#Is Industrial Hemp the Ultimate Energy Crop?(Op-Ed) This article was published originally at The Conversation.
Bioenergy is currently the fastest growing source of renewable energy. Cultivating energy crops on arable land can decrease dependency on depleting fossil resources
and it can mitigate climate change. But some biofuel crops have bad environmental effects: they use too much water displace people
This has led to a demand for high-yielding energy crops with low environmental impact. Industrial hemp is said to be just that.
not only complement but exceed other available energy crops. Hemp Cannabis sativa originates from western Asia and India and from there spread around the globe.
Energy use of industrial hemp is limited today very. There are few countries in which hemp has been commercialised as an energy crop.
Sweden is one and has a small commercial production of hemp briquettes. Hemp briquettes are more expensive than wood-based briquettes but sell reasonably well on regional markets.
Large-scale energy uses of hemp have also been suggested. Biogas production from hemp could compete with production from maize especially in cold climate regions such as Northern europe and Canada.
and biodiesel can be produced from the oil pressed from hemp seeds. Biodiesel production from hemp seed oil has been shown to overall have a much lower environmental impact than fossil diesel.
Indeed the environmental benefits of hemp have been praised highly since hemp cultivation requires very limited amounts of pesticide.
Farmers interested in cultivating energy crops are often hesitant about tying fields into the production of perennial energy crops such as willow.
(or any other crop) for energy production is not the overall solution. Before producing energy from the residues it is certainly more environmentally friendly to use fibres oils or other compounds of hemp.
Even energy in the fibre products can be used when the products become waste. Recycling plant nutrients to the field such as in biogas residue can contribute to lower greenhouse gas emissions from crop production.
Sustainable bioenergy production is not easy and a diversity of crops will be needed. Industrial hemp is not the ultimate energy crop.
Still if cultivated on good soil with decent fertilisation hemp can certainly be an environmentally sound crop for bioenergy production and for other industrial uses as well.
Their waterproof thick fur keeps platypuses warm in chilly temperatures and their big tails store extra fat for energy.
They use 30 percent more energy walking across land than swimming through the water according to the Australian Museum of History. t
because the body cannot get the glucose into the cells to be used for energy. Risk factors for developing diabetes include obesity and physical inactivity.
but we are continually putting in the coal into the engine. Editor's note: This story was updated Feb 7 to correct atmospheric methane concentrations to parts per billion.
when cooked lightly in hot coals the skin develops the crisp flavorful texture of roast chicken.
Fossilized plants found on top of the layers of ancient charcoal show that forests bounced back from wildfires during the last days of the dinosaurs much like they do today the new study found.
or vegetable relative to the energy (measured as calories) the food provides. Nutrition experts refer to this number as nutrient density.
and prevent the illegal expansion of palm oil plantations in Sumatra. The technology also has tremendous potential for patrolling coastal fisheries.
or to arrest poachers saving thousands of dollars in fuel that is normally spent cruising the ocean in search of poachers.
This nuclear winter#would have led to the demise of photosynthetic organisms the basis of most food chains.
and conserve their energy when it's dry. So scientists were surprised when they discovered the Amazon forest turns green during the tropical dry season from June through October even during an extreme drought based on data from NASA's Terra satellite.
which mostly consisted of sodas juices and sports or energy drinks. So if you're looking to consume a healthy diet rich in fresh fruits
As for thrills nothing beat taking icy dunks on hot afternoons in a big windmill-fed tank where a rancher stored water for his cattle.
Were it not for the water our windmills pumped we couldn't have survived there. And to make a living my father had to practice the science of farming where rainfall is deficient.
Here s the good news. We probably don t have to worry about peak oil just yet as it isn t going to run out anytime soon.
The really bad news is that we may not even have to worry about peak oil
Unlike moving from our current dependence on fossil fuels there is no alternative to phosphorus and if it runs out our global food production system would grind to a halt.
All these elements of the agricultural Green revolution requires large amounts of energy. Imagine how much energy it takes to dig up phosphorus-bearing minerals grind
and physically and chemically process it. Then transport it many miles load it onto a spreader
Digging up and burning stored solar energy (in the form of fossil fuels) allows us to extract phosphorus
in order to increase the amount of solar energy-using organisms (plants) we can grow and then eat.
or reducing the amount washed off from farmland in runoff will also take energy probably a lot of energy due to the need for significant new infrastructure.
