This graduation speech I first heard from one blog website. Yes I like Larry for his innovation google. I remember when I was kid in school I use google for searching my school project topics. When they introduce gmail, I am using that from very beginning.
But the reason of this post because he know never to give up dreams. for achieving something you should have confidence and dream which help you to reach your goals.
I think not only me, readers of of my blog also like to see this video.Today some reason also important in my life, because I completed the most time consuming speciation of Arsenic in salad samples. Its one of the experiment of testing of different method.
But Larry you are really great :)
Monday, August 16, 2010
Monday, October 26, 2009
Finding peace over the bridge
The story started before the summer.When I passing the big green building of Geology,I always fascinating to take the GIS course. Before coming to Stockholm University my plan was to take more GIS related course here. But today after the attending the GIS course I realized my destination already set.so no more with this .
My fate was written with Botany. After finsihing the first class of GIS,I moved to my old place to meet and greet my best friend Tommy.
I really find pleasure when I cross the bridge and come to Botany school.
this red brick building is my ultimate destination.
That i realize now.i am happy wih Botany ppl :)
My fate was written with Botany. After finsihing the first class of GIS,I moved to my old place to meet and greet my best friend Tommy.I really find pleasure when I cross the bridge and come to Botany school.
this red brick building is my ultimate destination.
That i realize now.i am happy wih Botany ppl :)
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Get rid of Aresenic by reed!
Presence of arsenic in drinking water is one of the major environmental problem in Bangladesh.specially southern part of Bangladesh is greatly affected by this metaloid.This poison is now spreading towards different crops as farmer using the contaminated water in the field for irrigation purpose.
However, I got an news that in US, Professor Jeremiah Jackson invented an eco-friendly way by using cattail which kind of reed grass grown in the aquatic regions.here is the summery of the whole story,
Jackson, 59, earned his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in environmental engineering from the University of California, Irvine; and a Ph.D. in civil engineering from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. He has been a faculty member at six universities in the U.S. and overseas. He currently teaches at UCSD and is a professor of business at John Paul Catholic University in San Diego.
Jackson,as an environmental and civil engineer, has developed an inexpensive arsenic filtration system using aquatic plants to improve the lives of millions affected by poisonous, arsenic-contaminated drinking water in more than 20 nations, including India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Mexico and some rural areas of the U.S.
Professor Jeremiah Jackson
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency describes arsenic as a semi-metal element in the periodic table that is odorless and tasteless. Because it occurs naturally in rocks, soil, water, air, plants and animals and as a by-product of some agricultural and industrial activities, it can enter drinking water through the ground or as runoff into surface water sources.
“In India, it chronically shortened people’s life spans to 55 years, which is about 35 years less than what we have; and primarily that’s attributed to the arsenic poisoning,” Jackson said. “It’s a terrible way to live and die. You eventually get cancer and it affects a whole series of organs in your body.”
His brother John, a journalist, told Jackson he’d been reading about arsenic-contaminated water in eastern India and Bangladesh.
“[John] said back 20 or 30 years ago, the government, under a United Nations program, came in and tried to get people to stop drinking the surface water because it was contaminated with water-borne pathogens,” Jackson said. “They put in these small-diameter shallow pipe wells into the aquifer to tap the ground water.”
Busy with various projects and his work as a senior principal engineer with Kleinfelder, Inc., an engineering and project management firm in San Diego, Jackson was not able to revisit his idea until March 2005.
“I finally had some free time to really think about how the process could work. And I thought it would be a good way to honor my brother who brought the issue to my attention.”
He started out by researching any scientific literature on the subject and discovered there was virtually nothing about arsenic removal by cattails or any other type of aquatic weeds.
So, as a private project, he set up a batch-testing experiment on his patio where he planted cattails in sand in several five gallon plastic buckets filled with water. Some buckets he left untreated and others he dosed with various concentrations of arsenic to test the hypothesis: Would the cattails remove or reduce the arsenic from the water?
“The idea was you take samples of the water over a period of time to see if there was any change in the arsenic concentrations … and sure enough, it showed that the cultures that had the cattail in it reduced the arsenic concentrations while the untreated cultures did not.
“With the data, I was then able to calculate what rate was being removed per area of cattail. The next step was to build a prototype that a family of five in India could easily and cheaply construct to treat their average water consumption of 50 liters per day - reducing the arsenic level in the water from the current 300 microgram
s per liter to the World Health Organization’s recognized safe standard of 50 micrograms per liter. And that was my goal.
“So that was my walking-in concept: ‘Keep it as simple as possible. Keep it as cheap as possible.’”
The resulting prototype was constructed in a plastic kiddy wading pool about 18 inches deep and about 3.5 feet in diameter or about 12 square feet of surface area accommodating about 12 cattails; “And that was enough, based on my bucket experiment, to give it [the water] enough detention time to remove the arsenic.”
Twice a day, he deposited water laced with 300 micrograms of arsenic into a hole-punctured, gravel-filled container in one section of the pool, channeled the water through the cattails and eventually into another container at the other end from which he extracted the treated water with a $3 hand pump.
“I ran the experiment for about six weeks. I ran it in the summer and the winter and found no operational differences. And I tested it daily and found that it resulted in an 89 percent removal of the arsenic to about 37 micrograms per liter which is below the world health standard of 50 micrograms per liter.
“The cattail actually thinks the arsenic is a nutrient,” he concluded. “It absorbs it as if were a nutrient, a fertilizer. And I found the plants actually flourished.”
