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.

Will we be able to survive future superstorms?

According to a report filed by the United States Department of Energy (DOE), the country’s energy infrastructure may not be able to sustain future superstorms like Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy. 

As infrastructures get older, they grow susceptible to power outages, which can cost the taxpayers anywhere between $20 and $50 billion annually. And “the damages are going to get worse…” warns Jonathan Pershing Deputy Assistant Secretary of Energy at the DOE.

By 2030, approximately $1 trillion in energy assets in the Gulf Coast will be at risk of rising sea levels and increased hurricane activity. Last year was the 2^nd most expensive year on record for weather related disasters, with $115 billion in damages caused Sandy and extended droughts (Katrina was even more costly!).

“Increasing temperatures, decreasing water availability, more intense storm events, and sea level rise will each independently, and in some cases in combination, affect the ability of the United States to produce and transmit electricity from fossil, nuclear, and existing and emerging renewable energy sources,” the DOE report claims.

New research performed by Kerry Emanuel of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology reveals that greenhouse gas emissions may contribute to a 40% spike in the rate of tropical cyclones by 2100. Emanuel predicts that “these storms will generate stronger winds, rain and storm surges around the world. This extreme storm activity will likely be felt most acutely in the North Pacific, the North Atlantic and the southern Indian Ocean.”

Superstorms have already ravaged energy infrastructures across the U.S. Sandy caused fuel shortages throughout New Jersey and New York. Hot summer months forced power plants in New England and Illinois to shut down. Droughts and a lack of access to water resulted in fracking restrictions in Texas, North Dakota, and Pennsylvania.

The DOE report cites that these phenomenon “may become more frequent and intense in the future decades.” 2012 was the hottest year since the U.S. began recording temperatures back in 1895. These temperatures were followed by historic droughts, which reduced water available for generating hydroelectric power, cooling coal burning power plants, and supplying fracking operations.

 “We don’t have a robust energy system, and the costs of dealing with adverse environmental conditions are significant,” says Pershing. “The cost today is measured in the billions. Over the coming decades, it will be in the trillions. You can’t just put your head in the sand anymore.”

In the future, will you be able to rely on your regular utility company to provide for you? Or, when supply struggles to meet demand, will you be treated like an animal and left to forage for energy? Hopefully when that day comes you’ll have invested in the SH-Box by NRGLab, a renewable generator that’s portable, long-lasting, and completely carbon-free! That’s right - you could cut ties with public utilities and save money doing it! The SH-Box produces electricity for as little as $.03 per kWh. That’s less than a third of what you’re probably paying now…

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