COPENHAGEN - Climate Change Discord

Climate Change and Global Warning: Copenhagen Accord or discord
Without doubt, the conference on Climate change and Global warming was a fiasco, failure and a retrograde step. It even went back on the Kyoto Protocol, held in 1997 in Japan where 37 industrialized countries committed themselves to a reduction of 6 greenhouse gases to as much as 5% of the 1990 level.

The reasons:
1. It was a wrong place and a wrong time for the meet. Copenhagen, a chilly city made even more icy in December. The delegates shivered and probably wished the temperature to be a few degrees warmer and some sunlight! How could these delegates (90 % of who did not know enough of the subject believe that the Earth getting warmer by a few degrees can destroy itself?)
2. The conference had too many countries in participation. It was a merry mix-up with hundreds of politicians and delegates confusing the issue. This is one of the reasons that United Nations General Assembly cannot take any meaningful decisions. Most of them are skeptics, and do not accept anything based on scientific predictions and demand physical evidence.
3. Every politician had been warned to put the country before the Earth. Patriotism towards the country was more important than saving the Earth.
However he was told that he must show concern for the Earth.
4. Every politician was told NOT to commit to a figure or, if he is pushed to commit to some small figure he should ensure it could not be verified. If he is accused of not showing concern he should indulge in a blame game. Without these “protections” he could not face the Parliament (or a Senate) on his return.
5. Most of the Politicians and delegates not having a technical background should have undergone a small scientific instruction course before attending the conference lest they talk without the desired seriousness.
6. Lastly, all the countries recognized in advance that nothing substantial will be achieved and waited for a political agreement to mess around in platitudes and show a consensus. The Heads of the big countries could spare just a day or two to get a final agreement – shows their seriousness and commitment.

COMMENT
The setting of goals for achieving stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere and carbon emissions at a level that would prevent dangerous interference with the climate system and temperatures not to go higher than 3
degrees WILL NOT be achievable for the next 20 years unless the above state of affairs stop and someone who knows takes charge

Why is our Earth warming up?
The concentration of carbon in living matter is almost 100 times greater than its concentration in the earth. So living things extract carbon from their nonliving environment. For life to continue, this carbon must be recycled.
The carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere is gradually and steadily increasing. The, CO2 in the atmosphere retards the radiation of heat from the earth back into space which and is referred to as the “greenhouse effect”. With this effect the Earth gets warmer; in other words these gases regulate our climate by trapping heat and holding it in a kind of warm-air blanket that surrounds the earth and warm the earth. If we don’t have any such blanket the Earth will on the other side become far too cold for our existence. We must have this balance
But we have gone the other side and this increase is surely caused by human activities:
Examples of malpractices and disregard
1. Burning natural gas, coal and oil - including gasoline for automobile engine
2. Deforestation
3. Some farming practices and land-use changes
These are caused by Greenhouse Gases than Carbon Dioxide like methane ( caused by burning forests, flatulence of cattle produces methane that is expelled, etc).Growing rice has an adverse environmental impact because of the large quantities of methane and this can be reduced by better agricultural practices like draining paddy fields.
4. Luxury of man: Chlorofluorocarbons, a totally human luxury (used in refrigerators and aerosol cans,)
5. Rise in Human and Cattle population.
6. Increase in Environmental pollution

What are the effects of global warming and the greenhouse effect?
1. Weather changes. Even a small increase in the global temperature would lead to significant climate and weather changes, affecting cloud cover, precipitation, wind patterns, the frequency and severity of storms, and the duration of seasons.
2. Temperature. Rising temperatures would raise sea levels as well, reducing supplies of fresh water as flooding occurs along coastlines worldwide
3. Sea levels rising: and global warming is at least part of the cause.
If the sea level were to rise in excess of 4 meters almost every coastal city in the world would be severely affected, Long-term changes are mainly caused by temperature (because the volume of water depends on temperature). The rise is also due to melting glaciers (irreversible phenomena) caused by global warming.
4. Land. Millions of people also would be affected, especially poor people who live in precarious locations or depend on the land for a subsistence living.


