Sandhi's Writing

Dreams Never Miss

2010-08-16T01:37:00.000+06:00

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 :)

Finding peace over the bridge

2009-10-26T13:45:00.001+06:00

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 :)

Get rid of Aresenic by reed!

2009-07-14T22:02:00.008+06:00

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 micrograms 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

Life at Stockholm University

2009-03-10T14:07:00.005+06:00

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.

Growing up Eco-Village culture

2008-12-23T09:22:00.004+06:00

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

India made Enviornment Sustainablity Index of her states

2008-12-20T10:00:00.003+06:00

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

The Role of Farms and Forests in Changing Climate

2008-12-07T08:17:00.003+06:00

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

10 Surprising facts of Global Warming and Climate Change

2008-11-24T07:51:00.001+06:00

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

Laptop made by Bamboo!

2008-11-14T15:55:00.006+06:00

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.

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.

Ecologists Use Oceanographic Data to Predict Future Climate Change

2008-11-12T08:04:00.000+06:00

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.

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.

The landmss of Bangladesh is increasing

2008-08-27T08:53:00.006+06:00

Its really significant news for Bangladesh.As previously predicted most of the environmentalist that some parts of Bangladesh soon goes under sea water.Even an United Nation research shows previously that rising sea levels will inundate 17% of Bangladesh by 2050, making about 30 million people homeless.

Bangladesh is often held up as the 'ground zero' of climate change, with environmental experts predicting that rising sea levels could engulf much of the country of 150 million people within the next 50 years.

But a recent survey by a Bangladeshi research institute shows that the country's landmass has actually increased by more than 1,000 square km (386 square miles) since 1973, due to rivers dumping sediment as they meet the sea.

Bangladesh could also gain another 1,000 square km by 2050, according to scientists from the state-run Centre for Environment and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS) in Dhaka, Bangladesh's capital.

CEGIS, which is funded by the Dutch government, reached its conclusion after studying satellite images of the country dating back to 1973.

Maminul Haque Sarker, head of the department that conducted the research, told The Times that most of the new land was on the southern coast where the Ganges and Brahmaputra Rivers flow into the Bay of Bengal.

The rivers carry more than a billion tonnes of sediment every year as they cascade down from the Himalayas and across Bangladesh's densely populated lowlands, he said.

"They deposit a third of that in their estuaries – and the amount of sediment is increasing every year," he said.

"The satellite images show that Bangladesh's landmass has been growing by about 20 square kilometres annually in the last few years."

One of the most crowded countries on the planet, Bangladesh lies on a vast delta, mostly less than 10 metres above sea level, and suffers devastating floods, cyclones and tornadoes almost every year.

The United Nations' Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicted last year that the country could lose 17 percent of its land by 2050 because of rising sea levels due to global warming.

The Nobel Peace Prize-winning body also predicted that 20 million Bangladeshis would become environmental refugees and the country would lose some 30 percent of its food production by 2050.

Professor James Hansen, Director of the US-based NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, goes even further, predicting a sea level rise of up to 25 metres by 2100, which would completely submerge Bangladesh.

Dr Sarker and other Bangladeshi experts agree that, if the sea rises by one metre, it would submerge 25-30 percent of Bangladesh, devastating the economy and displacing millions of people.

However, they believe that the IPCC forecasts do not take into account natural sedimentation and artificial land accretion from the construction of dams.

Mahfuzur Rahman, head of Bangladesh Water Development Board's Coastal Study and Survey Department, explained that dams built in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as natural sedimentation, had created hundreds of square miles of new land.

The government is also planning to build 19 cross-dams between islands that could increase Bangladesh's landmass by another 700 square kilometres, he said.

The new land would be planted with trees and remain as forest for five to ten years, but could be turned into farmland after that, he predicted.

"There will undoubtedly be a sea level rise in coming decades, but I can't agree that Bangladesh will be completely under water," he said.

"Every year we are losing some land and gaining some land, but gaining more than we are losing."

Farmers of Bangladesh get assistance from the FAO

2008-07-13T08:10:00.002+06:00

At present moment Food Crisis is not a country specific problem,it already spreads throughout the globe.Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) recently take an initiative for helping the farmers of developing countries.However,Bangladesh enlisted in this group.

Figure:Prices of Rice and Wheat Grain

The FAO announced the approval of a series of projects in 48 countries for a total value of US$21 million to help small farmers and vulnerable households mitigate the negative effects of rising food and input prices. The projects will provide farmers with agricultural inputs as of this month for an expected duration of one year.

FAO said the assistance to the 48 countries will be funded by the Technical Co-operation Programme – i.e. FAO’s own resources – they are part of FAO’s Initiative on Soaring Food Prices (ISFP).

With six countries already benefiting for a total amount of nearly US$2.8 million, FAO’s own funding under the initiative on soaring food prices now covers 54 countries.

The immediate objective of these projects is to ensure the success of the next planting seasons and, in the longer term, demonstrate that by increasing the supply of key agricultural inputs, such as seeds and fertilizers, small farmers will be able to rapidly increase their food production.

Increased food production would help cushion small farmers, who often have to buy part of their food from markets with rising food prices and would, hopefully, lead to a surplus production that could be sold, increasing their income and facilitating the access to food of the rural and urban population.

The provision of seeds, fertilizers and other agricultural inputs to small farmers is intended to encourage donors, financial institutions and national governments to support the provision of inputs on a much larger scale, according to FAO experts who stress that their initiative is intended to produce a salutary catalytic effect that will encourage development partners to contribute to similar projects, but on a larger scale.

According to FAO, countries most affected, especially in Africa, will need at least a total of US$1.7 billion to start reviving agricultural systems that have been neglected for several decades, and this amount is just for immediate and short-term measures during 2008-2009.

The unprecedented hike in food prices, which rose 52 per cent between 2007 and 2008, has had severe economic, social and political consequences in poor countries.

High prices of agricultural inputs have become a major obstacle to developing countries’ efforts to increase agricultural production.

For the period January 2007 to April 2008, fertilizer prices in particular shot up at a much faster rate than food prices.

