Thoughts on Energy, Water, Social Development & Sustainability

For the first time in my life I stepped on to a floor made of Cork, a few days ago. Let me tell you this, I have never seen anything like it ever before. And as if love at first sight was not enough, I went to and office and there it was again, although in different color and finish.

Beautiful !!!

In just a week I saw and felt the advantages of a using a cork floor - already sold on it and going for it the next time I get the floors done. Here are a few benefits:

Yes, that's how unbelievable it was when I read the title of this post after I wrote it. There seems to be a mistake here. Child Labor in the developed West is not only outlawed but these countries also dedicate resources to stop this practice in other parts of the world, specially Asia. But let me tell you, it is not.

Gold Paved Roads
It is a not a secret that Canada's crude oil reserves are one of the largest in the world, only second to Saudi Arabia. One province in particular, Alberta, which is on the western frontier of Canada is the leader with an estimated 174 billion barrels of oil (http://www.energy.gov.ab.ca/1876.asp) just in the Oil Sands (google for Oil Sands to learn more about it). This is such a big area of natural resources that the oil companies have been investing billions of dollars every year for the last few years in order to tap into the back gold rush. Approximately 100 billion dollars worth of investment is on the board for the next 5 years so that these companies can double and triple their production throughput to take advantage of the rising oil prices in the world and the developing geopolitics.

Long story short, the province of Alberta that has only 3 million residents, which are primarily centered in Edmonton and Calgary, is one of the fastest growing regions in North America. The situation is so bad that housing is a problem in Calgary and literally hundreds and thousands of workers have to be accomodated in mobile trailers by their companies, at times 6-8 to a trailer. There's T-cranes all over the downtown of Calgary reflecting the optimism, enthusiasm, and the sense of urgency for developing office and residential high rises, fast. Jobs are plenty and there's a shortage of labor specially in trades like carpentry, plumbing, electricals, etc. The euphoria in the area is running so high that there're myths far and wide that the street of Calgary are paved with gold. Calgary, at time seems to me a re-enactment of how San Francisco might have developed during and immediately after the gold rush of the mid 1800s.

Youth in the Labor Force
With a city that is growing leaps and bounds and where people are moving into from as far as Toronto and Texas arise the problems of supply and demand. Low birthrates and aging population is not helping either. There is so much demand for labor in this province that the government had to lower down the age limit of employment in the province of Alberta in 2005. Children, 12, 13, and 14 years old can now work in some trades, including restaurants. Youth unemployment rate is now the lowest in Canada, at 7.3%. Details of employment for persons under the age of 18 can be found at http://www.hre.gov.ab.ca/cps/rde/xchg/hre/hs.xsl/1476.html/.

Labor Law Violations
Adolescents in Alberta are allowed only in certain trades, during certain hours of the day and under the certain supervisory arrangements. This is to ensure that children are not exposed to hazardous conditions like heavy machinery and high heat apparatus like deep friers, etc. Special work permits are required by employers to hire adolescents. There is an extended list of codes that and regulations that on the first sight make it look like a very ingenuine way not only to solve short-term labor problems but also to build long-term capacity for the nation.

The provincial government's decision of lowering the age of employment to 12 years, although being done with good intention, is firing back. It is drawing a lot of flak lately from the local newspapers and other groups. Not a day goes by without editorials, or letters to editors, or other forms of open expression in public. It is not uncommon to over hear convesations, generally opposing the government decision to lower the age. The reason is quite obvious - while the laws are there the vigilance is missing. There's just not enough enforcement of the laws by the goverment. Employers don't apply for permits or don't follow the guidelines properly or at all sometimes. The results, as published in newspapers are horrendous. Children with frequent burns, longer than expected work hours during school time are not uncommon to hear of.

A big question now is - if this is not child labor, than what is? How is this different from young boys and girls working in shoe manufacturing companies in some Asian country? Should this be allowed to go on just because this is Canada? What would it take before proper enforcement is carried out - a death? What moral authority will the government of Canada have to police child labor in other countries? And, the biggest question of all - isn't this creating a environment where a lots of children will end up missing a chance to get proper education and ultimately end up in the workforce not fully qualified?

A good news to begin with - Wind power is the fastest growing segment of the renewable energy sources. :) Denmark generates 20% of its energy demands from wind power. Global wind energy capacity has sustained growth rates of over 25% (source: The Pembina Institute). And, Canada plans to generate 5% of its energy demands by 2010 from wind power.