Solutions
1. Saving energy and Life style changes and "throw away" practices. Be frugal. Use Carpools.
2. Using Government and Media to highlight the problems and offer solutions. Pour more money into research activities for clean energy.
3. Plant trees and support Organic farming (In simplest terms, organic farming is a form of agriculture that avoids any use of synthetic chemicals or Genetically Modified Organisms.)
4. Use Alternative energy rather than coal and petroleum
a. Using Solar power: solar cells capture the heat from the sun and store it.
b. Using wind power: Wind turbines capture the energy of moving air and convert to electric y
c. Biofuels: Converting organic matter into fuel (ethanol, marine algae
d. Nuclear energy: It is a source of clean energy but is only a temporary solution. It has the drawbacks of disastrous consequences of accident and getting rid of nuclear waste.
e. Use of CFL (compact fluorescent light bulbs) for lighting. If a building's indoor incandescent lamps are replaced by CFLs, the heat produced due to lighting will be reduced. Its environmental advantages are big because of its lower energy requirement. For a given light output, CFLs use 20 to 33 percent of the power of equivalent incandescent lamps. If a building's indoor incandescent lamps are replaced by CFLs, the heat produced due to lighting will also be reduced.


f. Use of hydrogen
A hydrogen vehicle is a vehicle that uses hydrogen as its onboard fuel for motive power. The power plants of such vehicles convert the chemical energy of hydrogen to mechanical energy (torque). With further research and development, this fuel could also serve as an alternative source of energy for heating and lighting homes, generating electricity, and fueling motor vehicles.

Telengana and consequences

What is all the uproar on Telengana and division of other Indian States about? Let us see it in a Macro viewpoint and what happened to other countries in the world and what is likely after 100 years. The US with a population of nearly 300 million people (and 9 million sq kms area) has 50 states whereas India with 1.2 billion people and (and 3 million sq metres) has only 28 states (and 7 Union Territories.). Before independence there were 568 states in India (Yes it is true). We have come along way. There are 18 Scheduled Languages in India (of a total of 114 languages and 216 mother tongues). Since the Country was reorganized on the basis of language we cannot divide the country into 100 states on this linguistic logic, but this was the basis for foresight and we have to consider each case.

The Politicians divided pre-independence India on a religious basis and Nehru and Jinnah wanted to Head the countries on communal lines to benefit themselves, irrespective of consequences and the fact that India had more Muslims than Pakistan. They even broke up United Punjab and United Bengal into separate countries because of ambition. All these past factors are now leading upto dismemberment. If we don’t take care we could even land up as the breakage of the country (not into states) but countries like the USSR broke into 15 COUNTRIES not just states and this happened as recently as 1971. Since the USSR's collapse, Russia faced many problems that free market proponents in 1992 did not expect. Among other things, 25% of the population lived below the poverty line, life expectancy had fallen, birthrates were low, and the GDP was halved. (Wikipedia). Let us be judicious and act wisely. This might be easier send than done as in the end, simple greed and political scoring points override any concerns, moral rights ,legality or interest in development.

Childrens smiles Stairway to Heaven

At my elder age I find beauty in every child’s face, particularly the poor ones. Their smiles and carefree attitude are so refreshing and unspoiled. At that age they don’t realize that as they grow older the compulsions, complexities and flawed competitive practices to stay afloat begin, and they have no time for contemplation into environs and humanity. I have made a video to express these thoughts and have taken a number of pictures from the internet. Usually the pictures we see on UNICEF programs show children in extremely poor conditions but I think they could carry the same message by smiling children.

Arni Palaces in ruins by chandru arni

The Arni Jagir, given as a Gift from Shajee, the great Mahratta warrior, to my ancestor, Vedaji Bhaskar Punt, for military services rendered in the former's invasion of the Carnatic had existed since 1640. The Jagir covered an area of 180 square miles and is situated in the North Arcot District, Tamil Nadu, INDIA.

The Government of India abolished it in 1951 by a Zamindai Abolition Bill, and as a First Amendment to the Constitution, giving the Jaghir a small compensation. This resulted in the bad upkeep of the Palaces due to lack of funds.

The video below reveals what existed then and what is the current state and seeks the Government of India's help in restoration and make it a heritage and tourist site.

The photographs were taken in 2008 by Mr.Megarajan and friends in his TRAVELOGUE blog for which I thank him.

Palace in ruins by chandru Arni

The Arni Jagir existed for over three hundred and fifty years beginning from the days of Shahjee, the great Mahratta warrior. The Jagir came into existence during the decline and disintegration of the Mughal Empire.
Arni Jagir is situated in North Arcot District in the Presidency of Madras (Chennai) in South India. The extent of the Jagir was 180 square miles. The city of Arni (or Arnee or Aarni) is about 20 miles from Vellore. There were two palaces situated 3 miles from Arni .There were also Palatial residences for the Jagirdar of Arni in Poosamalikuppam (a forest resort very close to Arni town),

Arni Jagir was originally acquired in the early part of the 17th Century by Vedaji Bhaskar Pant, who accompanied Shahjee (the father of Sivajee. In 1640 Vedaji Bhaskar Punt was awarded the Jagir of Arni in consideration of his military services to Shahjee.

