Electricity useage & the future...is it a big cover up?
So we keep seeing ads telling us to save electricity, but what if we should be using it up as fast as we can instead so the 'powers that be' will get their fingers out and start providing houses with solar or infra-red power as standard???? Let's hurry them into providing green energy.
Just a thought.
I don't think those in power want it any other way, they are too busy making loads of money for themselves, at our expense.
The technology for solar power has been around for more than 20 years now, and regardless of all political ramblings nothing ever seems to get done to help the people who use the energy. In fact, when I first read about the benefits of a solar panel the cost would have been within my means, but now the price has gone way beyond the pockets of most ordinary people.
Have you ever wondered why healthy foods are more expensive than others? The same goes for providing green energy, the money!!!!!!
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Before buying a house, you should thoroughly investigate the property. This will not only help you determine the value of the property, but may also save money in the long run.
General
Check for cracks in the walls, both inside and outside. Smell for damp and feel plastered walls for moisture.
Be wary of new paint or wallpaper – this could be hiding cracks or damp. Check for woodworm and rot if the property has wooden window frames, doors and floors.
Outside the Property
Make sure there are no roof tiles missing as this could lead to leaking and other water damage. Check for large trees near the building as their roots could damage the foundations.
Internal Conditions
Inspect bathrooms to see if they are well ventilated, and check if the taps work and the toilets flush properly.
Make a note of odd shaped rooms to assess what furniture to put into them. Look at the colors of the walls and carpets, to see if they match your color schemes.
State of Repair
Look at the plug points. If they are old designs you might have to rewire. Is the roof insulated? Timber needs to be checked for damp, woodworm and rats. Find out when the geyser was last serviced. Check the garden to see if you will need to fell any trees. Are there boundary walls? If not, and you have pets, it might be advisable to erect them. If there are electric fences, gates and garage doors, check if they are in working order and whether they need a service. Check the last time the borehole and sprinkler system were serviced.
New Buildings or Alterations
Check with the agent or seller if the new alterations are on plan, if not you could be liable to draw up new plans at additional costs. If buildings are put up illegally you could be asked to break them down by the council.
Servitudes and Building Restrictions
Many properties have unknown registered rights over the property unknown to seller and agent. It is always wise to ask if there are any restrictions or right of way to travel or gain access to a certain portion of the property by the necessary council departments or Telkom, etc.
Voetstoots
This clause is normally included in most contracts which means that a seller is not liable for latent defects (defects which are not visible upon reasonable inspection), e.g., a leaking roof. A seller could be liable if he knew about a defect and fails to disclose it with intention to defraud a buyer.
Buying the Property
Ask the seller or agent as many questions as possible. Find out why the seller is moving. Ask about crime in the area. Phone the local police station for crime statistics. Check the growth in the area, check to see if there are many homes being renovated and improved which will indicate future value increases.
All opinions and tips welcomed~ Even the harsh and dumb ones.
My book is about these people who board plane and unknowingly go to an new realm/ world. They have no idea were there at when they get there, it's the same place but it's empty. No signs,electricity, no people nothing, except the buildings. There are only about 25-30 people. There are aliens involved or some kind of creatures, well the aliens brought those people there to save them because the people have special gifts. The aliens save them from the other bad aliens/creatures and then a whole series of events come into action. That's all i have so far. What should it be called?
If you have anything i can add to the story or take away...please tell me.
Oh and this is my 3rd book that made so far i am only 14.
Satellitetvseeker.info Exclusive Reports: Part III: Satellite Tv for Pc: Disruptive Technology
(Continued from: Satellite TV Seeker Exclusive Reports: Part II: Satellite TV for PC: Buying Satellite TV for PC.)
In this Part of the Series, we are going to examine Disruptive Technology, like it or not. Why? Because someday these technical questions (spelled "crucial lifestyle decisions") will come up on a really important essay test, and you will flunk if you don't get the answers exactly right!
Ignore this crucial lesson in modern technology at your certain economic peril!
A few general definitions, courtesy thefreedictionary.com, are in order:
What is a Satellite? "(Aerospace) An object launched to orbit Earth or another celestial body." More specifically, the type of Satellite we are referencing here, could be appropriately called a Dedicated Earth Entertainment Satellite (DEES).
