Energia is the technical category of Akshay Urja Club in Techtatva. Through this category we provide technical input and information about new developments in the field of New renewable technologies to young ignited minds. In this regard we propose to conduct events & workshops which help in exposing budding engineers to the different types of renewable energy and methods of energy harvesting.

SWADES

The participants have to find their way through a treasure hunt and rack their brains to solve clues and finally end up applying their environmental super powers to save their city!!!

URJA RACHANA

Participants have to build a working model of a lamp to provide an alternative to any of the conventional lighting fixtures, using LEDs for the lighting purpose. A pre-techtatva workshop

will be organized for the same.

ECOVISION

Ecovision is a fun based team event which gives participants the opportunity to use one’s technical talent as well as bidding abilities to craft a model with resources given.

MANIPAL CAMPUS CHALLENGE

Manipal Campus Challenge is an initiative to involve people in Sustainable Development and make them aware about effects of neglecting the situation. Registered teams implement and conduct various activities over a wide range of domains which are the major components

of our environment.

SOLAR MOBILE CHARGER [ Workshop ]

Finally you can see much talked about solar power put to use in common day to day application. The participants can build their own portable solar mobile charger using a single

solar panel equipped with over charge controller circuit for the safety of the device.

What You Can Do To Make a ChangeMost people believe that the current environmental problems are a hoax. And the very few who do think a large-scale change can be brought about only if there’s mass action. And for mass action, masses have to work together. Is it really so?You don’t need everyone to make a difference. Like the one of greatest presidents of all time, John F. Kennedy quoted, “One person can make a difference and every person should try.”

So what can you, as a student, do to contribute to conservation of natural resources?• The average person’s daily water consumption is 340 liters which is equivalent to 680 bottles of water. Reduce your water consumption. - Turn off the tap while brushing and shaving. - Take shorter showers. - Do only full loads of laundry. - Close the taps properly after use. - Get the leaking taps fixed right away.• Do not burn paper or plastics which lead to air pollution.• Plant trees. Rodents do a lot of planting unknowingly. When we know the adverse effects of soil erosion and droughts, it is our responsibility to do something towards the betterment.• Switch off any electrical appliances when not in use. Switch off the lights in the corridor in the morning when they’re not needed.• Participate in awareness and plantation drives. Akshay Urja Club organizes plantation drives, an awareness drive and also visits schools every year to spread the word among the young minds that shape the future.

1. Mike Pandey: Mike Pandey is the most well-known face of India’s environment campaign. Pandey, who started out as a wildlife filmmaker, has gone on to win many awards and has been relentlessly pressurizing governments at every level to balance prosperity with sustainabaility. Pandey has been an eco-warrior for three decades now and shows no signs of stopping.

2. M a n s u k h l a l R a g h a v j i b h a i Prajapati: Mansukhlal R a g h a v j i b h a i Prajapati is the founder of Mitti Cool Fridge, a refrigerator made completely of clay. The fridge can hold perishable items for a week and cools water and milk. It is extremely cheap and a life-saver in many villages of the country. Prajapati’s next goal? Creating Mitti Cool House, a home that will cool itself without any external help.

3. Chewang Norphel: Chewang Norphel is a civil engineer by profession and has earned the nickname of Ice Man for his work in developing artificial glaciers. In remote regions of the country such as Leh, Norphel’s work is literally groundbreaking as artificial glaciers have helped increase groundwater and increase the season for irrigation. Award-winning filmmaker Aarti

Srivastava has also shot a documentary feature on his environmental work called White Knight.

4. Tilak Vij: Growing increasingly troubled by the man-animal conflicts in Himachal Pradesh, Tilak Vij did something that very few people would even consider. He quit a well-paying job in Germany to save animals in the state. He has created six nature clubs and encouraged growing trees to

increase the state’s green cover. He now plans to set up a leopard conservation centre

with the help of Himachal Pradesh state government.

5. M.Y.Yoganathan: Yoganathan’s is the most inspiring story in this list. This man works as a conductor with the Coimbatore Transport Corporation and does not know how to read or write. Yet, Yoganathan is

single-handedly responsible for planting 38,000 trees over

the past 26 years. He did not let his illiteracy deter his mission too

as this Indian environmentalist went about teaching students the importance of

environment conservation in schools across Tamil Nadu.

6. John Abraham: No, the actor is not in this list for acting in Kaal or even for being a PETA member. Rather, John Abraham makes this list for working away from the media glare and helping to create India’s first elephant village in Maharashtra with the help of local bodies and helpful communities. He was also awarded an EcoWarrior Award for helping elephants find a new home in natural surroundings.

6 Indian Environmentalists You Must Know

Across:1. The process of cutting down or burning a forest.

