GigaWhat: Clean Waste

GigaWhat: Clean Waste

Author: Mongabay.com February 25, 2022 Duration: 23:07

The world is looking towards the sun, wind, and other alternatives for energy, and so is India, as a way to tackle climate change and other environmental issues. The sight of solar and wind farms, rooftops lined with solar panels, and electricity-powered vehicles might soon be common.

For the first episode of GigaWhat, we begin at the end.

Where do solar modules go when they are no longer in use? What happens when a wind turbine finishes its lifecycle? Or when an electric car battery stops working? What happens to the materials that remain after a piece of equipment dies, breaks, or malfunctions? In a world already staring at a giant waste management problem, where will all this new kind of waste go?

In this episode, we will understand why this discussion about waste is vital at the start of the clean energy boom.

Follow GigaWhat to explore some of the biggest questions, challenges, and opportunities in India's transition from fossil fuel to clean energy sources.

Read the full Clean energy series on our website

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Guests:
Subrahmanyam Pulipaka, CEO, National Solar Energy Federation of India
Akanksha Tyagi, Programme Associate, Council on Energy, Environment and Water
Kush Madan, Founder, UrSolar
Satish Sinha, Associate Director, Toxics Link

Show notes:
PV Management in India (EU-India TCP)

National Statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at COP26 Summit in Glasgow

2020 report by the Central Pollution Control Board

How India can Manage Solar Photovoltaic Module Waste Better (CEEW)

Credits:
Host: Mayank Aggarwal

Writer and producer: Kartik Chandramouli

Copy editor: Aditi Tandon

Audio editor: Tejas Dayananda Sagar

Podcast production assistant: Ayushi Kothari

GigaWhat cover art designer: by Pooja Gupta


From the team at Mongabay.com comes Everything Environment by Mongabay India, a podcast that digs into the complex and often overlooked stories shaping India's natural world. This isn't just about headlines; it's about connecting the dots between biodiversity, climate change, and the natural resources that underpin daily life across the subcontinent. Each episode is a deep dive, whether it's examining the real-world impacts of the country's clean energy transition, uncovering lessons from ancient paleoscience, or giving a voice to lesser-known species fighting for survival. The conversations move beyond abstract problems to focus on tangible solutions and the people on the front lines. By weaving science and news into compelling narrative, this podcast places environmental discussions exactly where they belong: central to our understanding of India's present and future. You'll hear clear analysis and on-the-ground reporting that makes intricate topics accessible, fostering a deeper appreciation for the interconnectedness of ecology, policy, and community. For anyone curious about the forces shaping our environment, this series offers essential listening.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 28

Everything Environment by Mongabay India
Podcast Episodes
Trailer: Environomy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:30
The economic reforms of 1991 caused a radical shift in India's economic and social structure. It gave a new life to the middle class. But did you know that the reforms also changed how India dealt with its environmental…
Imprints: Lake hopping with Anoop Ambili [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:06
Lake-hopping is Anoop Ambili's thing. For Ambili, a paleoclimatologist, the Lonar Lake in Maharashtra, Tso Moriri in Ladakh and Renuka in Himachal Pradesh hide clues that help him reconstruct past climate changes going b…
Imprints: Sifting through microfossils with Rajani Panchang [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:04
Looking at sediment under a microscope is a window into past environments and climates. In a dot of sediment, you may find thousands of microfossils - tiny remains of bacteria, protists, fungi, animals, and plants. Rajan…
Imprints: Digging up bones with Advait Jukar [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:21
Imagine this: When modern humans arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa, they saw creatures such as giant prehistoric elephants, a hippopotamus and a zebra-like horse, alongside other great beasts. Infact, these…
GigaWhat: What not to do [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:57
India's renewable energy dreams have been big since the country shifted gears post-Paris climate summit in 2015. The country is now working towards achieving 500 GW of installed capacity from non-fossil fuel sources by 2…
Imprints: Finding molluscs with Devapriya Chattopadhyay [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:38
What can shells tells us about marine paleoclimate? Shells and molluscs store a wealth of paleoclimate information. Molluscs build their shells with calcium carbonate from the sea water. Their shells record the sea water…
Imprints: Lake and archive diving with Atreyee Bhattacharya [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:11
It is fascinating how scientists unearth data for climate science in unusual locations. Atreyee Bhattacharya's work takes her to lakebeds and libraries. She's a paleoclimatologist who looks back at past climates to devel…
GigaWhat: Fuelling startups [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 20:18
India has an ambitious clean energy target that needs technology and innovation. While government and private sectors have their role to play, startups are critical for innovation and faster execution. They identify loca…
Trailer: Imprints [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:21
It is fascinating how scientists unearth data for climate science in unusual locations. Fossils, trees, lake sediment, other natural objects, and archival documents are like time portals. They tell us when and how ancien…
GigaWhat: Building the backbone [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 17:43
We are all familiar with the buzzing sound under high-voltage power lines and transmission towers. The electricity passing through it is generated from coal power plants, solar parks, wind farms, dams and other sources.…