#nature-based solution

[mswayambhu-blog]

Shaastra, IIT-M, is an annual student run technical festival of the IIT-M (Indian Institute of Technology, Madras), wherein they dedicated a few days to move out of the study curriculum to interface and embrace the latest technological thoughts & practices from across the globe. They call global subject matter experts to talk, give presentations, interact with students and faculties, bring their knowledge and practical case studies to the table, they also organize workshops, competitions, exhibitions, apart from cultural program and entertainment. The festival is organized on global standards and has earned an ISO 9001:2015 certification too.

Within the Shaastra 2025 festival, there was yet another chapter of Future Cities Summit (FCS) this year, which shows the commitment of the festival towards embracing the hi-tech future and the technological advancements of tomorrow. FCS had been planned to explore and examine multidimensional approach towards the urban world of future, which will have all elements of energy, economy, transport & mobility, innovation & technologies like AI, AR, VR, ML, IoT, IT & ITES etc. apart form the livability and sustainability.

This year’s focus included subjects like Technology, AI and Data Integration, Legal and Ethical Frameworks for Smart Cities, Future of Urban Transportation, Cultural Preservation and Urban Development, Resilient Infrastructure and Climate Adaptation, and Renewable Energy Integration in Urban Environments.

Vaidic Srijan got an invite to speak in under the Resilient Infrastructure and Climate Adaptation domain, with our evidence-based case studies and success stories and the topic given to us was “Healthy Natural Resources for Sustainable Cities”. The 30 minutes presentation followed by Q&A session was conducted by Madhukar Swayambhu, Cofounder & research head of Vaidic Srijan LLP, and the case study of Moradabad Amrit Sarovars, was discussed in detail on how restoring the health of the natural Waterbodies in the Brass Capital of the country transformed the overall health, happiness and prosperity index of the city. How the urban flooding has been eradicated, Ground Water recharge has started happening, the Air Quality index has been transformed from worst in the state to healthy breathable Air, biodiversity conservation has happened, post-monsoon vector borne diseases outbreak has been mitigated and many awards and accolades have been earned by the city.

Bottom line discussed and described during the session was, the conventional approach of “cleaning” the Waterbodies is no solution, but simply postponement of the problem. A holistic and sustainable approach is the “restore the health” of the Waterbodies, since they are the ‘ecosystem service providers’ to their respective vicinities, not a mere reservoir or pool of Water. Another interesting aspect was to transform the Waterbody rejuvenation projects from “expense” to “revenue” through enabling them to earn the environmental credits (Water, Carbon, Sanitation, Emission and Biodiversity), which are tradeable commodities in the global markets.

The discussion was followed by a very rich and interactive Q&A session too.

The summit was graced by the presence of other eminent speaker from across the globe including Mr. Kok Chin Tay, the Chairman of the Smart Cities Network (a network of innovative solution and services providers for smart cities) and the Executive Director (ASEAN) for Smart Cities Council, Ms. Suchismita Goswami, is a PhD fellow from the Global Health Section at the Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Dr. Chinmay Hedge is the CEO and Co-Founder of Astrikos AI, an organization that delivers Actionable (Smart) IoT-driven Real-time Insights for Smart Cities, Mr. Ian Chew is the sole Founder of Greenie Web – an award winning Singapore ClimateTech startup that creates low-carbon computer code, Ms. Aswathy Dilip is the South Asia Director of Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), Prof. Subir Sachdev, Herchel Smith Professor of Physics. Harvard University, Mr. Shravan Bendapudi is and the Co-Managing Director of Gensler’s Mumbai office, and Dr. Shailendra Jaiswal, Professor of Practice Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Madhya Pradesh Bhoj (Open) University (MPBOU), Director at CSJM Innovation Foundation, Director at Alyna International Private Limited, Member Board of Studies, Bihar Engineering University, Patna, Innovation Advisor to Toy Association of India, Lead Mentor to Srijan Sanchar and many more responsibilities in social, academia and industry sectors, being an Ex-ED of DRDO and having plethora of experience and exposure, that he’s chosen to give back to the society.