Anticipating the widespread impact and grave nature of soaring food prices, in December 2007, FAO launched its ISFP to help vulnerable countries put in place urgent measures to boost food supplies by ensuring the success of their agricultural campaigns and to provide policy support to improve access to food.

The 48 new countries benefiting from FAO’s drive are: Afghanistan, Angola, Armenia, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Eritrea, Grenada, Guinée, Guiné-Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Kenya, Kyrgystan, DPR Korea, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mali, Mongolia, Nigeria, Nepal, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Philippines, Rwanda, St. Kitts/Nevis, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Timor-Leste, Togo, Yemen, Zambia.

Winning a prize from an International competition

2008-06-08T08:26:00.008+06:00

Today is one of the best days which i ever find!Really last night I got a mail in my mail inbox that won a book named "Green Babies, Sage Moms: The Ultimate Guide to Raising Your Organic Baby".
I am very much happy for winning this book(For detailed information ,click here).It related with environment,nature and how to raising a baby using organic materials.The Eco-Libris organized this competition.

I write the comments about the book and present situation for raising a baby in an organic way.Lots of readers from different parts of the world participate in this blog writing competition. (http://www.greenbabies.com/catalogue/gbsm.htm)

I am so happy.
So,I want to share this happiness with all of you.

Twelve Steps to Help You Kick the CO2 Habit

2008-06-05T10:56:00.004+06:00

Whether you are an individual, an organization, a business or a government, there are a number of steps you can take to reduce your carbon emissions, the total of which is described as your carbon footprint. You may think you don’t know where to begin, but by reading this, you have already begun.

1. Make a commitment

Reducing your carbon footprint is no different from any other task. Telling people you will reduce carbon emissions may seem simplistic, but even simple actions like announcing your commitment to going carbon neutral can be effective, while the simple act of asking for ideas can lead to creative and innovative solutions. Several countries have indicated in recent months that they will go carbon neutral, led by Costa Rica, New Zealand and Norway. The United Nations system itself, led by Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon, and guided by the UNEP-led Environment Management Group, is moving towards carbon neutrality. UNEP is also facilitating carbon neutrality in all sectors and all regions through its climate neutral network.

2. Assess where you stand

It is likely that carbon will eventually be judged as an atmospheric pollutant and regulated accordingly, with consequent costs—and opportunities—for all sectors of society. Knowing where and how you generate greenhouse gases is the first step to reducing them. For individuals and small businesses, online calculators and internal assessments can help start the process. Larger organisations may need specialised advice and tools, such as the new ISO 14064 standard for greenhouse gas accounting and verification, or the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, provided by the World Resources Institute and World Business Council for Sustainable Development, which is an accounting tool for government and business managers to understand, quantify, manage and report greenhouse gas emissions.

3. Decide and plan where you want to go

Based on your assessment of climate-related risks and opportunities, a strategy and action plan can be developed. Targets help focus efforts and also provide a benchmark for measuring success. Most homes or businesses can reduce energy use by 10 per cent—which almost always results in a 10 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions—with a one year payback or less. A plan to reduce carbon emissions will first focus on the type of energy and the way it is used; for example electricity for buildings and fuel for transport. Reducing this energy can create instant savings. An effective tool is an energy audit. Many electric utilities and government energy offices now offer an audit as part of their efforts to reduce carbon emissions.

4. De-carbon your life

There is a broader way to think about carbon and climate. Everything an individual, organization, business or government does or uses embodies some form of carbon, either in products themselves or in the energy and materials it takes to make them. Buildings, fittings and equipment are all proxies for carbon; ‘carbon copies’ can be chosen based on the least amount of impact they will have on the climate. Integrating climate friendly criteria into decision making can trigger a ripple effect.

If consumers, manufacturers and lawmakers all think ‘low carbon’ and ‘climate friendly’ savings in carbon emissions will multiply. Take packaging as an example. US retail giant Wal-Mart worked with one of their toy suppliers to reduce packaging on just 16 items. The toy suppliers saved on packaging costs while Wal-Mart used 230 fewer shipping containers to distribute their products, saving about 356 barrels of oil and 1,300 trees. By broadening this initiative to 255 items, the company believes it can save 1,000 barrels of oil, 3,800 trees, and millions of dollars in transportation costs.

Another example: you can buy paper or wood products that adhere to internationally certified standards. The Forestry Stewardship Council (www.fsc.org), for example, is an international non-profit organisation promoting responsible management of the world’s forests. The FSC trademark is increasingly recognised as an international standard for responsible forest management. More than 90 million hectares in more than 70 countries have been certified according to FSC standards while several thousand products are produced using FSC certified wood and carrying the FSC trademark. Switching to recycled or sustainably sourced paper can also lead to considerable savings, reducing both landfill use and carbon emissions. Using recycled paper can save 1.4 tonnes of CO2 for every tonne of paper and cardboard.

Other ways of reducing your carbon footprint include wasting less time and energy on travel. Cities can improve public transport options, companies can encourage low carbon habits (by ceasing to subsidize parking or investing in hybrid technology company vehicles), and individuals can car pool or use public transport. Sometimes simple actions can produce a shift. Secure bicycle storage and changing and shower facilities, for example, are often inexpensive compared to other parking structures but create a strong incentive for those who can commute by bicycle. In larger cities with adequate public transport, a monthly or yearly pass can be offered instead of parking facilities. Paris and Vienna, for example, offer a public bicycle system that reduces greenhouse gas emissions and traffic congestion.

5. Get energy efficient

Improving the efficiency of your buildings, computers, cars and products is the fastest and most lucrative way to save money, energy and carbon emissions. This does not mean going without. Energy efficiency is about increasing productivity but doing more with less. More efficient buildings, cars and products will a direct and lasting contribution to limiting carbon emissions. Conventional buildings can account for almost 40 per cent of CO2 emissions. High performance, environmentally accountable, energy efficient and productive facilities are now economically possible.

