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B_NORM    
view post Posted on 14/9/2013, 13:59 by: ErleReply
DESERT’S GRACES: PLANTATIONS CAPTURE CARBON!

Erle Frayne D. Argonza


Here’s another one for the good news, fellows! That desert plantations offer basic graces for whole nations.

According to a study published in the Earth System Dynamics, cultivating plants such as jathropa in deserts could absorb up to 25 tones of carbon dioxide annually. Desert plants also reduce desert temperature by a centigrade at least, and also induce rainfalls.

The advantage of desert-fit plants is that they don’t compete with other crops. It just needs some special technical expertise to plant them. In my own country [PH], desert-fit plants are among the top waves for renewable energy or RE sources, backed by policy environment that is among the world’s top as regards RE for power production.

Enclosed is the reportorial from the scidev.net about the intriguing find.

[Manila, 06 September 2013]
Source: http://www.scidev.net/global/desert-scienc...ure-carbon.html
Desert plantations could help capture carbon
Speed read
• Each hectare of the tree could absorb up to 25 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year
• Jatropha needs little water but could be irrigated by desalination plants
• Plantations can also cut average desert temperatures and boost rainfall
Planting trees in coastal deserts could capture carbon dioxide, reduce harsh desert temperatures, boost rainfall, revitalise soils and produce cheap biofuels, say scientists.

Large-scale plantations of the hardy jatropha tree, Jatropha curcas, could help sequester carbon dioxide through a process known as 'carbon farming', according to a study based on data gathered in Mexico and Oman that was published in Earth System Dynamics last month (31 July).

Each hectare of the tree could soak up 17-25 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, they say, at a cost of 42-63 euros (about US$56-84) per tonne of gas, the paper says. This makes the technique competitive with high-tech carbon capture and storage.

Klaus Becker, the study's lead author and director of carbon sequestration consultancy Atmosphere Protect, says that a jatropha plantation covering just three per cent of the Arabian Desert could absorb all the carbon dioxide produced by cars in Germany over two decades.

"Our models show that, because of plantations, average desert temperatures go down by 1.1 degree Celsius, which is a lot," Becker says. He adds that the plantations would also induce rainfall in desert areas.

Jatropha, which is a biofuel crop, needs little water, and coastal plantations would be irrigated through desalination, Becker says.

He also envisages a role for sewage in such ...

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Comments: 0 | Views: 38Last Post by: Erle (14/9/2013, 13:59)
 

B_NORM    
view post Posted on 14/9/2013, 13:57 by: ErleReply
SECRETS OF SUCCESSFUL PRODUCT DESIGN: INFORMAL MARKETS

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Gracious day, fellow global citizens!

What makes a product design click in a certain market? As far as developing countries are concerned, the presence of informal markets matter most. This was the astounding finding of a study done in the M.I.T.

I do resonate with the study findings, being a development worker who knows the basic end-users in my country. Those families in the lower middle to lower income brackets comprise a very large portion of the population here, a fact that was highly recognized by big retailers and manufacturers who tailor fit their products for them.

For the product designers, better consult economists who are in the know about markets or end-users. The antiquated Say’s Law, which posits that “a supply creates its own demands,” was long debunked, with John Maynard Keynes providing the coup d’ grace to the demolition of the flawed doctrine.

The lesson forwarded is: don’t ever engineer products that require a lot of time and effort to educate the end-users. In developing countries, among informal markets, such a line of thought won’t work, as the end-users want a quick usage of the items without much ado about how to use them.

Below is the reportage about the revelatory development.

[Manila, 01 September 2013]

Source: http://www.scidev.net/global/enterprise/ne...uct-design.html

Study reveals secrets to successful product design
Speed read
• Sales hits such as a phone for rent were designed for micro-entrepreneurs
• Design guidelines call for a focus on products' money-making ability
• But a product's business model is also viewed as crucial
The secret to successful product design for developing countries is to tailor products for informal markets, a study has found.

