The document summarizes a webinar on using technology to address climate change impacts in rural areas. The webinar discussed baselining climate change at the macro and micro levels in rural areas and mitigating impacts through technology. It covered key topics like climate change, education, and clean energy in relation to sustainable development goals. The presenter discussed how rural India is impacted by land and coastal ecosystem destruction from climate change effects like rising temperatures. Technology can help stem further damage by enabling efficient renewable energy sources, water storage, biodiversity preservation, waste management, and knowledge sharing to reduce migration to urban areas.

1. IEEE Bangalore Section Webinar on
Humanitarian Technologies April 2020
WebLink: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6656928097780232192/
Topic :
“Baselining Rural Macro and Micro Level Climate
Change and its Mitigation through Technology”
Narayanan Subramaniam
Director of Engineering & Senior Architect, Nutanix Inc.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/cnsubramaniam
Credits: Public Images from the Internet courtesy various sources :NOAA, climatechange.org, FAO,
researchgate, creativecommons.org, climaterealityproject.org, IRENA, IBERDROLA, National Geophysical
Research Institute
IEEE Bangalore Section Webinar on
Humanitarian Technologies April 2020
WebLink: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6656928097780232192/
Topic :
“Baselining Rural Macro and Micro Level Climate
Change and its Mitigation through Technology”
Narayanan Subramaniam
Director of Engineering & Senior Architect, Nutanix Inc.
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/cnsubramaniam
Credits: Public Images from the Internet courtesy various sources :NOAA, climatechange.org, FAO,
researchgate, creativecommons.org, climaterealityproject.org, IRENA, IBERDROLA, National Geophysical
Research Institute

3. Borneo deforestation
from 1950-2020
Organic Carbon contributions to
Pm2.5 owing to uncontrolled fires
in 2019
Personal Impact:Destruction of a pristine environment
within half of my lifetime

4. Sir David Attenborough – perhaps
the greatest Naturalist and
Communicator in modern history
Personal Quote: Climate Change (C2) is a Globally
Pervasive, Borderless Phenomenon, owing to Man-Made
Energy Imbalance, resulting the Unnatural Extinction of
Species in the Natural World, along with Unnatural
“Landscaping” of the Geographical Environment

5.  SDG 13 - Climate Change
 SDG 7 – Affordable and Clean Energy
 SDG 4 – Quality Education

6. Education
Clean
Energy
Climate
Change
• Climate Change: Key tenets
that qualify and quantify its
cause and effects. Local
impacts Global and vice-
versa. There is NO border
between rural or urban, land
sea or air
• Education: What’s Relevant,
Who’s the Audience, Delivery
Mechanisms
• Clean Energy: What’s
Appropriate, Delivery &
Consumption Models

8. TOE represents energy generated by burning one metric ton
of oil: 41.87 gigajoules (GJ), or 11.63 Megawatt Hours (MWh).

11. What is Getting Impacted ?
❑ Water – Temperature Rise and Population Stress
❑ Ground Water Depletion, Aquifer Subsidence and
Pollution
❑ Ocean Acidification with increased CO2 absorption

12. What is Getting Impacted ?
❑ Soil, Biodiversity – Temperature Rise, Water Depletion
❑ Micro-climate destruction - soil destruction and
desertification, compounded by monoculture
❑ Insects, Flora/Fauna – agriculture, bio-health

13. What is Getting Impacted ?
❑ Geography, Landscapes – Temperature Rise
❑ Methane, other GHG’s accelerate warming and C2
❑ Melting Permafrost (CH4’s), Melting Sea Ice and
Polar and Snow Caps (Heat Absorption, Reflection)

14. What is Getting Impacted ?
❑ Geography, Landscapes – Temperature Rise
❑ Melting Glaciers, Ice Sheets alters Water Cycle,
Rainfall, Ocean Salinity, Currents, Wind Patterns

15. How is Rural India Impacted ?
❑ Land Microclimate & Coastal Ecosystem Destruction,
Ground Water Exploitation hurt Agriculture, Fishing
❑ Loss of main livelihood and basic means to survive
leads to mass migration to Urban areas and impose
further stress on resources in a vicious cycle
❑ Urban areas become further unsustainable from an
energy, water, sewage, mobility and shelter standpoint

16. How Do We Stem the Rot ?
❑ C2 is a subject that impacts the entire Natural World –
therefore understanding how the Natural World and
Human Society works is paramount
❑ Leverage Technology to identify, measure, track and
determine trends for the current negative markers
❑ Leverage Technology as a key tool to mitigate
local/region specific challenges related to water, soil,
ocean, energy, shelter keeping the energy balance in
mind. How do we mitigate forced rural to urban
migration
✓ Efficient, Renewable & Clean Energy Sources for
Agriculture, Lighting, Cooking, Mobility,
Computing, Community Services
✓ Rainwater, Groundwater Storage and Management
✓ Biodiversity, Ocean Ecosystem and Soil
Microclimate Preservation
✓ Community Waste/Sewage Management
✓ Education

17. Some Inconvenient Truths: Technology can partially address C2. The
rest is up to us as individuals, societies, countries. Emphasis on the
REDUCE part of the 3R’s - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

18. Key Mantra: Technology as an enabler for Equitable
Per-Capita Clean Energy. Flatten the Energy Curve

19. Key Mantra: Technology as an enabler of Equitable, Bi-Directional
Access to and Exponential Flow of Knowledge, Education.

20. Q&A
Thank You !
Q&A
Thank You !