murali's blog

Speech by Krish Murali Eswar on the launch dinner meet of BCIL ZedWoods at The Chancery, Bangalore on 19 February, 2010.

The best six doctors anywhere
And no one can deny it
Are sunshine, water, rest, and air
Exercise and diet.
These six will gladly you attend
If only you are willing
Your mind they'll ease
Your will they'll mend
And charge you not a shilling.

Courtesy: Melissa Blonde

There were 30 plus people around the table. Each of them spearheading businesses over $20 million at the least. Each of them imbued by a single commitment to seeing what individually, as leaders, and collectively, as a council of members, they could do into the future to bring change across business, industry, government and consumers in a way we impact energy, water and waste management in the country.

"Presentation to emerging leaders in Wipro's Leadership Development

Cities have become veritable omnivores, consuming every thing that the countryside offers. Can we afford this any more?

Given the fact that the government this week in the parliament has already given the green signal on GM vegetables.

Do tune in to see if you are ready to face the consequences of this invasion on our food plate. Please pass this message to as many people as what's at stake is just not our health but our ecology and the future of our coming generations....wake up before it is too late.

KILLING PIGS AND DESTROYING A LIVELIHOOD

When we hear what Archimedes claimed, given a lever and a place to stand he could even move the earth, we sit back and smile. There is no possible place to stand, we smirk.

The right footing also seems to be the problem today when the world is asked to pull herself up by the bootstraps. How can we get to addressing these big changes we need to make in our very own lifestyles if we want that figurative lever to work?

So what’s the big picture at BCIL? Why does BCIL do what it does?

We had pulled up off the highway for a well-earned coffee break on our return from a visit to a small town in the hills of the Western Ghats where we sought to implement a system for greater efficiency in water supply, with the consent of the Urban Local Body. A new-found colleague turned around and asked, “So what is the connection at BCIL between an urban water supply development programme that we do in a small town in Coorg or Goa, and all the Green Residential Developments that we offer in cities?”

Article in Civic Society Sept-Oct 2008

Architects are altering the lexicon of construction world wide. Eco Cells and Natural Air-Conditioning are no longer science fiction. India’s current building boom will have a huge impact on the environment unless more sustainable practices are made the norm.
CHANDRA SEKHAR HARIHARAN.

Sometimes it is difficult to explain some cruel ironies of life.

Late last evening an oldtimer, serious journalist called me out of the blue, to ask if I knew of the demise of HSK. This morning's papers had a terse set of 3 paras on Prof H S Krishnaswamy's death. He was an economist, writer, journalist, among other things. He was part of another generation. A person who couldn't suffer stupidity; a 'Nehruvian Indian' who knew less of his own interest, as of the larger interest of the world and his country.

BCIL signed in August 2008, the CII Code for Sustainability as part of a roadshow organised by CII and the India Green Business Council. BCIL is one of 150 such signatories in the Indian corporate sector who have been invited to make this commitment to Ten Commandments for reducing natural resource use.

P Chidambaram recently released a compilation of his writings of the last few years on many facets of India. He writes and reflects, among many things, upon his vision of a new India which will move into becoming environmentally sustainable. While he speaks with firmness and clarity on many issues ranging from finance to politics, there are some contours he foresees that will be deeply disturbing to any thinking professional or kisan.

The future of construction is already upon us with the spectre of shortages forcing new inventions, says Chandrashekar Hariharan

‘The world goes to town’ was a headline that one editor wrily wrote out for a report in May on the world, for the first time ever having its urban folk outnumbering their country-cousins.

If 1800 and the steam engine stirred the first signs of what we call the City today, this significant watershed we saw in May this year is not one that will be forgotten easily. That’s a major tilting of numbers in the world, but sadly went nearly unnoticed.

There was a quiet milestone that India reached a couple of months’ ago when the country’s GDP crossed the one trillion dollar mark for the first time in all history. It was more a financial juggle that got us to the number - with rupee depreciating to the 41–level against the US dollar.
This puts us in the company of eleven other countries in the world. Is this a ‘dirty dozen’?

They were waiting for long, and like good professionals biding their time. With the blowing of the lid on oil price, a major event went past us nearly unnoticed. Mid-July, the Bush government lifted a 17-year-long ban on offshore drilling. The hope is that more production will ease the spiraling fuel price crisis.

Some of us will remember a banner headline in major dailies a few months ago. One of them carried an eight-column banner on the possible Gangotri glacier meltdown and the threat to the entire Gangetic Plain. Pushing the panic button on such potential eco-disasters is not a bad idea--at least it will stir us into action!

Early August this year, newspapers quoted Nature Geoscience confirming what the scientific world has known for about 20 years: the Earth is a sensitive being and can very quickly, without notice, slip into another Ice Age.

While we thank the few who have struggled to make for a world of buildings, products and lifestyles that are 'eco-friendly', a friend I met recently wondered aloud, how we got to becoming as eco-hostile as the world has.

If 1800 and the steam engine stirred the first signs of what we call the City today, we saw a significant watershed on May 23 this year. Newspapers reported, quietly, a statistic that is already forgotten in the debris of news we read every day: that week of May 2008 saw a major tilting of numbers in the world: the world's urban population, for the first time ever in all of time, outnumbered the rural population.

They were waiting for long, and like good professionals biding their time. With the blowing of the lid on oil price, a major event went past us nearly unnoticed. Mid-July, the Bush government lifted a 17-year-long ban on offshore drilling. The hope is that more production will ease the spiraling fuel price crisis.

What are the advantages of living in large townships/gated communities, and what do they offer to the residents - in terms of living, as a lifestyle and the scio-economic benefits of it ?

1. How many LEED certified buildings are presently in India?

Commercial Buildings- The news on this one is not too encouraging over the last two years since the inception of the the LEED rating by the IGBC in India. But with the very recent alarm and media attention to climate change concerns, Indian business is stirring itself into directing green strategies. This year will see many applications for such green certification.

1. Can principles of traditional architecture be used to create green buildings?

The pdf below gives an overview of BCIL’s approach to sustainable habitats and their business strategies as one of India’s largest Sustainable Built Environment (SBE) enterprises.

BCIL_TZed.pdf (1.27 MB)

The original article appeared in Besharp http://besharp.org/sbe_inde/spip.php?article111

Paris

My heart sank as I stood at the lectern and watched the expectant faces in the dimness of the hall. Here were about 50 faces, may be 80 who were all business leaders from large companies, architects, service consultants who shaped the destiny of many large buildings in India's cities.
All of them in their prime. Sharp heads for business. Seeing the potential for business, big business, that Green buildings and the future held.

Chandrashekar Hariharan is a leading green buildings expert who has been known for his pioneering work in water and energy management.

Which books are you reading?
Thoreau's Variorum which is a collection of his writings. I am also reading The Ugliness of the Indian Male, a witty collection by Mukul Kesavan.
Who are your favourite Indian writers?
Ramachandra Guha and Nirad Chaudhuri. I also like Nayantara Sahgal and Sasti Brata. Bill Aitken is another engaging India writer.
Who are your favourite novelists?