Think >> Innovate

married to the company

2008-06-01T00:44:00.001-07:00

The story of a childhood friend and the Karmic Jacket

2008-05-28T00:46:00.000-07:00

Does Karma really exist? - I often wonder if what goes around comes around or are we just living in a world of coincidences. Here is one such tiny story that makes you question the nature of things.

It all began in 2005 when a friend, who was visiting for the weekend, and I were off to explore San Francisco on a sunny afternoon. We stopped by the GAP at fisherman's wharf and as an impulse buy bought the same grey jacket that was on sale.

Years passed and I had given mine away to a poor panhandler who stood outside my office - the sleeves were a little bit longer and I had decided he would put it to better use. I had not given the issue a second thought until recently.

This long weekend, while I was visiting Los Angeles - I didn't have a jacket as I had anticipated a warmer weather. My friend instinctively lent me a jacket that he had at the back of his closet - later that night he decided that it looked better on me and since he hadn't worn it enough I should keep it. I protested, he insisted .. and finally I gave in.

As you must have guessed, it was the exact replica of the jacket I had given away (we had purchased them together, 3 years ago) - this did not occur to either of us until later in the week when suddenly it all came back to me. Perhaps this was the worlds way of adjusting itself - I had given away my jacket without a second thought - and through my friend's kindness the world had thanked me back with an unmistakable gesture.

Karma, had paid its dues by this one kind gesture.

Mom, but what about Hillary Clinton?

2008-05-07T18:42:00.000-07:00

How does Hillary and Obama's run for the presidency transcend race, gender and power ... and why is it more than just Politics? I have tried to answer this in many different ways but one particular incident made me a believer.

Yesterday over dinner our conversation circled around politics, gas prices and the like; later during that evening the discussion steered to Time Magazine list of 100 Most influential people for 2008. At this point something profound happened - my 6 year old niece, who was until then busy pushing her food around the plate, decided to join the conversation to ask her Mom if Hillary was on the list we were talking about. We were quick to laugh it off as childhood inquisitiveness - but later that night the more I thought about it, the more I was struck by how important what had taken place was.

To a 6 year old - the world is relatively simple. They are trying to comprehend the world around them and look for commonalities. My niece probably saw a lady like her Mom, her teacher or herself whom everyone was so eagerly talking about and picked up on that topic. A young African American boy would see Barack in the same light - and whether he or she would ever realize it, a lifetime of prejudices and glass ceilings have been irreversibly diminished by this historic Presidential bid.

It also fortified my belief that the next generation is eager to absorb ideas and are most influenced by dialogue and conversation around the dinner table rather than by big speeches, protests and rallies.

Regardless of whether Barack or Hillary wins, I would like to believe that my niece will never question how much women or minorities can achieve; she will never set her goals low because of her gender or race; and she will never know a time when people would question her abilities because of whom she is.

Vote Wise. Your vote matters. This I believe.

On Rebirth, Immortality and the debris that we are

2008-05-05T20:50:00.000-07:00

Buddhist Wheel of Life (Bhavachakra). Here Yama, the Lord of Death is holding the symbolic Wheel of Life

This week I am in a pensive mood. The last few months have been rough and so it helps to step back and re-investigate some of the bigger life questions - You know the usual - what's the deal with reincarnation, rebirth and Karma is? Are we truly born and born again, if so what is the point of life? What determines if I am born again as a cow, an ape or even a born-again christian? (the last is my attempt at faith based humor) ... and what is all this Karma stuff?

It all became clear to me one night in a seedy neighbourhood in San Francisco where a friend and I were discussing a book called "God's Debris". The discussion moved from one abstract theory to another for most of the night - As we were winding down, the topic changed to his two sons as he tried to explain to me the experience of being a father. Being a committed single man on the prowl, honestly my interest started to wane off - that was until he described the day of his son's birth.

A birth of a child, as he described it, was rebirth - at the very moment his child was born, he felt an energy transfer to his son & felt that life had given him a second chance. Nothing else mattered at that moment as he says he knew he would live on. What a wonderful concept, I thought to myself - but, as with other concepts traversed that night it vaporised with the first light of dawn.