Very simple measures can lead to immediate savings. Just turning off unused lights, motors, computers and heating can substantially reduce wasted energy—and money. Generally, laptop computers use less energy than desktop computers and LCD monitors use less energy than CRT screens. Also consider what to do with equipment when its useful life is finished. Some manufacturers offer take-back or recycling. Also look for energy efficiency standards. For appliances, the Energy Star rating is a way to describe efficiency. For many brands now, the highest energy efficiency rating does not cost any more than less efficient products. Originally from the United States, Energy Star is now applicable in Europe.

Think about your travel. Advanced web and video conferencing technology mean the time is rapidly approaching when the need to travel will be substantially diminished. A two-day trip to attend a meeting 1,000 km (600 miles) away can cost about US$2,000 per person when accommodation, travel and meals are included, while a video conference may cost as little as US$200. The savings are US$1,800 and about half a tonne of carbon. Telecommuting is also increasingly an option for many. A study by the Telework Coalition (www.telcoa.org) found that if 32 million Americans who could telecommute did so one day a week, they would drive 2 billion kilometres less, save 300 million litres of fuel and gain the equivalent of 32 million extra hours every week for leisure, family or work.

Lighting can account for 15-20 per cent of total electricity use. Converting coal at the power plant into incandescent light is only three per cent efficient. Compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) have evolved rapidly in the past decade. They now last between six and 15 years and reduce electricity use by a minimum of 75 per cent compared to a standard incandescent bulb. The advantages of CFLs and other high efficiency lighting have prompted legislation to ban incandescent bulbs. In 2007, Australia was the first country to mandate that no incandescent bulbs will be sold by 2012, a move that will reduce emissions by four million tonnes and cut power bills for lighting by up to 66 per cent.

6. Switch to low carbon energy

If possible, switch to energy sources that emit less carbon and can reduce costs and emissions. Generally, coal produces twice the emissions of gas, six times the amount of solar, 40 times the amount of wind and 200 times the amount from hydro. In many parts of the world customers can choose to have a percentage of their electricity supplied from a renewable energy source, such as a wind farm or landfill gas project. These ‘green choice’ programmes are maturing and proving to be a powerful stimulus for growth in renewable energy supply. Today, more than 50 per cent of all US consumers, for example, have an option to purchase some type of green power product.

Larger users can even build their own lower emission energy systems, using solar power or lower carbon technologies such as generators powered by natural gas. A Global Environment Facility project in eastern and southern Africa is promoting small scale hydro schemes in the tea industry and cogeneration using agricultural waste from the sugar industry to generate electricity for industry use and to feed into national grids. In the United Kingdom, the Body Shop bought a 25 per cent stake in a large modern wind generator to provide renewable energy for its UK operations. Other companies installing their own renewable energy plant include 3M, DuPont, General Motors, IBM, Johnson & Johnson and Staples.

At the small business or household level, tax breaks and incentives can make solar photovoltaic systems and other renewable energy technologies cost effective. Rooftop solar electric panels can provide energy over time, reduce electricity costs and provide a buffer against price fluctuations. UNEP is helping promote such schemes in southern India and North Africa.

The transport sector is responsible for 25 per cent of total energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, mainly from burning petrol and diesel. Various options exist for kicking the carbon habit. Hybrid engines that combine electricity and conventional petrol or diesel engines can offer substantial fuel savings while reducing emissions. Vehicles can also run on a range of alternative fuels that can offer both cost and environmental benefits, although they also often require an additional investment that take some time to pay back. These include compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), liquefied natural gas (LNG) and biofuels.

Biodiesel and bioethanol are biofuels made from crops, such as wheat, soy, corn and sugar cane. They are often blended with petrol or diesel, and almost all vehicles can run on blends up to 10 per cent without modification. Specially enabled biofuel cars can run on higher blends, such as a mix of 85 per cent bioethanol and 15 per cent petrol. In many parts of the world, biofuels are becoming more popular and easier to find commercially and in various blends. For companies with automotive fleets, biofuels can be a cost-effective low-carbon alternative.

7. Invest in offsets and cleaner alternatives

There is a limit to how much efficiency you can squeeze from your lifestyle or your organisation’s operations, or how much renewable energy you can employ. The choice for those who wish to compensate for their remaining emissions is to fund an activity by another party that reduces emissions. This is commonly called a ‘carbon offset’ or ‘carbon credit’. The term carbon neutral includes the idea of neutralising emissions through supporting carbon savings elsewhere.

The average price for carbon offsets is US$15 per tonne, but costs range from US$5-50 per tonne. To purchase offsets, individuals or businesses pay an offset company to implement and manage projects that avoid, reduce or absorb greenhouse gases. Climate change is a global problem, so carbon reductions will have the same impact no matter where they are implemented. Carbon credits can be generated by emission-free energy generation, reduced demand, including energy efficiency, or sequestration in the form of underground and forestry storage.

According to one report, the highest quality offsets are generated from the flaring of methane from landfills, since methane is an even more potent greenhouse gas than CO2. Green Gas International (www.greengas.net) is a company that generates carbon credits by converting waste gas to clean energy through partnerships with mines, landfills and biogas producers. The worldwide benefits of such projects include 125 megawatts (MW) of power, saving four million tonnes of CO2.

8. Get efficient

Looking at your life or business through a carbon neutral lens can help you in other ways by increasing the efficiency of resource use, avoiding and reducing waste and ultimately improving your overall performance and reputation. Economists are fond of saying that there are no banknotes lying around because someone will have already picked them up. In climate change, there are still plenty of banknotes just waiting to be picked up. After all, carbon is generally the waste product of producing energy, and reducing waste and becoming more efficient is always a good idea. Integrate the 3R approach—reduce, reuse and recycle—into your thinking.

9. Offer—or buy—low carbon products and services

The market for climate friendly products and services is growing rapidly, from energy efficient products to new renewable energy systems. To offer such products, however, it’s important to begin at the design stage. Actions as simple as adding energy efficient specifications into the design process, for example, can produce a design that minimises energy consumption during its use and saves customers the time and energy from making adjustments to a product after a purchase, (for example having to wrap water heaters with insulation blankets).