3. In order to harness wind energy, you need to build a ____________.

4. The average weather patterns of a region.

5. Black liquid. Drawn from wells. Can be refined and turned into gasoline.

6. The release of harmful sub stances into the air or water is called ______________.

8. _____________ gases such as methane contribute to global warming.

10. ______________ dioxide is a gas often created by combustion. It contributes to global warming.

12. Black mineral. Dug from mines. Pollutes the air when burned.

13. Type of fuel. Refined from corn. Popular in the United States.

Down:1. Manmade structure. Blocks a river. Used to harness hydroelectric power.

2. A ___________ resource is one that can be used more than once.

5. The _____________ layer of the atmosphere protects us from the sun’s most harmful rays.

6. One way to help the environment is to ride _________ transportation, such as buses or trains, instead of driving your own car.

7. This land is very dry. Almost no plants or animals live here. The sun dictates the weather: Hot during the day. Cold during the night. This land results when topsoil

and plants are lost due to drought or overuse by humans.

9. _____________ energy comes from the sun.

11. Don’t throw that soda can away! You can ____________ it.

CROSSWORD

• One ton of carbon dioxide that is released in the air can be prevented by replacing every 75 watt light bulbs with energy efficient bulbs. Now that’s a big impact, isn’t it?

• More than 20,000,000 Hershey’s Kisses are wrapped each day, using 133 square miles of tinfoil. All that foil is recyclable, but not many people realize it.

• There is more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere today than at any point in the last 800,000 years.

• Every ton of paper that is recycled saves 17 trees, 2 barrels of oil, 4,100 kilowatts of energy, 3.2 cubic yards of landfill space and 60 pounds of air pollution. So let’s so green and recycle! Do not throw away your newspapers, old docs, and notes. Instead sell them to the “raddiwalas”. You can easily make a few hundreds if you sell all the paper without throwing it away.

• In India, air pollution is believed to cause 527,700 fatalities a year. A very solid reason to opt for public transport and help reduce the pollution!

• With the start of industry in the 1700s, humans began emitting more fossil fuels from coal, oil, and gas to run our cars, trucks, and factories. By driving a “smarter” car, you can not only save on gas, but help prevent global warming.

Statistics from worldometers.info - 11:40 AM 30th September, 2013.

ROLL OF FACTS

Biodiversity is one of Planet Earth’s greatest strengths. Ecosystems depend on many different plants and animals to stay healthy. When species go extinct, it’s like removing links from a chain. New research from Microsoft aims to show that while it’s an immense challenge, it’s possible to protect over 60 percent of Earth’s plant species from vanishing into the ether.

In partnership with Duke University and North Carolina State University, Microsoft researchers used computer algorithms to identify the smallest set of regions worldwide that could contain the largest numbers of plant species. The result, they say, is a model showing how putting just 17 percent of the planet’s land surface off limits to human contamination could save a huge number of important plant species.

According to study results published recently in the journal Science, a more efficient method

for choosing which areas to protect could reduce friction with polluters while preserving essential biodiversity. To test this theory, Microsoft researchers used computer algorithms to identify the smallest set of regions worldwide that could contain the largest numbers of plant species.

Based on their computations, Clinton N. Jenkins, a research scholar at North Carolina State University, created a color-coded global map identifying high-priority regions for plant conservation, ranked by endemic species density.

Because we can’t create new land or move entire populations of rare plants, the research provides a compelling reason to increase protections in areas that are especially bio-diverse.

Research shows how to save 60% of Earth’s Plants

University of Cincinnati researchers Yang Liu, Qingshi Tu and Mingming Lu; discovered that an ingredient in our old coffee grounds might serve as a cheaper, cleaner fuel for our cars, furnaces and other energy sources.They used a three-pronged approach by converting waste coffee grounds into energy sources including biodiesel and activated carbon by – 1. Extracting oil from the waste2. Drying the waste coffee grounds after oil removal to filter impurities in biodiesel production.3. Burning what was left as an alternative energy source for electricity, similar to using biomass.The researchers launched the project in 2010 and the summary of this research was presented at American Chemical Society’s (ACS) 246th National Meeting & Exposition in 2013 at Indianapolis.The researchers say that this method they’re exploring would not just reduce the landfill space but also promises to create biodiesel from a natural product from food source not high in demand, like corn and soybean.

Coffee Grounds – A promising Energy resource for the future?

Synergia – Akshay Urja Club’s very own fest held every even semester. The 2013 Synergia was a big hit – with the most amazing informal (Oh, the music! And KC turned to a very happening dance-floor in an instant!), all the slots/seats for workshops and events filling out quicker than expected, and about 220 students participating in our school events. Seems like our club, Akshay Urja, is gaining prominence at a faster pace! Looking forward to Energia’13, our category in TechTatva, which promises to be better than ever before!

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