Power cuts are on the rise in Tamil Nadu - the last time I heard, 'twas up and about to around 8 hours a day. And all I see people do is blame the government, the politics and the corruption. I do not understand why people cannot see that ultimately, there is only so much the government can do about the endlessly rising power demand. In the end, one must realize that we live on a finite planet which cannot indefinitely gratify our hunger for more and more power.

I have been trying to tell people this for at least 10 years (from the age of 9 or 10) now, but no one ever takes me seriously. People still do not want to think that, at least partly, the power cuts might be due to some fault of theirs. All everyone is interested in doing is wiring up an UPS system, and escaping the problem. But, what good does that do? When everyone starts having their own UPS system, the entire point of the power cut (that is, load shedding) is defeated. Here, we have a situation which needs us to share a certain scarce resource, and all people want to do is steal from others.

Let's face it. How many people properly switch off lights, fans and other electrical appliances when they are not in use? How many people pause and think for a moment whether or not they really need hot water for their morning bath, before mindlessly switching on their electric water heaters? How many people refrain from turning on their air conditioner systems just because they got one in their homes? How many people think about closing the tap while brushing their teeth in the morning? Why let running water flow? Why can't you consider for a moment all the energy that was put into pumping the water up to your tank? And why does everyone seem to need electric lighting in broad daylight these days?

My recommendations are for a two-pronged strategy - one, of course, is to try and conserve energy, and the second would be to try and implement decentralized alternative sources of energy such as solar power. Solar power isn't expensive or as difficult to maintain as most people think. The cost is very much reasonable compared to the cost of construction or petroleum these days. With some initiative, it can be done and can reap rich benefits environmentally, economically and otherwise.

Now, unless people really start understanding the underlying environmental issues, and take action, nothing is going to happen. It is time to be self-reliant, find our backbones, and get started shaping our own futures. A much better idea than depending on spineless governments, methinks.

Also, my brother is currently working with installation of a 100 W solar panel setup at home. Once a reasonably reliable solar power supply setup has been achieved, I am planning to set up my very own solar powered web server at home, and move my website there. Here is a link to his blog post: http://solariiknight.wordpress.com/2012/02/09/my-own-solar-power-plant-part-i/