A more systematic approach comes from the field of ‘design for sustainability’, which includes life cycle design and environmentally conscious design and manufacturing. This new approach considers environmental aspects at all stages of development to create products with the lowest environmental impact throughout the product life cycle. Ecodesign is an important strategy for small and medium sized companies both in developed and developing countries to improve the environmental performance of their products, reduce waste and improve their competitive position on the market.

10. Buy green, sell green

The market for green products and services is growing rapidly. In many countries consumer surveys report that growing numbers of consumers are willing to buy green products if given the choice. For businesses, innovative product design and presentation combined with responsible marketing and communications can help ensure that this consumer interest translates into purchasing. However, the market for green products remains underdeveloped because people still find it difficult to locate products or trust their environmental claims. Businesses can help consumers to be more climate friendly, from the online click for carbon offsetting on a tourism booking website to the label on a product at the local store.

11. Team up

Many private sector companies are increasingly working with non-governmental organisations, cities or governments to identify and implement best practice solutions to reduce emissions. The Carbon Disclosure Project (www.cdproject.net), for example is an independent non-profit organisation providing information for institutional investors with a combined US$41 trillion of assets under management. On their behalf, CDP seeks information on the business risks and opportunities presented by climate change and greenhouse gas emissions data from more than 2,000 of the world’s largest companies.

Similarly, local and national governments are seeking opportunities to partner with business on delivering low carbon solutions. In countries such as Canada, government institutions and power utilities supported the setting up of Energy Service Companies (ESCos). In the United States, the federal Environmental Protection Agency started the Energy Star program (www.energystar.gov) in 1992 as a voluntary partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through increased energy efficiency. In 2006, American businesses and consumers saved US$14 billion on energy bills with the help of Energy Star saved and reduced greenhouse gas emissions equal to 25 million vehicles annually.

12. Talk

The increasing importance of climate change means that companies and organisations will need to communicate. Transparency is critical. The internet and other new media mean that companies, organisations and governments cannot hide behind greenwash. This is where tools for verification and reporting guidelines with recognised indicators are critical. One example is the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) (www.globalreporting.org). Internal communications via intranets and company publications can report progress and acknowledge contributions by individual staff or teams. It’s also important to let shareholders know. Reducing emissions, particularly by improving efficiency is a win-win situation that can also enhance a company’s reputation. Consumers and investors alike are requesting information on a company’s response to risks and opportunities related to climate change.

(This is an abridged and adapted version of an original piece produced by UNEP for the UNEP/Sustainable Development International publication ‘Climate Action’ www.climateactionprogramme.org)

About World Environment Day 2008

2008-06-05T10:47:00.004+06:00

World Environment Day, commemorated each year on 5 June, is one of the principal vehicles through which the United Nations stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and enhances political attention and action.

The World Environment Day slogan for 2008 is Kick the Habit! Towards a Low Carbon Economy. Recognising that climate change is becoming the defining issue of our era, UNEP is asking countries, companies and communities to focus on greenhouse gas emissions and how to reduce them. The World Environment Day will highlight resources and initiatives that promote low carbon economies and life-styles, such as improved energy efficiency, alternative energy sources, forest conservation and eco-friendly consumption.

The main international celebrations of World Environment Day 2008 will be held in New Zealand. UNEP is honoured that the city of Wellington will be hosting this United Nations day (read the press release).

The day's agenda is to give a human face to environmental issues; empower people to become active agents of sustainable and equitable development; promote an understanding that communities are pivotal to changing attitudes towards environmental issues; and advocate partnership, which will ensure all nations and peoples enjoy a safer and more prosperous future.

When did it all begin?

World Environment Day was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972 to mark the opening of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. Another resolution, adopted by the General Assembly the same day, led to the creation of UNEP.

How can you celebrate World Environment Day?

The World Environment Day Alphabet - 80 Ways to Celebrate
World Environment Day can be celebrated in many ways, including street rallies, bicycles parades, green concerts, essay and poster competitions in schools, tree planting, recycling efforts, clean-up campaigns and much more. In many countries, this annual event is used to enhance political attention and action.

Heads of State, Prime Ministers and Ministers of Environment deliver statements and commit themselves to care for the Earth. Serious pledges are made which lead to the establishment of permanent governmental structures dealing with environmental management and economic planning. This observance also provides an opportunity to sign or ratify international environmental conventions.

On this World Environment Day, let us examine the state of our environment. Let us consider carefully the actions which each of us must take, and then address ourselves to our common task of preserving all life on earth in a mood of sober resolution and quiet confidence.

Greenpeace - Making Waves: Stolen whale meat scandal rocks Japan

2008-05-15T19:53:00.003+06:00

Finally, we can tell the story some of us have been sitting on for months now: the whale meat embezzlement we uncovered in Japan, in which stolen cuts of prime whale bacon are smuggled away from the "scientific research" vessels and sold for oodles of yen -- one of our informers heard a crew member claim he built a house on his illegal proceeds.We hit the front page of Japan's biggest newspaper, Asahi Shimbun, this morning -- a first for Greenpeace in Japan, where whale stories have always been hard to sell. But with the Japanese government in seeming constant free fall with corruption scandals being unearthed all the time, whale meat embezzlement -- especially since it involves taxpayers' money -- is a monster story.

05/15/2008 THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

Greenpeace Japan said Thursday it will seek a criminal investigation against 12 crew members of a research whaling ship over allegations they embezzled a ton of meat from whales caught in the Antarctic Ocean.

The group says the crew members aboard the research vessel Nisshin Maru sent cardboard boxes believed to have contained whale meat to their homes.

At a news conference Thursday in Tokyo, Greenpeace Japan members displayed whale meat they said had been intercepted on route to the home of a crew member. The box contained 23.5 kilograms of coveted whale meat used in bacon.

The estimated value of the meat is between 110,000 yen and 350,000 yen ($1,048 and $3,334), according to Greenpeace Japan.