He said cattails also remove other pollutants, “but I designed this with a focus on arsenic.”
If you amortize the cost of a hand pump and plastic sheeting to construct something similar to the kiddy wading pool, he estimated, it would cost a family about 21 cents per 1,000 gallons of treated water and that compares to traditional, more complex technologies costing from $50 to $300 per 1,000 gallons of treated water.
Jackson calculates the cattails can absorb the arsenic for as long as 50 years. “But I suggest they just decommission the device every decade,” he said.
News Courtesy:San Diego News Network(SDNN) website
However, I got an news that in US, Professor Jeremiah Jackson invented an eco-friendly way by using cattail which kind of reed grass grown in the aquatic regions.here is the summery of the whole story,
Jackson, 59, earned his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in environmental engineering from the University of California, Irvine; and a Ph.D. in civil engineering from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. He has been a faculty member at six universities in the U.S. and overseas. He currently teaches at UCSD and is a professor of business at John Paul Catholic University in San Diego.
Jackson,as an environmental and civil engineer, has developed an inexpensive arsenic filtration system using aquatic plants to improve the lives of millions affected by poisonous, arsenic-contaminated drinking water in more than 20 nations, including India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Mexico and some rural areas of the U.S.
Professor Jeremiah JacksonThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency describes arsenic as a semi-metal element in the periodic table that is odorless and tasteless. Because it occurs naturally in rocks, soil, water, air, plants and animals and as a by-product of some agricultural and industrial activities, it can enter drinking water through the ground or as runoff into surface water sources.
“In India, it chronically shortened people’s life spans to 55 years, which is about 35 years less than what we have; and primarily that’s attributed to the arsenic poisoning,” Jackson said. “It’s a terrible way to live and die. You eventually get cancer and it affects a whole series of organs in your body.”
His brother John, a journalist, told Jackson he’d been reading about arsenic-contaminated water in eastern India and Bangladesh.
“[John] said back 20 or 30 years ago, the government, under a United Nations program, came in and tried to get people to stop drinking the surface water because it was contaminated with water-borne pathogens,” Jackson said. “They put in these small-diameter shallow pipe wells into the aquifer to tap the ground water.”
Busy with various projects and his work as a senior principal engineer with Kleinfelder, Inc., an engineering and project management firm in San Diego, Jackson was not able to revisit his idea until March 2005.
“I finally had some free time to really think about how the process could work. And I thought it would be a good way to honor my brother who brought the issue to my attention.”
He started out by researching any scientific literature on the subject and discovered there was virtually nothing about arsenic removal by cattails or any other type of aquatic weeds.
So, as a private project, he set up a batch-testing experiment on his patio where he planted cattails in sand in several five gallon plastic buckets filled with water. Some buckets he left untreated and others he dosed with various concentrations of arsenic to test the hypothesis: Would the cattails remove or reduce the arsenic from the water?
“The idea was you take samples of the water over a period of time to see if there was any change in the arsenic concentrations … and sure enough, it showed that the cultures that had the cattail in it reduced the arsenic concentrations while the untreated cultures did not.
s per liter to the World Health Organization’s recognized safe standard of 50 micrograms per liter. And that was my goal.“Along with that I decided I didn’t want to have any moving parts. I didn’t want to have any electricity. I didn’t want to have any requirements for measurement and maintenance. And I wanted it to be able to be easily constructed by a layperson.
“So that was my walking-in concept: ‘Keep it as simple as possible. Keep it as cheap as possible.’”
The resulting prototype was constructed in a plastic kiddy wading pool about 18 inches deep and about 3.5 feet in diameter or about 12 square feet of surface area accommodating about 12 cattails; “And that was enough, based on my bucket experiment, to give it [the water] enough detention time to remove the arsenic.”
Twice a day, he deposited water laced with 300 micrograms of arsenic into a hole-punctured, gravel-filled container in one section of the pool, channeled the water through the cattails and eventually into another container at the other end from which he extracted the treated water with a $3 hand pump.
“I ran the experiment for about six weeks. I ran it in the summer and the winter and found no operational differences. And I tested it daily and found that it resulted in an 89 percent removal of the arsenic to about 37 micrograms per liter which is below the world health standard of 50 micrograms per liter.
“The cattail actually thinks the arsenic is a nutrient,” he concluded. “It absorbs it as if were a nutrient, a fertilizer. And I found the plants actually flourished.”
He said cattails also remove other pollutants, “but I designed this with a focus on arsenic.”
If you amortize the cost of a hand pump and plastic sheeting to construct something similar to the kiddy wading pool, he estimated, it would cost a family about 21 cents per 1,000 gallons of treated water and that compares to traditional, more complex technologies costing from $50 to $300 per 1,000 gallons of treated water.
Jackson calculates the cattails can absorb the arsenic for as long as 50 years. “But I suggest they just decommission the device every decade,” he said.
News Courtesy:San Diego News Network(SDNN) website
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Life at Stockholm University
I came to Stockholm University more than one month ago.but seeing snow more and more.First few days I really enjoying snow....as I come from a tropical country!!Now I feel bored with this snow.One thing need to be mention that walking in the snow is really a interesting experience.
here labs and faculty persons are awesome.I believe that I am fortunate who got chance to study here.But I really miss my home.my sweet parents and bro.
here is the picture of Arrhenius laboratory.My classes are held just besides this lab.but the green field is now covered with snow now!!when walk in the front of this lab really give me a inspiration.