The Jagir has remained in the possession of the Jagirdar of Arni and his direct descendants since then (even during British Rule) till it was after enacting the Zamindar Abolition Bill 1948. (This was the first amendment to the Constitution). My father was the 12th and last Jagirdar and he died in 1989 The Jagir of was taken over by the Government on 3/1/1951 and now all that remains is the Municipality of Arni and tattered palaces.

The Palace in Poosamalikuppam was visited and photographed by Mr. Megharajan and friends. This video views the ruins and asks the Government of India to make it a Heritage site after due repairs.

"THIS IS NOT CRICKET"

Difference between Sportsmanship and Rules in Cricket

These incidents occurred during the recent ICC Champions trophy in Sept 2009.

1. Sri Lankan Angelo Mathews turned England fast bowler Graham Onions to square-leg and completed a first run comfortably but collided with the bowler going for a second run. Mathews, after being declared 'OUT' stood briefly at the pitch before walking back to the pavilion, but Strauss, England’s Captain, called the batsman back in a rare sporting gesture.

2. Only 48 hours after Strauss was praised for his sense of fair play by withdrawing a run-out appeal against Angelo Mathews, he allowed no liberties against South Africa when he refused Graeme Smith, South African Captain's, request for a runner when Smith was cramping after scoring a century.

3. In another match England's Collingwood, possibly one their best batsman obviously wasn't going for a run; he was probably a bit hasty in leaving his crease and New Zealand were in their rights to appeal. Collingwood was declared 'OUT" but the New Zealand Captain Daniel Vettori, in a sportsmanship act, called him back.

The issue here is the difference between SPORTSMANSHIP and RULES. Gilchrist and Sangakara walk when they know they are out. Basically most Australians will not leave their crease till the umpire lifts his finger. In both cases they exercise their personal choices and are right in their own way. What is the Umpire for ? In my opinion these issues should be judged by the umpires with the fielding captain making a FINAL decision whether to call the batsman back if he is declared out.

Then I wonder if Smith or Strauss or Vettori would appeal to the umpire for the batsman "handling the ball" when a batsman is just picking the ball to return to the bowler before the umpire calls it the end of the over. Basically, he is out handling the ball is when the batsman deliberately handles the ball without the consent of the fielding side ( Law 33) or if a batsman is run-out(a la Mankad) when a batsman, whilst backing up, leaves the popping crease before the bowler has actually delivered the ball. Where this has happened, the bowler may attempt to run the non-striking batsman out. Getting a batsman out this way, though legal, is generally considered to be against the spirit of the game as the non-striker (usually )does accidentally leaves the crease. Another instance is,at the end of the days play when the umpire has not taken off the bails or called it the end of play, the player is Run out (A la Kalicharan, the West Indian left after the last ball of the day' play ended and was 'Run Out').

Will Gilchrist or Sangakara 'walk' or will Daniel Vettori say "not run out" (or sportingly call the bat in the spirit of the game)when it is the last wicket and 2 balls remaining to win at the end of the match?

Past incidents of Bad sportsmanship


1. In a Test Match between Australia and England, Graham Gooch, one of the best English batsmen was batting very well; he was on 133. Then Merv Hughes (Australian bowler) got a ball to lift and Gooch fended it into the ground from where it bounced - apparently - towards the stumps. Instinctively, Gooch pushed the ball away with the back of a hand. The Australians appealed and Gooch was given "OUT".

2. Steve Harmison appealed for a run out when Inzamam-ul-Haq took evasion action - but is given out, Pakistan v England, 2nd Test, Faisalabad, November 21, 2001 Inzamam played the ball back to Harmison. Harmison threw the ball back at the stumps. Inzamam moved away to avoid getting hit. The ball hits the stumps. Inzamam is out of his crease. Given "RUN OUT"



3. Inzamam-ul-Haq is declared out by umpires Simon Taufel and Asad Rauf for blocking a throw by Suresh Raina by his bat in the first India vs. Pakistan ODI in Feb 6, 2006; here again he took evasive action. Pakistan then required only 40 run from 41 balls to win the match with Pakistan with 5 wickets remaining. Given out "Obstructing the field".
(see video)