The event was also graced by the presence of Narayan Babu, Cloud Project Manager - NexTurn, Hyderabad, A Lakshmi, Data Science and Software Engineering professional, an IIT-M Alumni, Dr. R Ramasubbu, Former Joint Chief Environmental Engineer, TNPCB, Sudhakar Sundram, AVP, OCBC, Singapore, an IIT-M Alumni, Dr. Ar. K. Sundararaman, PhD. (IIT Madras), Aakash Pugazhendi, Architect Planner, Ecorys, Chennai, Ashwin Suresh, Urbanist & Architect, Arcadis, Chennai, RR Lokesh, founder of Ewebstore, an IIT-M Alumni, Abhishek Sivakumar, Level -1 Chess Coach, MD of CIT Connects and a Research intern at CIT, Challa Saraswathi Lalith, App Development Intern at Bharat Intern, Ex-S/W Engineer at JP Morgan Chase & Co., Brahmasoor Anirudhan, CTO & Cofounder of Ciprime Modus Pvt. Ltd. & IOWater, an IIT-M Alumini, Vishwajeet Kumar, Founder & CEO at Health Sathi and Origins Tribe, Shringesh S, Mechanical Engineer & Environmental Enthusiast, working for product development at Foruppo, Prem Kumar, an Urban Mobility Consultant with a background in Urban and Transport Planning, Kalki Chandramohan, mechatronics professional, Helen Vinnie, an Electrical and Electronics Engineering student, IIT-M, Amrutha P V, an Electrical and Electronics Engineering student, Apisheke, a Civil Engineering student, Sayed Najibullah Hashimi, Afghan National, ICCR Scholar-Indian Council for Cultural Relations Ministry of External Affairs Government of India and many more.

The three days event started on 4th January and concluded on 6th January, 2025. While Shaastra 2025 was spread over many hub in the IIT-M Campus, the FCS was conducted at TTJ Auditorium in the IC&SR block, while the exhibition happened at the adjoining KV Ground. The event was sponsored by IGBC, School of Sustainability (IIT-M), Gensler, L&T Edutech, Smart Cities Network, Centre of Excellence for Road Safety, IIT-M and Astrikos.

[oyugreenusa]

Join OYU Green and make a positive impact on the environment with Carbon Trading Credits. Start trading today and contribute to a greener future. Sign up now!

[gifti3]

the goverment is definitely figuring out this alien situation asap right?? cause whats happening currently is not feasible in the long run is it not??

im sure they are trying to maybe figure it out...probably, but part of me feels like it is not being treated with the seriousness it should be by them, which ig is in character LOL

pretty much relying on one guy (who doesnt even wanna be doing this) is actually scary

and the mc still has to like 'encourage' him to do it, tho its much easier in the 'ray ending' for sure. that man just wants to live a regular life with mc (unfortunately for him that means continuing to be binary star and dealing with aliens)

and if i was a citizen and knew this id be panicking

like yea u have these other heroes helping and stuff which im sure looks comforting from an outside point of view! but like the actuality is that its ray keeping things afloat

AND ON THE TOPIC OF THE MC, i was definitely in my head like....wouldnt rays superiors (managers??) get like curious about them? like no way theyre not being nosy about it after a certain amount of time passes. it really feels like something that could be leveraged against him,,, (if there is fic about this pls send it to me lol)

honestly i feel like mc and rays relationship would have moments of high stress. like there will be good times but also the bad times will also be there and its sometimes gonna be because of outside factors they cant control

[a-hearts-a-heavy-burden]

Dewdrop sexting Aether from across the room during practice :

Dewdrop "I can take it! Haha!! Not in a fight 😏"

Aether "I don't think you know what you're getting yourself into, little flame?"

Dewdrop "Pfft .... Someone's cocky!"

Aether "Interesting choice of words."

- Attachment Sent -

Dewdrop across the room :

[farmerstrend]

Why Smallholder Farmers in Western Kenya Are Championing Native Tree Restoration

Smallholders in Western Kenya strongly support native-tree restoration due to long-term benefits for landscape restoration, productivity and livelihoods, new research shows. Digital tools and community buy-in are successfully backing restoration projects A farmer waters seedlings along the Nzoia River in Siaya, Kenya. African nations have grand ambitions to green up landscapes with trees; the…

[cognitivejustice]

Our assessment found that for every USD 1 invested in NBI, between USD 1.52 and 1.46 could be returned in benefits for the environment, society, and the economy. This includes avoided crop losses through drought mitigation, increased crop production, new revenue streams from agroforestry, job creation and carbon sequestration.

