Black Sea Oil Spill

We are still reeling from the effects of the Bay area oil spill. Now there is second one that is even much bigger. We have now spilled 1.3 million gallons into the Black sea. I wonder who is responsible for cleaning up this disaster. Increasingly, it looks like an oil driven economy is not sustainable anymore...

Bay Area Oil Spill

Human error seems to be the cause of the oil spill under the Golden Gate Bridge. The ship, known as Hanjin, brushed against the bridge; leaving a gaping 100 feet gash resulting in a 58,000 gallon spill. The clean up cost for the state of California has probably already run into the millions, not to mention the amount of environmental damage. Further proof that oil is way more expensive than we think...

And it gets more complicated!

Looks like the person who finished 2nd behind Marion Jones in the 100m dash Kateria Thanou has already served a 2 year sentence since the Sydney Olympics for testing positive. Don't think she deserves the gold medal from Jones now.

There are complications with the other medals that Jones won as well. Especially the team medals. Two of her 4x100m team mates have tested positive for steroids since the 2000 Olympics.

Is the battle against steroids unwinnable?

The Heartache Continues

I am sports junkie without a doubt. I have been big time fan of all the philadelphia sports teams for the last 9 years. In this time, the philadelphia flyers have reached the conference finals twice, the philadelphia eagles have reached the superbowl once and the philadelphia sixers have reached the NBA finals once; all of them have comeback emptyhanded and broken my heart. Now add the phillies to this list. The fightin' phils reached the playoffs for the 1st time in 14 years only to fizzle out after 3 games. The phillies were swept by the colorado rockies in the division series and heartache of being a philadelphia sports fan continues...

Fall from Grace

We have been always too eager to criticize sportspersons over their inability to win. The lack of a killer instinct, no mean fighting spirit, inability to be strategic...the list goes on and on.

However, does winning always come at a cost? After years of denying, Marion Jones finally admitted to being a willing partner in the BALCO scandal. Once a symbol of everything that is right about being a female athlete, Marion Jones's fall from grace is now complete. Rightfully, Marion Jones is going to be stripped of all her medals.

We live in an world that is unforgiving to people who finish 2nd. Marion Jones has not only disgraced herself, but also taken away the joy from a person who rightfully (with a big IF) finished 1st.

I have always been an admirer of American sportstars. I am not so sure anymore. America seems to have a culture problem as far as sports is concerned. Corruption seems to have immersed itself in the American sport. Barry Bonds, Lance Armstrong, NFL players and everybody else seems to be involved. Astoundingly American society seems to be unwilling to admit the extent of the problem.

Sure it feels good to come 1st. But I will always take the nice guys who fight hard but may not win! Because the word "win" now seems to stand for everything that wrong with sports today.

High-Tech Bra

It is quite obvious that the western world is in the midst of consolidating all the technological advances made in the 90's. One of the results of this process is the High-Tech bra for early detection of cancers. Technology never ceases to amaze me! So, when are the guys are going to get something for early detection of prostate cancers?

The Magicbox

The Magicbox a.k.a the Greenbox, developed by a group of chemists, is another cool way to reduce GHG's. The Magicbox traps 95% of the gases emitted by automobiles. Once it fills up it can be exchanged for an empty one. The gases from the old box can be converted into biofuel. The big question is whether the Magicbox will ever see light of the day...

And we are supposed be scared?

It is funny when oil companies act like they are under siege from the growing ethanol business. Even though bio-fuels are quite a few years from making an impact, about a week ago the OPEC chief warned the west about researching on Bio-fuels. Now the US oil refineries are almost saying the same thing except in a subtler fashion. Bio-fuels or no bio-fuels, I have no illusions about oil prices coming down in the near future. Therefore, it is my belief that such warnings are going to be counterproductive. Just like the oil producing nations and oil companies are looking for their demand security, the rest of the world should look after its energy security.

The Art of Long Term Thinking

One of the most beautiful paragraphs that I have seen...