Scientist Svante Arrhenius got Nobel Prize in Chemistry in the year of 1903.He gave a theory which helps to explain Ice Age.
Doing project work ,gossip with colleagues comes from different part of the world in the lunch and study lots of journals..Thats all my present activity.
here labs and faculty persons are awesome.I believe that I am fortunate who got chance to study here.But I really miss my home.my sweet parents and bro.
here is the picture of Arrhenius laboratory.My classes are held just besides this lab.but the green field is now covered with snow now!!when walk in the front of this lab really give me a inspiration.
Scientist Svante Arrhenius got Nobel Prize in Chemistry in the year of 1903.He gave a theory which helps to explain Ice Age.
Doing project work ,gossip with colleagues comes from different part of the world in the lunch and study lots of journals..Thats all my present activity.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Growing up Eco-Village culture
Japan,one of the Asian country thinking about establishment of Eco-village for a long time.However they already set up few ones.Due to sustainability concern the eco-village concept is now a popular event for the all over world.
Japan at present days plays the lead role for developing this eco-village concept. In sandy soil on a 4,500-square-meter plot of land, whole families are at work planting 50-centimeter saplings. They are in fact building a village--an eco-village called Kobunaki Ecovillage in Omi-Hachiman, Shiga Prefecture. They've been at it since July. The tree-planting festival that marked the official opening of the village was held at the end of October, drawing 70 people from 25 households.
"Eco-village" is a new and spreading concept, attractive to people seeking a sustainable lifestyle that places a minimal burden on the environment. The rules are ecology-oriented, but loose enough to make even eco-beginners feel quite at home.
Decades from now the children, if not the adults, busy planting at Kobunaki will live to see their trees grow big enough to provide shade in a park that doesn't exist yet but someday will. Fruit trees and vegetable gardens will stretch out as far as the eye can see. Meanwhile, the planters take a well-earned noon break. The talk immediately turns to--you guessed it--ecology.
"We'll have to work out some sort of car sharing plan," says one.
"We need a light truck," says another. "That'll make it easier to bring in saplings and soil."
The village spreads out over 15 hectares divided into 372 lots. Each family gets to lay out its own vegetable garden, minimum 33 square meters in area. And each family is allotted a garden, on which it must plant at least five trees that can co-exist with the local flora. Other obligations include composting and installing a tank to collect rainwater.
On the drawing board are a clubhouse for village assemblies and a market for the sale of produce grown without agricultural chemicals. For villagers with no agricultural experience, a nonprofit organization sponsors regular short courses in neighboring fields.
Etsu Isono, 37, moved to Kobunaki in August. "It's really fun," she says with a broad smile, "to get together with others in the neighborhood to exchange information on growing methods."
Asako Kitamura, 31, now lives in an apartment and plans to make her move early in the new year. "Ever since my child was born I've wanted to live the sort of life that puts you in touch with the soil," she says. "Here, it seems, there are lots of people who feel the same way."
Planning for the village goes back to 2000. The initial movers were university professors, small business operators and citizens' groups. They reached out to industry leaders, government officials, scholars and local residents. Slowly, their ideas for a new eco-village took shape.
The first eco-villages sprang up in Europe in the 1960s. Many of them became totally self-sufficient. In Japan, too, ecology-minded people have for years been getting together to draw up plans, purchase land and launch communities--but Kobunaki is the first to envision as many as 1,000 residents.
Nine real estate firms were involved in preparing the land for residential use. As a result, many of the people who eventually moved in first came to know of it through the realtors.
"The main thing," says Takashi Akimura, 37-year-old president of Chikyu no Me (Bud of the Earth), a consortium of local construction companies involved in the project, "is to create an eco-life that isn't beyond most people's capacities. What's important is not the hardware but to make it livable. Let the people who live here build the sort of city they want to live in."
Ikeda no Mori (Ikeda Forest) is an ecology housing complex in Suruga Ward in Shizuoka. It has 35 units, a tank that collects rainwater, and fields and rice paddies extending over roughly 1,000 square meters. The fields are divided into 19 lots and leased to families on the condition that they use only organic farming methods. Two windmills generate electricity. Together with solar panels, they power five outdoor lights.
Ikeda no Mori is the brainchild of Norihiko Urushibata. Urushibata, 54, quit a company job in Tokyo, returned to his home town, and in 2003 began sectioning off his own land for the eco-community he had in mind.
"If you stress the ecological aspect of it, most people will think it's too much for them," he says. "Instead of living at one with nature, I put across the image of a suburban sort of place that has preserved its fields and its links with the local countryside."
"It was only after I started tending my fields that I even knew that garbage can be turned into fertilizer," says Mina Shimizu, 37, who moved in from nearby with her family of four. "The life I led was not one that moved you to think about the environment. Then we came here and started thinking about how we could reduce the amount of trash we throw out."
"The large-scale eco-village is a new challenge," says Koji Itonaga, professor of environmental architecture at Nihon University. "One problem is, how do you foster a collective consciousness among residents who come to the village without ever having exchanged views among themselves? The important thing is for residents to make good use of the community's gathering places--parks, clubhouses, places like that."
The BeGood Cafe, based in Tokyo's Meguro Ward, is an NPO dedicated to helping eco-villages survive over time. "In Europe," says its director, Kiyoshi Shikita, "the tendency is to build eco-villages in the wilderness. In Japan, the focus is more on suburbs and on regional regeneration. It's a fresh approach, taking shape as eco-consciousness grows."
