Steam Center Blog

W hile   a race is on in the US to choose the next President, the world watches with interest because being the largest economy and strongest military power in the world particularly one that regularly intervenes in world affairs rather than refrain, whatever happens in America influences the rest of the world hugely. Of the seven candidates that still remain in the race the favorite of this author is Bernie Sanders. This is because Bernie wishes to fight against rising economic inequalities in the world, does not represent big money interests and stands for good human values like medical care for all. Bernie is particularly able to do this because he is being funded by the people and not big corporations and banks as most others He is especially good news for the world at large because he places more faith in peace than wars. More so, Bernie has a long and consistent record on working for these values and all this is not just a put on to win elections as many politicia...

A report in the times of India today described how chemical dyes used in the textile industry are destroying the environment, rivers, farms, ground water and human health It is possible to treat the discharge from this industry but the process is very expensive and not easy. On the other hand, it is much easier to return to natural dyes that are not harmful. Once the harmful chemical dyes are banned, humans are innovative enough to come up with alternatives. There is also something elegant in a fabric in natural colors that is left as it is without dying; they make an elegant fashion statement. with a just a small colorful accessory just as a rose bush looks elegant with even a single colorful rose. Perhaps humans may then not find as many vivid colors to dress in but, Better it is to enjoy a healthy environment and healthy life than to die of ill health, cancers and deprivation dressed in vivid colors of the birds. According to F M D Chequer et al.,...

As a fresh new academic at the Indian Institute of Technology at Delhi, I lived in a small compact two room flat in the beginning until a bigger home was found for our growing family. The two rooms along with a kitchen and bathroom had been laid out in an extremely simple yet efficient layout. Inspired by that layout a design of a two room cottage is suggested here as follows.The room widths in this layout are fourteen feet, they could be increased or reduced down to eleven feet for the design to be still functional. Fine details of the design are not included here but these are easily figured out by an engineer familiar with home designs or an architect. This blogger will also explain if asked in the comments. Adding a Staircase It may be noted that the present design does not have any side windows hence it is easy to set extensions on the side. An extension can be reached easily from the central passage between the bathroom and kitchen. Once a full le...

A few days ago a tweet from President Obama described how natural reserves are being expanded in USA by his actions. I tweeted back my congratulations but also added a suggestion to the President – Please enhance the natural beauty and usefulness by adding to these lands, more lakes and forests. With recent climate extremes many have realized usefulness of forests in mitigating adverse climate conditions and efforts are underway in many countries to increase forest lands. This effort by humans is needed because in the past, humans have removed many trees and forests from the land in order to meet their immediate short term needs. While it is a good idea to create more forests it is also worth creating more lakes within these forests. Such lakes add to the beauty and also help increase ground water levels. That is where tree roots find water when it has been a dry season for an extended period. This note is too brief for the topic of creation of lakes and forests. Much inf...

Animal Kind Forest Underpasses O ver the past century, human population has increased manifold. In order to meet needs of this population forests have been cleared. This has put a great pressure on other animals for which forests are a home. Many are on verge of extinction. Over the last two decades extreme climate events have reminded humans that restoring forests is a way to stabilize climate. Needless to say, this is good news for forest animals. While new forests may be created, there is also a need to connect existing ones with forest corridors to increase breathing room for animals. An impediment in connecting forests or forest patches is the need for highways and railway lines that pass through them. A way to prevent this interruption is to construct a concrete underpass of a minimum length of 200 feet, a kind of tunnel through which the highway or rail line passes and over which a forest grows. A narrow corridor of forest can be protected by water channels ...