Some of the best-selling products in emerging markets, such as solar lamps and a Nokia mobile phone, were specifically designed to help the owners of low-income businesses, known as micro-enterprises, make money, the study says.

These micro-enterprises are an untapped but potentially lucrative market and products tailor-made for them could make large profits for both local salesmen and multinational corporations.

The study authors, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States, are now planning a large-scale study to evaluate and refine a set of guidelines for those designing products for developing countries.

Design firms in more mature markets generally develop products for consumers or businesses, but...

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Comments: 0 | Views: 48Last Post by: Erle (14/9/2013, 13:57)
 

B_NORM    
view post Posted on 14/9/2013, 13:55 by: ErleReply
GOLD NANOPARTICLES IN SOLAR STERILISERS GOOD FOR FAR HINTERLANDS

Erle Frayne D. Argonza


Another brightening news for developing countries, more so the poorer communities in far flung areas, is the innovation of solar grid devices that can sterilize medical equipment and human waste. The solar device, developed by experts from the Rice University in the USA, can produce steam which precisely is what is needed for spot sterilization.

To add luster to the brightening news, the innovation uses nanoparticles from gold which in turn get attached to the solar panel grid. The nanoparticles produce steam, as per result of experiments, yet they don’t get consumed or destroyed and thus get to be re-used again.

The great news could surely warm up the faces of social development teams who do health missions in far hinterlands. More so for the medical professionals in the teams, who no longer need to worry about where and how to sterilize their equipment when they do tough missions in very poor communities in far hinterlands.

Below is the reportorial about the gladdening news.

[Manila, 26 August 2013]

Source: http://www.scidev.net/global/energy/news/o...mote-areas.html
Off-grid solar sterilisers could aid remote areas
U.S. Air Force/Tech. Sgt. Bennie J. Davis III
Speed read
• The off-grid devices create steam using sunshine, water and nanoparticles
• Both prototypes passed a standard test for steam-based sterilisation systems
• But questions remain about their cost and what support will be provided
[CAIRO] A solar-powered steriliser could provide remote areas in the developing world with a portable, off-grid solution for sanitising medical instruments and equipment, according to a study.

In remote, resource-poor locations, the lack of readily available sterilisation processes for medical or dental tools increases the risk of disease propagation.

Now, researchers from Rice University in the United States have developed two prototype sterilisation devices that harness the sun's power: one to sanitise medical equipment and the other to sterilise human waste without the need for an external electricity source. Their work was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences last month (8 July).

Both devices are modified versions of the steam-based autoclave systems used in modern medical facilities to eradicate infectious microorganisms from surfaces and liquids with a blast of high-pressure steam.

"Although steam-based sterilization is the primary method of choice for the processing of medical waste in the developed world, the large energy requirement for operation is the fundamental limitat...

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Comments: 0 | Views: 24Last Post by: Erle (14/9/2013, 13:55)
 

B_NORM    
view post Posted on 14/9/2013, 13:53 by: ErleReply
HIGH SCIENCE RESEARCH = FASTER ECONOMIC GROWTH

Erle Frayne D. Argonza


Venezuelan science experts are of the contention that basic science is directly correlated to economic development. Though not necessarily the cause of economic development, conducting high levels of basic science research shows a correlation to economic development.

I’ve always been an advocate of ‘physical economy’ paradigm of economic growth. The good news from Venezuela practically supports the contention of pro-physical economy who had tirelessly cogitated that shoring up recessionary economies should be done by prioritizing investments and expenditures in agriculture, manufacturing, infrastructure, transportation & communications, and science & technology.

The Venezuelan scientific report reveals that high investments in basic science shows a great deal of rationality among planners and decision-makers, which in turn yields good decisions that sustain economic development. The scientists went on to caution that skipping on basic science would do harm to a developing economy.

There just may be too few quarters in the world that would raise howls about such an argument, which is shown in the report below.