4. The most famous incident of running a batsman out involved the Indian bowler Vinoo Mankad. It occurred during India's tour of Australia in 1947 in a Test match at Sydney. Mankad ran out Bill Brown when, in the act of delivering the ball, he held on to it and whipped the bails off with Brown well out of his crease. The Australian press strongly accused Mankad of being unsportsmanlike, though some
Australians, including Don Bradman, the Australian captain at the time, defended Mankad's actions.
However, during the 1987 World Cup, when Courtney Walsh, the West Indian fast bowler could have done a ‘Mankad’ he graciously choose not to do so. Courtney Walsh requires praise for warning rather than dismissing Abdul Qadir who was backing up.


Sledging ( not gamesmanship)
The Aussies try to win by any means possible; particularly sledging, accusing people (eg.Inzaman Huq of ball tampering); wasting time by sledging or otherwise; their bowlers threatening batsman (e.g. Glenn McGrath to Kalicharan), etc. But when they get the response from the opposition they can’t take it.

Some filthy instances of sledging in the past

1.Once Australian Wicket-keeper, Ian Healy's made a legendary comment which was picked up by the microphones when Arjuna Ranatunga called for a runner on a particularly hot night during a one dayer in Sydney... “You don't get a runner for being an overweight, unfit, fat c*nt!"


2. Sarwan, the West Indies vice-captain, and Australian Fast bowler, Glen McGrath went toe-to-toe in an ugly shouting match in Antigua in May 2003, The incident was sparked after Sarwan, was on his way to a match-winning second-innings century, reportedly reacted to lurid taunts from McGrath.

McGrath: "So what does Brian Lara's d*ck taste like?"
Sarwan: “I don't know. Ask your wife. "
McGrath (losing it): "If you ever F*&king mention my wife again, I'll F*cking rip your F*king throat out."

"The Ball does the talking"
In many cases the sledging does not just involve “talking” and the chitchat cannot be heard by the spectators. Sometimes it involves both mockery and gesticulations which are visible. A classic reply from a fast bowler after he has been hit for a boundary. See the video clip is from the quarter-final match between India and Pakistan World Cup 1996 in Bangalore involves Venkatesh Prasad (India) and Aamir Sohail (Pakistan). Sohail “sledges” Prasad by hitting him for a Boundary and arrogantly gesticulates. (Go Fetch That!). Prasad’s response is shattering the stumps with the next ball. The famous Imran Khan is the commentator.


"The Bat does the talking"



The year was 1989, the little master, Sachin Tendulkar, had recently made his debut in Pakistan. He was not even old enough to get a driving license. Sachin Tendulkar was facing the best bowlers in the business. As the Pakistani crowd jeered and mocked Sachin holding out placards saying "" Dudh Pita Bhachcha ....ghar jaake dhoodh pee", (hey kid, go home and drink milk), Sachin sent the then young leg spinner Mustaq Ahmed hiding for cover (he had hit two sixes in one over. Then the legendary Abdul Qadir challenged Sachin saying " Bachchon ko kyon mar rahe ho? Hamein bhi maar dikhao ` (`Why are you hitting kids? Try and hit me.). Sachin was silent, since then we all have come to know that he lets his bat do the talking. Sachin obliged him by hitting 4 sixes in the over, making the spinner regret his sledging. The over read 6, 0, 4, 6 6 6, David had felled Goliath ... and a legend was born. The bat did the talking.

Epilogue
I say Sportsmanship is the "Immediate state of the Mind at any particular moment".
When you are an amateur you are sporting, but as a Pro, you do what it takes. However, since there is an Umpire, you have to go by his decision. Sledging should be included in the “Rules of Cricket” and umpires /match referee should act by these Rules.

NOW IT IS YOUR CALL!

Arithmetic Recreations

Arithmetic Recreations
Before we tackle the FOUR FOURS Problem which we carry out in my next session it is easier to start with the 1234 problem which has the same rules. Here we have to express all the numbers from 1 to 100 using the digits only once in each expression. Remember all the 4 digits must be used only once to form the number. The notations allowable are Multiplication (x), division (/), addition (+) and subtraction (-). We also define that the only other symbols to attach to a digit are the decimal (.), factorial (! - For example 4! = 4 x 3 x 2 x 1 =24), and (exponential - a digit raised to the power of another digit). There are several solutions and to make it a little different I am excluding the square root function in my solution.