To be honest, it did not truly sink in until I picked up my parents at the airport this week. As with any teenager I was a rebel - I identified with the wrong crowds, tried to break away from my parents shadow as I tried to reassert my own identity; but this week as my Dad and Mom step into my car it suddenly dawned upon me that as I grew older I was claiming a lot of their traits. The physical similarities at first glance are obvious - but if you look at it deeper, although we may have different experiences shape us, we have common aspirations for the future, we share many values and to a greater degree even approach challenges in a similar vein.

Perhaps that is rebirth - Our hopes dreams and values are passed on from generation to generation and when I am no longer around, that will be personified in my offspring. In a way that makes us all immortal - AND that my friends, is a wonderful feeling.

Malaria Day

2008-04-25T20:28:00.000-07:00

The World Health Organization says nearly 500 million people get infected with malaria each year, and nearly three million, mostly children, die. Areas around the world facing the greatest risk, shown reddish brown, harbor some of the world's poorest people. Map: Berkeley National Lab

One low-technology method to prevent malaria deaths is to deliver malaria nets. Grassroots campaigns like Nothing but Nets help to save lives by preventing malaria. Keep on sending nets and saving lives.

Earth Hour 2008: Spread the word, dine in candlelight tonight

2008-03-29T17:14:00.000-07:00

It’s Lights out for Sydney’s famous skyline on On March 29, 2008 at 8 p.m. for Earth Hour.

On 4/29/2008 millions of people in some of the world’s biggest cities will unite to switch off their lights for one hour - Earth Hour - all in an effort to send a powerful global message on the need to collectively take action on global warming. The shutdown began Saturday in Sydney, where the Opera House and Harbour Bridge went dark along with hundreds of homes and businesses.

The Golden Gate Bridge, the Bay Bridge, Coit Tower, the Ghirardelli Square sign and office towers throughout San Francisco will go dark for an hour - some restaurants also plan to turn off exterior lights and offer candlelight dinners.

Do your part, join the cause, spread the word ...

Engineering the end of hunger with Jock Brandis

2008-03-23T22:07:00.000-07:00

Jock Brandis is the inventor of the Sustainable Peanut Sheller. Jock was on a trip to Mali to fix a small village's water treatment system where he witnessed the women's bleeding hands from shelling peanuts all day. He made a mental note and set out to search for a sustainable peanut sheller that would not only mechanize this process but improve the efficiency of the women.

Coffee and peanuts out of the husk are 6 times more valuable than in the husk making a significant difference in the revenues the farmers can earn. Brandis' simple machine can be build by local craftsmen for $28 of locally available material. Brandis refuses to patent the machine and calls it his gift to the world.

"It makes their work less tedious and increases productivity up to 50 times," says Brandis. "One machine will work for an entire village, so when we're talking about 100 machines, we're not talking about 100 families -- we're talking about 100 villages."

CNN did a great portrait on Jock and is available here @ CNN Heroes: Peanut farmers get a big hand from simple device

An innovative use of Salesforce.com to track disaster restoration

2008-03-12T09:52:00.000-07:00

The biggest challenge after any calamity, esp. the magnitude of Hurricane Katrina is how to track, manage and report on what resources are needed and where. Generally all the resources pool at the very begining but due to poor management and miss-allocation the volunteers dwindle away.

Broadmoor a town in Parish county, Louisiana was was one such working community devastated by Hurricane Katrnia. For months the residents waited for federal help on reconstruction - the final straw came when the city decided to pass a legislation to bulldoze the remaining houses to build a park. This was a wake up call for the residents who decided to rebuild their community on their own terms.

The tipping point in their grassroot efforts came when they decided to experiment with Salesforce, an enterprise level customer-relationship-management software. With this tool, the Broadmoor Development Corp was able to better coordinate volunteer activities, funds, and bring a high level of visibility to the process. An interview on NPR notes:

Salesforce was built for salespeople, but Roark and his army of college interns have repurposed it so he can catalog the needs of Broadmoor's 2,400 homes and the 7,000 residents who lived here before Katrina.