This goes to the heart of the legality of the whaling programme. The ICR (Institute for Cetacean Research, which runs the scientific whaling programme) is constantly claiming that they are *compelled* to sell the "byproduct of their scientific research" by the International Treaty on the Conservation of Whales -- they don't really *want* to sell it, no no no it's not a commercial activity, there's a *law* see? Well guys, you made your bed, now sleep in it. If it's the law, then turning a blind eye to your own crew members skimming the best cuts off the top and distributing them to cronies and restaurants for kudos and profit is, literally, a criminal offense.

On top of that, the commercial sales are supposed to be "deferring the cost of the research programme" which costs the Japanese taxpayer US$ 4.7 million every year. So you can imagine there's some unhappy Japanese taxpayers reading the paper this morning. And watching the news as well -- every Japanese TV station was at our press conference a few hours ago, and the story has run already four or five times, even before prime news time.

So what do the whalers have to say about this? When we asked before the revelations, on the 8th of May, this is what the Japanese Fisheries Agency, the government agency responsible for whaling said:

8 May 2008 11:58 Investigator: After the price (of the whale meat) will be decided on in June, will all whale meat be sold at this price?

Mr. Naruko: Yes, United price will be set according to each part of the meat. Meat will go to the wholesalers with this price.

Investigator: Which means there will be no sales before June?

Mr. Naruko: Yes, without a price, there’s no way to sell.
Investigator: I heard from somewhere that the sailors used to bring back some whale meat as private souvenirs during the industrial whaling period. This does not happen these days under the research whaling, right?

Mr. Naruko: Of course not. Since the distribution (of whale meat) is very limited.
Investigator: Since the whale meat is considered as “official,” right?

Mr. Naruko: Yes.

Kyodo Senpaku, the company that runs the whaling ships, today also claimed it doesn't happen. Then changed their mind and said there was perhaps "some suspicion."

And the ICR, which runs the scientific programme, said souvenirs, just souvenirs:

"It has been a longstanding practice since we were whaling as a commercial activity," he said. "We treat it as comparable to making whale meat a source of our meals (during the voyage). It should not be a problem."

Another ICR official said each of about 250 crew members of a research whaling fleet receives several kilograms of whale meat for free as a token.

However, Greenpeace Japan noted that if the 47 boxes sent from the Nisshin Maru contained whale meat, the total would have exceeded 1 ton.

In fact, our informers mentioned the souvenirs, and said the smuggled whale bacon was on top of that -- kilograms of stuff they sneak into their cabins, salt and put in cardboard. We even talked to a woman who sells the special salt in the port town where the whales depart from: she says she can't keep enough of it in stock when the whaling crew are making their preparations to leave -- they buy her out, and the town runs out of cardboard. The salt is only for the whale bacon, the finest cuts, and doesn't get used for the souvenir meat.

One crew member sent boxes weighing 200 to 300 kilograms, according to the crew member.

Another former crew member said he sent 20 kg of whale meat to his home and ate it with his family. (IHT/Asahi: May 15,2008)

Now, if that lucky crew member who took home 200-300 kilos sold it at premium prices, he made a tidy profit of 25,000 - 38,000 USD off of a non-commercial, scientific whale hunt expedition. Who says crime --er, I mean science -- doesn't pay?

Two Diet members have now put official questions in to the Japanese Parliament and there will be an open seminar on Monday with the Diet members, media, and embassy officials, to look into the scandal further.

The Japanese people have been ripped off and lied to for too long. It's time for the politicians to step in and kill the permits for killing whales. Write this letter. Send it to your friends. Time to say game over. The jig's up. Everybody out of the pool. You're nicked, mate.

Jatropha biofuel in power plant first

2008-05-09T14:57:00.010+06:00

The world’s first combined heat and power plant fuelled by Jatropha oil will be operating in Belgium by early next year, Finnish engineering company Wartsila has announced.

The 9-megawatt plant costing €7 million would be built by Wartsila in the Belgian Merksplas farming region. It will be owned by a joint venture between sustainable energy developer Thenargo and local agricultural companies.

Jatropha curcas is a shrub producing oil-rich fruit that has been traditionally used as a heating and lighting fuel by communities in the developing world. But its value as a feedstock for large-scale biofuel production is largely untested. It is now the subject of research and development into its potential for use in the production of the green transport fuel, biodiesel.

One of its key advantages is that it can be grown in low-rainfall areas on land where other crops won’t grow. It is not a food crop nor a food source for animals. A rush has begun in recent years to produce biofuels as a substitute for fossil fuels in order reduce dependence on oil and cut greenhouse gas emissions in transport. But most biofuel production so far involves food grains and oils like corn, canola and palm oil, and so competes for land with food production.

A spike in world food prices this year, particularly wheat and rice, has been blamed in part on biofuels.

The use of Jatropha oil as a power generation and heating fuel is a step towards biofuels that do not compete with food crops, said Wartsila’s Ronald Westerdijk in a press release. "Jatropha oil is a liquid biofuel that has great potential since jatropha can also be harvested outside the world's rain forest areas, even near deserts," he said.

The electricity generated by the plant will be sold into the grid and be enough power up to 20,000 homes. The heat generated will be used by local farmers for warm greenhouses and drying material in a process to make fertiliser.

Source: http://www.carbonpositive.net

Why has the Global Food Crisis reached Emergency Proportions?

2008-04-15T13:06:00.000+06:00

Dear Friends,
I got this article from net.
The main source of this article linked bottom of the article,

The mounting global food crisis pushed aside fears of a protracted recession and systemic risk in the financial sector to become the top priority for the world's economic leaders gathered in Washington, DC. Ministers representing 185 countries agreed over the weekend that soaring food prices threaten global calamity and pledged to co-operate on a solution to save the world's poorest people from starvation. However, that solution remains elusive. The finance ministers and central bank governors who oversee the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank left Washington yesterday without a definitive response to agricultural prices that have surged 48 per cent since early 2007, sparking a wave of hoarding, speculation and riots throughout the developing world.