What is a TV? 1. (Television) "(Noun) broadcasting visual images of stationary or moving objects; 'she is a star of screen and video'; 'Television is a medium because it is neither rare nor well done' - Ernie Kovacs, 2. (Noun) a receiver that displays television images; the British call a TV Set, a Telly."
What is a PC? (Person Computer) "(Noun) a small digital computer based on a microprocessor and designed to be used by one person at a time."
The basis for the following brief analysis of Satellite TV for PC, and Disruptive Technology then, derives from our understanding of:
• The above three general definitions, and
• Three additional concise definitions, I will offer next, and
• Empirical details regarding Satellite TV for PC, A.K.A. PCTV, which I obtained from testing both a Software Solution called Satellite TV for PC Elite Edition 2006 and a Noware (not Software, not Hardware) Solution, called FreeSkyTV.
(See Satellite TV Seeker Exclusive Reports: Part IV: Satellite TV for PC: Product Reviews.)
Hey! This stuff will be on that essay test I mentioned, so pay attention!
What is Disruptive Technology (DT)? A concise definition in three parts:
"Disruptive technology is a term coined by Harvard Business School professor Clayton M. Christensen to describe a new technology that unexpectedly displaces an established technology. In his 1997 best-selling book, "The Innovator's Dilemma," Christensen separates new technology into two categories: sustaining and disruptive.
Sustaining technology relies on incremental improvements to an already established technology. Disruptive technology lacks refinement, often has performance problems because it is new, appeals to a limited audience, and may not yet have a proven practical application. (Such was the case with Alexander Graham Bell's "electrical speech machine," which we now call the telephone.)
In his book, Christensen points out that, large corporations are designed to work with sustaining technologies. They excel at knowing their market, staying close to their customers, and having a mechanism in place to develop existing technology. Conversely, they have trouble capitalizing on the potential efficiencies, cost-savings, or new marketing opportunities created by low-margin disruptive technologies. Using real-world examples to illustrate his point, Christensen demonstrates how it is not unusual for a big corporation to dismiss the value of a disruptive technology because it does not reinforce current company goals, only to be blindsided as the technology matures, gains a larger audience and market-share, and threatens the status quo."
[Bold Italics added for emphasis.]
Is Satellite TV for PC Disruptive Technology?
For the sake of our discussion, let's assume it is not for the moment. Judging PCTV only by the first set of criteria in the above concise definition: "... a new technology that unexpectedly displaces an established technology..." it could be argued that there is nothing really new about this technology: Satellite TV for PC is merely a recombining of existing technologies: Satellite TV, The Personal Computer, and The Internet.
Take my word: Nothing currently is, or will actually be displaced by this technology: Not Satellite Technology, TV Technology, not The Personal Computer, and definitely not The Internet.
On the flip side of the discussion, judging PCTV by the second set of criteria in our concise definition, this technology: 1. Lacks refinement, 2. Has performance problems, 3. Appeals to a limited audience, 4. Lacks a proven practical application.
The characteristics above are certainly all true of PCTV. At least, they are true today: 08/15/06. (I'll be returning to this point in Part IV of the Series.)
But before we go further, let's examine the unexpected part of the above concise definition, required for DT to exist, by taking a quick overview of this scenario from the Corporate Perspective: What of Bill, Rupert and Charlie?
"... Christensen demonstrates how it is not unusual for a big corporation to dismiss the value of a disruptive technology because it does not reinforce current company goals, only to be blindsided as the technology matures, gains a larger audience and market-share, and threatens the status quo."
And what might be the ultimate implications for the above big-three players, (MSN, DirecTV and DISH Network) Celebrities in the Pay-for-TV-In-Crowd, for being too big to be anything but blind: A certain death-nell.
Q: Why would anyone (a typical Consumer for example) who could get all the entertainment, news, weather and sports, they could possibly ever desire, ever voluntarily pay for the same thing they could get Off-The-Air (OTA) or Online, free for nothing?
A1: The Typical American Consumer Profile (As perceived by the Mega Corporation):
Ignorance: Perhaps they, the great unwashed, have simply never heard of PCTV.
Stubborn-ness: Perhaps they can't, or won't buy a PC, en masse.
Laziness: Perhaps they just can't be bothered to investigate their options.