[daincrediblegg]

It really is amazing how you can buy one william dollars worth of fabric and it can still worry you that it won’t be enough to cover what you need it to

[corellianhounds]

Me writing what should have been at most a bullet point one-shot comedic romance adventure: “hee hee hoo I’ll knock this out in no time”

Me, four months later and 112k+ words in: “Hmm I think I need to look at the practical engineering reference guide again so we can really assess the recycler issue on this cistern in the compound because I don’t know that they could have it on the lower level if the mountain rock is going to have a level 9 on the Mohs hardness scale—”

[screambirdscreaming]

At the bus stop one time there was a gaggle of preschoolers waiting to catch the bus for a field trip day, and someone walked past with a couple of friendly little dogs, to great general delight.

But after a little bit, the dogs were getting overwhelmed, and the preschoolers were gently coaxed to back off so the person with the dogs could continue on. Specifically, one of the preschool teachers said, "Sometimes, when you're small, being surrounded by big people can be a bit scary and overwhelming. Even if they are friendly."

This was recieved as great wisdom: after all, the preschoolers were also small, and understood how scary and overwhelming big people could be! And the dogs were indeed even smaller than the preschoolers, so it made sense.

What was funny and charming was that, upon absorbing and reflecting on this wisdom, they all felt the need to tell it to one another. In tones of great insight, they turned to one another and said, "Did you know? Sometimes when you are small, being surrounded by big people can be scary and overwhelming! Even if they are friendly!" Back and forth, without any particular concern that they were all saying the same thing. Have reached comprehension of an insight, it must be shared!

I must say that this behavior is less charming in tumblr users than in preschoolers. Not least because tumblr users, having gained a little analytical skill to misuse, insist on Summarizing and Generalizing and Unifying the insights they repeat, quickly turning any interesting new information into formulaic dogmatic mush.

[mswayambhu-blog]

Green fuel: Hydrogen

In light of the current environmental conditions, the climate change and global warming realities being faced by the planet and humanity, human race is on a quest to find out a sustainable alternative for our fuel and energy requirement to avoid a global climate catastrophe and Hydrogen looks like an astounding contender in this space.

Why hydrogen?

We are living in an era of hydrogen hype. It’s often considered as the fuel for the future, even to the extent that some call it gold or key negotiation tool or currency of future. Hydrogen has a very high energy density, three times that of petrol or diesel, and because its use produces only water instead of greenhouse gases and other exhaust pollutants, thus it is considered an ecofriendly and green fuel.

Furthermore, using petrol and diesel in combustion engines waste at least two thirds of the energy in the fuel, whereas hydrogen can be used in fuel cells, which are about twice as efficient, so much more of the fuel’s energy is put to good use and less fuel is needed. Leading automobile manufacturers like Toyota has already come out with the prototypes and running concept vehicles on road, powered by hydrogen as a key fuel.

However, hydrogen is not that easy and handy to produce. In spite of being the most abundant element in the universe today, it isn’t something that can be mined from ore like most of the metals or our fossil fuels. Neither it is a renewable resources like Sunlight, Water, Wind or Wave that can be tapped in from nature. In fact, some people go to the extent that they define Hydrogen as not an energy source but an energy carrier. It’s only because of the very process involved in production of hydrogen.

The colored Spectrum of Hydrogen

Based on the production mechanism, Hydrogen is given a color. That’s how there’s a complete spectrum of colored hydrogen in the industry today. Green, blue, brown, yellow, turquoise and pink – are the various colors of hydrogen, which’re essentially color codes, or nicknames, used within the energy industry to differentiate between the types of hydrogen, based on the production mechanism.

The most common ways of production are coal gasification or Water electrolysis, which are both energy hungry processes. Now the colors are decided upon the source of energy for making the above two processes happen. Which can be fossils, solar, hydro, wind or nuclear power. That’s why, people consider hydrogen to be a useful way of carrying energy from renewable sources to useful applications such as a car.