However Bangladesh can learn form this method and developed her vast amount of villages in this way.Its also helpful for the rural people who are remain less productive and increase their productivity.
News :THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
Japan at present days plays the lead role for developing this eco-village concept. In sandy soil on a 4,500-square-meter plot of land, whole families are at work planting 50-centimeter saplings. They are in fact building a village--an eco-village called Kobunaki Ecovillage in Omi-Hachiman, Shiga Prefecture. They've been at it since July. The tree-planting festival that marked the official opening of the village was held at the end of October, drawing 70 people from 25 households.
"Eco-village" is a new and spreading concept, attractive to people seeking a sustainable lifestyle that places a minimal burden on the environment. The rules are ecology-oriented, but loose enough to make even eco-beginners feel quite at home.
Decades from now the children, if not the adults, busy planting at Kobunaki will live to see their trees grow big enough to provide shade in a park that doesn't exist yet but someday will. Fruit trees and vegetable gardens will stretch out as far as the eye can see. Meanwhile, the planters take a well-earned noon break. The talk immediately turns to--you guessed it--ecology.
"We'll have to work out some sort of car sharing plan," says one.
"We need a light truck," says another. "That'll make it easier to bring in saplings and soil."
The village spreads out over 15 hectares divided into 372 lots. Each family gets to lay out its own vegetable garden, minimum 33 square meters in area. And each family is allotted a garden, on which it must plant at least five trees that can co-exist with the local flora. Other obligations include composting and installing a tank to collect rainwater.
On the drawing board are a clubhouse for village assemblies and a market for the sale of produce grown without agricultural chemicals. For villagers with no agricultural experience, a nonprofit organization sponsors regular short courses in neighboring fields.
Etsu Isono, 37, moved to Kobunaki in August. "It's really fun," she says with a broad smile, "to get together with others in the neighborhood to exchange information on growing methods."
Asako Kitamura, 31, now lives in an apartment and plans to make her move early in the new year. "Ever since my child was born I've wanted to live the sort of life that puts you in touch with the soil," she says. "Here, it seems, there are lots of people who feel the same way."
Planning for the village goes back to 2000. The initial movers were university professors, small business operators and citizens' groups. They reached out to industry leaders, government officials, scholars and local residents. Slowly, their ideas for a new eco-village took shape.
The first eco-villages sprang up in Europe in the 1960s. Many of them became totally self-sufficient. In Japan, too, ecology-minded people have for years been getting together to draw up plans, purchase land and launch communities--but Kobunaki is the first to envision as many as 1,000 residents.
Nine real estate firms were involved in preparing the land for residential use. As a result, many of the people who eventually moved in first came to know of it through the realtors.
"The main thing," says Takashi Akimura, 37-year-old president of Chikyu no Me (Bud of the Earth), a consortium of local construction companies involved in the project, "is to create an eco-life that isn't beyond most people's capacities. What's important is not the hardware but to make it livable. Let the people who live here build the sort of city they want to live in."
Ikeda no Mori (Ikeda Forest) is an ecology housing complex in Suruga Ward in Shizuoka. It has 35 units, a tank that collects rainwater, and fields and rice paddies extending over roughly 1,000 square meters. The fields are divided into 19 lots and leased to families on the condition that they use only organic farming methods. Two windmills generate electricity. Together with solar panels, they power five outdoor lights.
Ikeda no Mori is the brainchild of Norihiko Urushibata. Urushibata, 54, quit a company job in Tokyo, returned to his home town, and in 2003 began sectioning off his own land for the eco-community he had in mind.
"If you stress the ecological aspect of it, most people will think it's too much for them," he says. "Instead of living at one with nature, I put across the image of a suburban sort of place that has preserved its fields and its links with the local countryside."
"It was only after I started tending my fields that I even knew that garbage can be turned into fertilizer," says Mina Shimizu, 37, who moved in from nearby with her family of four. "The life I led was not one that moved you to think about the environment. Then we came here and started thinking about how we could reduce the amount of trash we throw out."
"The large-scale eco-village is a new challenge," says Koji Itonaga, professor of environmental architecture at Nihon University. "One problem is, how do you foster a collective consciousness among residents who come to the village without ever having exchanged views among themselves? The important thing is for residents to make good use of the community's gathering places--parks, clubhouses, places like that."
The BeGood Cafe, based in Tokyo's Meguro Ward, is an NPO dedicated to helping eco-villages survive over time. "In Europe," says its director, Kiyoshi Shikita, "the tendency is to build eco-villages in the wilderness. In Japan, the focus is more on suburbs and on regional regeneration. It's a fresh approach, taking shape as eco-consciousness grows."
However Bangladesh can learn form this method and developed her vast amount of villages in this way.Its also helpful for the rural people who are remain less productive and increase their productivity.
News :THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
Saturday, December 20, 2008
India made Enviornment Sustainablity Index of her states
Here I find a news about Environment Sustainability Index of different states of India.This a right job for present moment,as globally people are more concern and aware about Environment.
Times of India published this news online today.it's really necessary for our Bangladesh too.The news is here,In a wake-up call to the state government, a Chennai-based non-profit research institute has ranked Tamil Nadu very low at 22 out of 28 states in the country on an environmental sustainability index (ESI).
The index has been prepared by the Centre for Development Finance (CDF) of the Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR) based on the environmental performance of states in the country. The ESI shows that the state is at 22nd place in a list that ranks the ability of 28 states to protect their environment in the coming years.
