20 Reasons to Study the Media

 Are you interested in studying media? Why? If you are really interested in studying media, you have your own answer for this query. We are living in a media driven society where media take part of a dominating role in our decisions. In such an environment, did you ever think about the relevance of analyzing media content? While we try to analyse critically, we will make a conclusion that these media content are consciously developed. It covers almost all aspects of day to day life. 

Why do you are interested in media education? If you pause this question to Chris M Worsnop the answer will be a list of 20 reasons:

1. Like history, because the media interpret the past to us to show us what has gone into making us the way we are.

2. Like geography, because the media define for us our own place in the world.

3. Like civics, because the media help us to understand the workings of our immediate world, and our individual roles in it.

4. Like literature, because the media are our major sources of stories and entertainment.

5. Like literature, because the media require us to learn and use critical thinking skills.

6. Like business, because the media are major industries and are inextricably involved in

commerce.

7. Like language, because the media help define how we communicate with each other.

8. Like science and technology, because the media always adopt the leading edge of

modern technological innovation.

9. Like family studies, because the media determine much of our cultural diet and weave part of the fabric of our lives.

10. Like environmental studies, because the media are as big a part of our everyday

environment as are trees, mountains, rivers, cities and oceans.

11. Like philosophy, because the media interpret our world, its values and ideas to us.

12. Like psychology, because the media help us (mis)understand ourselves and others.

13. Like science, because the media explain to us how things work.

14. Like industrial arts, because the media are carefully planned, designed and constructed products.

15. Like the arts, because the media bring us pleasure, and we experience all the arts

through the media as no other age has ever done.

16. Like politics, because the media bring us political and ideological messages all the time - yes - all the time.

17. Like rhetoric, because the media use special codes and conventions of their own

languages that we need to understand and control—or we stand in danger of being

controlled by them.

18. Like drama, because the media help us understand life by presenting it as larger-than-

life, and compel us to think in terms of the audience.

19. Like Everest, because they are there.

20. BECAUSE THE MEDIA GO TO GREAT LENGTHS TO STUDY US
  These reasons are an eye opener to media educators to understand the wast and wide scope of the subject.

RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSYSTEM SUPPLIES FUTURE POWER!

Ratheesh kaliyadan

Almost all counties and villages of India are thirsty and hunger for power along their township/city counterparts. Everybody needs power to energise day to day life with ample facilities. People are ambitious. If we get one, strive for hundred then shift to thousands. Ambitions and aspirations add more and more the need and demand of power. The current scene puts forth shocking data where we are. In India, 50 crore people have access to less than six hours of electricity every day.  Indian villages reel under immense energy poverty. Almost 50 per cent of households in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, Odisha and Jharkhand are yet to be connected to the grid. Governments have to look forward for an energy revolution in these areas.  

Regarding cooking, 70 crore people do not have access to clean cooking fuel. Most of them depend bio-mass - fire woods and materials like cow dung- for cooking. Poor people living in villages are affected. Kitchen becomes killing places where mortality plays in its top position due to internal air pollution. This is the second biggest reason for mortality. The world Health Organisation statistics underline this pathetic situation. According to B K Chaturvedi, member, Planning Commission of India that the highest cause of premature deaths in India is due to asphyxiation because of household air pollution caused by cooking with bio-mass. Use of dirty cooking fuel has been responsible for killing 3.5 million women and children each year, according to a 2013 International Energy Agency report. India holds nearly 25 per cent of the global population without electricity and 31 per cent without clean cooking fuel.

Traditional power sectors and energy sources face critical decline due to multifaceted issues. It is sure that the traditional energy sources cannot meet the upcoming demands in power sector. Then what is the remedy? It was the big question before the speakers and listeners in the Fourth Anil Agarwal Dialogue on Energy Access and Renewable Energy, by Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi. Everybody agree with the view that we need to understand how to mainstream clean energy and energy access across the country.

 Sunita Narain, director general, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) put forward an idea of decentralised renewable energy systems could offer the key to solving this state of energy poverty, in her opening remarks of the dialogue.

Renewables: The agenda for change

The growth of renewable energy has changed the energy business in India. In the past 10 years, installation of renewable energy for electricity has grown at an annual rate of 25 per cent; as of January 2014, it had reached 30,000 megawatt (MW).

According to the Integrated Energy Policy, 2006, India is projected to have 30,000 MW of wind and 10,000 MW of solar power by 2031-32. The 12^th Five Year Plan (FYP) document has projected a four-fold increase in the installation of renewable power by 2021-22. The resource allocation in the 12^th FYP reflects the priority accorded by the government to renewable energy. Of the total plan outlay for the energy sector -- Rs 10,94,938 crore -- during 2012-2017, the outlay for MNRE is Rs 33,003 crore, or about three per cent of the total plan outlay. However, this is not enough. Due to policy paralysis and uncertainty, the period of 2011-12 saw a significant dip in investments in this sector – from US $13 billion in 2011 to US $6.5 billion in 2012.

For Dr. Farooque Abdulla, Union minister for new and renewable energy has no doubt that the Renewable Energy is the future not only in India, but the whole world. He pointed sharply that the forest should not be ruined in the name of renewable energy. To tackle the issue, he suggests roof top solar panels. Every house becomes power houses today or tomorrow. It  is a must to provide better education, health, and life. India has to stand over its own foot in energy scene, so renewable energy is a vital part of it. But the current scene is not so much positive, because big business tycoons in energy business import third rate products from china and other countries and imprinting the Indian organizations’ brand name over it. We have to develop indigenous technology and promote research and development projects to make available of renewable energy products cheap. We have to proactive in this sector. Dr. Abdulla became emotional when he joined with the aspirations of the environmental enthusiasts and commented: “I may not see it, or my children, but we have to work for clean energy and clean fuels. Insha alla, I hope I will see the lights shining over my tomb one day which is working by clean energy and connected to the grid.” Let’s have a shift of wind mills from land to coasts. The dream is to make an energy efficient nation without depending other nations, he added.

Renewable Energy is on the center stage of discussion among environmentalists and policy makers because it is the clean energy. All advocacies for Renewable Energy lay behind this single point. At policy level India is committed to reduce green house gas emissions through proclaiming the commitment through Kyoto Protocol and other related climate change mitigations. But large scale renewable energy projects can have major ecological impacts if they are installed without proper environmental assessment and management. Chandra Bhushan, deputy director general points out that “Renewable energy must benefit the local community -- citizens must have the first right over electricity from renewables and they must benefit from the installation of renewable energy on their land.”

 It is not only a question of power generation but should be question of uplifting of the poor. Whenever discussions start up, people will go behind subsidies. Does it help us? Subsidy should be there but limit it to the poor ones. Governments should not go for subsidy for middle class and elite those who are capable to pay for energy consumption. Big business players are now being focused in clean energy business. Oil giants and others are entering to the field. Government policies also support the same partnership in coming years. Then there will be a scope for big scam in the sector. It is the environmentalists’ duty and right to be the watch dogs in this regard and assure renewable energy for the support to the poor in making a better life. This is a big challenge before the governments, industrialists and the watch dogs.