For a few years now I had always wondered how the colder countries of the North like Canada, Sweden, Norway, etc. will be able to take advantage of solar energy. The reason is that both the availability of sunlight and the efficiency of solar panels go down drastically in those regions due to climatic conditions. I never realized that some of these countries are actually very lucky to have wind power like no where else in the world. Western Canada for example has abundant natural wind available year round that some of the hotter regions of north American doesn't have.

As expected of responsible corporations this energy source is now being invested and tapped into and being developed into a parallel revenue stream by some energy companies. Suncor, in Canada, has already been named as one of "10 Green Giants in Business" by Fortune magazine this year. It has invested in wind power for approximately 140 MW ( http://www.suncor.com/default.aspx?ID=1091 ) of power generation in Canada from wind power, although there was no mandate from any regulatory authority to do so. This is anticipated to reduce the CO2 emissions by 400,000 tonnes, half of which has already been achieved.

Here are three biggest advantages that a wind turbines and wind energy has:

1. It has got very little footprint. Turbines can be installed in the rural areas and the land below them can still be used for farming.
2. Energy partnership can be inked with the local farmers where the energy company promises the farmers a percentage of energy generated. This will not only ensure availability of land but also much needed power to the farmers, specially for irrigation.
3. The cost of wind power or wind energy has come down to almost 4 cents per KWh, a decrease of 80% in the last 20 years.

Images are from Suncor website.

A few years ago when Wipro Technologies changed its logo to the rainbow flower (shown on the right) the first thing that popped in my mind was 'environment'. There was no reason other than getting on the green bandwagon, at least that I could think of, why Wipro would choose the logo it did. Its lighting business and the portfolio that also includes manufacturing services were convincing enough pointers back then.

Month turned into years and I never ever got to know the reason and rationale behind the rainbow sunflower. That was until I read Bangalore Tiger by Steve Hamm ( http://www.wipro.com/bangaloretiger/index.htm ). Turns out that there wes no green philosophy that prompted Wipro to change the logo. In fact, it was an image makeover by a Bengali painter, Shombit Sengupta to revive brand Wipro. Oh Well!

But as I read the book further on, it turned out that Wipro actually has an incredible record so far when it comes to caring for the environment. Here are a few facts I got from the book:

Like millions of other human beings I too am a caffeine addict. But I try to restrict my intake just in the form of morning coffee. Well, that's actually how it started until I got hooked on to it. Now, I step inside my favourite coffee shop, wherever I can find it, about 3-4 times a day atleast if not more.

Recently, one morning I stopped for a coffee along with a colleague of mine when she actually went ahead and bought a travel mug. I asked her why and she said because she always uses one and prefers to get her coffee in her mug. Again, out of curiosity, I asked her if it tastes better in a mug. The answer was not quite what I had expected. I was waiting for her to say "yes" so that I get an excuse to buy one myself. They look cool, don't they? Sorry for the digression - but her answer was, "No". That's when I couldn't resist and asked her one more question, "Why would you spend $10 to get a mug when you can get it in a disposable cup?" Just as I was asking the question the obvious answer came to me. And that's exactly what she said. She didn't want to waste paper.

Alert and Thinking
Putting it all into context, I ran a few numbers quickly. My favorite coffee shop chain may be selling between 1.5 to 2.0 billion paper cups annually. That number in itself was mind boggling and big enough for me to become a convert. I am glad that the coffee company realized the impact it has on the environment. So they introduced 10% post-consumer recycled fiber in their cups and sleeves. The difference it made is substantial, which is highlighted in the figure on the right. Imagine a world where we don't have paper cups at all in just this coffee chain alone. It would:

• Save atleast 780,00 trees from being felled,
• Provide 6400 homes a total of 580 billion BTUs of energy,
• Avoid 470 million gallons of wastewater, and
• Prevent 30 million pounds of solid waste.

In a previous blog about Walmart's green intiative ( http://udairaj.blogspot.com/2007/01/greenwalmartcom.html ) I had written about cloth hangers made out of corn. To take the concept a little further down and closer to your body today I am glad to write about clothes that are made out of corn.

Nau, an apparel business, has recently announced opening new stores in Boulder, Portland, Seattle, and Chicago. These stores, which will open by April 2007, will be the first for the company.