[Manila, 20 August 2013]


Source: http://www.scidev.net/global/r-d/news/basi...mic-growth.html
Basic science linked to faster economic growth
O. Usher (UCL Mathematical and Physical Sciences)
Speed read
• Productivity in basic sciences correlates with economic growth, but does not directly cause it
• Scientific productivity is a better wealth growth predictor than many other competitiveness indices
• But benefits of investment in science should be weighed against investment in other development projects
Middle-income countries that focus on basic sciences, such as physics and chemistry, grow their economies faster than nations that invest in applied sciences, such as medicine or psychology, according to a paper by Venezuelan researchers.

They say that "investing in basic scientific research seem[s] to be the best way a middle-income country can foment fast economic growth", although they found no direct cause and effect between basic science and economic development.

Instead, they believe that investment in basic sciences — as indicated by the proportion of published articles in these fields — reveals a rational, decision-making atmosphere within a country and among its leaders, as well as promoting economic growth.

Klaus Jaffe, lead author of the paper and coordinator of the Centre for Strategic Studies of Simón Bolívar University in Venezuela, tells SciDev.Net that the correlation between scientific productiv...

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Comments: 0 | Views: 25Last Post by: Erle (14/9/2013, 13:53)
 

B_NORM    
view post Posted on 4/8/2013, 06:57 by: ErleReply
DEVELOPMENT COSTS OUTWEIGH BENEFITS!

Erle Frayne D. Argonza


Gracious day, fellow global citizens!

Environmental economists have an alarming news to report to us all: development costs outweigh the benefits. The ‘benefit’ side of the equation comprise of both the people welfare (human ecology) and the natural ecology benefits.

While the GDP (gross domestic product) is still an acceptable measure of true growth, it has become anathema a yardstick to indicate the overall situation of social and ecological benefits. As an alternative, the experts are proposing a Growth Progress Indicator or GPI that could show better the results of development using a typical cost:benefit analysis.

The environmental economists found out that the GPI used to grow alongside the GDP but only until 1978, after which the gap widened. Such a gap is still widening, as indicated for instance by the gap between the rich and poor.

Incidentally, the alarming news came out at a time when the issue of equitable income distribution has been the most sonorous issue in my own country the Philippines. Accordingly, GDP has been growing at very high rates recently, yet jobs can’t be created enough aside from the observed developmental benefits accruing more to the already filthy rich magnates at the expense of poor families.

Below is the reportage about the highly intriguing phenomenon.

[Manila, 01 August 2013]


Source: http://www.scidev.net/global/enterprise/ne...d-benefits.html
Costs of economic growth have ‘outweighed benefits’
Speed read
• Despite rising GDP, a measure of global wellbeing has dropped since 1978
• This is mainly due to falls in income equality and environmental degradation
• Development policies should target economic welfare rather than production
[BUENOS AIRES] Development policies should urgently shift from trying to maximise production and consumption towards attempts to improve real welfare, which — unlike growth in GDP (gross domestic product) — has not improved since the late 1970s, according to a study.

The study, which examined 17 countries from 1950 to 2003, found that, although GDP has on average more than tripled in these countries, overall social wellbeing has decreased since 1978.

To reach this conclusion, researchers used the global 'Genuine Progress Indicator' (GPI). Among the things it considers are income distribution for each country, along with household and volunteer work (activities that enhance welfare but do not involve monetary transactions), and, for example, the cost of environmental degradation.

“GDP and GPI began to go in different directions when global per ...

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Comments: 0 | Views: 28Last Post by: Erle (4/8/2013, 06:57)
 

B_NORM    
view post Posted on 28/7/2013, 09:31 by: ErleReply
RICE HUSK FOR BATTERY FUEL, IT’S GOT NANO PARTICLES

Erle Frayne D. Argonza


Fellow global citizens, the lithium battery of your laptops and cellphones could most likely be powered by rice husk byproducts in the near future. The new byproduct alone could bring down the cost of the said batteries, thus bring down further their retail prices in the open market.