We have the energy sources for this now but will we when phosphorus scarcity really starts to bite?
Getting up and running on that will require energy. Where will that low carbon energy come from in the middle of the century?
Will we starve or will we cook the climate? OK that s a false dichotomy.
on the BP Deepwater horizon Oil spill and Offshore Drilling and holds a leadership role in several environmental organizations.
NRDC also found that energy efficiency provides the cheapest way for utilities to meet carbon limits
These sediment cores hold ancient pollen grains and charcoal from long-ago fires and can hint at the climate
#Momentum Builds for Deforestation-Free Palm oil (Op-Ed) Seth Shulman is a senior staff writer at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) a veteran science journalist and author
Such a tipping-point moment is coming into view in the campaign to halt the widespread devastating deforestation currently resulting from the growing world consumption of palm oil.
but in a major development several large palm-oil purchasers including Kellogg's and Hershey's have pledged recently to buy only deforestation-free palm oil for their products.
Two of the world's largest palm oil suppliers Wilmar and Golden Agri-Resources have made similar commitments for the palm oil they sell.
Now pressure is mounting on some of the remaining hold outs like Procter & gamble Pepsi and Mcdonald's to follow suit
Palm oil is everywhere The stakes are high. To understand the issue you need to know that palm oil derived from the fruit of the oil palm tree is a sought-after ingredient for thousands of products from snack foods to shampoo.
Its versatility and low cost have made it the most widely used vegetable oil in the world. But so far palm oil's popularity has come at a terrible price:
Today's conventional palm-oil production is one of the world's major drivers of tropical deforestation wiping out habitat for endangered species
and contributing to climate change. The other piece of the problem is the corruption and lax laws in many regions that have allowed a sometimes shady network of producers to clearcut vast swaths of tropical forests to make way for palm-oil plantations.
The clearing of those forests not only harms the habitat of many endangered species it releases huge amounts of carbon into the atmosphere that those forests had stored formerly.
In addition to deforestation palm-oil production has led also to the destruction of peat soils in many regions.
When these peat-rich soils are drained to make way for palm-oil plantations the peat decomposes releasing large quantities of carbon
Adding considerable urgency to the problem is the growing demand for palm oil. Production has doubled more than around the world in the past decade.
Palm-oil plantations now cover more than 40 million acres an area larger than the state of Georgia. The climate implications are enormous:
Sustainable practices backed by science The good news is that tropical deforestation is not an inevitable outcome of palm oil production.
Scientific analysis has shown that through a combination of efforts such as improving yields through tree breeding and better management practices worldwide palm oil demand can be met until 2020 without further damage to tropical forests or peat lands.
The key is to develop transparent supply chains throughout the palm-oil market. Unfortunately despite a variety of efforts to combat the problem the current lack of traceability along the supply chain allows growers with a history of environmental
The lack of traceability and transparency also makes it all too easy for purchasing companies to turn a blind eye to where their palm oil is coming from
Demanding better palm oil To break the cycle companies need to commit to buying only traceable deforestation-free
and peat-free palm oil and consumers need to demand that they do so. Without pressure from the public and the global marketplace the existing network of producers are unlikely to adopt sustainable practices on their own.
To help accelerate this change the Union of Concerned Scientists UCS) recently released a scorecard grading the palm-oil sourcing commitments of 30 top companies in the packaged food fast food
and Unilever have committed already to purchasing palm oil that is deforestation-free peat-free traceable and transparent.
The UCS's report makes the case that as a consumer you can help drive this change by demanding that the companies whose palm-oil products you use adopt deforestation-free peat-free palm-oil policies for all their products.
With recent commitments from Kellogg's and Hershey's to use only traceable deforestation-free palm oil we see some exciting momentum building said May-Tobin.
when oil soaked into the sediment around the pipe. This suggests M. gentilis lived in the area
It has lost more than 80 percent of its habitat to human development including ranching wild farms and oil and gas drilling.
The drought is like putting gasoline on the fire for water politics Wesselman said. Water solutions The drought however is not the reason American Rivers chose to highlight the San Joaquin this year Cain said.