The global energy industry provides a great example of the need for long-term thinking. It took coal nearly 100 years to bypass traditional energy sources (such as the burning of wood) as the world's primary energy source. It then took oil nearly 100 years to surpass coal usage. Natural gas has been more than 100 years in development and now represents about 20% of global primary energy use. Similarly, it will take new renewables, such as wind, solar and biofuels, 10, 20, or 30 years to catch up with coal, oil and natural gas. That's the reality of energy markets and one of the reasons why long-term thinking is so critical in the realm of clean tech.

Check the entire article. Clean Tech and the Art of Long Term Thinking.

Renewable Energy Key to Addressing Declining Oil Reserves

In an survey conducted by KPMG, oil and gas executives believe that renewable energy sources are necessary to alleviate the problems of declining oil reserves. Here is the article.

Some key points from this article are...

• In the KPMG survey, which polled 553 financial executives from oil and gas companies in April 2007, twenty-five percent of the respondents said that at least 75 percent of government funding into energy should be directed at the renewable sources sector and a further 44 percent said that at least 50 percent of funding should be allocated in the same way. These feelings stem from the overwhelming majority, or 82 percent, citing declining oil reserves as a concern.
• Sixty percent of the executives believe that the trend of declining oil reserves is irreversible. And, when asked about the impact of emerging markets, such as China, will have on declining oil reserves, almost 70 percent of the executives said that it would lead the situation to worsen.
• Sixty-five percent of the respondents say that while they believe global warming is occurring, it is a natural weather cycle, and 11 percent say that they do not believe it is occurring. Just under a quarter believe CO-2- induced global warming is occurring.

US to add 3000MW of Wind Power in 2007

The US is in on track to increase its Renewable Energy Portfolio from wind by 25% for the year 2007. Already one of the leaders in generating energy from clean sources in the US, Texas alone will account for two thirds of this capacity. How does Texas do it?

George Bush as the Governor of Texas signed a Renewable Energy Portfolio Standards (RPS) into law in the year 1999. The RPS apparently uses market mechanisms (whatever that is!) to ensure that a growing percentage of electricity through clean energy sources.

Canadian Renewable Energy Initiative

With all the cold weather in their country it is easy to think that Canadians are probably least concerned about global warming. However, there are already Canadian government programs in place to drive clean energy sources into the mainstream. Here is an example. The Ontario government is willing to pay 7 times more than the cost of power generated through coal fired plants. Even if these costs will be eventually passed on to the consumer, I believe the initiative shows the will to look in a new direction and a deep understanding that global warming is indeed manmade.

Canada

Slowly but steadily I am getting ready for a lot of changes in my life. In about 2 weeks at this time I will be at Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada. While I am looking forward to the excitement an intense MBA program has to offer, I am not really happy about living away from my wife in a different country for a year. However, this is the path I have chosen… The last few days I have spent a considerable amount of my time taking different personality tests, to better understand my strengths and weaknesses, as I prepare for a career in business. I found these 3 tests to be particularly interesting. BCII: the Business Career Interest Inventory will help you discover what your interests in business work are. MPRP: the Management and Professional Rewards Profiles will help you prioritize what really is motivating to you in your work. MPAP: the Management and Professional Abilities Profile will help you identify your top abilities in business work. Here is a highlight of my interests, strengths and weaknesses as identified these tests. It is important to understand that the accuracy of these tests is dependent on my ability to have a good understanding of myself.
Interests
You have a strong interest in Application of Technology, one of the basic activities in business work. You take a systematic, engineering-like approach to solving problems and understanding systems and processes -- regardless of whether you've ever studied engineering. You feel comfortable with the "language" of technology and like to know how things work, and you probably enjoy using technology both in your work and outside it. You may want to express this interest by working in businesses that involve technology, either as a product or as an integral part of the services they provide.
Abilities
You have a number of strengths, including:
· Comfort with Differences: Comfortable and effective in relating to people from many different backgrounds and cultures.
· Creative Thinking: Able to think creatively, generating new ideas and approaches to situations.
· Merit-orientation: Judges ideas and people on merit alone, without bias or favoritism.
· Openness to Criticism: Accepts critical feedback without becoming defensive.
·Projection of Confidence: Projects self-confidence, even in uncertain and difficult situations.
·Resilience: Handles pressure and stress well.
·Respect for Others: Respectful of other people's points of view, as well as their ttime and priorities.
·Self-control: Does not act or speak impulsively; does not easily lose composure.
·Sensitivity and Tact: Sensitive and tacful: promotes an atmosphere of good feeling and mutual consideration.
·Teamwork: A team player: cooperative, works well as part of a group.
·Written Communication: A good writer, expresses ideas and positions clearly.
·Work Ethic: Has a strong work ethic, willing to make sacrifices to achieve important goals.
You also recognize some weaknesses in your business skill set:
· Comfort with Risk: Takes risks when appropriate, isn't afraid to innovate and experiment.
· Day-to-Day Responsibility: Takes good care of the day-to-day aspect of running things.
· Delegating: Delegates appropriately and effectively.
· Influence: Can influence and persuade other people, even without direct authority.
· Motivational Ability: Understands how to motivate different kinds of people to do their best work.
· Power-orientation: Comfortable asserting authority and using power.
· Recognition of Opportunity: Recognizes new opportunities and acts to take advantage of them.
· Sociability: Socially venturesome and self-assured; forms new relationships easily and works to maintain them.
We will come back in a year’s time and see how good I was at understanding myself. On a side note I am going to try very hard at not making this an MBA experience blog. There are enough of these going around…

