The sustainability series Part -1: Electric vehicles

Climate change and sustainability are 2 topics that we as a society need to understand and then come to have an opinion.  In this post, I will try to answer a few pressing questions that I feel are necessary to understand the application of a topic. I want discuss some critical issues in simple words. I am not going to give sources of the numbers. Having tried my best to get the numbers right, the main aim of this post is to trigger some curiosity and make the readers decide on their own on what to do next.

Before you read, I am not a climate change skeptic. I believe that climate change and associated pollution are one of the greatest challenges of our generation. Also I work in the oil and gas industry.  In the first post, I will look into electric vehicles.

1. What are the different types of vehicular pollution??

There are different types of vehicular pollution.  

•        Particulate matter (PM). These particles of soot and metals give smog its murky color. 
•          Total Hydrocarbons (THC) - Vaporised and unburnt fuel from the vehicle
•          Nitrogen oxides (NOx) - Oxidation of N2 in the fuel
•          Carbon monoxide (CO) - Partically oxidized fuel
•          Sulfur dioxide (SO2) - Sulphur in the fuel
•          Carbon di oxide (CO2). - Oxidation of fuel

2. Is there vehicular emission from Electric vehicles?

There is no emission from electric vehicles.

3. Does this mean if I use Electric vehicles, there are no CO2 emissions?

Nope. The electricity generation is always associated with emissions.  

For example, In India 80% of the total electricity comes from fossil fuels. (Coal, gas and oil). There are cases, when an EV could result in more net CO2 emission if the electricity is from a dirty source of electricity.

4. How can a user understand the CO2 emission from the use of EVs?

 This is where things like Life cycle Analysis help (LCA). This is used to understand the environmental impact of energy use. More on that later. It’s clear that if the electricity is from a dirty source, the advantage of EVs is significantly reduced.

5. Then is an EV really advantageous?

There are a couple of hidden benefits.

•   Reduced pollution in the cities. Depending on your source, the vehicular pollution causes close to 30 % of net pollution. City like delhi would benefit from all public transport converted to electric vehicles.
•    Single source of CO2 emission. When all the vehicles burn CO2, the source of pollution is distributed all around. Now a power plant is a single source and there are easier measures to prevent pollution from power plants like CCUS (Carbon capture Utilization and storage). 

5. What percent of the total vehicles on road are electric?

Less than 1%

6. If electric vehicles are so good, why has it not become a success

There are a few reasons for that.

•       The best of the electric cars will go about 300 km on road and it would take about an hour to recharge fully from the best of charging stations.
•        Cost is an issue. But the numbers are coming down rapidly.
•         The infrastructure around charging. Most of the world is not ready to move to EVs just yet. It requires tremendous effort from the governments to set up the infrastructure.
•         Lack of awareness amongst people. This is once again a very big hurdle. There is nothing black or white and it’s important to understand what is necessary.

7. What is the auther’s outlook on EVs?

EVs are the future long term. Short term depends on the lot of factors. Tesla will be keenly looked upon. Their success could influence the success of the EVs in the next few years.  

Confessions of an arm chair critic

Before going any further, let us all for a moment watch this incredible scene from the movie ratatouille.  

To quote Ego, "In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little, yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face is that, in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so" 

Such an insightful quote from an equally insightful movie. In a way most of us or at least I am sure of myself , belong to the category that is worse than a piece of junk than the junk itself. I find it incredibly easy to say a solution is wrong. Its the easiest thing to do. But when it comes to the finding the solution, the whole brain thingi  goes to the drain. While  being a critic comes to us naturally, listening to one does not. Being a toastmaster, giving feedback is an integral part of the educational program. While giving feedback it is always asked to sandwich a negative feedback  between positive things. This is a something toastmasters as an organization has learnt over the years.

So why am I writing about things that seem so random and out of context. Recently I read this article from the guardian "Guardian article about negative comments". With the advent of the digital revolution we have access to plethora of information. This is a great power, and of course with this great power comes great responsibility. There is an unusual surge in the right wing, rather extreme thoughts through out the world.