</p><p>The White river is threatened by oil and gas development on public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
However oil and gas interests paid for the environmental impact study and would allow more than 15000 wells to be drilled on these lands.
which abounds in lycopene-rich tomatoes vegetables and olive oil. Although other studies have suggested a link between lycopene consumption
Cinnamon oil is another natural product that has been shown to delay postharvest rotting in bananas and extending their storage life for up to 28 days.
When the king arrived late for dinner Collinet plunged already-fried potatoes into extremely hot oil to reheat them.
George Crum sliced some potatoes paper thin fried them in hot oil salted and served them.
Jorge Rodrigues receives funding from US Department of agriculture US Department of energy/Joint Genome Institute. This article was published originally at The Conversation.
This productivity was crucial for providing a consistent energy source for horses and livestock to support armies.
Aircraft Drops Retardant on Oregon Fire (Photo) Zooming low and tight against a cloud of billowing smoke an MD-87 air tanker drops retardant on the Two Bulls fire
The animals also bested the oil and gas industry. We are very confident that livestock emissions were being underestimated said lead study author Kevin Wecht an atmospheric chemist at Harvard university in Massachusetts.
and from human activities including oil and gas production and animals and manure on farms. Explore Earth's Atmosphere:
or by analyzing emissions directly at the source such as at oil and gas wells. The new analysis led by Wecht took a broader look by using satellite monitoring of methane gas levels in the atmosphere over the United states. Wecht
That same year the researchers found 7 million tons (7. 2 teragrams) of methane came from oil and gas operations.
The EPA attributed 9. 9 million tons (9. 0 teragrams) to oil and gas industries.
The new numbers put livestock well ahead of oil and gas producers in 2004. The latest greenhouse gas inventory published by the EPA still has livestock leading oil and gas in 2012 methane emissions.
Overall the new research finds a total of 33 million tons (30.1 teragrams) of methane was released by human activities in the United states in 2004.
It's not surprising that livestock emissions were found to be higher than EPA methodologies said Adam Brandt an energy resources engineer at Stanford university in Palo alto California
and estimate what the impact of the recent oil and gas boom has had on methane emissions Wecht said.
Back Burning and Fuel Reduction This article was published originally at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Live Science's Expert Voices:
The idea is to reduce the intensity of subsequent fires at the same place by removing fine surface fuels such as leaf litter.
In dense eucalypt forests (such as wet sclerophyll forests) fuel-reduction burning is impractical because of the risk of uncontrollable fires sustained by heavy fuel loads that only become flammable in dry conditions.
For example with extreme heat and winds eucalypt crowns can catch on fire regardless of the amount of leaf litter and surface fuel.
Fuel reduction has to be applied frequently. Fuel loads build up quickly often returning to a carrying capacity
(when litter fall is balanced by decomposition) between 10 and 20 years. This underpins fuel-reduction targets.
In Victoria for instance the 5%fuel-reduction target means a given area of bush will be burnt every 20 years.
But ecologists are concerned that such high frequencies can have damaging effects on plant and animal species that require longer fire-free intervals to complete their life cycles.
There is also much debate about the effectiveness of fuel-reduction burning given that a huge area of landscape needs to be treated
There is growing evidence that the best benefits of fuel-reduction burning are close to the bushland suburbs (also known as the wildland-urban interface.
Because of these constraints attention is increasingly being focused on managing fuel without burning. This can involve using herbivores
The difference between fuel-reduction burning and back burning is effectively the same as the difference between elective and emergency surgery.
Long unburnt areas can accumulate very heavy fuel loads resulting in ecologically destructive fires. But it is also important to acknowledge that wildfires achieve fuel reduction too.
Fuel-reduction burning will remain a key tool that must be incorporated cleverly in landscape fire planning.
This will need to involve targeted fuel treatments around areas vulnerable to bushfires as well as the development of buffer zones that can be used to contain wildfires using techniques like back burning and direct attack using water and fire retardants.
and other animals by increasing alertness and reallocating energy reserves to react to stressors. But chronic stress can produce negative effects in an individual's health
and expend more energy while hunting for krill than they have in the past Images: Adã lie penguins Cope with Changing Sea Ice Conditions.