A2: The Typical American Corporate Profile (As perceived by the Common Man):
Control: Because of their behemoth size and capital resources, they, (MSN, DirecTV, and DISH Network) individually or as allies, could easily swallow this infant Disruptive Technology in a single, merging mouth-full.
Complacence: Perhaps due to their unrivalled position in the World Marketplace, they couldn't care less.
Greed: Or they could simply find out what makes the new, contentious PCTV technology go, and copy it! (Much more likely, and a whole lot cheaper.)
(I'll also return to this point in Part IV of the Series.)
Hey! Wake up! Are you still with us? I'm just getting to the good part!
In any case, it's doubtful if any of the big three are totally unaware of this 'new' PCTV technology. This being the case, it's also highly unlikely that the bigs will knowingly, benignly let loose of the gigantic empires, (or any critical fraction thereof) they have spent most of their adult lives building!
So, the final criterion, by the third concise definition, and most decisive of all considerations in this analysis, may have everything to do with industry leaders, and the status remaining quo.
Notwithstanding the above, for a technology to be truly disruptive, it must eventually overtake and supplant the existing technology utterly, or very nearly do so.
Let's take the following example.
A very brief history of TV
TV is an invention of the mid-20th Century. Although many vital technological elements arrived to set the scene, some time earlier, TV as we know it, began officially in England, one day in 1936.
Television (a Disruptive Technology) hit the American Scene in the late 1940's, with such a tremendous impact that it nearly killed Wireless Radio, the reigning king.
Historical Bench Mark: At this point, there were no Satellites, and no Computers, and even the concept of the Internet as we know it, didn't surface until the late 60s!
The cool bit about this new American TV technology in the 1950s was, that apart from the original cost of Equipment: The TV Set, The Rabbit Ears or The Roof Antenna, and of course The Electricity The TV consumed; the programming, such as it was then, was 'free': i.e., no per hour, or per month charge.
For many who actually still listen to American AM and FM Radio and get their TV exclusively OTA, the free nature of this ability to access these services, without apparent cost, is akin to a Constitutional Right!
Cable TV
The next technological wave nearly swept the previous (free, if Antenna-dependent) TV technology away completely.
Cable TV, (a Disruptive Technology) the first Pay or Subscription TV Service, actually got its start in America in the late 40s. With its tens and eventually hundreds of relatively high-quality programs, and programming variety, it practically put an end to The Free OTA TV World, at least so far as the American Consumer was concerned.
Historical Bench Mark: At this time (late 50s) there were probably many Military Satellites capable of receiving and transmitting radio signals, but no operational Commercial Satellites, (DEES) and no Personal Computers, as we know them. The PC didn't arrive until the 80s!
Satellite TV
Although Satellite TV (a Disruptive Technology) lagged behind Cable TV by a nearly decade, it rapidly closed the gap as a viable way for the typical American Consumer to get first-class quality, variety TV, wherever they lived.
Again, this new technology seriously challenged the existent entertainment king, Cable TV. (Very many small CATV businesses went out of business as a direct result of the advent of Satellite TV.)
Historical Bench Mark: By the early 60s (TelStar 1962) we were using Commercial Satellites to broadcast all sorts of Radio and TV signals, which could be gathered and decoded by receivers located at almost every point in the Continental USA.
And that, so far as Disruptive Technology in the TV industry is concerned, brings us to the court of the current and reigning entertainment king: Satellite TV. (Cable TV relies on the Satellite signals it packages and redistributes to Consumers via coaxial and/or optical fiber cable.)
Convergent Technology (CT)
Though this precise term is not in any of my Dictionaries or my Wikipedia today, considering the circumstances surrounding the above succession of Disruptive Technologies (Radio, TV, Cable TV, and Satellite TV) as exemplars for "displacement," I believe Convergent Technology better describes what PCTV actually is, and what it is also in store for us in the future.
So, let's assume that The TV and The PC have at last merged into one device which has multiple, powerful capabilities, many of which are now generally under-utilized!
Let's further assume that the previous technologies: Satellite and Internet, are not swept away by the new technology (they won't be) but that the foursome, all get married and begin living happily together as CT partners for all the millennia: Will this then be the one, and true Satellite TV for PC, and the new, soon-to-be crowned, king of entertainment?