Yes, folks, rice husk has silicon nano particles. And the good news for everyone is that the said nano particles are easy to extract, as the production cost is low. Which of course brings more sunny smiles on rice producing farmers who, at the end of the day, will be selling their rice husks en toto to silicon nano particle manufacturers.

China alone produces 120 million tons of rice husks every year. India also has several millions of tons of the same off-harvest rice wastage. ASEAN countries likewise produce a huge aggregate of the material. So, anticipate that the East-to-South Asia corridor will be up for a very exciting development on the new innovation.

The new development directly links up grain crop producers specializing in rice to the high technology sector, thus bringing new life to the value chain. This, aside from the fact that rice production itself has benefited from hybridization and high knowledge over the last 5 decades, which raised its status to a high tech production in the primary sector.

For your browsing, the interesting article on the subject is shown below.

[Manila, 11 July 2013]

Source: http://www.scidev.net/global/technology/ne...-batteries.html

Nano Particles from Rice Husk Set For Use in Batteries

Rice farmers may soon have a more lucrative use for a common low-value byproduct: rice husks, the hard, protective coverings around the edible grains.

The husks contain natural silicon nanoparticles that can easily be extracted and used in battery manufacture, a study shows.

The simple and low-cost process for recovering the nanoparticles and using them in the lithium-ion batteries, which are commonly found in portable electronics, was published in Scientific Reports last month (29 May).

Silicon nanomaterials have various industrial applications but they are complicated, costly and energy-intensive to produce.
"China plays an important role in battery manufacturing, so the rice nano-silicon could be locally integrated into battery manufacturing."
Yi Cui
Meanwhile, 120 million tonnes of rice husks are produced as byproducts of rice agriculture worldwide each year.

"The novelty of this paper is the high-yield and low-cost recovery of nano-structured silicon from an agricultural bypr...

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Comments: 0 | Views: 38Last Post by: Erle (28/7/2013, 09:31)
 

B_NORM    
view post Posted on 23/7/2013, 07:22 by: ErleReply
LANDGRABBING BY FOREIGN INVESTORS ON THE RISE GLOBALLY

Erle Frayne D. Argonza


Landgrabbing by foreign investors has been rising anomalously since the year 2000, and it seems that the grabbing includes freshwater areas as well. The phenomenon is alarming, which makes it a new factor input in the development game.

Consider the following: as of end of 2013, the total landgrabbed area was already estimated at 32.8 million hectares, up from the previous year’s 26.2 million hectares. That’s a whopping 6 million+ of hectares gobbled up within a 12-month period, as the pattern seems to be pointing to an exponential rise of the grabbing.

So huge is the aggregate landgrab that the figure is a country as huge as Poland or the Philippines. The estimates could in fact be very conservative, as the estimators—from the Land Matrix—admit to the limitations of data gathering methods.

The African continent is the most badly affected by the rising landgrabbing, as per latest reports. Being an observer of international development for decades, I would expect this to happen, as the European financier oligarchic families have the agenda of competing for a grab of the entire continent to take advantage of the “half man half ape” mindset of Africans as perceived by the former.

The reportage on the alarming development is shown below.

[Manila, 07 July 2013]

Source: www.scidev.net/global/data/news/open-data-land-grabbing.html

Open Data Reveal Extend of Landgrabbing

[Oxfam Italy]

The total area of land controlled by foreign investors globally is similar to the size of Poland, according to the most up to date estimates contained in an online database that aims to document large-scale land acquisitions or 'land grabs'.

The database, called the Global Observatory, reveals that investors have acquired 32.8 million hectares since 2000 — up from its 2012 estimates of 26.2 million hectares.

Land grabs are often not conducted openly, which has made them difficult to monitor. However, the revamped online tool, revealed this month (10 June), allows for the crowdsourcing and visualisation of data as well as the verification of sources of such data, to promote transparency and accountability in land and investment decisions.

