Can Technology Really Save Us from Climate Change?

Entrepreneurs and investors are making the most of the world’s excitement about clean technology, hammering out innovations in every energy-related field. Many of the projects show great promise for helping to meet the greenhouse-gas limits discussed at the recent UN climate summit in Copenhagen, but few people grasp this disturbing reality: Even if energy innovations have a lot of potential, they might not be deployable until it’s too late. History shows that most of the technology breakthroughs need decades to make it to the mass market.

To cut global emissions in half over the next 40 years, as scientists recommend, clean technologies must be rolled out on a vast scale. In the past, they have taken 19 to 30 years to achieve wide use, say researchers at the UK think tank Chatham House and the patent-search firm CambridgeIP.

To be sure, powerful new market forces are at work: Governments beyond Europe are set to impose limits on greenhouse gases, and companies in a range of sectors are searching hard for ways to curb emissions. But technology deployment always takes time.

That is particularly true of energy-related inventions, which tend to get into big trouble on their way out of the incubator and into the marketplace. Entrepreneurs scrounge for capital, investors struggle to manage the risks of emerging technologies, patents get bought and sold but not necessarily used, and incumbent energy giants hesitate to give up their existing equipment.

Since irreversible climate change is already upon us, there isn’t time to sit and wait years for great innovations to wend their way toward everyday use.

A Moore’s Law for Clean Tech?

With the stakes this high and the outlook this unclear, businesses must begin making better clean-tech investments immediately, especially given the length of time before implementation. Looking at the slate of possible solutions, inventors and investors alike need to understand more quickly how much carbon emissions can really be abated and which innovations will be most effective at addressing the problem in the least amount of time.

In our work with an array of energy-related companies, we’ve become envious of the immense benefit the computer industry derives from a simple insight dating to 1965: Gordon Moore’s conjecture that the number of transistors on a chip, and thus its processing speed, would double every 18 months. Moore’s law, as it is known, is far more than an uncanny prediction. It is a pillar of high-tech industries, allowing entrepreneurs, investors, corporations, and governments to bank on the relentless acceleration of computing power. Microsoft, for example, factors in the arrival of next-generation processors when developing its ever more complex software. In other sectors, companies as diverse as Boeing, Pfizer, and Goldman Sachs rely on steadily advancing computer power when they develop new products and strategies.

That’s exactly the confidence level that businesses and governments require to respond to global energy challenges. They need a conceptual framework that would predict the pace of clean-tech innovation and deployment—taking full account of the maddening lag between the two—as well as reveal which technologies promise to do the greatest good on the fastest schedule. A clean-tech equivalent of Moore’s law could pave the way for more-focused innovation, more-efficient use of capital, and more-realistic regulations. It also could aid investors and governments in their efforts to decrease key technologies’ time to market by spurring, for example, joint manufacturing initiatives, cross-licensing agreements, and tariff exemptions.

Source: Harvard Business Review

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Do we know who we are?

During my course at University, one of the course units was English Grammar/Language. Under English Language there was Communication Skills and during this they taught us how to prepare for interviews. So, a panel of judges[lecturer(s) or even students working in groups] would sit and ask you questions in front of the whole class. I prepared myself for the session and here I was bright and ready. First question; "Can you briefly talk about yourself?" asked the Lecturer. I stayed Angaazi. Totally caught off-guard, I did not see that coming. What was I supposed to say? That I am Cedric? They already knew that. Is it because I didn't/don't know myself? Of course I know myself but anyways I did not answer.

Some months back while on national duty in Fort-Portal Kabarole (western Uganda), the president visited and while addressing thousands of people he put emphasis on youth doing things that economically empower them, he later asked the leader of the Youth group of the district to identify what they needed in the group and he would be ready to assist in a way possible. When the youth leader stood up to give his speech, he asked  for a brick baking machine. He was heavily criticized by his colleagues and they actually threatened to sack him as their leader. "Of all the things in the world, is that the best you could ask for?" asked one of his colleagues. Personally, I don't think he asked for something wrong.

