GigaWhat: Farms harvest solar energy
Everything Environment by Mongabay India
Release Date: 04/25/2022
Wild Frequencies #3: Us and Them
Everything Environment by Mongabay India
If we listen closely, a bird’s call reflects what humans have done to its landscape, and a forest soundscape tells us about habitat health. Listen to the third episode of Wild Frequencies to learn how scientists use bioacoustics to understand animals in a landscape altered by humans. Wild Frequencies is a three-part mini-series by Mongabay-India, where wildlife researchers from India share their stories of sounds from the animal world. They decode those wild frequencies for us, one song, one howl, and one chirp at a time. Follow Everything Environment by Mongabay India for more episodes. For...
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Wild Frequencies #2: Know Them
Everything Environment by Mongabay India
Can we figure out animal behaviour by listening to the sounds they produce? In this episode, you’ll hear from scientists who listen closely to wildlife ranging from large mammals to insects. Wild Frequencies is a three-part mini-series by Mongabay-India in which wildlife researchers from India share their stories of sounds from the animal world. They decode those wild frequencies for us, one song, one howl, and one chirp at a time. Follow Everything Environment by Mongabay India for more episodes. For show notes, visit our Guests: Seema Lokhandwala, Elephant Acoustic Project Manjari...
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Wild Frequencies #1: Find Them
Everything Environment by Mongabay India
Most wild animals are not easy to spot. They are often hidden, camouflaged, or just not around when you are. But instead of trying to ‘see’ them, what if we try and ‘listen’ to them? After all, animals communicate. For some researchers, all this talking and chattering is gold. They use sounds to find animals that are difficult to observe and also to count them! Wild Frequencies is a three-part mini-series by Mongabay-India, where wildlife researchers from India share their stories of sounds from the animal world. They decode those wild frequencies for us, one song, one howl, and one...
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Trailer: Wild Frequencies
Everything Environment by Mongabay India
Animals communicate. And some researchers listen to what they are saying. Hosts Shreya Dasgupta and Kartik Chandramouli travelled to different parts of India and spoke to multiple scientists to hear stories of sounds from the animal world. They will decode those wild frequencies for us, one song, one howl, and one chirp at a time. Wild Frequencies is a three-part mini series exploring an emerging science called bioacoustics, which is helping us learn more about wildlife and find ways to protect it. Follow Everything Environment by Mongabay-India for episode updates. Hosted by Shreya Dasgupta...
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Environomy #6: A Challenge Across Generations
Everything Environment by Mongabay India
In this sixth and final episode of Environomy, we will explore how India has dealt with issues related to biodiversity and climate change since the 1991 economic reforms. Since the national government has taken a strong position on climate change in recent years, this episode will also try to connect the past with the present and the future. Explore other episodes of Environomy where S. Gopikrishna Warrier took us through the journey of how environmental economics got interlocked after the economic reforms of 1991. This is a journey for which he had a ringside ticket as a journalist, reporting...
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Environomy #5: The One That Got Missed
Everything Environment by Mongabay India
Though farming contributes less than 20% of India's GDP, it provides livelihood support to nearly half of the country's population. It is an extremely challenging occupation, with many from the younger generation unwilling to pursue agriculture. When the post-economic reforms financially benefited sections of Indian society, how did the farmers feel left out? In the fifth episode of Environomy, the host discusses the impact of economic reforms on the agricultural sector. Through Environomy, S. Gopikrishna Warrier takes us through the journey of how environmental economics got interlocked after...
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Environomy #4: India Buys A Fast Car
Everything Environment by Mongabay India
There are traffic jams on India’s hill stations and mountain roads across the year. It wasn’t always like this. Increased incomes of the Indian middle class after the 1991 economic reforms translated to improved mobility. Many made their way to the mountains. And the most significant impact of India's increased mobility has been on the environment of the mountains. Through Environomy, S. Gopikrishna Warrier will take you through the journey of how environmental economics got interlocked after the economic reforms of 1991. This is a journey for which he had a ringside ticket as a...