It's too early for me to call!
Why it matters at all
In a very real way, this issue of DT or CT, is essentially a battle for your wallet. Whether Satellite TV for PC turns out to be Disruptive Technology, or Convergent Technology, may not seem to be an important issue to you perhaps, right now.
But it can mean thousands of dollars, either saved or spent, in acquiring the programming that, you as a Typical American Consumer, will no doubt want to partake of, in the course of your TV-Watching Career.
So, this will be the subject of the essay test I mentioned earlier. Since lots of your money could potentially be riding on your answer, best take the mock exam right now!
Q: If you were offered the choice right now, would you prefer to: 1. Pay less than $50, one time for access to all the entertainment, news, weather and sports, you could possibly ever desire? Or, would you rather: 2. Continue to pay $50, or more monthly, to your Cable TV Provider or your Satellite TV Provider, for the rest of your TV-Watching Career?
You will have all the time you want to formulate your answer. (You can even change your mind later!)
So, might it be Satellite TV for PC for you today? Then you must read the final Installments in the Series: Satellite TV Seeker Exclusive Reports: Part IV: Satellite TV for PC: Product Reviews.
Missed the previous episode(s) Part I, or II? Visit: satellitetvseeker.info
Click: Article Page.
Best Regards,
Craig Guest
CEO, Satellite TV Seeker
stsinfo@satellitetvseeker.info
Fair Use Policy: This Article may be reprinted or otherwise reproduced in total, provided that the following resource is cited:
(See Resource Box.)
About the Author
Web Site: http://www.satellitetvseeker.info
Email: stsinfo@satellitetvseeker.info
Hi, Craig Guest here. The Satellite TV Business has been my occu-passion for the last six years. Looking back, it's been an extraordinary journey. My favorite quote: "It is good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey that matters in the end." - Ursula K. LeGuin
Craig started as a Satellite TV installer and serviceman, and soon got involved in selling for both DISH Network and DirecTV. When Satellite Internet arrived on the scene in 2001, Craig took the plunge and got certified for StarBand, Pegasus Express and DirecWay as an installer and serviceman. High Speed Satellite Internet sales soon followed, and today his watchwords are: Anything Satellite.
Web Site: http://www.satellitetvseeker.info
Contact: stsinfo@satellitetvseeker.info
How Sam Harris Demonize Islam? Used Anglo Quran in Argument
Save Electricity Save Money Essay Books @ Amazon.Com
Please help me with this task: to make up a 1-2 minutes video (can be both a movie or a cartoon), aimed at teaching children (7 - 9 years old) how important is saving energy. Actually the company wants promotion.. They design and produce metering equipment, and want the video to tell about electricity meters as well.. so the idea is to connect the importance of precise measuring with energy saving, but make it fun and easy to understand for kids. And as little boring lecturing as possible.. The company has their own symbol, a guy looking very much like Pinocchio, they want to have it in the video as well. I have absolutely no experience in scriptwriting or filming, band to my shame have very few ideas by now..
If you have any ideas on a plot, or maybe you know what to avoid when making a movie for kids, please share it.. Thank s a lot!
LOL - if you have little scriptwriting or filming experience, I'd say to ask for a collaborator (someone in marketing/art). My best advice would be to find someone who could write a song (think School House Rock)/ The Santa Clara Valley Water District, where I live, puts out water conservation/water cycle/water treatment educational cartoons for kids and loans them out to local schools, so you might want to research what's already out there.
We’ve all heard often enough that it’s time to start thinking and saving electricity. We’re depleting the Earth’s resources in record amounts, and it’s becoming more and more clear that we need to start thinking in terms of protecting and preserving the Earth and her resources when we build.
Heating, air conditioning, lighting, cooking and refrigeration were the first elements easily identified as major power burners in private dwellings, and as such received a great deal of attention. Subsequent regulation has been directed toward building and insulation standards for climate control and hot water systems, especially for homes built to Energy Star and other efficiency and green building standards. However, there are many other sources of energy waste.
Often over-looked are the insidious consumers of electricity - products that appear to have been turned off, but which in fact continue to burn many watts while they lie idle in standby mode. Chargers (wall warts), DVD players, set-top boxes, and TVs all fall into this category. Again, as recent government legislation and programs have focused on setting maximum no-load and standby power consumption limits, designers of such equipment must find new solutions to match the demands of the regulations.