On my analysis he could have been right because may be he asked for a brick baking machine based on his individual desires and not the group's desires/needs. Our country Uganda, over the years has been known for being good beggars(dependency on donor aid) and in some instances the donors actually ask us to say what we want. But I think our leaders ask for what they want as individuals and not the people they represent, or even when they beg basing on their people's desires/needs they have got personal interests aside to cater for, something that has left us behind as a country.

Our leaders not being able to plan well for the people or groups they lead is not because they have these so many demanding things as family men or clan leaders but it is because of two things. One is that we are not defined as Ugandans, secondly; thinking for others is not something that people have had since their childhood and through their youth stage. Uganda is lucky that a slightly big chunk of the population is composed of youth and who are educated youth at that. So the future is bright for tomorrow if we can know who we are and what we want.

I would call it late to tell our grand fathers and fathers to have a definition of themselves and know what they want. But for the the youth, I must say we must have something that defines us. Have something that they can use to define you is what can help youth be better than the elders of today.

In an ICT or call it a dot com generation where everyone has a platform to build a Life or a career but unfortunately  many of us do not know how to go about that. I asked one of my friends why he tweets and facebooks so much, the only answer he could give me was that he is building social capital. Fine, let it be social capital but is it physical? Its you to answer that if you are also in this category.

'Til next time

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I will take you to the Beach and Buy you Fish

"When we grow up and make money, I will take you to the beach and buy you FISH" said Kate(not real names). My high school sweetheart. We wrote &  exchanged lots of mail and I am certain I still have them stored somewhere in my high school archives.

There was a teacher who used to do part-time teaching at both our schools(Kate's & I). So, every time mail was delivered from Bweranyangi to the information prefect (Newton Baguma), I was sure that her letter was amongst the mail. Newton beat me to that post by 4votes by the way. 

During the last the month of my HSC level, the last I could have about my friend was a letter that clearly narrated how I had been such a nice friend and destined for great things in this world. "You are such an adorable friend, God will bless you in all your deeds and you are destined for great things in this world. I will miss you." read part of the letter. I kept it to-date and promised myself to look for my friend.

For all the things we had ever talked about I wonder why the FISH thing kept clicking in my mind. The imagination of that fascinated me. Did she promise me that because she imagined it could be the best thing for us that could not be availed then until we grew and made money? or It would be one way to ask me keep the friendship until we met again and got the social fun to ourselves eating FISH at the beach inclusive?

Six(6) years down the road, I get a request on Facebook, View profile I clicked. Familiar face, I accepted request. Thank you Facebook. Thank you Facebook and Thank you Social Network.

Even before the Internet, social networking existed. Its true that social networking is when a person uses already existing contacts to meet old friends,  new people as potential social or business links. Such links, in turn, will help expand future connections. Small and local businesses can even do this simply by attending community events or participating in trade shows. Am glad that the Ugandan corporate generation is taking this trend especially in attending community events.

I realize that it is not always about how you leave each other but what you leave in each while you leave. The promised FISH has kept me thinking about a person for all these years and led to finding the ever good friend of mine.

Til next time..!!

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Is that all that social media can be?

In the communication context, when someone mentions "MEDIA", the 1st thought is radio, newspaper and TV. When someone mentions "SOCIAL MEDIA",  the 1st thought is Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc. BUT... Is that all that social media can be? 

Media comes from the English word medium, a way through which one can communicate with the other in form of letters, posters, emails, public meetings, etc. There is also mass media whereby you communicate with a large number of people, it includes TV, News, internet etc. Today, social media is often understood as a group of new kinds of online media, which share relative characteristics. These are mostly web-based and mobile technologies(means) that are used to turn communication into interactive dialogue. The characteristics are; participation, openness, conversation, community and connectedness. So, in this sense the basic forms of social media are social networks like facebook, wikis like wikipedia, podcasts like Apple iTunes, content communities like Flickr, del.icio.us, Youtube  and micro-blogging. A best example of micro-blogging is Twitter. 