ENERGY STAR Rated Homes

To find out more about ENERGY STAR rated homes visit http://www.energystar.gov/. Briefly, in a sentence, for a home to earn an ENERGY STAR rating it should be at least 15% more energy efficient than traditional homes. Because most homes use energy from coal fired power plants, about 16% of the greenhouse gas emissions in the US are from the energy used in homes. This raises an interesting point!

With a booming real estate market in India, I was wondering how much thought has been put into building energy efficient homes/offices. Isn’t this really an opportunity to incorporate green ways to generate energy into the very fabric of our society? How about building not just energy efficient but energy sufficient homes? I believe power in India is still supplied by state run bureaucratic, inefficient electricity boards. If an Indian home owner is given the choice of not having to deal with these electricity boards, would he/she not just jump on such an opportunity? Maybe all these things are unimportant in the Indian context. Homes probably emit only a fraction of the green house gases in India.

I doubt if right now global warming is at the top of our list of problems. However, with more than a billion people, it is likely that we are going to be one of the most affected due to climate changes in the world. It is for precisely this reason that we need to find a way to devote the resources, devise innovative solutions and reduce green house gas emissions.

Another Environment Initiative

On March 6th 2007, Bank of America announced an impressive $20 billion ten year environment initiative. Listed below are some of my favorites as part of the initiative.

• EPA Smart Way Transport Program: Under a partnership between the Environmental Protection Agency and the freight industry, the bank provides Small Business Administration (SBA) Express loans with no collateral and flexible terms to small and mid-sized trucking companies to finance fuel efficient technologies. The loan program helps trucking companies purchase Smart Way Upgrade Kits that include idle-reduction devices, low-rolling resistance tires, aerodynamic equipment and exhaust after-treatment devices. The kits can improve fuel efficiency by 15 percent·
• The Green Mortgage Program: Homebuyers will receive a reduced interest rate or $1,000 back for each home-purchase mortgage meeting ENERGY STAR specifications·
• Aggressive, voluntary goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the company nine percent by 2009 and seven percent in our energy and utility portfolio by 2008·
• Active program to reduce paper usage throughout company operations; from 2000-2006, the company reduced paper usage per associate by 40 percent

I really like the Smart Way Transport Program for its collaboration with Small Business Administration. Who better to drive clean energy initiatives than small business enterprises? The voluntary goals to reduce paper usage and reduce greenhouse gas emissions are important to increase Bank of America’s credibility and create an institution wide awareness, commitment and indoctrination towards the environment.

Guilty Conscience?