"ESI is an attempt to create a baseline of state's relative position in a sustainable trajectory. It has a strong policy focus and is designed to advocate analytical and empirical foundation for environmental policy making," said Jessica Wallack, director, CDF.
Studying 44 variables clustered into 15 indicators under five policy components to arrive at the ESI, the study reveals that none of the state is on a sustainable trajectory. At the same time, none of the states have performed very poor in all dimensions. Most states have done well in some areas and need to improve a lot in many other issues, the report says.
Shockingly, Tamil Nadu has scored very poorly, compared to other states, in environment governance which includes energy management, people's and government initiatives and curbing down on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, says Rupanwita Dash, the researcher.
The indicators on air and water pollution, waste generation, land use, natural resource endowment, air and water quality, GHG emissions are all in the negative for the state. Even if environment (control) systems were present, the stress on environment was on the rise, Rupanwita points out.
The best performing state in the 2008 ranking is Manipur. followed by Sikkim and Tripura with the lowest ranking states are Punjab, Gujarat and Haryana based on study of parameters like population pressure, stress on environment, environment systems, health vulnerability and environment governance.
At the launch function, Sikkim environment and forest department representative Pradeep Kumar highlighted how the government's laws like those relating to the ban on plastics, use of chemicals in farming and environment cess, had helped in conservation and bring in more money for forestry.
"Political will is essential," he affirmed. Chattisgarh member secretary of environment P V Narasigham Rao said the state was setting an example by finely balancing between industrialization and ecology by strict monitoring. Meghalaya forest commissioner C D Kynjing said the Centre should create a "green fund" for north-eastern states for increasing forest cover.
Award for green states was given to five select states, who had performed well on various aspects of environmental sustainability, viz., Himachal Pradesh (government's initiative), Manipur (people's initiative), Chattishgarh (least polluted water), Sikkim (conservation of natural resources) and Meghalaya (air quality).
News Courtesy: Times of India
Times of India published this news online today.it's really necessary for our Bangladesh too.The news is here,In a wake-up call to the state government, a Chennai-based non-profit research institute has ranked Tamil Nadu very low at 22 out of 28 states in the country on an environmental sustainability index (ESI).
The index has been prepared by the Centre for Development Finance (CDF) of the Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR) based on the environmental performance of states in the country. The ESI shows that the state is at 22nd place in a list that ranks the ability of 28 states to protect their environment in the coming years.
"ESI is an attempt to create a baseline of state's relative position in a sustainable trajectory. It has a strong policy focus and is designed to advocate analytical and empirical foundation for environmental policy making," said Jessica Wallack, director, CDF.
Studying 44 variables clustered into 15 indicators under five policy components to arrive at the ESI, the study reveals that none of the state is on a sustainable trajectory. At the same time, none of the states have performed very poor in all dimensions. Most states have done well in some areas and need to improve a lot in many other issues, the report says.
Shockingly, Tamil Nadu has scored very poorly, compared to other states, in environment governance which includes energy management, people's and government initiatives and curbing down on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, says Rupanwita Dash, the researcher.
The indicators on air and water pollution, waste generation, land use, natural resource endowment, air and water quality, GHG emissions are all in the negative for the state. Even if environment (control) systems were present, the stress on environment was on the rise, Rupanwita points out.
The best performing state in the 2008 ranking is Manipur. followed by Sikkim and Tripura with the lowest ranking states are Punjab, Gujarat and Haryana based on study of parameters like population pressure, stress on environment, environment systems, health vulnerability and environment governance.
At the launch function, Sikkim environment and forest department representative Pradeep Kumar highlighted how the government's laws like those relating to the ban on plastics, use of chemicals in farming and environment cess, had helped in conservation and bring in more money for forestry.
"Political will is essential," he affirmed. Chattisgarh member secretary of environment P V Narasigham Rao said the state was setting an example by finely balancing between industrialization and ecology by strict monitoring. Meghalaya forest commissioner C D Kynjing said the Centre should create a "green fund" for north-eastern states for increasing forest cover.
Award for green states was given to five select states, who had performed well on various aspects of environmental sustainability, viz., Himachal Pradesh (government's initiative), Manipur (people's initiative), Chattishgarh (least polluted water), Sikkim (conservation of natural resources) and Meghalaya (air quality).
News Courtesy: Times of India
Sunday, December 7, 2008
The Role of Farms and Forests in Changing Climate
Climate change is the now a global concern. Most people specifically poor and developing counties all over the globe maintain their livelihood by engaging themselves in Agriculture related works.
However agriculture plays a significant role in changing climate.Now FAO of UN also thinking about this issue.
GENERAL - The FAO has said that the problem of global warming from greenhouse gases calls for a stronger involvement of agriculture and farming communities, as well as forestry and forest users in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
"Agriculture and deforestation are major contributors to climate change, but by the same token farmers and forest users could become key players in reducing greenhouse gas emissions," said Alexander Müller, FAO Assistant Director-General.
Co-benefits
"Unlocking the potential of agriculture and forestry for climate change mitigation requires financing mechanisms targeting farmers and foresters around the globe, particularly small-scale land-users in developing countries," he added.
"These mechanisms should give priority to emission-reducing measures that have ‘co-benefits' for food and energy security, poverty reduction, sustainable use of natural resources. Forestry and agriculture offer many opportunities for such ‘win-win' measures," Müller said.