With this database, Roark can explain to donors what they're getting for their money. Donors appreciate that. And, Roark says, it also helps him satisfy the human needs of volunteers, who want to do more than paint a stranger's house.

Software allows us to build for efficiency, communicate better, and strengthen existing communities. This is an excellent example of where an innovative community leveraged an existing tool to meet their needs.

You can hear more about this on NPR at Database Key in Restoring New Orleans

Google East African Gadget Competition

2008-03-01T09:40:00.001-08:00

Title: ‘Compete to build a Gadget’

Registration Date: Registration opens February 25th; the deadline is March 17th.

Who is it open to: This competition is open to university students across Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda,Rwanda, Burundi, and Ethiopia.

Rules:

Participating students will have approximately four months to design and build functioning Google Gadgets either solo or in teams of two.

The competition will provide an opportunity for students to apply theoretical knowledge in a practical, hands-on way, and that a number of the resulting Gadgets will feature regionally-useful content.

Further Details at: http://www.google.com/eagadgetcompetition

Peace in Kenya, New Years in February and a Baby Rhino named Annan ..

2008-02-29T07:23:00.000-08:00

President Mwai Kibaki of Kenya (L), and Raila Odinga prepared to sign a deal on Thursday in Nairobi.

Lessons learnt:
Early intervention by high profile negotiators and pressure from world leaders is key to resolving conflicts (incl. President Bush who played a critical role through his envoy Condoleezza Rice)
A free media and technology are vital to a transparent democratic process
Democracy matters in Africa

So finally there was some agreement on the road to PEACE for Kenya ...

After 2 months of bitter violence and intense drama, Kenyans turned a corner -- from Power-Grabbing to Power-Sharing, old-guard Mwai Kibaki and opposition aspirant Raila Odinga decided to bury the hatchet on February 28.

Interestingly enough, all credit goes to Mr. Kofi Annan who brought Kenya back from the brink of anarchy and despair. Annan, it seems understood how critical Kenya is to regional stability and the U.N mission in Africa -- Kenya is a hub for peacekeepers to Sudan, Somalia, Rwanda and is a key port for most of East and Central Africa. In the past, he has come under heavy criticism for the U.N's lethargic response to Darfur and was determined not to let this one get away. To honor the ex-UN chief and to show their gratitude Rangers at the Ol Choro Oirogua Conservancy in the Maasai Mara reserve named their new-born rhinoceros Kofi Annan.

Kenyan's all agree that this is a fragile peace and a number of concrete steps need to take place for there to be a lasting solution - nevertheless a new constitution diluting the powers of the president is a reasonable start.

On a lighter note, there are delayed New Years celebrations all throughout the Kenyan capital as most residents felt that their new year was tarnished by the unrest and had nothing to celebrate.

On Communication, Google and Broadband Balloons

2008-02-20T21:08:00.000-08:00

According to Om Malik and the WSJ:

Google is teaming up with Space Data Corp., a company that sends balloons carrying small (micro) base stations about 20 miles up in the air for providing connectivity to truckers and oil companies. The electronic payload is retrieved by farmers after it drifts back using a small parachute. The farmers do it because they get $100 per payload retrieved, WSJ says.

Google believes balloons like these could radically change the economics of offering cellphone and Internet services in out-of-the-way areas, according to people familiar with its thinking.

If this is true, perhaps a similar low cost solution would do wonders to connect rural communities in the developing world. There is definitely a business case to bring down the cost of communication in Africa from fishermen in Tanzania to Farmers in India, to tele-medicine to education. Projects such as the much touted Africa ONE, aimed at connecting 32 countries, face too much bureaucracy to ever take off the ground and its time to rethink our approach.

Mobile communication is on the rise in much of Africa and South and Central Asia, but is generally restricted to the main grid and is prohibitively expensive. Investments by companies like Google and Space Data in localized communication technology, would greatly accelerate the integration of these communities to the Telecom grid.

As good friend worded it in a rare epiphany, "The last mile in telecommunications is just as important as the first". Perhaps there are some solutions that already exist. Any ideas, people?