The Hydrogen Standards

The IEA (International Energy Agency) examines the full spectrum of energy issues including oil, gas and coal supply and demand, renewable energy technologies, electricity markets, energy efficiency, access to energy, demand side management and much more. Through its work, the IEA advocates policies that will enhance the reliability, affordability and sustainability of energy in its 31 member countries, 11 association countries and beyond. In the year 2023, they published a paper called “Towards hydrogen definitions based on their emissions intensity”, which documents that –

“Production based on unabated fossil fuels can result in emissions of up to 27 kg CO2‑eq/kg H2, depending on the level of upstream and midstream emissions. Conversely, producing hydrogen from biomass with CO2 capture and storage can result in negative emissions, as a result of removing the captured biogenic carbon from the natural carbon cycle. The average emissions intensity of global hydrogen production in 2021 was in the range of 12-13 kg CO2‑eq/kg H2. In the IEA Net Zero by 2050 Scenario, this average fleet emissions intensity reaches 6‑7 kg CO2‑eq/kg H2 by 2030 and falls below 1 kg CO2‑eq/kg H2 by 2050.”

However, this is yet another race in which the emerging new Bharat is wanting to take a lead by setting up new standards ahead of the IEA or rest of the world. In year 2023, on 19th of August, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India came up with new emissions cap of 2 kg carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent for 1 kg of renewable hydrogen (H2) as a 12-month average to establish a standard for the nascent industry to help its production and trade. But the big question is – how to make it happen? When the World or the G7 countries are still struggling at 27 kg CO2‑eq/kg H2, how can we manage to meet a target higher by 13 + times?

Nature has the solution for everything. There are still other natural processes like many types of microbes, which can produce hydrogen as a natural byproduct of their metabolic activity. This is often referred to as Biohydrogen, which is the greenest form of Hydrogen.

What is Biohydrogen?

Hydrogen produced through the action of living organisms is called biohydrogen. This is a type of biofuel, like bio-ethanol, bio-diesel or bio-gas or bio-oil. There are three classes of biofuels: -

First generation – made from food crops

Second generation – made from non-food crops or wastes

Third generation (advanced) - made using microbes

Advanced biofuels have several advantages over 1st and 2nd generation biofuels. Whereas first generation biofuels have caused increases in food prices, advanced biofuels would not. In comparison to second generation biofuels, advanced biofuels could capture sunlight energy 10 times more efficiently, meaning that smaller areas or land are needed to produce enough fuel. Biohydrogen is an example of an advanced biofuel (or third generation biofuel). In advanced biofuel technologies, microbes are grown in special bioreactors and provided with the energy and nutrients that they need including, sunlight, waste organic material, CO2 from the air or from conventional gas plants. As they grow the microbes produce the biofuel.

Among the advanced biofuels, biohydrogen is particularly attractive because of the excellent properties of hydrogen as a fuel and because biohydrogen is very easy to collect from the bioreactor. Conversely, biofuels such as bio-oils have to be purified from the microbial cells which is complex and expensive.

What’s Waterbodies connection?

In the year 2023, Government of India released the 1st Waterbody census report, from Ministry of Jal Shakti, Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Minor Irrigation (Statistics) Wing, which says

“24,24,540 water bodies have been enumerated in the country, out of which 97.1% (23,55,055) are in rural areas and only 2.9% (69,485) are in urban areas. 59.5% (14,42,993) of water bodies are ponds, followed by tanks (15.7%, i.e. 3,81,805), reservoirs (12.1%, i.e. 2,92,280), Water conservation schemes / percolation tanks/check dams (9.3%, i.e., 2,26,217), lakes (0.9%, i.e. 22,361) and others (2.5%, i.e. 58,884).”