Greenhouse gas emissions from forestry and agriculture contribute over 30 percent of the current annual total emissions (deforestation and forest degradation 17.4 percent, agriculture 13.5 percent). Agriculture is responsible for 50 percent of methane (livestock and rice) and more than 75 percent of nitrous oxide (largely from fertilizer application) emitted annually by human activities.
"Climate change will affect the lives and livelihoods of farmers, fishers and forest users in developing countries, many of whom are already facing difficulties in earning a sufficient income and feeding their families," Müller said.
Growing risks
Rural communities, particularly those living in already environmentally fragile areas, face an immediate and ever-growing risk of increased crop failure, loss of livestock, and reduced availability of marine, aquaculture and forest products. Humans, plants, livestock and fish will be exposed to new pests and diseases.
"Climate change has the potential to increase hunger particularly in the poorest countries. We have to act now if we want to avoid a humanitarian disaster," said Alexander Müller.
Forty-percent of the land biomass is directly or indirectly managed by farmers, foresters or herders. "The international community can only win the global battle against climate change if we succeed in mobilizing the potential of these land users to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and in sequestering carbon in soil and plants. We have to adapt to climate changes that are of greater intensity and rapidity than in the past," Müller said.
Using more efficient crop varieties, better control of wildfires, improved natural resource management, biogas capture from animal manure, restoring land by controlled grazing, organic soil management, conservation agriculture, and agro-forestry systems are promising measures that should be more vigorously promoted to reduce green house gases from agriculture and forestry and enhance adaptation to climate changes.
FAO supports Pacific island countries in integrating climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies into agricultural, fisheries, forest management and national food security plans. In Morocco and other developing countries, FAO assists in assessing the impacts of climate change on agriculture and food security. In Bangladesh and Nepal, FAO enhances national and local capacities in agriculture, livestock, forestry and fisheries for disaster risk reduction, climate risk management and climate change adaptation, including through linking sectoral support to community-based action.
ThePigSite News Desk
However agriculture plays a significant role in changing climate.Now FAO of UN also thinking about this issue.
GENERAL - The FAO has said that the problem of global warming from greenhouse gases calls for a stronger involvement of agriculture and farming communities, as well as forestry and forest users in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
"Agriculture and deforestation are major contributors to climate change, but by the same token farmers and forest users could become key players in reducing greenhouse gas emissions," said Alexander Müller, FAO Assistant Director-General.
Co-benefits
"Unlocking the potential of agriculture and forestry for climate change mitigation requires financing mechanisms targeting farmers and foresters around the globe, particularly small-scale land-users in developing countries," he added.
"These mechanisms should give priority to emission-reducing measures that have ‘co-benefits' for food and energy security, poverty reduction, sustainable use of natural resources. Forestry and agriculture offer many opportunities for such ‘win-win' measures," Müller said.
Greenhouse gas emissions from forestry and agriculture contribute over 30 percent of the current annual total emissions (deforestation and forest degradation 17.4 percent, agriculture 13.5 percent). Agriculture is responsible for 50 percent of methane (livestock and rice) and more than 75 percent of nitrous oxide (largely from fertilizer application) emitted annually by human activities.
"Climate change will affect the lives and livelihoods of farmers, fishers and forest users in developing countries, many of whom are already facing difficulties in earning a sufficient income and feeding their families," Müller said.
Growing risks
Rural communities, particularly those living in already environmentally fragile areas, face an immediate and ever-growing risk of increased crop failure, loss of livestock, and reduced availability of marine, aquaculture and forest products. Humans, plants, livestock and fish will be exposed to new pests and diseases.
"Climate change has the potential to increase hunger particularly in the poorest countries. We have to act now if we want to avoid a humanitarian disaster," said Alexander Müller.
Forty-percent of the land biomass is directly or indirectly managed by farmers, foresters or herders. "The international community can only win the global battle against climate change if we succeed in mobilizing the potential of these land users to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and in sequestering carbon in soil and plants. We have to adapt to climate changes that are of greater intensity and rapidity than in the past," Müller said.
Using more efficient crop varieties, better control of wildfires, improved natural resource management, biogas capture from animal manure, restoring land by controlled grazing, organic soil management, conservation agriculture, and agro-forestry systems are promising measures that should be more vigorously promoted to reduce green house gases from agriculture and forestry and enhance adaptation to climate changes.
FAO supports Pacific island countries in integrating climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies into agricultural, fisheries, forest management and national food security plans. In Morocco and other developing countries, FAO assists in assessing the impacts of climate change on agriculture and food security. In Bangladesh and Nepal, FAO enhances national and local capacities in agriculture, livestock, forestry and fisheries for disaster risk reduction, climate risk management and climate change adaptation, including through linking sectoral support to community-based action.
ThePigSite News Desk
Monday, November 24, 2008
10 Surprising facts of Global Warming and Climate Change
Destruction of forests equals global warming. The math is really that simple.
But too often, this urgent fact gets ignored.It doesn’t take a data head to crunch these numbers. Take a look for yourself.The Conservation International sends me this email.