Most of that land has been acquired in Sub-Saharan Africa, with the top three investor countries being the United States, Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates.

Land grabbing has recently moved to the forefront of the international development agenda.
"This amount of information, as imperfect as it may be, is still greatly preferable to totally missing or unreliable data because there were wild swings in estimates bef...

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Comments: 0 | Views: 30Last Post by: Erle (23/7/2013, 07:22)
 

B_NORM    
view post Posted on 23/7/2013, 07:20 by: ErleReply
PHYSICAL UNIVERSE’S CREATION BY CAPTAN & DEITIES

Erle Frayne D. Argonza / Ra


Among some Filipino ethnicities reins the belief in the creation deity Captan. In their version of cosmogony, Captan is synonymous if not identical to Brahma who is deity of the physical universe.

Maguayan and scions seem to coincide with the Elohim as revealed by divine wisdom or Theos Sophia. The Elohim assisted Lord Brahma in creating objective worlds as vehicles for subjective life-forms to evolve and grow, while the Elohim were assisted by hierarchs of the elementals and divas.

The creation of the objective conditions for many life forms to evolve, beginning with the mineral and onwards to the vegetative, then onwards to the animal, till finally the phase of devic-man was achieved, was also depicted.

Mankind was projected as having appeared from out of a bamboo. Man and Woman came out of the bamboo together—which signifies the tracing of humans from the time sexing was the mode of procreation (mid-Lemurian). The Twinflame principle of splitting androgynous souls into male and female polarities were clearly depicted. Accordingly, Sicalac was the male while Sicabay was the female, the ancestors of mankind—akin to the Adam & Eve of Semitic anthropogenesis.

The bamboo is signifier of earth element, and earth contains all of the 100+ elements known in chemistry as constituting matter. Bamboo, which has nodules, also signifies the genes that are structured in the vogue of having nodules separating DNA/RNA embeds.


Source: www.pitt.edu/~dash/creation-phil.html
How the World Was Made
This is the ancient Filipino account of the creation.
Thousands of years ago there was no land nor sun nor moon nor stars, and the world was only a great sea of water, above which stretched the sky. The water was the kingdom of the god Maguayan, and the sky was ruled by the great god Captan.
Maguayan had a daughter called Lidagat, the sea, and Captan had a son known as Lihangin, the wind. The gods agreed to the marriage of their children, so the sea became the bride of the wind.
Three sons and a daughter were born to them. The sons were called Licalibutan, Liadlao, and Libulan; and the daughter received the name of Lisuga.
Licalibutan had a body of rock and was strong and brave; Liadlao was formed of gold and was always happy; Libulan was made of copper and was weak and timid; and the beautiful Lisuga had a body of pure silver and was sweet and gentle. Their parents were very fond of them, and nothing was wanting to make them happy.
After a time Lihangin died and left the control of the winds to his eldest son Licalibutan. The faithful wife Lidagat soon followed her husband, and the children, now grown up, we...

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Comments: 0 | Views: 29Last Post by: Erle (23/7/2013, 07:20)
 

B_NORM    
view post Posted on 15/7/2013, 07:49 by: ErleReply
BIOFUELS ACCELERATE TROPICAL WARMING, BEWARE!

Erle Frayne D. Argonza


Gracious Day to all ye fellow Planetary Citizens!

There has been a mad scramble for lands for biofuels production in developing countries most recently. Accordingly, biofuels emit less carbon on the atmosphere, thus contributing to ecological balance in the long run.

What the experts from the global S&T community found out, through their latest analytic models, is that indeed biofuels production and usage on massive scales do not at all harm the global environmental community so as to induce global warming. There is validity to the thesis of less carbon emissions coming from the end-product of biofuels production, true.

However, the regions where biofuels are most highly sought for massive production, domestic usage and importations will suffer immeasurably from warming. As the analytic models indicate, the tropics will be affected the most toward a new round of warming.