Interesting Fact: Africa is world's fastest-growing cell phone market. From 1999 through 2004, the number of mobile subscribers in Africa jumped to 76.8 million, from 7.5 million, an average annual increase of 58 percent. By the end of the decade, that's expected to double.

Bush, Africa, and a legacy in jeopardy

2008-02-19T11:16:00.000-08:00

President Bush tours the Kigali Memorial Centre in Rwanda, February 19, 2008.

President George W. Bush had a chance to reflect on his Africa policy at the Kigali Memorial Center in Rwanda - the site was built in memory of the 500,000 Tutsi who were massacred in the Rwandan Genocide over the course of 100 days - all this as the world stood by and failed to act. Mr Bush was on a grand 5 country Africa tour - from Benin, to Tanzania, to Rwanda, Ghana and Liberia. This was only his second trip ever - his first trip to Africa was in 2003.

Recently the Bush administration, together with other world governments and the UN, have come under heavy criticism for their policies towards the Genocide in Darfur, Sudan. The current administration has ineffectively pushed for sanctions, coupled with some humanitarian aid to combat Sudan's role - and has defended its policies towards Africa by citing efforts to end Kenya's bloody political crisis to the war on HIV/AIDS.

The Darfur issue dwarfs Bush's accomplishments in Africa - which have somewhat been a positive island in an otherwise roller-coaster foreign policy. The administration's accomplishments include the Millennium Challenge Corp, which provides funding to countries that adhere to democratic principles and sound economic policies; to investing $15 billion over five years to fund the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR; to investing $1.2bn for a five-year campaign to lower malaria deaths in Africa.

This begs the question - should the next president make it his priority to embark on a tour of Africa to show his/her commitment early on? The next president must realize that it is no longer possible to ignore the Continent - Africa is at a crossroads and is looking towards America and the World for a partner who will positively encourage Democratic Institutions and Fair Trade as it rises to a confident new future.

One thing is clear - Mr. Bush's trip highlights how eager the people are for a more proactive US policy towards Africa as posters for Obama08 greeted the president, first in Tanzania, then all throughout his trip wherever he went.

Taare Zameen Par - Educating the masses through Bollywood

2008-02-10T23:19:00.001-08:00

I generally make it a point to stay away from reviewing Bollywood flicks, but this particular movie deserves a mention. This weekend I had the opportunity to watch Taare Zameen Par, a wonderful movie about a gifted child who is also dyslexic. It is directed by one of India's most cerebral director/actors, Aamir Khan.

Taare Zameen Par, which literally translates to 'Stars on Earth', handles a sensitive topic with relative maturity - 10% of India's child population faces some form of learning disability but they are mostly misdiagnosed as troublemakers, 'dumb' or 'slow' learners. Ishaan Avasthi, the young child, is rejected not only by his peers and his teachers, but also by his father… as a result he builds up a wall of resentment between himself and the world as a defense mechanism. All this before Aamir arrives as Nikhubh Sir, a substitute art teacher who recognizes the child true potential and coaxes him out of his shell.

For a country that is gripped by a feverish competitive spirit to excel, kids with learning disabilities generally fall out of our collective conscience. Aamir Khan does a great job in trying to educate the general public of what challenges these kids face daily and how a little selective attention could bring out the best in these kids.

All this makes me think that perhaps, while we were looking away, a certain segment of Bollywood matured from the stereotypical song and dance sequences to movies with a message that make us question the status quo and challenge our understanding of the world around us.

Evolution of a company logo

2008-02-07T10:32:00.001-08:00

Adopted from: The Evolution of Tech Companies Logos

Getting around Mexico City on 2 wheels gets easier

2008-01-23T20:01:00.000-08:00

Mayor Marcelo Ebrard cycles once to work once a month

Mayor Ebrard's city government has committed to build 186 miles (300 kilometers) of bike paths, or ciclovías, by 2012. This in a city where 57% of the city's carbon dioxide emissions come from vehicle transportation, according to Mexico's National Autonomous University (source: Treehugger).