In recent years, we’ve seen a push to improve how efficiently we use our energy . But, is this proliferation of energy saving programs and incentives really helping to alleviate the energy crisis we’re facing. If it is, is it enough? Is buying energy saving lights and appliances really going help us decrease the number of generating facilities we require to provide us with the energy we need now and in the future? Should we be confident that our politicians really understand how to fix our current and future energy situation?
I suppose we could take the position that every little bit helps. I can’t deny that no matter how much or how little we save, it is better than doing nothing!
1. Turn off lights when you leave the room
That seems obvious, but how many times do we forget? And it's not just inside lights. Do you leave the porch light on when you go out for dinner and a movie? Over the long run, you'll save money by installing a motion sensor to turn the light on when you come home. Timers are also available to replace switches , so that the lights will go off after a preset time.
2. Turn off devices that you're not using
There really aren't many electrical devices in a home that need to be left on 24/7. In my own case, just the fridge and when I'm home the scanner and my 2 meter ham rig stay on all the time. That's about it.
3. Don't heat or cool to extremes
No matter how much you hate the heat (or cold), you'll save a lot of money if you keep your house around 28° - 29° in the summer and about 21° or so in the winter. I keep my house right at 28° during the summer and 21° (a much more pleasant temperature) in the winter. If you don't feel comfortable at those economical temperatures, adapt your clothing. It's your house, you can wear cut-offs or a sweatshirt if you like. And you'll love the money you save.
4. Add more insulation to your home
One of the most effective energy-saving things you can do. More insulation will help you keep it that way. As long as you’re dealing with your water heater, you might as well add some insulation. Since the standard hot water heater is on all the time, adding extra insulation will save more energy than you think. Most hardware stores sell pre-made insulator “jackets†that can be easily wrapped around one’s water heater. Experts estimate that adding insulation to your water heater and any exposed pipes can knock up to 15 percent off the costs of heating water. Then consider walls and double-pane windows.
5. Lower water heater temperature
You'll save energy by lowering the temperature of your water heater. Many times the heater runs just to maintain a tankful of water at a temperature much higher than you'll ever use.
6. Put electric water heater on a timer
Installing a timer on your electric water heater is one of the best ways to save big bucks on your electric bill; that is, once you take care of the "simple" methods such as adding extra insulation to the tank and lowering the water heater temperature. For most families, that's in the morning and the evening. No need in running the heater when everyone's asleep or at work or school.
7. Use electricity on off-peak time
Off-peak time means 21:30-7:00 every day. During this period, the cost of electricity is half.
Although brief and only meant as an introduction, I sincerely hope that this article will bring new light to how we view and manage this serious energy problem we face not only for today, but for our future.
Going Green without Going Broke when Painting your House
Here's good news for small businesses that care about the environment but are afraid that going green will break the bank.
Take a close look at the steps you can take that can help put your business on the path to greener practices.
1. Know Your Carbon Footprint Step one begins with understanding your company's impact on the environment. Carbonfund.org offers a free evaluation of your carbon footprint based upon factors like the number of employees, their workday commutes, the size of your facility, and other physical attributes that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions - everything down to the number of computers you use.
Then, Carbonfund.org calculates a donation amount to cover the cost of counteractive efforts. The money is invested in certified third-party offset programs like tree-planting, recycling, and solar and wind energy. Carbonfund.org has registered over 1,000 businesses and 450,000 individuals.
2. Use Eco-Friendly Products Be conscious of the products you use everyday when doing business. For example, a painting contractor can use paint products that have little or no volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Costing only a few dollars more per gallon, low or no VOC paints are safer for the environment.
3. Pursue Solar Energy Options The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 outlines enhanced tax credits for small businesses with great detail on how to make solar energy pay off for your business. To save electricity and money in your warehouse add skylights to increase natural light. This can be a relatively big investment but you'll see substantial savings on monthly electric bills for a lifetime.
4. Plant Trees to Offset Greenhouse Emissions In addition to third-party certified offset organizations like Carbonfund.org, planting trees on your business property is an affordable - and attractive - way to offset carbon emissions. Make it a fun company activity and assign each employee their own tree.