Needless to say, the new round of warming for any region concerned will redound to more disturbances of a less predictable geo-atmospheric condition. Coming at a time of climate change patterns on the said region, massive biofuels production and usage will immeasurably factor on even more hellish hot days during dry season and super-storms during the wet season.

For the policy makers and development stakeholders in the tropics, better rethink the biofuels option. The discussion on the subject is enclosed below, for your very own added insight.

[Manila, 02 July 2013]

Source: http://www.scidev.net/global/biofuels/news...in-tropics.html

Biofuels Boom Could Accelerate Warming in Tropics

CAIRO] The large-scale conversion of land for biofuel farming could make some tropical regions even warmer, according to a study.

Researchers from the US-based Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), assessed the impact on the climate of increased biofuel production by modelling two scenarios: one where trees are chopped down to plant biofuel crops and one where forests are maintained and fertilisers and irrigation are used to intensify the production of biofuel crops.

They found that both scenarios have a negligible impact on global warming. For example, in the first scenario the additional cropland reflects more sunlight, counterbalancing the warming associated with fewer trees and higher greenhouse gas concentrations. Also, in both scenarios, increasing the proportion of biofuels used would reduce warming by using fewer fossil fuel-based energy sources.

But their findings also point to significant regional differences.

Willow Hallgren, a researcher at ...

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Comments: 0 | Views: 33Last Post by: Erle (15/7/2013, 07:49)
 

B_NORM    
view post Posted on 6/7/2013, 09:29 by: ErleReply
QUAKES & TSUNAMI DANGER ZONE: ARABIAN SEA

Erle Frayne D. Argonza


Earth quake of magnitude 9.2 on Reichter! Tsunami that could result to hundreds of thousands of dead bodies!

Such are the possible outcomes of the geological reality surrounding the Arabian sea, a heretofore unexpected reality of previous studies that were largely flawed. New modeling of quake & tsunami forecasting for the Arabian sea, with focus on the Makran rupture zone, indicate a gigantic magnitude quake that could occur in the zone any time soon.

A big quake in the zone could easily heap up tsunami that could threaten the coasts of Pakistan, Oman, India, Iran, and further. As seismology and geological updates indicated, seismic activities have been occurring in the zone in more recent times, activities that were largely absent previously.

Below is a reportage from the scidev.net about the subject matter.

[Manila, 26 June 2013]

Source: http://www.scidev.net/en/agriculture-and-e...d-tsunamis.html
Arabian Sea at high risk of quakes and tsunamis
Dilrukshi Handunnetti
17 June 2013 | EN
[COLOMBO, SRI LANKA] Countries surrounding the Arabian Sea may be at a much higher risk of a major earthquake and tsunami than previously thought, say researchers.

A tsunami in this area of the Western Indian Ocean could threaten the coastlines of India, Iran, Oman, Pakistan and further afield. The scientists say further investigation should feed into hazard assessments and planning for such events in the region.

The Makran subduction zone, which lies along the southwestern coast of Pakistan, has low levels of seismic activity, so people assumed it was incapable of generating major earthquakes.
• New modelling shows the Makran rupture zone is longer and wider than previously thought
• This makes it capable of earthquakes of up to 9.2 magnitude
• Previous risk assessments for the Arabian Sea have underestimated risk: more research is needed
But a new analysis published recently in Geophysical Research Letters (30 April) used thermal modelling to show that the rupture zone may be longer and wider than previously thought. This, in combination with thick sediments on the plate being pushed under, makes an earthquake more likely.

The models indicate that earthquakes similar in magnitude to the earthquake in Sumatra, Indonesia, in 2004 that triggered a tsunami, killing more than 230,000 people, could occur in the region.

"Past assumptions may have significantly underestimated the earthquake and tsunami hazard in this region," says the study's lead author, Gemma Smith, who is based at the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom.

The Makran subduction zone has previously recorded an earthquake in 1945 of 8.1 magnit...

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