Our Rivers - Contempt and Compassion

Living in Northern suburbs of Mumbai, I happen to cross a river every day. I hear cries as I cross the bridge. The life of the river, the pure blood is poisoned. The soul of the river is killed each day bit by bit.

The friends of the river, the birds and animals who sometimes travel large distances to enjoy the water in hot summer day, no longer come. The black poisoned water is nothing but a health hazard to them. And so it is to us.

As humans we have displayed nothing but utter contempt for mother nature and its rich resources like trees and rivers. I paste here pictures of the Poisar river here, no wonder the river is now a sewer. And the story is no different about any river, anywhere in India (and may be outside). They are no inhospitable and uninhabitable thanks to our unrestricted flow of effluents and waste in them.

Such contempt over years has not benefited us or anyone. In fact we are poorer today. And if we don't do anything now, we are leaving a barren planet for our progeny.

Its a shame we cannot respect and love such a beautiful planet.

Blog Action Day - 15 Oct 2010 - Water

Change.org is arranging a blogactionday event for Water. Very interesting topic and very relevant. Have registered my blog and will be posting a blog on 15-OCt-2010.

http://blogactionday.change.org/

Bloggers please note.

All folks - please support and try to create awareness on water.

Luv Kusa - Movie Review

Indian film industry is moving up the technical ladder and nothing makes it more evident than the animation movies. What started with Hanuman is now been taken up by other movies and Luv-Kusa is a welcome addition.

The movie about Lord Rama's son is impressive in using animation, music, creativity and yet sticking to the Grand Epic of Ramayana. With the focus on Luv Kusa, the movie also continues the original question that Ramayana asks about Rama - Was he right in asking Sita to leave?

The movie begins with Lakshman leaving Sita in the forest. Luv Kusa are born to her and they grow up as talented children. Especially mentionable is the Ramayana recited by the young princes to their father (they still don't know Rama is their father).

The final confrontation between the sons and father is also good though it could have been better. All in all, the movie is excellent and, we as the audience should encourage these movies by seeing more of them. And that was the sad thing today as there were only a few occupied seats in the theater today.

3.5 out of 5 stars for Luv Kusa.

Advent of Solar Power - New Series - Part 1

I have been writing about renewable energy for quite some time. After a hiatus, I come back with the same theme. Except that, now I am having a feeling that several politico-economic forces are now coming to a point where the relevance of solar energy is increasing and capturing a greater mindshare in people's minds.

First up, the recent attacks on fuel convoys in AfPak region have cause the American military to reduce reliance on fossil fuels : U.S. Military Orders Less Dependence on Fossil Fuels. US Defence has been a pioneer in so many inventions and innovations (computer to computer networking, light materials, non-stick coatings,...the list is endless) that it is impossible to ignore this as a speck in the landscape. This will prove to be a turning point.

In US again, California's struggle to improve the share of renewable energy sources to its energy hungry population is well known.

As European economies force their citizens to enter the difficult phase of austerity, there will be no choice but to either reduce energy consumption or reduce oil dependence. To ensure the wheels of economy turn whilst they cut down on the fiscal excesses, Governments are bound to prefer the latter. Hence the argument for renewables.

More in the next post. And this time, the post will come in a weeks time.

The Big Short - Book Review

Well, what do I say of this book!

As someone who was in the thick of these things in the spectacular collapse that happened in 2008, it is amazing how a book like The Big Short gives you a view in what happened in retrospect. I was a student while the collapse happened and we were grappling with the possibility of being unemployed despite passing out from one of the top ranked institutes in India.

So what happened?

Michael Lewis tells us the story of collapse through the actions of 3 protagonists - Steve Eisman, Dr. Mike Burry and Cornwall Capital. The protagonists realized the otherwise obvious fact to finance professionals. They also realized how mechanization of certain processes had converted real risk into a meagre assumption. The story then moves into how these protagonists converted their beliefs into bets that made enormous amounts of money for their investors and themselves.

The story also explores the difficult side of this story, especially that of Dr. Mike Burry of Scion Capital. The most interesting story is that of Cornwall Capital who were small time guys but made it big after having foreseen the future of the grand hubris at Wall Street.

The book defines that all 3 realized that the impact of this problem will manifest when the teaser rates give way to real rates and the subprime borrowers are no longer capable of paying EMIs.

Having said that, the book does leave you wanting to know more especially about the collapses of Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers. It touches it but does not elaborate on it.

Also, the story speaks volumes (though not directly) on how it is necessary for regulators to remain in control. Check this article by Mike Burry on how the powers that are missed the boat.

Finally, the book is fun. You will enjoy it more if you at least know what stuff like derivatives mean (not in detail but at least high level). Recommended reading for those who want to know more on the collapse. But not for those who want to do a deep dive study.