Do you have a guilty conscience about the carbon footprint that you are leaving in this world? Visit www.terrapass.com. For a reasonable price, without raising a finger, you can claim to have offset your CO2 emissions.

For example, recently Seattle’s power utility company, City Light, claimed to have net zero CO2 emissions because it had paid off various companies around the world to offset its contribution to global warming. But, nothing has changed. City Light still spews about 200,000 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere annually. Although City Light has been forbidden from purchasing anymore CO2 offsets, talk about passing the buck.

I find it amazing that we can fix our global warming problem simply by manipulating the books. I wonder if the environment sees the difference!

Opposition to Ethanol!

It had to happen 2 days after I make a bold prediction for the future. I am really not surprised considering how many times I have been caught with my foot in the mouth in the past few years.

Apparently, ethanol has a growing list of enemies. Livestock farmers who have been affected by the rising prices of corn, solar and wind energy protagonists who think that ethanol enjoys an unfair advantage in the alternative energy market and the environmentalists who think that the massive production of corn is damaging the environment. Their biggest complaint; the Bush administration is not letting free market forces decide the best alternative source of energy. So these anti-ethanol forces are getting together to eliminate the subsidies on US made ethanol and the tariffs placed on imported Brazilian ethanol.

An Intuition

It is my belief that bio-energy has more potential to solve the world’s energy problems than solar and wind energy can.

Both solar and wind power seem to suffer from similar drawbacks. Because the underlying technology to tap into wind and solar power is unlikely to change in the forthcoming years, it is doubtful that we will see innovations that will significantly change or improve their efficiency. Furthermore, both these technologies are sensitive to the changes in global weather patterns. Considering the fact bio-energy does not suffer from these drawbacks, it offers us the best opportunity to provide reliable sustainable solutions to the world’s energy needs. This should in no way be construed as an attempt to spell the doom of solar and wind power. They will still be a part of the world’s clean energy solution. Bio-energy is just going to be the bigger part!

After a Long Time…

The last month and half, I have been trying to take an informed stand on some of the issues that concern me. However, each time I have sat down to write about some of these topics, I have felt handicapped by an ignorance that has bogged me down. So, I have left these problems alone to be commented upon at a later time. I am sorry that the vagueness in this paragraph astounds you.

Now, here is something that I did not know. Apparently, the global bio-fuels market is bigger than the solar and wind energy markets. According to www.renewableenergyaccess.com, for the year 2006, the bio-fuels market is at $20.5 billion and is projected to expand to $80 billion by the year 2016, while wind & solar expected to grow from $17.9 billion to $60.8 billion and $15.6 billion to $69.3 billion in the same time frame.

Biggest Indian Acquisition Ever

Tata Steels acquired the European steel maker Corus Group yesterday for $11.6 billion dollars. The all cash deal is the biggest acquisition ever made by an Indian company. This move will apparently catapult Tata’s production capacity from 56th to 5th in the world and likely make Tata a global player in the steel market.

Why Wait, Let’s do Something Now

In my scientific research experience, I have found that any new idea carries along with it a net burden of unforeseen consequences. Some good, some bad! Why should new and alternate sources of energy be any different? Bio-fuels are already causing a huge spike in the prices of corn, wind power turbines have been known to affect bird population as some flying creatures cannot see the turbines, solar energy is still struggling with scalability issues and large hydro power plants cause severe environmental damages. I am infinitely positive that we will overcome all these challenges in due course of time. However, even as we wait for these technologies to mature, there are things that we can do now to decrease our dependence on oil. What can be done to minimize the traffic congestion that we encounter during our everyday commute? Is it possible to eliminate traffic lights completely? How do we encourage people to use public transport more often? Now that we are in the digital age, can we institute more work from home options without affecting productivity levels? A good answer to each of these questions is probably a solution to reducing our dependence on foreign oil.