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Environomy #3: Playing With The Pillars
Everything Environment by Mongabay India
The legislature, the executive, and the judiciary, form the three pillars of Indian democracy. The legislature consisting of the parliamentarians, and legislators are the policy makers who draw up acts and policies. The executive is the government, consisting of the Prime Minister, Council of Ministers, Chief Ministers, and their officials. The judiciary are the lawyers and the judges in the courts, from the lower ones to the Supreme Court and also the National Green Tribunal. During the past three decades, the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary, recalibrated their positions....
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Environomy #2: They Came, They Rapped, They Lobbied
Everything Environment by Mongabay India
In the early 1990s, the anti-Tehri dam and anti-Narmada dam movements were India's most well-known environmental protests. It was not as if only environmental activists were involved with these movements. The developments in Tehri and Narmada were watched keenly by people across the country. In the coming decade, something changed. In this episode, hear about how a distinct economic and political identity for the Indian middle class after the economic reforms of 1991 changed the way in which they dealt with environmental issues. Through our show Environomy, S. Gopikrishna Warrier will take you...
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Environomy #1: The Middle Class Unbottled
Everything Environment by Mongabay India
How did the 1991 economic reforms impact the course of the Indian environment in the past three decades? Listen to Environomy's first episode, where we will look at how the Indian middle class acquired a distinct economic and political identity after the economic reforms of 1991. Through our show Environomy, S. Gopikrishna Warrier will take you through the journey of how environmental economics got interlocked after the economic reforms of 1991. This is a journey for which he had a ringside ticket as a journalist, reporting and writing on the environment for the past three decades. Writer and...
info_outlineWhat are the high hurdles for India to uplift its people and realise its potential on the world stage? Two of the most significant ones are securing food for its large population and providing enough energy to power homes and industries.
As it has always been, land, as a resource, is a precious commodity for both farming, and energy production. On the one hand, it is estimated that nearly 58 percent of India’s 1.2 billion people are engaged in agriculture, which occupies 60 percent of its total land area.
On the other hand, to generate electricity, the country requires thousands of square kilometres of land for coal mines, thermal power plants, and renewable energy projects to meet its energy needs.
A 2019 study noted that fulfilling India’s 2022 goal of 175 GW of renewable energy could impact agricultural areas nearly the size of Himachal Pradesh.
Solar power projects that will contribute to more than half of our 450 GW renewable energy target by 2030, require a lot of land for its most popular form of large solar parks. In places where a solar project eyes fertile and cultivated land, it could lead to social unrest from people directly or indirectly losing livelihoods. This, in turn, means delays and financial losses for energy companies.
What is the solution to this complex challenge? Agricultural and energy researchers are turning to one design-based solution to optimise land usage. The idea is to use the same plot of land to harvest crops…and energy by placing solar panels over fields. The system is called agrivoltaics.
In this episode, we will hear from some of the forerunners in agrivoltaics in India. They'll speak about the potential and roadblocks in the field. We'll discuss what this new way of looking at farmland could mean for a key stakeholder in agrivoltaics - the farmer.
Listen to GigaWhat and explore some of the biggest questions, challenges, and opportunities in India's transition from fossil fuel to clean energy sources. Mongabay-India is an online publication dedicated to bringing you stories on science and the environment in India.
Read the full Clean energy series on our website
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Guests:
Nutan Kaushik, Director General, Amity Food and Agriculture Foundation
Maximilian Vorast, Research Assistant, Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems
Shravan Sampath, CEO, Oakridge Energy
Links:
Agrivoltaics in India: Fertile Ground?
Agrivoltaics in India: Overview of operational Projects and relevant Policies
Renewable Energy and Land Use in India: A Vision to Facilitate Sustainable Development
Credits:
Host: Mayank Aggarwal
Writer and producer: Kartik Chandramouli
Audio editor: Tejas Dayananda Sagar
Copy editor: Priyanka Shankar
Podcast production assistant: Ayushi Kothari
Episode cover art: Mohit Negi
GigaWhat cover art: Pooja Gupta