Elon Musk and his vision to provide and promote lower cost energy storage was announced on April 30th. Combined with Solar power and smart controls this enables the customer to buy power at night and use it in the day powered by storage system in the garage.

The old paradigm is that we need the power company to sell us power at whatever cost and we have no choice. It worked when other options were beyond consumers reach. Now it is time to have distributed generation with storage and let them be paid for the service, connectivity and backup power.

With Solar PV system now at below $2.00 per watt and storage around $400 per KW, we are closer to Energy Freedom. This message would soon reach more people and the time to take bold action could happen starting in 2015.

After 45 years of celebrating Earth Day, the time has come when one can imagine the dream coming true.What makes this timely is the fact that Climate change is getting the national attention and people realize that resiliency of power is important when the power grid goes down. The peace of mid that it does not matter when power goes down because now you have your own power plant and storage system that can be activated automatically with smart control and keep you home or business running. This is safety, comfort and economic issue.

Smart consumer living ins sustainable Green communities will realize this and take advantage of financial incentives, long term low interest financing and become secure and seek their Energy Freedom.

What are we waiting for?  Energy Independence is around the corner.

Go for it!

March forward with Renewable Energy under NY Sun Rising program

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 NY State passed the budget last week and it contains the funding and investment incentives to help implement energy conservation and green power generation projects.

Sustainable Green Communities will take advantage of this opportunity.
As the earth day approaches on April 22, 2013 it is good time for all power consumers to think about what they can do to change and help support energy conservation and switch to green power generation.

Energy independence can be achieved if we make up our mind to do it. Hopefully the future will bring examples of such communities and business leaders that will inspire others to follow and make their own contribution.

Better days are ahead.

Earth Day Thought for Sustainability

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It is 40th anniversary of the Earth Day today. What can we say about the prospects of next ten years? My confidence in human intelligence and innovation tells me that a better world awaits and April 22, 2020 will be great.

Imagine what is possible as described below.

Net zero homes becoming common and not a novelty. Fuel cells providing electricity, hot water and HVAC to new homes built with max. day light and fitted with LED bulbs and green roof.

City streets lit by LED lamps, smart grid allowing remote management of large buildings to conserve energy. Solar and Wind power technology producing power at the point of consumption and at a price below regular power costs.

New communities developed with easy access to high speed public transport and walkable neighborhoods connected to community facilities. Rechargeable electric bikes and communities that do not need dependence on cars.

Local farmers producing the organic produce for local consumption and using compost made from food waste generated in the communities.

Rainwater treated as a resource and recycled at each home and business. Pervious pavements and parking lots so the flooding is prevented and communities require less water per capita.

Living with nature will bring prosperity to us all as free sunshine, free rain, free land for geothermal system is used smartly and eating natural foods makes us healthy.

What we need is the will to take green initiatives and continue on the path of sustainable community planning. It has started and better days are ahead.

Our 50th Earth Day will be a great celebration.