The plan is modeled on Bogota, Columbia's Ciclovía and a similar plan in Copenhagen, Denmark, where planners want half of the commuter population to get to school or work on bike by 2015.

How does your city and civic leaders compare? Is your Urban transportation planning division progressive enough?

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Democracy and the Vote

2008-01-21T00:03:00.000-08:00

With a number of younger democracies faltering early this Millennium we tend to question if Democracy is right for every country. Kenya just had a turbulent election with over 1000 dead and still counting; Pakistan lost a charismatic leader with no end in sight in the run up to their elections; and elections have segmented Iraq and Palestine along tribal lines further. Then why do we still insist on Democracy? Is Democracy the right way? At what cost?

Dr. King famously said, "Give us the Ballot"; "Give us the ballot," he said, "and we will no longer have to worry the federal government about our basic rights." He strongly believed that the ballot gave not only blacks their rights, but afforded all people their dignity. He saw the ballot as the ONLY answer to a free and fair society.

We must never underestimate the power of the ballot. Dr. King was not oblivious to the challenges that come with democracy, but his faith never faltered. Every democracy has its challenges - but ultimately the vote gives us something unique - it says we matter, we count and we can change our future.

- My tribute to a Minister, Activist, Hero, Icon

Plugging your car into a Smarter Utility Grid

2008-01-16T23:53:00.000-08:00

With the Detroit Auto Show 08 running this week, the BBC has been enthusiastically reporting on the future of the auto. With gas prices hitting $100/Barrel and a greater focus on the environment, greener cars are taking a front stage unlike in the past when they found it difficult to platform their inventions amongst all the steel and chrome.

An interesting discussion caught my attention on how PG&E (Northern California's Utility) and Google and working on a prototype for an Smart Electric Grid. The grid would charge your Hybrid during the off-peak time allowing you car would give electricity back to the power company. How would this work?

If you participate in the program, PG&E's technology would know when you plugged in your car for recharging - whether at home, work or elsewhere.
When electricity demand surges, the grid would tap the car's battery to avoid having to bring power from non-renewable sources online
The smart grid, will communicate with sensors embedded in your washing machines, air conditioners and other household appliances to allow power to be distributed where it is needed most
Auto companies are working on a Hybrid car that would be fully electric for the first 50 miles - this would ensure that most of our daily commute would be clean and green .. Furthermore future Hybrids will give up to 75 miles on the gallon ... :)

A smart power grid would seamlessly allow utilities to shift the balance of energy from hydrocarbons to cleaner forms of energy. This, coupled with greater consumer education is a step in the right direction as it effectively addresses the sources of our energy dilemma.

Tip: Look for an amalgamation of the Auto Industry and the Utility Companies as there is more innovation in this arena.

Moving green

2008-01-14T18:26:00.000-08:00

Moving houses can be a very reflective experience. It signals new beginnings, new opportunities ... and for many a fresh start. This weekend I spent a day helping a friend move into a new place - and after a full day of continuous lifting, packing and unpacking I came to many interesting observations.

It helps to know what you are doing. Luckily for us, a neighbor decided to drop in to purchase a used couch and ended up helping us move in return for some spare change and a few nick-knacks. His experience as a professional mover cut down our work by half.

It helps to have a big truck. Helps cut down on the number of trips so as to save on gas - I just wish they ran on Electric like UPS's new Hybrid International Trucks.

Moving is a very wasteful process. Yes it is. At every stage you find yourself questioning whether you need to upgrade that old tube tv to a flat screen plasma; those comfy couches for a leather set; or grandma's old hand me down kitchen set for a new set from Crate and Barrel.

Better planning makes moving easier. Grocery stores will give out cardboard boxes for free if you ask - they usually have them in the back so be a little patient; neighbours will gladly take any perishables you don't want to haul away;

Make lists - they help you remember the little things.

If you rent, you almost have no say how you get your green power. None of the formidable options like solar panels, wind turbines are accesible for you. Think carbon offsets if thats an option.