5. Become Paperless This is where most companies cringe because Intranet systems have a reputation of being cost-prohibitive for many small businesses. When a company researches this process they should weigh several factors. Look at cost, ease of use, implementation time and how the system could grow with your business. Ultimately, it will require hiring an expert Intranet firm who can take every paper file and convert it to a digital file.
6.Recycle Recycling comes in many forms and will be different for each business. For example, if you specialize in residential and commercial painting you can partner with the Solid Waste Authority (SWACO) for recycling removal services. SWACO provides a free 90-gallon recycling container and free desk-side bins for employees as well. To find a similar organization in your area type "small business recycling + your city/region" into the search engine.
7. Reduce Waste Ultimately, the concept of reducing waste becomes a way of thinking. Going paperless is a good way to reduce waste.
8. Insulate Your Facility Your business can receive a modest tax credit for installing insulation or replacing old windows with new energy efficient windows. This can drastically decreased heating and cooling costs.
9.Use Energy-Efficient Vehicles If your business requires a fleet of vehicles, make sure they have V4 or V6 cylinder engines.
10. Install Bee Boxes Sensitive to recent reports on the negative effects of Colony Collapse Disorder within the global honey bee population, a team of employees installed and painted bee boxes at their company's home office. The disorder, caused by a combination of disease and shrinking habitats, has scientists concerned over maintaining worldwide pollination rates. Simple bee boxes costing a few hundred dollars attract bees, enabling the critical work of pollinating seeds.
Overall, the investments made by your company to go green will result in reduced costs, increased efficiency and - in some cases - modest federal tax credits, proving the ease with which small businesses can positively impact environmental health.
About the Author
Geoff Sharp is the founder of Sharper Impressions Painting Company. As a professional painting services provider, Sharper Impressions has been providing interior and exterior residential re- painting services for more than 18 years. Get a free analysis by visiting http://www.sharperimpressionspainting.com/atlanta/atlanta-painting.html">www.sharperimpressions.com.
I want to write a essay to inform students on ways to save the environment.?
Please help me elaborate these points
1.Use recyclable products
2.Save electricity
3.Do not waste water
4.Stop open burning
Each points make 5 or 6 sentences,please.Thank you very very much.
1. things you can do
Favor products with a high recycled content, even if they cost a little more.
Reduce the volume of packaging you buy, reuse what you can, and recycle the rest.
Tell the clerk "I don't need a bag".
Use your own reusable canvas bag or backpack at the store.
Buy quality products and keep them for a lifetime.
for 2 http://www.eei.org/industry_issues/retail_services_and_delivery/wise_energy_use/how_to_save_electricity_in_your_home
3. Why save water?
How do our everyday actions affect the water cycle? What is embodied water? Find out why we all need to take action now.
more in http://www.savewater.com.au/
Is India Actually Developing?“I used to think I was poor. Then they told me I wasn’t poor, I was needy. Then they told me it was self-defeating to think of myself as needy. I was deprived. (Oh not deprived but rather underprivileged.) Then they told me that underprivileged was overused. I was disadvantaged. I still don’t have a dime. But I have a great vocabulary.” - Jules Feiffer
Who is developing?-
Sensex has touched the 20,000 mark within a short period of time. The bulls are roaring on Dalal Street. Traders are celebrating it. The soaring Sensex has become a symbol of India's growing economy. But what does it indicate — that India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world? Indeed, everyone should be happy that India is doing well and receiving huge inflows of foreign exchange. This is becoming the breaking news of the media and it is shown in such a way that India is developing very fast. All magazines, newspapers and TV channels are representing this rise with the development of the country. But there is a point that is Sensex or any other stock market indices should be taken as criteria of development? If is it so then why people are not smiling all that much? The truth is that Sensex reaching great heights and high industrial growth has little meaning for the common man. It is not benefiting the common Indian because when it is showing up as higher profits for the corporate sector, it translates to higher salaries and bigger perks for top executives. Thus it is not benefiting the common or poor India. Why is the rise in Sensex not affecting the fortunes of all? This is because only a few million people are investing in the equity (shares) of companies. Indians invested only 6.2 per cent of their total savings in equity-related instruments in 2007 and equity and mutual funds accounted for only 1.2 per cent of the GDP in 2007.[1] So rising Sensex is benefiting to only few people that have invested in it. This seems to be the by-product of the Global Economy, benefiting only the upper classes and elites while the poor get poorer.
