science - talangguro

DESERT’S GRACES: PLANTATIONS CAPTURE CARBON!

Posted on 14/9/2013, 13:59 by: Erle

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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Tags:: culture,; development,; history,; politics,; science,; society

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Last Post by: Erle (14/9/2013, 13:59)

SECRETS OF SUCCESSFUL PRODUCT DESIGN: INFORMAL MARKETS

Posted on 14/9/2013, 13:57 by: Erle

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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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Tags:: culture,; development,; history,; politics,; science,; society

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Last Post by: Erle (14/9/2013, 13:57)

GOLD NANOPARTICLES IN SOLAR STERILISERS GOOD FOR FAR HINTERLANDS

Posted on 14/9/2013, 13:55 by: Erle

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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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Tags:: culture,; development,; history,; politics,; science,; society

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Last Post by: Erle (14/9/2013, 13:55)

HIGH SCIENCE RESEARCH = FASTER ECONOMIC GROWTH

Posted on 14/9/2013, 13:53 by: Erle

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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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Last Post by: Erle (14/9/2013, 13:53)

SCIENCE, THE DIVINE AND THE NIRVANA PROJECT (Seekers’ Lesson 4)

Posted on 19/5/2011, 08:05 by: Erle

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SCIENCE, THE DIVINE AND THE NIRVANA PROJECT (Seekers’ Lesson 4)
Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Magandang hapon sa inyong lahat! Good afternoon to you all!
Before everything else, let it be clarified that this note intends to advance and articulate the thesis that science is a way to the Divine. Knowing is an inherent trait of the soul (or 5th body), and given that all souls were emanated sparks from the divine Godhead, then science is an endowment from the Almighty I Am Presence and is among the seven (7) essential ways or paths back to the Godhead.
Let it be clarified further that science—as the enterprise that seeks to build knowledge—is not only limited to material science. The other core category is spiritual science: knowledge of the higher ontological domains called ‘spiritual dimensions’, the purpose for their existence, the intelligences inhering in them, and most of all the knowledge of the Almighty Cause of all Causes or ‘God’ (from Teutonic Godin, related to Nordic god Wodin or god of the woods, related to the Nordic deity Odin).
A Seeker is one who, after filling up shis (his/her) ‘glass of faith’, must move on to progress in the path by filling up shis ‘glass of knowledge’. For a Seeker, it doesn’t suffice to just believe in God. It must be proved, by way of scientific methods—established for both the material and spiritual sciences—that the higher ontological domains and the intelligences inhering in them do exist. By employing the very accessible scientific method of yoga meditation—in its advanced form—such domains and intelligences can be observed and known.
So the lesson for Seekers is: learn the sciences for both domains, the spiritual (with 3 dimensions) and material (with 4 dimensions), study them arduously, learn the methods and theories about them, the rules about the establishment of knowledge, and internalize the scientific attitude in daily life. Not only that, as explained in the fundamental article on the 2nd ray, a Seeker must adopt the critical thinking that pervades the sciences whenever s/he does a task of interpreting texts (exegesis).
Discourses on science are tough ones, so bear with me, Noble Seekers, as I am a scientist myself: a sociologist, economist, and ‘social technologist’ (technocrat). As Seekers you have chosen particularly the 5th Ray (science) and 2nd Ray (wisdom) as twin sub-paths congealing into a singular Path, so please digest knowledge-based discourses no matter how tough they are. I’ll try to simplify them, worry not about the digestibility, masticate the discourse well and quaff them with ‘glasses of wisdom’ for more efficacious comprehension.
To move on, science is a systematic, institutional response in fulfillment of a basic human attitude: knowing. Situational adaptations demand knowledge, adaptations to complex situations demand complex knowledge. Knowledge manifests in two essential forms...

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Tags:: ascension,; cosmic,; esoteric,; science,; spiritual

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Last Post by: Erle (19/5/2011, 08:05)