We have so often heard the saying: Energy can be neither created nor destroyed but could be converted. At the same time we are also, as physicists, aware that the available energy in the universe is ever decreasing, thereby increasing the entropy, eventually leading our world to heat death. We need all the time, especially with the ever increasing population, energy to keep the environment alive and kicking, so that we can keep going.
When we talk about energy, we need to reflect on exergy. Exergy is a thermodynamic concept of chemical and mechanical processes and systems. It could be defined as: The maximum useful work, which can be extracted from a system as it reversibly comes into equilibrium with its environment. In other words, it is the capacity of energy to do physical work (Cf. https://exergyeconomics.wordpress.com/exergy-economics-101/what-is-exergy/).
We, then, need to think of materials, which could have the maximum output of energy for the environmental preservation, development, and progress. And these materials should be people-centric, cost-effective, and long lasting. The research on materials should have mainly two goals in focus, namely i. the care of our Common Home, our Mother Earth; and ii. the care of people. Care of our Common Home would imply, among other needs, the following:
- Global warming;
- Water scarcity; and
- Air pollution.
And care of People would require the following:
- Right to Food; and 5. Affordable medical care.
Global Warming: We are aware of the after effects of global warming, namely rising of sea levels, regional changes in precipitation, frequent extreme weather such as heat waves and cold fronts. Increase in surface temperature in the Arctic is resulting in diminishing of glaciers. Overall, the results are higher temperature bringing in more rain and snowfall in some parts of the world; and at the same time, droughts and wildfires in other parts of the globe. Climate change threatens to diminish crop yields, harming agriculture, threatening food security, and flooding coastal areas forcing people to abandon their coastal cities. Environmental impacts include the extinction or relocation of many species (Cf. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming). Materials chosen by the architects and building designers could decrease the amount of carbon footprint emitted from the building materials.
Water Scarcity: By 2025, two-thirds of the world’s rapidly growing population would be living in conditions of severe water stress. Already, 2.1 billion people live without clean drinking water. It is predicted that by 2050, water would be the scarcest entity in the world. ‘Water’ itself, it is frightening to think, would become a byword of the past. Could there be any possibility of preserving or obtaining water from space and air, when water from the clouds fails?
All air, whether deserts or humid air, contains water vapour. It is estimated that a volume of about 12,900 cubic kilometers of water is suspended as humidity in the air around us. This is the humidity in the air we breathe in, which appears as droplets of water on the side of a cold drink, or as morning dew on blades of grass. And a technological race is underway to harvest it as drinking water. If the emerging ‘water from air’ (WFA) devices can crack it, it could go a long way towards solving the world’s freshwater problem. We need to find suitable material that would do the trick for obtaining water from air (Cf. Ref: http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20180821-climate-change-may-force-us-to-conjure-water-from-thin-air).
We could think of making use of ultraviolet rays in the sunlight to eliminate the virus in the muddy water in order to make it clear and potable. We could think of ways and means to convert the saline seawater into clean drinking water.
Perovskite oxides with the attractive physical and chemical properties; and porous nanostructure, showing many advantages in the field of electrocatalysis, seem to take a lead in research. We could think of synthesis strategies, with potential application in fuel cells and metal–air batteries, and challenges and prospects of such porous perovskite‐type oxides could be contemplated (Cf. Advances in Porous Perovskites: Synthesis and Electrocatalytic Performance in Fuel Cells and Metal–Air Batteries – Jie Yu et al, 11Feb2020).
Air Pollution: As researchers, committed to energy and environment, we need to work on the cause, effects, and solutions for air-pollution. We could think of sensors, both chemical and biosensors, to indicate the state of affairs on a day-to-day basis. And we need to work on reducing or eliminating air pollution, both direct as well as indirect air pollution. Could we think of materials that could be used for making our furniture, or as road-making substances, building-material etc that could absorb air pollution? It is a theoretical and ambitious proposition but not impossible to realize, if we explore the possibility.
We are an integral part of the environment we live in. Our existence or extinction much depends on the state of our ecological system. We need to think of the good of the people. All, whether rich or poor, whether citizens or migrants, have the right to food and they need affordable medical care. As scientists we need to network with other related science researchers such as biological and agricultural scientists.
Right to Food: Article 39(a) of the Constitution of India, enunciated as one of the Directive Principles, fundamental in the governance of the country, requires the State to direct its policies towards securing that all its citizens have the right to an adequate means of livelihood, while Article 47 spells out the duty of the State to raise the level of nutrition and standard of living of its people as a primary responsibility. The Constitution thus makes the Right to Food a guaranteed Fundamental Right, which is enforceable by virtue of the constitutional remedy provided under Article 32 of the Constitution. (Cf. https://nhrc.nic.in/ press-release/right-food-fundamental-right).
But the reality is something different. About 15% of India is undernourished; women account for 60% of India’s hungry population; 3,000 children die every day from hunger; around 30% of newborns die from lack of nutrition; 21% of the population lives on less than Rs 130 per day etc. India is not poor, yet hunger remains a major and critical issue; one-third of food gets lost or wasted (Cf. https://borgenproject.org/top-10-facts-about-hunger-in-india/).
Networking: Could we work with other researchers, starting from our own campus, to address this issue of paramount importance? Can we help the farmers go for organic farming? Could we find materials or combination of chemicals that would not harm the grains in agriculture? We need to think and act.
Affordable Medical Care: Today the world is reeling under the invasion of coronavirus. In his novel The Eyes of Darkness (published in 1981), Dean Koontz talks about ‘Wuhan-400’, a microorganism that affects human beings. And we see and experience the reality today, though not personally or physically affected. Could we work on preventive medical care in collaboration with medical teams and organizations?
Todd Henry in his book Die Empty gives the formula for any development or empowerment. It is a three-step formula: Mapping – Making – Meshing. Our strategic planning, with regard to selection of suitable material and designing effective research protocol, is the mapping. Our actual steps, taken in research especially on the basis of collaboration, are the making, where our concept becomes concrete action. And networking with like-minded research groups is the meshing. If all the three could converge, the economic development resulting in the better life of people would emerge visibly and strongly. Scientific development takes off from the prosperity of people.
I hope and wish that this conference is people-centered and need-based for today and tomorrow. My appreciation goes to the organizers and participants. Let our research and work be meaningful to the people we live with and live for. All the best. Thanks.
Francis P Xavier SJ
21 Feb2020