4 - hours in which the world loses acres of tropical forest equivalent in size to the island of Manhattan
20 - percent of all global CO2 emissions caused by deforestation
2 trillion - amount in dollars that burning and clearing forests costs the global economy every year as valued through lost fresh water, food and timber and carbon reduction
70 - number of species of South and Central American frogs that have gone extinct, likely due to climate change
95 - percent of living coral Australia’s Great Barrier Reef may lose by 2050 due to climate change
25 - percent of all land animals and plants at risk of extinction due to climate change
25 - percent of all emissions reductions called for by 2050 that could be achieved by conserving and restoring tropical forests
143 million - acres of forest Conservation International has helped conserve over the last three years
40 - number of cars, trucks and SUVs’ yearly emissions offset by conserving just one acre of threatened tropical forest
15 - the cost in dollars for protecting one acre of forest with Conservation International. Protect an acre today
But too often, this urgent fact gets ignored.It doesn’t take a data head to crunch these numbers. Take a look for yourself.The Conservation International sends me this email.
4 - hours in which the world loses acres of tropical forest equivalent in size to the island of Manhattan
20 - percent of all global CO2 emissions caused by deforestation
2 trillion - amount in dollars that burning and clearing forests costs the global economy every year as valued through lost fresh water, food and timber and carbon reduction
70 - number of species of South and Central American frogs that have gone extinct, likely due to climate change
95 - percent of living coral Australia’s Great Barrier Reef may lose by 2050 due to climate change
25 - percent of all land animals and plants at risk of extinction due to climate change
25 - percent of all emissions reductions called for by 2050 that could be achieved by conserving and restoring tropical forests
143 million - acres of forest Conservation International has helped conserve over the last three years
40 - number of cars, trucks and SUVs’ yearly emissions offset by conserving just one acre of threatened tropical forest
15 - the cost in dollars for protecting one acre of forest with Conservation International. Protect an acre today
Friday, November 14, 2008
Laptop made by Bamboo!
Few years ago I wrote an article on Technology Page of Daily Prothom Alo about making of Desktop computer with help of wood.The desktop looks nice,really.The manufacture company build the mouse,keypad and the monitor case with the help of wood.
But now the Asus present a new idea where laptop notebooks will be made by Bamboo!!It's really new type of innovative idea where technology combines with nature.It required less cost when the laptop will be need recycle.
Embrace the earth in pure digital harmony with the ASUS Bamboo Series notebook. Green in design with fashion in mind, the Bamboo notebook is a matchless marvel that offers uncompromising elegance and superior performance. Ideal for the style conscious with a conscience, the Bamboo notebook is the accessory that enhances environmental awareness.
Supporting environmental sustainability, its verdant exterior embodies ecology and provides a natural balance with energy efficient elements camouflaged underneath. With the ASUS exclusive Super Hybrid Engine, the Bamboo notebook preserves power internally by intelligently monitoring component power requirements and automatically adjusting to meet current consumption needs – thus optimising system performance and energy efficiency. View vivid images on the WXGA LED-backlit LCD and carry out operations effortlessly with Intel® Centrino® 2 Processor Technology and Genuine Windows Vista® Ultimate.
Strictly stylish combined with truly tech, the Bamboo Series notebook is crafted using recyclable bamboo – light, durable and renewable. From foundation to finish, the Bamboo notebook blends customary and contemporary components. It allows smooth wireless connectivity with gigabyte Ethernet high speed connection to the Internet (wherever reception is available). Equipped with a built-in 0.3M pixel web cam and high quality microphone, the Bamboo notebook is ideal for wire free live video chat anywhere. Data security is also uncompromising and users can be assured of solid privacy protection with comprehensive security features including fingerprint authentication and TPM security.
Packaged in distinctive Moso bamboo paneling, the Bamboo notebook evokes a charming warmth and a cybernetic closeness to nature. A cutting edge creation that incorporates innate, ornate aesthetics, each Bamboo Series notebook is organically unique and radiates a divine spirituality – providing powerhouse computing in a polished package, moving environline. And with the threat of climate change at the world’s doorstep, ASUS is turning the focus, cleverly blending ecology and technology that is fashion friendly – playing an important part as an active participant in the worldwide effort to protect the environment.
The ASUS Bamboo Series will be available in December 2008 through computer resellers – recommended retail price from AU$3,499 inc GST.
But it will be our concern which variety Bamboo stick used for making this sort of gadget and if the quantity rapidly filled up the used bamboo by planting them more?Otherwise this type effort soon be face huge protest from all over the world.
But now the Asus present a new idea where laptop notebooks will be made by Bamboo!!It's really new type of innovative idea where technology combines with nature.It required less cost when the laptop will be need recycle.
Embrace the earth in pure digital harmony with the ASUS Bamboo Series notebook. Green in design with fashion in mind, the Bamboo notebook is a matchless marvel that offers uncompromising elegance and superior performance. Ideal for the style conscious with a conscience, the Bamboo notebook is the accessory that enhances environmental awareness.
Supporting environmental sustainability, its verdant exterior embodies ecology and provides a natural balance with energy efficient elements camouflaged underneath. With the ASUS exclusive Super Hybrid Engine, the Bamboo notebook preserves power internally by intelligently monitoring component power requirements and automatically adjusting to meet current consumption needs – thus optimising system performance and energy efficiency. View vivid images on the WXGA LED-backlit LCD and carry out operations effortlessly with Intel® Centrino® 2 Processor Technology and Genuine Windows Vista® Ultimate.
ASUS Bamboo Series
Strictly stylish combined with truly tech, the Bamboo Series notebook is crafted using recyclable bamboo – light, durable and renewable. From foundation to finish, the Bamboo notebook blends customary and contemporary components. It allows smooth wireless connectivity with gigabyte Ethernet high speed connection to the Internet (wherever reception is available). Equipped with a built-in 0.3M pixel web cam and high quality microphone, the Bamboo notebook is ideal for wire free live video chat anywhere. Data security is also uncompromising and users can be assured of solid privacy protection with comprehensive security features including fingerprint authentication and TPM security.