The Mongol invasion took enough carbon dioxide out of the air as is emitted annually by worldwide gasoline use today researchers reported in the journal The Holocene.
Indulgence foods may boost energy and improve mood in the short term but these positive effects are usually fleeting.
so consumption of excessive energy (kilojoules) saturated fat and sodium was associated with a worse mood two days later.
A hookah is a water pipe that uses charcoal to heat up a wet tobacco product called shisha.
Instead they degrade complex organic molecules in their environment into smaller molecules they can absorb to meet their energy and nutrient needs.
Some species of freshwater turtles such as snapping turtles also eat small mammals frogs snakes fish and even other smaller turtles according to Connecticut's Department of energy and Environmental Protection.
For example the oil and gas industry faces staggering revenue losses due to product degradation by hydrogen sulfide consuming bacteria and the industry spends an estimated $7 billion per year for chemical biocide treatments.
First Fire-Scorched Petrified Wood Found SACRAMENTO Calif. After serving nearly 30 years as a doorstop for a nuclear physicist a hunk of petrified wood from Arizona has finally been recognized as a one-of-a-kind find.
but the clues come from charcoal not from marks on fossilized trees. Charcoal remains of Earth's oldest fires date back more than 400 million years.
His father Cleo Byers was a nuclear physicist for Los alamos National Laboratory in New mexico and took his children on hikes throughout the Southwest Bruce Byers said.
However during Africa s colonial period it was displaced increasingly by the oil-rich peanut grown for its cash and export potential.
#Mysterious Energy Ribbon at Solar system's Edge a'Cosmic Roadmap'A strange ribbon of energy and particles at the edge of the solar system first spotted by a NASA spacecraft appears to serve as a sort of roadmap in the sky for the interstellar
By comparing ground-based studies and in-space observations of solar system's mysterious energy ribbon which was discovered first by NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) in 2009 scientists are learning more details about the conditions
The study also sheds light into the sun's environment protects the solar system from high-energy cosmic rays.
Photos and Images from NASA's IBEX Spacecraft What I always have been trying to do was to establish a clear connection between the very high-energy cosmic rays we're seeing from the ground
and what IBEX is seeing study leader Nathan Schwadron a physicist at the University of New hampshire told Space. com. Previously maps from ground-based observatories showed researchers that clusters of cosmic rays extremely high-energy
The sun's solar wind of high-energy particles flows within the heliosphere and pushes back against high-energy cosmic rays originating in interstellar space.
#The Mystery of the Missing Methane (Op-Ed) Chris Busch is director of research at Energy Innovation:
According to our analysis at Energy Innovation the methane missing from the EPA's inventory in terms of the contribution to global warming over a 20-year time period would be equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions of 252 coal power plants.
The current oil and gas boom has been unleashed by a wave of technological innovation allowing for cost-effective directional drilling hydraulic fracturing and other emerging techniques like acidizing.
for their Western Renewables Energy program. He contributed this article to Live Science's Expert Voices:
and Idaho two states with unparalleled beauty that lie in a region now under assault from gigantic truckloads of oversized oil-processing equipment heading to the tar-sands oil fields of Alberta Canada.
the oil industry continues to push for as tar sands processing operations expand in Canada. In 2012 NRDC challenged Exxonmobil's plan to truck megaloads of mining equipment up to Canada through one of the most scenic mountainous highways in the country U s. Route 12
which winds through Idaho and Montana. These megaloads shipments are prefabricated mining components and they are preposterously large approaching 400 feet long 22 feet in width and over 20 feet high.
At that time Exxonmobil was unable to find a route on the U s. interstate system that could accommodate those monstrous loads due to overpass height restrictions.
Since 2012 other tar sands providers have picked up where Exxonmobil left off. With Lolo Pass off the table tar sands producers enlisted the primary shipper Omega Morgan to formulate an alternative more circuitous route through Oregon Idaho and Montana.
