Vikas, 20, India - We propose to establish a self-sufficient community bicycle sharing system in India that will significantly decrease the carbon footprint of the average citizen and bring to the fore a powerful means of local transportation. The system will support itself by trading the carbon credits it will generate in the international carbon market. A community bicycle system at such a scale and model will be the first-of-its kind initiative in India and will provide much-needed impetus to the green initiatives in the country. 

Our aim is to encourage more people to join the bandwagon and trigger an explosion of such programs across India; much the same way it happened across Europe after UK introduced the system in 1996. 

We will test the program by introducing a fleet of about 30 bicycles in our university. A group of engineering students will work to realize this dream over the next six months. Once tested, it will be extended through out the city and later to the country. It is especially relevant as India is on the highway to development and we believe that prevention of damage to the environment is better than cure. 

The carbon credits generated will be calculated - selling it in the international market will earn revenues for the community biking system.

 

Naupada, 19, India - While we walk out of a room having a 60W bulb without switching it off, the power wastage snow balls to approximately 22,000W per year. If this is the case of a single bulb what about the other appliances in our house hold.

My idea is to develop a electronic system which automatically turns ‘off’ and ‘on’ the appliances in a room. It works with cheap circuitry. What it does is very simple, it counts the number of persons entering a room then for the presence of a single person the lights in the room turn on. Then when a person comes out of the room the system deducts the number from the previously counted value. When the value becomes zero i.e. when no person is present in the room the light and appliances turn off automatically. This project finds itself useful not only in homes but also in schools,colleges etc.

Though this system is a complicated substitute to a simple turning off of the switches but it is essential because power consumption is a major factor contributing to the pollution, particularly in a nation where large amount of power is generated using fossil fuels. A unit prevented from wastage is equal to 1.5 units generated.

Circuit of system that automatically turns lights on/off

 

Govinda, 20, India - Microbial fuel cells make it possible to generate electricity using bacteria. We experimented by using sludge for fuel in the anode and the oxygen released by a water plant or algae as the oxidant in cathode. This process has been referred to simply as the bacterial electrolysis of organic matter because the protons and electrons are derived from the organic matter and not water.

This plan will be just an addition to an existing biogas plan where this plant will give electricity and semi treated water which will be passed to send filter then this water can be used for household purposes and semi-decomposed sludge will pass to biogas plant for further decomposition along with cow dung and crop residue.

Initial investment will be high but future output is very profitable. rural people will get electricity, water, and manure for farms and biogas as fuel and they can save lot of money. Again this will be provide job opportunity and extra manure and biogas can be sold to get income.