“A good way to think about social media is that all of this is actually just about being human beings. Sharing ideas, cooperating and collaborating to create art, thinking and commerce, vigorous debate and discourse, finding people who might be good friends, allies and lovers – it’s what our species that has built several civilisations on. That’s why social media is spreading so quickly, not because it’s great shiny, whizzy new technology, but because it lets us be ourselves.” (Antony Mayfield. 2008, What is Social Media?

From all the above, do we see the in-thing of social media as a recent discovery or an evolution of means of communication over time? If we are to go back to the African Tradition, on a social note, people used to interact in the most perfect way. This would include elders telling stories around a fire place, traditional dances to celebrate harvest, birth of a child or arrival of a long gone son of the soil. People really shared much during that time especially in-terms of personality and living an exemplary life. Putting that aside, when it came to communication there were use of drums played for different purposes or occurrences. For example in the kiganda culture the sagal’ agalamidde drum was played if a prominent person would be visiting a village or to inform the community that he would be visiting. In most communities, they played drums to inform the community about a death, birth of a child, local brewing of alcohol etc. But then in relation to social media today it is had to differentiate which one was a DM(twitter message), email, SMS, blog, tweet. Much as communities then were able to differentiate what each type drumming the message or information it passed on.

It is from this I tend to understand that actually social media is not a recent discovery but something that has evolved over time dating way back during the times of the African traditional society. People then sang to communicate each other, they danced to communicate to each other and please note they did not dance to earn money like today. If I am to remember when we were still young, during the Christmas season there used to be a choir which would move house to house singing Christmas hymns to pass on a message that Christ is born. But all that has gone away and the best we get the these days is a Christmas song shared on Youtube, a poem shared on facebook, a picture of baby Jesus born uploaded and shared on Flickr.

Yes, social media has evolved but we should not forget that it is much more than web based tools and materials shared to communicate to each other. Much as Chameleon, GNL, Mun G, or Angella Kalule of the Katitiki fame sing for money, there is much information shared through that and so much more.

‘Til next time...!!

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Rudimentary Technology Vs Modern Technology

It's 1836hrs and am still thinking about my stint yesterday at on of the car garages in Kisekka market down town Kampala.

Like any other normal day, I started it with the usual Kampala traffic jam and drove to one of the offices on Entebbe road. I parked somewhere behind Talenta house and entered the office. One hour later, I found the car clumped by people claiming to be Multiplex officials. "Officer, this car defaulted parking fees on 20th April, 2011." one of the officials claimed. As we argued, I realized that one of the tyres which had a clump was flat and after threatening to open a case against these guys, they quickly removed the clump and offered to meet the expenses of repairing my tyre. Quickly I headed to the tyre center. At the tyre center, the mechanic tells me the shock absorber is faulty. He quickly convinced me to drive down to Kisekka to for a replacement.

Reaching Kisekka market, the attention diverted from my faulty car to the kind of technology deployed at different points in the market. From the rudimentary technology of hitting the hell out of gadget to be loose to the modern state of the art technology of assembling and disassembling gadgets.

But later, this mechanic tried to remove the tyre and he realised there was nut which he had no spanner to remove it. Immediately he thought about a chizzel and hammer to cut the nut off the screw. On the second hammer, he broke thE wheel stud and the nut stayed their. I wondered couldn't this guy think about any other means?

He then suggested we go the people who do welding to burn off the stud and the nut. I lost one stud off the wheel. From such an experience, I wondered why didn't I run to city oil tyre center and have my tyre done and set off for my journey early. Going to Kisekka wasted alot of my time.

You could argue that kisekka is cheaper but I think the time wasted while there covers up for the money thought to be "SAVED."

I appreciate the works in Kisekka but if they could only think of upgrading their technology then life would be easy and Kisekka market would be the biggest and modern motor repair village in East Africa if not Africa.

Til next time.!!!

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