Food security has become a major concern in recent weeks as supplies of basic commodities have dwindled in the face of soaring demand, triggering riots and outbreaks of violence from Haiti to Indonesia. "The rapidly escalating crisis of food availability around the world has reached emergency proportions," United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told a joint meeting in New York of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the Bretton Woods institutions, the WTO and the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). "We need not only short-term emergency measures to meet urgent critical needs and avert starvation in many regions across the world, but also a significant increase in long-term productivity in food grain production. He called for short-term emergency measures in many regions to meet urgent food needs and avoid starvation and longer-term efforts to increase significantly the production of food grains. The "international community will also need to take urgent and concerted action in order to avoid the larger political and security implications of this growing crisis," Ban said.

Rising Unrest and Inflation

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO) has said 37 countries may be facing a food crisis. Grain prices including rice, staple food for half the world, have surged this year on shortage concerns, prompting some growers to impose export restrictions. The gains in prices are stoking unrest and fanning inflation, world finance ministers said over the weekend. China, Egypt, Vietnam and India, representing more than a third of global rice exports, have curbed sales this year, and Indonesia says it may do the same. The Philippines, the world's largest rice importer, is urging China, Japan and other Asian nations to convene an emergency meeting on the region's food crisis to try and reverse export curbs that have driven prices to a record. Rising food costs have sparked violent protests in Cameroon, Egypt, Ethiopia, Haiti, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Mauritania and the Philippines. In Pakistan and Thailand, troops have been deployed to avoid the seizure of food from fields and warehouses, while price increases fuelled a general strike in Burkina Faso. In Bangladesh, 50 people were hurt when workers rioted over food costs.

Increased Demand and Bio-Fuels

ATCA has already warned that using arable land to produce crops for biofuels has reduced surfaces across earth which are available to grow food, putting further pressure on supplies already strained by the soaring demand. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said that since March 2007 prices for soya beans have risen 87 percent and those for wheat 130 percent at a time when global grain stores are at their lowest levels on record. It attributed the trend to increased demand in emerging market powerhouses China and India as well as the alternative use of maize and soya beans for biofuels. Jean Ziegler, UN special rapporteur for the "Right to Food," went so far as to describe the recent rush to boost production of biofuels as "a crime against humanity" because of its impact on global prices.

EU Subsidies

Jean Ziegler has accused the European Union of undermining the agriculture sector in Africa by exporting in the past the surpluses of its heavily subsidised farmers to the continent. "The EU finances the exports of European agricultural surpluses to Africa ... where they are offered at one half or one third of their (production) price," Ziegler charged. "That completely ruins African agriculture." While defending EU hand-outs to its farmers, France's Barnier said Europe should not bow under pressure at the World Trade Organisation to ease its farm support but should instead help developing countries build up their agriculture sector. "Europe must remain a major producing continent but other continents have to get organised as well," Barnier said.

Markets Speculation

French Agriculture Minister Michel Barnier said governments must take action to regulate surging food prices and stop them being driven by speculative forces. "We cannot, and we must not leave food for people to the mercy of the rule of the market alone and to international speculation," he said.

Ramping Up Production

Michel Barnier has warned that farmers worldwide would have to raise their output sharply in the coming decades as demand booms in fast growing Asian countries like China and India. "Global agriculture production will have to double by 2050 ... in order to feed nine billion people on the planet," Barnier told journalists on the sidelines of a meeting in Luxembourg with his EU counterparts. A new UN-sponsored study, due to be presented Tuesday in Paris, warns that farming practices must change to confront soaring food prices that threaten the poor in particular. "Business as usual is no longer an option," the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development will say in the report, according to a statement from UNESCO.

Organic Farming, GMO and Sustainability

UNESCO has said its new report will urge that agricultural science pay greater attention to safeguarding natural resources and to promoting "agro-ecological" practices, such as the use of natural fertilisers and traditional seeds and reducing the distance between the farm and the consumer. Nihon Shokuhin Kako, Japan's largest buyer of corn for use in food, is importing genetically modified supplies as high prices deter gene-pure purchases.

Free Meals

More people in Singapore, Southeast Asia's wealthiest economy, are joining the queue for free meals. Thirty percent more are turning up daily at a free vegetarian meal temple and 10 percent more elderly citizens go to a senior care centre. An official said those who show up come from all walks of life.

USD 500 Million in Emergency Aid

Ban echoed World Bank President Robert Zoellick's appeal to governments on Sunday to quickly provide the UN World Food Program with USD 500 million in emergency aid that it needs by May 1st. "We have to put our money where our mouth is now so that we can put food into hungry mouths," Zoellick said. "It's as stark as that" to deal with rapidly rising food prices that have caused hunger and deadly violence in several countries. Ban said the recent steep rise in food prices "has already raised the cost of WFP's needs to maintain its current operations from USD 500 million to USD 755 million." WFP, the world's largest humanitarian agency, issued an "extraordinary emergency appeal" to donor countries for USD 500 million last month, saying the money was needed by May 1st to avoid cutting rations to some of the world's most impoverished regions. The Rome-based agency said its funding gap was growing weekly.

100+ Million Pushed into Abject Poverty, Seven Lost Years

"The World Bank has estimated that the doubling of food prices over the last three years could push 100 million people in low income countries deeper into poverty," Ban has said. Ban echoed Zoellick in warning that the food crisis "could mean seven lost years in the fight against worldwide poverty." The United Nations is at a midpoint in its campaign to reduce global poverty and improve living standards of the world's bottom billion. The Millennium Development Goals, adopted at a UN summit in 2000, include cutting extreme poverty by half by 2015.

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Being an Agriculturist

2008-04-12T08:22:00.000+06:00

Deadline March 29, 2008.

I got confirmation about my undergraduate degree in Agricultural Science. Last few years I was working like a machine. Because I can’t give up my contributor type of job related with computer science on Daily Prothom Alo!

And this subject wants more grade for continue my study in abroad. So it’s a very crucial time for me.

Sometimes I think I want to touch the sky with these human hands. Only few steps…..
In last few weeks I have a got very bad experience with one of my class mate. I think he is suffering a mental disease.Some times believing that conquers your fear.

