Can anyone guess what this resource is?
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So far as we know, out of the 200 billion stars in the milky ways galaxy, only the Solar System has a planet orbiting it that supports life. The basis for this life (on land) is soil which teems with microorganisms and is fortified with nutrients and minerals to support the growth of plants.
There was a time when plant life flourished on this planet in extensive forests and grasslands, supporting in turn a huge number of different life forms.
.. and then tragedy struck. A species of monkeys who till then had confined themselves to the arboreal environment, decided to become intelligent – unfortunately there intelligence was of a selective kind, very intelligent in some ways, and hugely dumb in other ways.
This species of monkeys (who call themselves ‘humans’), over a period of just a hundred years, got rid of most of the forests and converted a lot of the land into huge cities; cement and concrete, which on their own cannot support the growth of plants ….
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I am referring to the roof over our heads. When I tried to calculate the total roof area in India, I got a shock. If we assume that there are 100,000,000 homes in India – or home equivalent like offices, shops, etc – each covering a plinth area of 50 sq m. (500 sq ft) Then:
The total roof area in India = 100,000,000 x 50 = 5000,000,000 sq m = 5000 sq Km !! This is unique real estate, which directly receives the elixir of life, sunshine, and we are doing practically nothing with it.
What is this real estate good for?
1. If one tenth of this area is covered with solar panels, we can generate 500,000,000/10 = 50,000 Megawatts of energy for four hours every day, assuming solar cell efficiency of 10%.
2. We can grow practically all our vegetables on roof tops. That too organic and free from pesticides.
3. A shelter on the rooftop will ensure that you and your family can have a leafy environment on your rooftop, closer to nature. You will ensure that you and your family do not suffer from vitamin D deficiency.
http://yourlife.usatoday.com/
4. We can wipe out nutrition deficiencies in children in one stroke. Beans grow very well on rooftops. Even a poor family having a house of 10ft x 10 ft can grow their vegetable requirements on their roof tops.
5. Growing vegetables on rooftops and installing solar panels will provide massive employment opportunities.
6. Green cover will reduce global warming.
A CALL FOR ACTION:
1. Change building rules, so that vegetable gardens are incorporated in the design of buildings.
2. Focus R/D, so as to make it possible to generate clean organic fertiliser from household and human waste. (For my rooftop garden I use just vegetable waste. I had to learn by trial and error how to compost it. Originally I used to bury the waste under soil in pots – this resulted at times in generating a lot of worms which crawled all over the roof. Now I bury the waste in soil, in raised beds, where I grow the vegetables – with larger amount of soil, bugs seem to remain put. Soil cover over waste snuffs out all smell.)
3. Civil engineers to provide directions on how to design vegetable beds, so that the safe load on roofs is not exceeded. (Prima facie there seems to be enough margin of safety in the design of concrete roofs).
4. Civil engineers to provide guidance on proper drainage to protect roofs from moisture.
5. Encourage the formation of vegetable garden clubs in all localities. (A lot of time is wasted in growing seedlings; ready availability of seedlings will reduce the unproductive period. Vegetable growing clubs will also encourage information sharing. It has taken me more than a year to figure out how to grow tomatoes in a reliable way here in Trivandrum. I have been able to grow vegetable cucumbers very successfully and so also beans. My next focus will be ladies finger, with which I am having some problems.)
6. Engineers to work out how to segregate waste water generated in the household, so that some of it can be safely used to water plants.
7. Provide incentives, so that people are tempted to install solar power in their houses. Make it possible for them to feed excess power generated to the grid.
Note: The GDP of India can be increased by tens of thousands of crores by making use of this priceless resource. While rooftop solar arrays will require major investments, rooftop gardening can be initiated with minimum additional resource. Do we need a ministry for rooftop affairs : - )
Selvaraj
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