Over the past year or so there are loads of issues creeping up in and around me, particularly from india that has made me and many of us take a stand. Ofcourse each of us have a right to take a stand as much as the other person. Let me start with things close to my heart. The whole intolerance debates. Amir Khan or Shah rukh khan who said that there is a growing sense of intolerance around us. They might be right or they might be wrong, one thing that we must respect is their right to speech. Without going into the merits of their statements what is completely unacceptable, is the reaction of the people who are both for and against their stand. What followed was an incredible name calling and swear exchanges, where terms like presstitudes, AAPtards, bakhts etc etc. Why have we become so sensitive to criticism and why do we get hurt so easily.

Historically there have been many such debates where personalities more than idealogies have dominated. Closer to home, the debates Ambedkar vs Gandhi, Bose vs Gandhi are definitely the top picks. In the social media we can always find people sharing how the country would have been different if the other had been in charge. For example, let us take the Bose vs Gandhi debate for instance. Both wanted complete freedom for India. How it would be achieved is where the difference rose. While Bose wanted an Indian version of fascism (Without the racism bit), Gandhi was in favour of step changes, with Indians slowly taking control rather than going for immediate complete independence (Source : From the book "Bose in Nazi Germany", Bose had lived in Germany for about 2 years trying to persuade the Axis powers to invade India).  Both the ideologies have their merits, and Gandhi being a better tactician and people's person, had persuaded the majority to follow his ideology.

Does this mean the two lost their mutual respect! When INA officers were arrested in 1945, Gandhi went on a fast seeking their release. Nehru was the chief  defendant for the INA officers. The term, Father of Nation was bestowed upon Gandhi by Bose himself, while Gandhi called him the "Prince among the patriots". Source [Bose's address to MK Gandhi from Rangoon]. We cannot get back in time and verify if these statements are true. But what is clear was a clear mutual respect and accepting to agree to disagree. Researching for this article, I came across these 2 letters,
Bose to Gandhi
Gandhi to Bose 
This shows a clear mutual respect and admiration.

There is a beauty in having a difference of opinion. Time and again it is nice to have our beliefs shattered. Thats how we grow up. But once we grow we somehow forget what helped us grow in the first place. We have over the years lost our ability to listen, be tolerant and question our on beliefs. I really hope there is a more mature interaction, where different ideas can coexist. India in particular has had unity in diversity in her DNA through out the history. Our first prime minister was an atheist, who was a protege of a staunch believer, and had a law minister who hated both their ideologies, home minister who was more right than liberal. I wish we could learn from that and  have constructive respectful conversations. And yes, I am dreaming. 

The ticket

He has been in chennai for more than a year now. Though he is long way away from his  home, he had grown quite fond of his adopted home. One of the biggest challenges he faced daily was his commute from Koyambedu to Chrompet (The commute path for the benefit of the readers here). A stretch that is 17 km, usually takes something between 1 to 2 hours depending on the mood of the traffic. The travel in the bus  was quite simple. Get in, get a ticket from the conductor and then go to sleep. Getting a seat was hardly a problem as his stop coincided with the start of the bus route. He knew the route like  the back of his palm and could navigate with ease using the public transport.

He was very tired due to an ever increasing work load. He had been contemplating getting a  motor bike to ease his commute. He  nonchalantly entered the bus that was standing in the bus stand. He saw scores of people walking by. The average commute time was easily over a hour for a travelling professional. He could now rest in peace for the good part of next 2 hours. The bus was getting full and as it started, he saw the conductor navigating slowly through the crowd and coming towards him.

In order to help the conductor he wanted to keep the change ready for the tickets. As he counted the coins and to his surprise he had 2 full rupees short. For a moment he was stunned and confused and missed a stop where  he could have  got down. He conductor was close to him and quickly thought of a plan. " Bhaiya, 1 ticket Anna Nagar" he said confidently. The conductor looked at him with   disappointment. In the local language Tamil, the conductor started saying, that the  bus is not going in that direction and he is in the wrong one. He looked at  the conductor confused. People who saw the incident unfold, began to explain to him in broken Hindi and English about what he should be doing. The conductor gestured him to get off and get the bus in the opposite direction. And obliged with a confused and a small smile unnoticed by others, he got down at Kasi theater.