Government policies are also seems to be concentrate on the matters of big industries. Government also shows indices like Sensex and Nifty as criteria of the progress of the country. Earlier the slogan of political parties was “poverty eradication” but now days they talk about Forex, Sensex and economic buoyancy. The government says that purchasing power capacity of people is increased. But we should not see the purchasing power of the people who buy luxurious items like car, T.V. etc. We should see the point that prices of wheat, rice, edible oil and pulses have risen and poor people are not able to buy this. Prosperous India has not yet provided sufficient social infrastructure to make the country less brutal for those at the bottom. India is a democratic country. Whether that democracy is a democracy wherein a small portion of people is being benefited and where there is poverty, they are not getting benefited?
Government’s point- According to Gandhiji we want independence for effecting change in the system. I think that we have not succeeded in that goal. Sensex, Forex, growth rate, saving and investment are increasing but inequality has also been increasing. Inequality always creates dissatisfaction. We must think about poorest of the poor people and not about rich people. Your policy should be guided for poor people. This government is running by great economists and these led to the situation where common people cannot buy vegetables. Government shows great affection towards the big industrialists. They provide them with each and every requirement whether in terms of money, resources or with land. But both government and private sector are not performing their civil duty. Charity, civic duty and pressure on both the state and the private sector to sustain anti-poverty programmes are rare. Our politicians are seriously concerned when their interests are at stake (the Sensex being one of them) but they hardly care for the millions who go hungry. Hunger and poverty will not be eliminated as long as they form the basis of vote-bank politics.[2]
Poverty in India is present from a long time, no matter which government comes to power. Seat sharing is become the most important work of the parties. Even after 40 years of garibi hatao campaign launched by Indira Gandhi we are still lagging behind Ethiopia in hunger eradication. With the economic buoyancy in industrial sector the investment is increased in this sector. But we need more investment in social sector to increase the status of poor. In India 26% i.e. 260 million people are below the “official” poverty line. In comparison to China, they have only 6 million people who can be termed as poor.
Agriculture sector- India’s most of the population is engaged in the agriculture sector. This sector is also suffering from many obstacles. Farmer is the biggest producer and farmer is the biggest consumer. Farmer is getting poorer day-by-day. Farmers are commuting suicides. Till the farmers do not get right prices for their produce, they will not get benefited directly. [3]Agriculture, too, needs investment and farmers require credit to remain viable. But today most farmers remain poor without having adequate access to credit and have to migrate from farms to towns in search of work, as productivity and output are low and the size of farms small. Most farmers do not even own the land they are tilling. And the farmers who have their farms to cultivate are forcing to give their land to Special Economic Zones (SEZ). India is trying to attract foreign investment to spur its economy and help develop its largely backward infrastructure. In part, it has chosen to do this by setting up Special Economic Zones, where companies get tax breaks to open businesses and factories. But critics say farmers are often forced from their land or cheated of its value when it is acquired for these projects. On 29th October 2007, 27,000 landless people were gathered to march to Parliament and to protest against government. "Day-by-day the Sensex goes up but the common people get nothing from this," said Anil Gupta, a march organizer, referring to the Bombay Stock Exchange's benchmark index. "People here are asking only for the basics. There is no greed. They don't want clothes or electricity, just land so they can feed themselves," he said. ‘’In the recent years of economic liberalization, the programme of land distribution among the landless has been badly neglected while hundreds of thousands of acres that belonged to small peasants have been taken away for industries, mining, dams and others projects. Their already meager share of the land is diminishing. Non-violent struggle for protecting the land rights of the poor cannot be delayed any further,’’ said P.V. Rajagopal, the main organizer of the march and chairman of the internationally-known Ekta Parishad movement. [4]
If multinationals needs land government provide them but if landless want land, government denied them. All matters of land reforms laws like SEZ come under 9th schedule. Earlier the rule was that laws under 9th cannot be review by court but now after the Supreme Court decision that court can interpret the laws come under 9th schedule, there is a little hope that this discrimination of farmers could be stop. But it is not so easy. Nandigram issue is an example. Government is giving the land for SEZ that is fertile and producing. This totally shows the unfriendly nature of the government with the poor farmers. Indian property laws are unsettled and are not precise and this also helps the government to acquire the land of poor landowners. And the other factor is red tapping and corruption that also allows exploiting these farmers. So we cannot just blame big industrialists. There are so many loopholes present in our system. Farmers are committing suicides because they are not able to give interest of the loan. There is no facility of small credit without any security like in Bangladesh where Gramin Bank of Yunus Khan is giving small credit without any security.