10 Least Visited National parks In the last few months oil-industry equipment truckers have committed between eight to ten megaloads to test out Route 93.
what in the Exxonmobil experience. When Exxon committed to Route 12 the Clearwater National Forest Service Supervisor Rick Brazell supervisor sent a letter to the state of Idaho signifying concerns about the hastiness of allowing megaload shipments given the lack of analysis
and consideration of how key environmental resources tribal concerns and important recreational activities might be impacted u ntil we have clear understanding of these potential impacts
As reported by numerous observers the first Exxonmobil shipments along Route 12 on the Clearwater River knocked down trees
This is no place for megaloads of truckloads of oil-processing equipment to travel in the first place. It is yet another example of why we need to reign in the climate-threatening operations of the tar sands industry not shipments of oil equipment through our nation's environmental treasures.
The Time for Wind and Solar energy is Now (Op-Ed) It's time we stopped jeopardizing our precious nation's natural resources for the sake of tar-sands industry profits and invested instead in clean energy and our children's future.
That is something everyone who cares about the wild and scenic river areas of the world should eagerly embrace.
because geothermal heat from a nearby volcano sent boiling oil burning through it. Full Story:
According to data from 2004 livestock contributed more to the greenhouse effect than oil and gas operations.
and they provide energy for those planets as our own sun does for us. Astronomers have yet to see a solar system that is neatly ordered like our own with a nice rocky planet located in the sweet spot for liquid water and life.
Through this effort the organizations hope to illustrate how deforestation in Sumatra fueled by demand for products like palm oil
For instance Defenders of Wildlife is utilizing Google maps API to help demonstrate the impacts of the BP Deepwater horizon oil spill
Triglycerides are a type of fat in the blood that the body uses for energy
or the amount of carbon released by burning 2. 3m tonnes of coal annually. That is approximately the same as the annual carbon footprint for a city of 1m in that part of the world.
but most B vitamins have a role in helping your body's cells to produce energy said Heather Mangieri a spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and owner of Nutrition Checkup in Pittsburgh.
Supplement makers market Vitamin b12 as an energy and endurance booster particularly for athletes. People also take Vitamin b12 to improve their mood and concentration as well as their immune system.
Combining avocado oil and Vitamin b12 in a topical treatment can supposedly improve psoriasis or eczema symptoms and Vitamin b12 is said also to help reduce ringing in the ears and swollen tendons.
or increase energy levels in people who are not deficient in Vitamin b12 according to the NIH's Office of Dietary Supplements.
After long focusing on fuel economy and energy production environmentalists and scientists are now promoting a diet of more plants and less meat to slow climate change but why?
which requires extensive water energy and chemical use as well as energy for transporting that feed live animals and animal products.
The total process for bringing such vast quantities of meat egg and dairy products to our plates comes at a substantial cost to the environment.
Isn t it remarkable that we recognise the fact that the world faces huge problems in terms of water energy
What if the world s food water and energy problems were tackled together in a way that lowered costs
-but it does demonstrate great potential because of the links it builds between water energy and food.
Currently most agriculture relies heavily on using oil and adding fresh water-two of the most vulnerable resources on the planet-as well as overuse of fertilisers herbicides and pesticides that damage the wider environment.
The concept is to turn sunlight and seawater(#oesundrops#)into clean food water and energy.
It harnesses the sun s energy to produce heat that is then used to desalinate seawater and supply freshwater to a greenhouse;
to power the greenhouse with a linked concentrated solar power plant; and to produce the heat needed to warm
for example by shared power and heat production and by linking thermal desalination to the heated oil produced by the solar power system.
The project is currently being scaled-up 100-fold to encompass a 20-hectare greenhouse complex with associated desalination and concentrated solar power systems to produce 15000 tonnes of fresh produce each year.
Australia s profitable green investment bank#the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) is providing debt financing for up to A$40 million of the investment.
Whole grains are an important source of energy in the diet and they also provide fiber iron and B-vitamins.
However the results did show a link between eating more trans fats which are hydrogenated the partially oils added to foods to keep them fresh longer and an increased risk of heart disease.
and healthy oils rather than with white rice white bread potatoes sugary drinks or other refined carbohydrates Chowdhury said.
And polyunsaturated fats such as safflower oil and monounsaturated fats like olive oil are still useful for cooking. A diet high in fruits vegetables whole grains unsalted nuts
but businesses can set up licensed labs to extract the concentrated oils for retail sale Reach said.
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