Entropy Law, Sustainability, and Third Industrial Revolution

Description

In mankind’s relentless quest for prosperity, Nature has suffered great damage. It has been treated as an inexhaustible reserve of resources. The indefinite scale of global expansion is still continuing and now the earth’s very survival is under threat. But against this exploitation of nature, there is the concept of entropy, which places a finite limit on the extent to which resources can be used in any closed system, such as our planet.

Considering the impact of entropy, this book examines the key issues of sustainability—social, economic, and environmental. It discusses the social dimension of sustainability, showing how it is impacted by issues of economic inequality, poverty, and other socio-economic and infrastructural factors in the Indian context. It also highlights how Indian households suffer from clean energy poverty and points to the inequality in distribution of different fuels and of fuel cost among households. It assesses India’s power sector and its potential to be a significant player in bringing the Third Industrial Revolution to India by replacing fossil fuels with new renewables. It concludes by projecting power sector scenarios till 2041–42 achievable through alternative, realizable policy with respect to energy conservation and fuel substitution, and thus paves the way for the green power.

About the Author

Ramprasad Sengupta is Emeritus Professor of economics at the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning at the School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi.

Reviews

‘Given India’s demographic and social realities, there can be no question that its economic growth has to be both rapid and inclusive at the same time. But what is often not appreciated adequately is that it has to be simultaneously ecologically sustainable as well. Drawing on his rich learning and experience, Ramprasad Sengupta has produced a book that is timely and enriches the public discourse on this very important subject.’

—Jairam Ramesh, Union Minister for Environment and Forest, Government of India (2009–11), Member of Parliament, and Author.

Table of contents

List of Figures

List of Abbreviations

Acknowledgements

Foreword

Introduction

Part I Entropy Law and Revisiting Sustainable Development

1. Entropy Law, Social Sustainability, and Development Policy
2. Indicators of Social Sustainability: Poverty, Inequality, and Social Tension
3. Crime, Inequality, and Poverty
4. Human Development, Environmental Sustainability, and Index of Overall Development
5. Interdependence among Stages of Economic Development, Human Development, and the Natural Environment

Part II Third Industrial Revolution and Sustainable Development of India's Power Sector

6. Energy, Sustainability, and Third Industrial Revolution
7. The Electrical Energy Scenario in India
8. Transition from Fossil Fuel-Based Power to Renewable Energy

Epilogue

References

Index

About the Author