Cause of poverty- The main cause of poverty in India is unemployment. This is also because of illiteracy. The poor people cannot afford private school education and the level of government education is very bad. So we can say that only few can get jobs in the future because of lack of education and qualification. The poor people also cannot open their own business because they are not able to get sufficient credit. This is because of lack of education and lack of sufficient security. The credit only goes to the rich people who have collateral securities.
Consequences of poverty- Due to poverty poor people are not able to invest and even save money. Saving and investing are become only the business of well-to-do people. In real sense, India is experiencing such situation where economic development is only helpful to the rich and more secured people. On one hand people are talking about airplanes, latest mobiles, LCD TVs, five star hotels, abroad education etc. but on the other hand people are deprived of even basic needs like shelter, food, primary education, proper sanitation, pure water, permanent jobs, etc. Such contrasts are not sustainable, and this is clearly evident from the rising protests, incidents of violence, the crime rate, insurgencies and Naxalite activity.[5]
Separation of classes- Indians are now divided into three parts- upper class, middle class and lower class. The upper class i.e. the big businessmen are always trying to attract middle class because they see them as their market. They do not bother about the poor class. Not only upper class is responsible for this situation but also middle class is also responsible for this. Middle-class Indians who feel little obligation to the poor tend to believe that they have made their contribution simply by becoming middle class. They focus on their own needs because they have overcome a great deal to get where they are and still fear slipping back. Moreover, they say, why give to the state when corrupt politicians will just waste the money? Meanwhile, small charities oriented towards children and women are sprouting up across the country. But life expectancy at birth across India as a whole—62 for men, 64 for women—is lower than in poor Latin American countries like Guatemala and Nicaragua, and the poorest rural families eat less rice than they did five years ago. And no statistic can capture the agonizing sight of a barefoot, ragged four year old doing somersaults at a traffic light to earn a rupee.[6]
Government launched the Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme to give employment to the poorest to the poor. It is launched with the aim of providing 60m people a measure of financial protection, through guaranteed work and unemployment benefit. But this scheme is also seems not more than a political tool. Again red tapping, bad governance and corruption are the obstacles that are likely to come before this scheme.
It is not true that India is not developing that India is not developing but it is not developing altogether. Some of the Indian states are doing well. In Tamil Nadu, half the population lived below the poverty line in the mid-1960s, but effective contraception, female education and primary healthcare led to population stability and a consequent drop in poverty by the end of the century. But in Bihar, which had the same percentage of people below the poverty line in the 1960s, the population still grows at a staggering pace, making anti-poverty measures hard to pursue. Both Assam and Punjab have histories of political violence and a poor school system, but the latter's infrastructure allows for a standard of life far ahead of the former.[7]
Conclusion- It’s not easy to eradicate poverty in a country of having largest number of poor. But somehow steps have to be taken to come up with this problem. The government should take some steps with the public involvement. The upper class and middle class have to realize their civic duty towards poor. I am not talking about the national sharing but atleast some measures should be taken to make flow of money towards the poor one. It’s good that the big businessmen are becoming richer but poor should get some benefit out of this. They should give a better platform to the poor through aiding them by providing with good education, proper housing, safe drinking water, proper sanitation facility and more importantly jobs. The banks should take some measures that will allow short period and small credit without any security to the poor so that they can start their own business. By only such efforts we can develop in true sense and can say our country as Incredible India. In the end I want to say that it’s not the gyrating Sensex that will bring our country prosperity, only the all-over development will bring India into the league of developed countries.
References-
By V. Rajagopal from Tirupati from the review of article Inhumanity Index (26th Oct., 2007) in Hindu
By Shri Uday Pratap Singh from Synopsis of Debates of Rajya Sabha on March 8, 2007.