Unpacking is as hard ... :(

Remembering Sir ED, (July 20, 1919 – January 11, 2008)

2008-01-11T16:27:00.000-08:00

Sir Edmund Hillary, left, the lanky New Zealand mountaineer and bee keeper who with Tenzing Norgay, his Sherpa guide, won worldwide acclaim in 1953 by becoming the first to scale the 29,035-foot summit of Mount Everest, the world's tallest peak. He died on Jan. 11, 2008. He was 88.

“It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.”

- Edmund Hillary

The Tata Nano - India's $2500 car released

2008-01-10T15:20:00.000-08:00

No it does not have a power stearing or electronic windows, or even a standard a.c/heat function but it does have a very agreeable sticker price. At INR 100,000 ($USD 2500) this little wonder is poised to re-energize the entry-level auto car industry, not just in India but globally.

For Ratan Tata, the company's patriach - the challenge was to provide an affordable four-wheel transportation for the millions of first time buyers accustomed to getting around on two. While the Indian upper classes are snapping up roomier models and even imports like Mercedes-Benz, first-time buyers will provide a big chunk of growth for years to come.

The nano's design engineers had to question every aspect of the cars lifecycle including the car’s internal machinery, with greater emphasis for the vehicle’s safety and longevity. For example, reducing the weight curbed material costs and enabled the company to use a cheaper engine; also the car runs on a continuous variable transmission, a lighter alternative to manual or automatic transmissions.

This micro-miracle is a four door, five seat hatch, and is powered by a 30 HP Bosch 624 cc four stroke engine (smaller than most motorcycles) mounted out back and mated to a CVT. That makes the Nano the first time a 2-cylinder gasoline engine will be used in a car with a single balancer shaft. The Nano's also expected to get 54 US miles per gallon.

There is already talk about a 2010 launch in Europe and other markets - but it would be interesting to see if Ratan Tata and his team stop here. The Nano's size and weight make it a perfect platform for an E-85 or LPG/CNG car.

More here.

a sad day for my Kenya !!

2007-12-30T08:44:00.001-08:00

This post was going to be about how proud I am that Kenya has evolved as a democracy.

This post was going to about how proud I am that the election turn out rate was 70% and how people really started to believe they could change things through democracy rather than violence.

This was about how Kenya had transitioned from a Police State to a truly transparent and confident democracy - where the greater good overpowered petty tribal politics.

This was going to be about how Kenya had transitioned into a participatory democracy where mobile phones were a buzz reminding everyone to vote - how bars and local bus services insisted you show your purple finger before they served you on election day.

This election was going to be all about how transparency reigned through new media. The Kenyan blogosphere was abuzz all night with up to the minute updates and was very careful on not to report any rumors - thanks Ory of KenyaPundit and Chris of Kumukucha. The blogosphere picked up when the old guard clamped down on regular media to declare the incumbent a winner despite all accounts otherwise.

Sadly, this is a post about none of the above -- despite all the best intentions of the Kenyan people the old guard Kibaki has blatantly rigged the elections in his favor. The Electoral commission of Kenya went into lock down mode and clamped down all media before swearing in the incumbent. Despite all indications that Amolo Raila Odinga was on path to win the elections by a narrow but undisputable margin - Kibaki and his cronies pulled ahead by 200,000 votes in the last 12hrs with some constituencies showing a voter turnout of 140%.

Kibaki has failed Kenya - a Kenya that handed him power peacefully in 02 deserves better. The common people of Kenya deserve better - Africa deserves better. At a time when all disputes are settled by skirmishes in Africa, Kenya was on the right path showing its resolve to democracy.

I look to the leaders of the world and hope they condemn such a blatant disregard for the will of the people - Africa needs to believe in Democracy. Kenya showed an unyielding resolve for change through democracy and it will be a sad day if violence trumps the ballot.

May God be with my Kenya ..

The Original "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" boys

2007-12-17T12:30:00.001-08:00

Memorable quotes from Pirates of Silicon Valley:

Steve Jobs: I don't want you to think of this as just a film - some process of converting electrons and magnetic impulses into shapes and figures and sounds - no. Listen to me. We're here to make a dent in the universe. Otherwise, why even be here? We're creating a completely new consciousness, like an artist or a poet. We're rewriting the history of human thought with what we're doing. That's how you have to think of this.