Another thing happens. One of my friends calling me frequently, I don’t what’s future step.

I don’t know can I touch the sky?

Only God knows and know the future….

BCS IT Expo 2008

2008-03-31T12:18:00.001+06:00

Today is my 2nd day of covering BCS It Expo 2008.yesterday my power supply of my home was cut down. So I sent the feature to my office through cyber cafe. today I gather a lot of experience, that I meet my one of favorite teacher Mizan Sir in the fair. This person likes me very much. In my uni, Mizan sir has lots of contribution in my life. I know Sir likes me very much and he is also a fan of Technology.

I met a person who buys a photo printer today. He is very eager to talk with me, as he informed that I am working on Prothom Alo lots of miss managements in BCS fair.

Another incident occurs today, that I asking a teen age about this fair. His mom also asking she wants to describe about corruption of a school headmaster! What’s a horrible matter? I am working on Computer page, not in corruption related page!!

I met Nazmul in this fair. He is one of nice guys that I ever met. I enjoy his talking; really. He also works in Prothom Alo.

That’s all today.
I will share lots of experience that I gathered in this 7 days fair.
Keep on touch.
Bye :)

Awesome day!

2008-03-12T14:45:00.002+06:00

Today is one of the best days I passed last six months.I have tensed for a problem,which removes today.I confirmed about that matter.
now I can put attention to my all other necessary works!
yaah tomorrow I have my last exam in my undergraduate course.
So, I feels like flying again

last class test and quiz!!

2008-02-16T15:07:00.001+06:00

yaah,many days later again i writing my favorite diary.today i attend my last class test and quiz in SAU.my exam is great.this is my last exam.yesterday also I good day.because I talked a special person many days later.one of my best friend was!
my profession also going good.and my evening class performance satisfied me a lot!
really I enjoying my present time very much.
later I will write more.... :)
bye.

Last semester exam

2008-02-01T09:19:00.000+06:00

yaah lots of days passed I again write on blog spot.it's my one of the favorite place.last week my fortune favors me a lot.I got huge amount of money from my part-time job.it's help me a lot,because it cover all the servicing cost of my modem!
next saturday I have my last parctical exam in SAU.that is Entomology.
here I will write here regularly soon.

FaceBook! Facebook!

2007-12-25T21:04:00.000+06:00

It was 1991.i was studying in Udyan School with one boy named Ronald. we not see again each other from the same year. I find him again!it is more about 15 years later!!

You may ask where? It’s facebook. not only him, I find few of my close College friends in Face Book (www.facebook.com). Really it brings more pleasure for me. We not meet at least 4-5 years. But here we find each other!

Thanks Facebook!!

Family Picnic in National Zoo

2007-12-25T20:49:00.000+06:00

Hey Guys!

Wish you all Merry Christmas. Today some of my close relatives,my cousins(Shammo,Shurjo,Nishorgo) and Moitry, me visit National Zoo situated in Mirpur,Dhaka. We all day enjoy sight seeing in National zoo.

it more than 4-5 years ago ,i last visit in national zoo.so,it's really enjoyable to me....

Enjoying Vacation!

2007-12-16T11:23:00.000+06:00

Hello Guys,

Today our victory day. We got independence from Pakistan since 1971.I also gets a long vacation due to Eid-Ul-Azha, Christmas and winter vacation. I really am enjoying this vacation by seeing movie, reading books and lots of works. I also borrowed two books from the library of my university about Genetics for reading this vacation. one is Genetics: Principles, Concepts and Implications by H.K.Jain and another one is Plant Genetic Resources: Oilseed and Cash Crops edited by B.S. Dhillon,R.K. Tyagi, S. Saxena,A. Agarwal.

So, I really enjoy this time very much including these books and facebook also!

Rice Plant Cutting!

2007-11-11T19:25:00.000+06:00

Hey Guys!
Today I am enjoying the fun in crop cutting experiment under the dept. of Agronomy. We went to the research field of agronomy and cut a small area of rice crop. In this time rice grain are not fully ripen. After cutting some rice plant we carry them to the threshing floor and separate the grain form panicles. In this pic I with my friend Reza going to the threshing floor.

Today my seven semester result also published. My result GPA 3.55 (equivalent to 70-74% marks) in the scale of 4.00 is satisfactory to me. Because this semester I faced a lot of problems. There are various types including emotionally, mentally and a lot. I think this year stats me a very brightly. But at the end the year ,I want as soon as this year quick passed!

I am too unhappy. At present moment I can’t take any serious decision.

What is my right job I can’t understand now!

Awesome Genetics Exam!

2007-11-06T19:51:00.000+06:00

hey,
today my first Genetics Class Test of this semester.it's awesome exam!i am fully satisfied with my performance!yesterday i put a lot of my efforts to perform better in this exam.
now at this moment i need rest.because next Thursday my entomology class test.
Oh God Thank you very much for good performance in this exam!
thats all today

Sea Level Increasing in Bangladesh

2007-11-03T17:00:00.000+06:00

Rising sea levels in the Bay of Bengal are encroaching on vast flat agricultural lands in the southern districts of Khulna, Satkhira, Bagerhat, Jessore and Magura - resulting in soil salinity and other environmental hazards.The once fertile land of this whole southwestern region has now turned into a huge saline swamp where no vegetation grows.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Bangladesh is slated to lose the largest amount of cultivated land globally due to rising sea levels. A 1m rise in sea levels would inundate 20 percent of the country’s landmass.

It is clear that climate change is taking its toll in the form of saline water intrusion into the mainland of Bangladesh, which is one of the lowest-altitude countries in the world. In 1973, 1.5 million hectares of land had mild salinity. In 1997, this expanded to 2.5 million hectares that figure to be more than three million hectares of agricultural land now. Of 37 million people living in 12 coastal districts, 20 million had been affected by the expanding sea, he added.

A soil survey by six government agencies, including the BRRI and the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council, found higher-than-acceptable soil salinity in 72 percent of all arable land of Magura district, about 200km from the sea.