A Fence Sitter on Global Warming

I have a confession to make. I have been for long a fence sitter on the issue of global warming. There are obviously 2 sides to this story. The side that claims global warming is not a concern and the side that predicts doomsday scenarios. Because both sides tend to put their own spin on the facts in hand, I have had trouble believing either of them. However, when Exxon comes out and says that global warming might indeed be happening, I have to sit up and take notice. In Exxon’s own words, “we know enough now — or, society knows enough now — that the risk is serious and action should be taken.” This is very similar to when the tobacco companies admitted “Smoking is injurious to health”. Additionally, Exxon has also decided to stop its funding to some of the non-profit organizations that are for limited government action against global warming. Only time will tell if this is a fundamental shift in stance or a reaction to the political changes in Washington DC.

Future of Green Energy

I am beginning to spend a considerable amount of my time looking into the future of renewable energy worldwide. http://www.renewableenergystocks.com is another wonderful resource for people who are interested in finding out what is currently happening in this field. It is interesting to note that India and China have already taken leading roles in green alternate ways to generate energy. India, with a current institutional capacity of India 130,000 MW is looking to add over 500,000MW of electrical capacity in the next few decades. India is also aiming for about 100,000MW of electricity to be generated from renewable energy sources by the year 2050. Is this the sector that is going to drive India’s economy over the next few decades? We will see…

On a lighter note, I am on a hot streak. This is the 4th post in the last 10 days. I am really enjoying blogging in spite of the fact that no one seems to be reading my blog. I am going to hope that I don’t cool down anytime soon!

When Banks Rob You

In the last 30 days my bank (Wachovia) charged me $10 twice because they had to transfer money from my savings to my checking for overdraft protection. Even as I was arguing with my bank that this is an unfair practice this bit of news had me stunned. Just the kind of stuff that makes me want to plough my fists through a wall. Apparently banks make an astounding 44% of their income through different service fees. I understand that some of these fees are required to keep people from constant finance mismanagement. However, not all of these fees are justified. The banks lure you into their plastic world with promises of world class service and devise cheap ways to take your money away. So, people, take a close look at your monthly bank statement. If there are charges that you don’t understand then call your bank and ask about it. If they are making 44% of their money this way, then there is a good chance that it is happening to you on a regular basis.

Apple Inc.

Apple’s reincarnation continues with the unveiling of the iphone yesterday.


The newest addition to the smart phone market is by far the coolest. 4.5 inches high and 2.4 inches wide and a completely touch sensitive screen without a key board, the iphone is a cell phone, an MP3 player, a video player and an internet browsing device all packaged into a single unit. To be available through cingular stores starting in June 2007 a 4GB iphone costs a whopping $499.

What next for Apple Inc.? Should Nintendo Wii, Sony Playstation and Microsoft Xbox be scared?

B-Schools Hypocrisy

I am not what you would call a success story insofar as how my B-school application process evolved. The results of my 5 applications are waitlisted, waitlisted, accepted, dinged and dinged. So, if you think that the conclusion that I draw in this piece is in part due to this bitter experience then you are probably right!

B-schools need their prospective students to be ambitious, driven and committed in addition to possessing strong analytical and quantitative skills. Moreover, almost every school requires future students to have clear goals, a sound career plan and strong reasons for choosing that particular school. Because B-schools have such high expectations from their students, I have a problem with them placing applicants in waitlists. Waitlists seem to be a classic way to say, “We think you are good, but we are really not sure”!

Would it be acceptable to the B-schools if I went into the admission interview and said, “Hmm.., I really like your school, but I am not that sure”!! In this sense, I find all B-schools hypocritical and self serving. B-schools are in a sellers market because there are more qualified students than the number of seats available in the top schools around the world. Under these circumstances, B-schools have a moral responsibility to provide honest and straight answers to their prospective customers. It is time that B-schools followed the ethics that they seem to preach so unabashedly in their campuses. Ultimately, B-schools are in the noble business of providing education, and education is not about self service.

Through this experience, I have learnt something very important about going to B-school. I am not going back to school to earn a much coveted brand name but to learn new skills, share my experiences and later apply my talents to make a difference in this world. In the process, if I make a few thousand dollars then so be it!