Packaged in distinctive Moso bamboo paneling, the Bamboo notebook evokes a charming warmth and a cybernetic closeness to nature. A cutting edge creation that incorporates innate, ornate aesthetics, each Bamboo Series notebook is organically unique and radiates a divine spirituality – providing powerhouse computing in a polished package, moving environline. And with the threat of climate change at the world’s doorstep, ASUS is turning the focus, cleverly blending ecology and technology that is fashion friendly – playing an important part as an active participant in the worldwide effort to protect the environment.
The ASUS Bamboo Series will be available in December 2008 through computer resellers – recommended retail price from AU$3,499 inc GST.
But it will be our concern which variety Bamboo stick used for making this sort of gadget and if the quantity rapidly filled up the used bamboo by planting them more?Otherwise this type effort soon be face huge protest from all over the world.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Ecologists Use Oceanographic Data to Predict Future Climate Change
Ocean plays an important role in the ecology of the Earth.From many years ago scientists are using ocean data for various purpose.But recently it's using for forecasting the upcoming global climate change.Last week I got this news from National science Foundation(NSF) that in recent Scientist using Oceanographic data for measuring the future climate change.Here is the article,
Ecologists and oceanographers are attempting to predict the future impacts of climate change by reconstructing the past behavior of Arctic climate and ocean circulation.
Ecologists and oceanographers are attempting to predict the future impacts of climate change by reconstructing the past behavior of Arctic climate and ocean circulation.
In a November special issue of the journal Ecology, a group of scientists report that if current patterns of change in the Arctic and North Atlantic Oceans continue, alterations of ocean circulation could occur on a global scale, with potentially dramatic implications for the world's climate and biosphere.
"This research presents a compelling example of how climate change has altered marine ecosystems," said David Garrison, director of the National Science Foundation (NSF)'s Biological Oceanography Program, which funded the research. "It illustrates the value of basic research in understanding the underlying mechanisms and consequences of rapid climate change."
Charles Greene of Cornell University and colleagues reconstructed the patterns of climate change in the Arctic from the Paleocene epoch to the present.
Over these 65 million years, the Earth has undergone several major warming and cooling episodes, which were largely mitigated by the expansion and contraction of sea ice in the Arctic.
"When the Arctic cools and ice sheets and sea ice expand, the increased ice cover increases albedo, or reflectance of the sun's rays by the ice," says Greene, the lead author on the paper. "When more of the sun is reflected rather than absorbed, this leads to global cooling."
Likewise, when ice sheets and sea ice contract and expose the darker-colored land or ocean underneath, heat is absorbed, accelerating climate warming.
Currently, the Earth is in the midst of an interglacial period, characterized by retracted ice sheets and warmer temperatures.
In the past three decades, changes in Arctic climate and ice cover have led to several reorganizations of northern ocean circulation patterns.
Since 1989, a species of plankton native to the Pacific Ocean has been colonizing the North Atlantic Ocean, a feat that hasn't occurred in more than 800 thousand years. These plankton were carried across the Arctic Ocean by Pacific waters that made their way to the North Atlantic.
"When Arctic climate changes, waters in the Arctic can go from storing large quantities of freshwater to exporting that freshwater to the North Atlantic in large pulses, referred to as great salinity anomalies," Greene explains. "These GSAs flow southward, disrupting the ocean's circulation patterns and altering the temperature stratification observed in marine ecosystems."
In the continental shelf waters of the Northwest Atlantic, the arrival of a GSA during the early 1990s led to a major ecosystem reorganization, or regime shift. Some ocean ecosystems in the Northwest Atlantic saw major drops in salinity, increased stratification, an explosion of some marine invertebrate populations and a collapse of cod stocks.
"The changes in shelf ecosystems between the 1980s and 1990s were remarkable," says Greene. "Now we have a much better idea about the role climate had in this regime shift."
The changes observed in recent decades are only the tip of the iceberg. Previous interglacial periods have ended when the global ocean's deep circulation slowed in response to reductions in the formation of North Atlantic Deep Water, or NADW, a large, deep mass of highly saline water in the North Atlantic.
At these tipping points in the Earth's history, NADW formation was disrupted by pulses of freshwater entering the North Atlantic. The slowing of the global ocean's deep circulation results in less heat being transported to higher latitudes, accelerating ice formation and advancing the Earth into glacial conditions.
Recent modeling studies show that NADW formation will likely be resilient to freshwater pulses from the Arctic during the 21st century, according to the authors.
Continued exposure to such freshwater forcing, however, could disrupt global ocean circulation during the next century and lead to very abrupt changes in climate, similar to those that occurred at the onset of the last ice age.
"If the Earth's deep ocean circulation were to be shut down, many of the atmospheric, glacial and oceanic processes that have been stable in recent times would change, and the change would likely be abrupt," says Greene.
"While the ecosystem consequences of gradual changes in the ocean are somewhat predictable, all bets are off after such abrupt changes occur."
Photo Credit: Chuck Greene, Cornell
-NSF-
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering, with an annual budget of $6.06 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to over 1,900 universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives about 45,000 competitive requests for funding, and makes over 11,500 new funding awards. NSF also awards over $400 million in professional and service contracts yearly.
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