Since 1948, salinity in the rivers of southern Patuakhali, Pirojpur, Boguna, Satkhira, Bagerhat and Khulna districts has risen by 45 percent.Increased salinity in turn affects soil fertility. On more than 25,000 hectares of land in the south, agricultural production has dropped significantly in recent years. Most of the affected area is less than 1.5m above sea level. With every rising tide, sea water deposits salt on the land.

Cultivation of rice, a food staple, has suffered most, while the production of wheat, pulses, rape seed and coconut has also been affected.And despite the fact that there is no official record of reduced agricultural output due to increased salinity in the soil, analysts say the drop could be as much as 50 percent over the past 30 years.

Another factor is the sharp rise in shrimp cultivation, which has created permanent saline water-logging in the region.Shrimp, which need sea water to grow, are a significant foreign-exchange earner and farmers have taken to building high mud walls around their farms to retain the saline sea water of the high tide. Over the past three decades, thousands of shrimp farms have sprung up in the region. It is clear that climate change is taking its toll in the form of saline water intrusion into the mainland of Bangladesh, which is one of the lowest-altitude countries in the world.

Yet while sea water helps the shrimp farmers, it destroys all other vegetation.

Third, fresh water flow has dropped off significantly in the Padma (Bangladesh branch of the Ganges) since India commissioned the Farakka Barrage upstream. During the dry season (December-June) the Padma flows at less than a quarter of its capacity.

Finally, stagnant saline water on the surface often seeps into the groundwater - rendering it useless for either irrigation or drinking purposes.

Morning at SAU Campus!

2007-11-01T14:37:00.000+06:00

Hey Guys!
Today I reached SAU campus at early in the morning. It was 6:30 am. Most of the students are sleeping at that time. And academic building also closed. Mainly I go for Agronomy class test purpose.

I didn’t collect some sheets due to delay of distribution. So, nothing to do, then take some pics of SAU campus by my cell phone camera Sony Ericssion K310i .it’s resolution is too low, but it can capture the mode of that time, I think so.

So I share these pics with all of you.I will stay this campus only few more months!
This makes me so sad :`-(

Soil Exam!

2007-10-30T18:26:00.000+06:00

this soil exam i really deserves!our varsity assistant exam controller Kiton Sir plays a vital role for organizing this exam.i never forget his kindness.really never!only he create the pressure for taking this exam.
Dr.Alok anf Dr.Gopi Nath,both sirs are very much caring about taking this exam.i think soon i reach my target,if God stay along my side!

Oh God, thanks a lot to you!

Finding Pests of Rice!

2007-10-25T14:44:00.000+06:00

Hello!

Today we,all the group visit the rice field on SAU agronomy farm. Our objective is seeing the common pests of rice. Here we find Short horned grasshopper, Rice Bug, stem borer etc.

We study the common loss occurred by these pests, control measure and symptoms of them. I told in the practical class about the male sterility causing by radiation. My course instructor appreciates me much for telling this type of control measure! I really enjoy his complement.

But another thing still my university exam controller has no steps for solving my problem.time pasing….

So, my mind is not good. I think now at present moment it’s try to MS admission in abroad should be better after complete my undergraduate. But one thing I can’t forget that my teacher cut off my wings! I don’t know what things waiting me for future.

But another good thing happen, today I saw the highlights of my tomorrows upcoming feature in Computer Page of Daily Prothom-Alo.

This matter really pleases me a lot!

Agricultural farm growth & Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of Bangladesh

2007-10-22T18:01:00.000+06:00

Bangladesh had been independent since 1971.still its poverty level unchanged. Peoples of rural area are lack of different government facility including health care, education, and transportation. About more than 80% people live in rural area are depend on agriculture. But they have not sufficient knowledge about modern cultivation process. Most of them follow cultivation method in traditional ways.

Due to following traditional method, farmers need to apply huge amount of fertilizer in the field. The field already exhausted up Nitrogen, Phosphate, Potash. And another two nutrients also decreases at alarming rate!! They are sulfur and Zinc.

But if Bangladesh fulfills the Millennium Development Goal, then must be improve its farming method, increase education facility to the children, female empowerment also. According to World Bank recent report,

"Achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of halving poverty to 26.5 percent by 2015 will require a growth rate of at least 4.0 percent in agriculture and 7.0 percent in the non-farm sector," it said in its latest World Bank Report.

Growth in the agricultural sector was just 3.18 percent in the fiscal year to June. Nearly 80 percent of Bangladesh's 140 million people live in rural areas. Poverty in Bangladesh was primarily a rural phenomenon, the report said, with 53 percent of the rural population classified as poor, comprising about 85 percent of all the country's poor.

The agricultural and rural sectors have suffered from "neglect and underinvestment over the past 20 years," the report said.

World Bank Report advices Bangladesh by turning to rural services, it said improving physical and social infrastructure -- roads, electricity, communication, water and sanitation, health and education -- in rural areas was fundamental for promoting employment opportunities and welfare.

Now it’s time to see, can Bangladesh achieve this goal in limited duration.

Eid -Ul-Fitar

2007-10-09T21:02:00.000+06:00

hello everybody!
here comes Eid.in previous years i always enjoy Eid very much.but in this time i am too much busy with my exam,study and planning for future works.
God knows is my work can reach my ambition!
so,Eid is now a boring matter for me.
i got two shirts form Aarong from my two aunts!
but, i can't enjoy it due to tension!
no time to stop and see backward.
only move forward

Go to Dhaka College

2007-09-28T16:26:00.000+06:00

today i go to New Market for buying some books and practical book.but first of all i go to Dhaka college where i studied for 2 years.nothing changed at all!
i go to college for my collecting my original H.S.C. certificate.

entomology class!

2007-09-27T17:29:00.000+06:00

i participate entomology practical class today at late.this is unfortunate.but my course instructor is so good.he say noting to me.he also take us to the field and help us to identify different pests of brinjal plant.most of them are shoot and fruit borer,melay bugs and aphids.
i also gather knowledge about their control measure,IPM process and lots of things about them.
i enjoyed the class very much really!