India: economy up, but at what cost to the environment?

India’s economy has been steadily growing over the past decade, but at a significant cost to the environment. The population is now exposed to tainted water supplies. Polluted air. Depleting resources and unstable ecosystems. These problems are only exacerbated by a growing gap between the wealthy and poor. So, what exactly does the country plan on doing about it?

According to the World Banks’ most recent report, environmental degradation is costing India approximately $80 billion per year. That’s 5.7% of the country’s total economy! At that rate, how much longer can they continue to grow and remain competitive on a global level?

Not very long, is the answer you’re looking for.

India, a country known for being a cultural melting pot, needs to start swaying its policy makers of the importance of appreciating natural resources.

A recent survey ranked India 126th out of 132 countries in overall environmental quality, and dead last in the air category. The survey concluded that India has the worst air pollution in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD, narrowly edging out China, Nepal, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.

A whopping 13 of the world’s 20 most polluted cities can be found in India, where poverty is both a cause and effect of environmental degradation. Under-producing crop yields. Deforestation. Disease and famine. They’re all linked to the Earth. In order to survive, the poor are reduced to mining and pillaging the natural resources available to them, creating a cycle of degradation and destitution.

Since 2000, India's economic growth has reduced unemployment, allowing millions to make better lives for themselves. The country is not expected to veer from its current growth trajectory, meaning environmental sustainability is going to become the next hot button issue.

The report begs an interesting question: "Does growth so essential for development - have to come at the price of worsened air quality and other environmental impacts? Green growth is necessary. With cost of environmental degradation at 5.7% of GDP, environment could become a major constraint in sustaining future economic growth. Further, it may be impossible or prohibitively expensive to clean up later."

Muthukumara Mani, a senior economist at the World Bank, claims that "while the overall policies focus should be on meeting basic needs and expanding opportunities for growth, they should not be at the expense of unsustainable environmental degradation.”

There has to be a better way.

That’s why NRGLab has invested years and millions of dollars into developing highly-efficiently, environmentally-conscious methods of converting agricultural waste, natural gas, and even recycled crude oil into useable fuel. For more information, visit nrglab.asia. Learn what you can do to prepare for the future of energy independence.

China & India lead surge in future energy consumption

A new study released by the United States’ Energy Department predicts that the world’s energy consumption will surge 56% by the year 2040, nearly half of which will stem from China and India.

Sure, that date might seem a long ways away, but if we fail to address the problem now, there’s no telling how we’ll manage to meet future demand.

Based on current government policies, fossil fuels will account for 80% of world’s energy use by 2040; this, despite increased efforts to fund more alternative energy programs.

The natural gas industry is expected to grow faster than coal or oil, thanks in part to new extraction techniques (not to mention global warming, which is opening up natural gas deposits in the Acrtic).

While the U.S. has dominated fracking and the natural gas industry to date, they’ll soon have foreign competition to deal with. Russia is predicted to keep pace with the U.S. in terms of productivity, particularly in the Russian Arctic. The study claims that China and Canada are poised to increase production as well.

And where exactly is all this new fuel being shipped off to?

A majority of new production is intended to meet rising demands in other markets. Russia, for instance, is planning to export more gas to China, while more than a dozen other companies have proposed facilities to transport gas from the U.S. to Asia and Europe.

The Energy Department study warns that this trend could expand to other counties like India amid high oil prices, which “are expected to rise to $163 per barrel world-wide in 2040 from $105 in 2013. That increase could drive consumers to use less or seek alternatives.”

The result?

Burning more fossil fuels will increase the amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. The study projects that emissions will increase 46% by 2040. That puts us well beyond the “point of no return” scientists have been warning us about for years.

The time for change is now. Follow us at nrglab.asia for updates on our slate of alternative energy projects designed to eliminate carbon-emissions and reduce consumption.

Power blackouts crippling India

Last summer, over 700 million people were affected by sweeping power blackouts across India. Doctors in the middle of surgeries. College students in the middle of term papers. The blackouts became just another part of Indian culture. Over time, however, they could decidedly cripple the country’s economy.

Businesses purchased backup generators to address the problem, but these generators ran on fossil fuels like diesel, and ultimately contributed to rising pollution concerns. Hospitals began reporting an increased number of heart disease and asthma cases.

While all of this has been going on, 400 million people in India continue to live without regular access to power. The government has promoted energy efficient renovations as means of saving energy. More efficient windows, air conditioning, and motion sensor lighting use less electricity, save money, and reduce the frequency of blackouts.

The next step would be to introduce a clean alternative source of energy to the market. The SH-Box by NRGLab is the ideal generator. It’s powered by a polycrystalline core that’s reliable, renewable, and emits zero amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Can’t get much cleaner than that! The SH-Box could immediately replace the diesel generators in India and begin to heal the environment as well as the economy.

India’s growing at a furious rate. Companies, cities, and public officials are straining to figure out how best to sustain that growth in a responsible manner.  The government recently announced its plans to double the amount of clean energy it produces by the year 2017. To meet that quota, they may need a little assistance from NRGLab.

For more information on the SH-Box revolution, visit the NRGLab homepage at nrglab.asia.