______________________

Steve Jobs: We're better than you are! We have better stuff.
Bill Gates: You don't get it, Steve. That doesn't matter!

______________________

Steve Jobs: What is this? This is like doing business with a praying mantis. You get seduced, and then eaten alive afterwards?
Bill Gates: Get real, would ya? You and I are both like guys who had this rich neighbor - Xerox - who left the door open all the time. And you go sneakin' in to steal a TV set. Only when you get there, you realize that I got there first. I got the loot, Steve! And you're yellin'? "That's not fair. I wanted to try to steal it first." You're too late.

______________________

Bill Gates: There may be a few... similarities.
Steve Jobs: Similarities? Similarities? Try theft.

______________________

Steve Wozniak: Microsoft? Nobody I knew ever heard of Microsoft. Or Bill Gates. I mean, they were nobodies. But then we were all nobodies, which was perfect for us. Because all the respectable, straight-arrow guys were busy doing what they always do, which is be respectable. Which meant the rest of us could run around acting like crazies, which is what we did best. I miss those days.

UPS saved 3 Million Gallons of Gas - By Not Turning Left

2007-12-12T12:55:00.001-08:00

The Hypothesis: Tiny improvements in the efficiency, especially when you operate a gigantic fleet of vehicles, translate to huge savings overall — this led U.P.S. to believe that they should reduce the number of left-hand turns its drivers make as sitting in the left lane, engine idling, waiting for oncoming traffic to clear so you can make a left-hand turn, is minutely wasteful — of time and peace of mind, for sure, but also of gas and therefore money.

The Solution: Mapping out routes for all its drivers, drastically reducing the number of left-hand turns they make.

The Result: UPS shaved 28.5 million miles off its delivery routes, which has resulted in savings of roughly three million gallons of gas and has reduced CO2 emissions by 31,000 metric tons.

What can Brown do for you?

read more digg story

Vinod Khosla on record: We Can Replace Oil in 20 Years or Less

2007-12-07T13:13:00.001-08:00

Silicon Valley's visionary investor Vinod Khosla gave a speech at the ThinkGreen Conference that managed to hit all of his controversial bullet points in the first 10 minutes.

According to GigaOm's earth2tech blog, here’s the bullet points of the video clip:

I believe we can replace oil in 20 years or less. And we can do it cheaper than oil. I believe we can do the same with coal-based power.
What we need is to focus on scaling and economics. This is a policy problem, not a technology problem.
Photovoltaics are great investments but not material to climate change.
Forget plug-ins — they are nice toys; they will not be material to climate change.
Hydrogen is not even a toy, it is a bad idea.
Don’t listen to what most environmentalists say, because they come up with ideas that can’t scale.
You can’t tell somebody they can’t watch their NFL game because the wind isn’t blowing.
Capital formation from private investors is the key to this business.

Vinod Khosla has started Blogging recently. If you haven’t seen this already, check out his blog

Brad Pitt, rebuilding New Orleans & Green tech

2007-12-05T21:44:00.000-08:00

I was flipping aimlessly through channels last night (damn you ... writers strike) and I came across an interesting bit on Larry King about actor Brad Pitt and his regeneration project for hurricane Katrina-ravaged New Orleans. The project is aptly names "Make it right NOLA"

"Pitt commissioned 13 architectural firms, some from as far away as Europe and South Africa, to produce houses that would incorporate solar power and other environmentally sound designs to rebuild 150 homes in the Lower 9th Ward. The design calls for five single-family homes, an apartment building and community center - all built with features such as energy-saving appliances, cisterns, toilets designed for water conservation, soy-based insulation, paperless drywall and solar panels."

I am a huge fan of opportunity based learning, and I strongly believe that such an experiment not only helps the forgotten people of New Orleans rebuild their lives, but gives green tech enthusiasts a platform to showcase how a greener sustainable community can benefit an economy.

Go to makeitrightnola.org to donate to this project and find out more.