Within minutes another fully packed bus arrived and took him. Since the conductor was in the front and it was already late he took his own sweet time to issue tickets to the passengers of the backside door. But he could not escape for a long time. He was asked for ticket after the second bus stop. Though he had enough money, he was high on the adrenaline and used his trick here too. "Before getting in, why don't you silly fellow see the bus number properly? Now the driver will stop at alandur bus depo. You can get down there." Shouting at him, the conductor moved to the next person. He was extremely happy for having covered a long distance without any ticket. When he got down from the bus, he heard someone sympathizing him in Tamil. "Poor boy! He has to go back all the way to get his bus now. He doesn't even know the language". Some one else helped him by telling the number of the bus, which would take him to his destination. He thanked him whole-heartedly for his kind gesture on him and walked away, with a painful smile.

By this time he had become very bold. As the next crowded bus came along, He consoled himself for becoming a liar and decided to have a complete free journey on that account. He remained at the back and wanted to get down as soon as he could. He was calm and was masking his nervousness enjoying the view from the footboard. He had a terrible shock when he saw the ticket checker waiting at the entrance, where he was supposed to get down. He showed the folded ticket which was used by him in the morning and disappeared  as quickly as possible.

He could not believe his luck. Slowly guilt and pettiness started clouding him. He saw an old man sitting by the road side. He gave the old man the rest of the coins he had and started walking home.  

The Football

It was  getting boring for Ramesh. He was not good at this at all. He was the last defender and one of the least involved players in the playground. It is the unspoken rule to make the worst player in group the goalkeeper and the next worst as the last defender. It was amazing that he was one of the fastest runners in the class, almost making it to the school athletics team, still found himself considered one of the worst players in the pitch. He did not mind because, it gave him enough time to take rest in between the multitude of special classes he had to attend. He was standing almost 25 yards away from the action. The ground was large and was  divided into several small sections with each group playing a different sport. It was surrounded by tall buildings all around.

This time around,  2 classes were sharing the ground.  The boys played football and the girls played dodgeball or chocho. The boundary between chocho and football pitches was non existent.  Ramesh was getting bored. He wanted to spice up the whole occasion, after all it was the first PT period after the monsoons. He got an idea. He wanted to spoil the girls' game by hitting the football into the chocho pitch. Stella was busy playing along the edges of the football pitch. She was one of the most studious students in the class and sat in Ramesh's adjacent desk in the classroom. She was also a teachers' favorite. Ramesh had his pick for the girl to target. With a wicked smile he set about putting his good evil plan into action. Stella was playing in his close proximity.

Wanting to get more involved in the play, he pushed up and started shouting for the ball to be passed to him. He wanted to play in such a way that, everyone would think that the ball was unintentionally hit at the girls. One right moment came. An opponent was progressing quite fast towards the goal. Ramesh quickly moved across and tried to hit the ball as hard as he could. To his embarrassment he kicked thin air and the ball hardly changed directions. The opponent was past him in a jiff, Ramesh refusing to give up chased him. He got to the ball and this time caught the ball near perfectly. He had hit the ball perfectly in exactly the right direction he wanted to. To his horror he had caught the ball too well and could well bodily hurt her. Involuntarily he shouted "Stella, ball!!".

There was  a huge thud sound. Stella alerted by Ramesh, expertly evaded the ball. But Ramesh, keeping his eye on the ball had failed to notice the goal post near by and hit the post hard. He was knocked out cold. When he slowly opened his eyes, he felt a bloody nose and Stella was sprinkling some water on him.

20 years down the line, Stella was angry. "Ramesh, see what a brat your son is turning out to be. I dont think I can handle him anymore!!".

"Dont worry stella!! I will take care of it."

With a straight face, Ramesh called his son separately. He winked at him and said, "Its ok to be naughty some times".