Now, this can be a huge infrastructure for supporting the hydrogen economics, especially because we already have technology to restore the native ecology for restoration of the ecosystem services. Now this means, all those microbes that can produce hydrogen naturally can be hosted in these Waterbodies, e.g.,  Enterobactericiae, Escherichia coli, methylotrophs, methanogenes, thermophilic archae, Ruminococcus albus, Cyanobacteria, (viz., Anabaena, Synechococcus, and Oscillatoria sp.), A. cylindrica, A. variabilis, Synechococcus sp. etc. are all know to be producing hydrogen intheir natural metabolic activities, often without any production of CO2, which means Absolutely, Low cost, and sustainable GREEN Hydrogen production, meeting the objectives of the global fuel industry. We just need to research and develop technology to measure and capture the production from an all-open natural Waterbody, for which we already have adequate number of institution and research bodies spread across the country.

[starbuck]

i can’t remember if i ever actually made the Ravenous Ghost Bell analysis post, but i wish i had time to make it because i feel like it would be received well in this moment…

[mylivinglibrary]

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Navigational Nature Collection| Oracle Deck 💕🌙🍀☀️

This deck is a hand curated, little stack of self reflection 🪞.

Images are my nature and landscape photography.

[thrivingisthegoal]

Need A Sprinkle of Hope?

I got to attend the debut of this short (10 min) film all about a youth oriented education and action program that started in Coney Island, NY and is set to start spreading into other parts of the USA! The tactics are mostly research and nature based solutions, and it's an awesome women led org that is making a difference in climate perceptions and resilience of the disadvantaged communities in the area. It's a warm fuzzy watch :)

[cognitivejustice]

Green Roofs: Everything You Need to Know

Europe’s DACH region—the continent’s German-speaking countries of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland—has emerged as a pioneer in the field of green roofs. In Basel, Switzerland, the practice is even enshrined in law, while Austria now has entire forests on top of buildings by artist and architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser. In Germany, Hamburg leads the way with at least 70 percent of new buildings and roofs awaiting renovation to be green in the future.

A particularly striking example of the conversion of empty roof areas is currently taking place at the St. Pauli Bunker, an urban oasis more than 150 feet above street level whose panoramic rooftop can be reach via a planted “mountain trail.” Yet, despite that progress, most of the world is not using available rooftop space for gardens and greenery.

What are the benefits of green roofs?

The benefits of green roofs are enormous. They contribute to better stormwater management and reduce the effect of urban heat islands as their plants play a cooling role during hot summer months. Green roofs can also be surprisingly effective against pollution as plant photosynthesis improves air quality. With their insulating effect providing additional protection against solar radiation, green roofs can also reduce the amount of energy needed to regulate building temperatures, whereas conventional roofs lose heat in the winter but heat up in the summer.

Depending on their design, rooftop gardens can also support a variety of plant and animal life, which ultimately has a positive impact on all ecosystems. Additionally, they help bees and other pollinators play their crucial roles. Further, visual and ecological diversity can have an overall positive impact on the community and the psychological well-being of city dwellers.

[healerinchief]

This book right here is not only life changing for the better… it is life extending and even life saving in some cases. I’m so grateful my integrative MD recommended it to me. (I’m more than half way through in 3 days.) She runs a cancer center in a major hospital in the Bay Area helping people address the causes of their diseases with science-based natural medicine.

I consider this book a preventative for most people, but for some it may lead to that “miracle” they’ve been praying for. It not only helps understand the causes of many “incurable” diseases and chronic undesirable conditions increasing in recent years, but also how to eliminate them in as little as 2 weeks. The full protocol spelled out in the book is 9 weeks. If you don’t care for all the science you can skip those parts and simply implement what is suggested. It’s especially helpful for overcoming diabetes, obesity, asthma, allergies, and autoimmunity.

This book has helped me understand why eating healthy and exercising may not be enough for at least 50% of the population. It’s got me considering getting a Master of Science in Integrative Nutrition. This information has been a missing link in my understanding of creating and maintaining health, especially when concerning organic causes. I hope that one day soon the AMA will be more supportive of the findings presented in this book.

[menscarezone]

Top Natural Remedies for Male Hair Loss

Hair loss affects millions of men worldwide, with approximately 85% experiencing significant thinning by age 50. While conventional treatments like minoxidil and finasteride are widely available, many men seek natural alternatives with fewer side effects. This comprehensive guide explores evidence-based natural remedies for male hair loss that address the root causes while promoting healthier…