Ancient Soil Replenishment Technique Helps In Battle Against Global Warming

ScienceDaily (Dec. 20, 2008) — Former inhabitants of the Amazon Basin enriched their fields with charred organic materials-biochar-and transformed one of the earth's most infertile soils into one of the most productive. These early conservationists disappeared 500 years ago, but centuries later, their soil is still rich in organic matter and nutrients.

Now, scientists, environmental groups and policymakers forging the next world climate agreement see biochar not only as an important tool for replenishing soils, but as a powerful tool for combating global warming.

Christoph Steiner, a University of Georgia research scientist in the Faculty of Engineering, was a major contributor to the biochar proposal that was submitted by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification last week at the United Nations Climate Change Conference meeting in Poland. The new climate change agreement will replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.

"The potential of biochar lies in its ability to sequester-capture and store-huge amounts of carbon while also displacing fossil fuel energy, effectively doubling its carbon impact," said Steiner, a soil scientist whose research in the Amazon Basin originally focused on the use of biochar as a soil amendment. At UGA's Biorefinery and Carbon Cycling Program, he now investigates the global potential of biochar to sequester carbon. He also serves as a consultant to the UNCCD, a sister program to the climate change convention.

Steiner explained that almost any kind of organic material-peanut shells, pine chips and even poultry litter-can be burned in air-tight conditions, a process called pyrolysis. The byproducts are biochar, a highly porous charcoal that helps soil retain nutrients and water, and gases and heat that can be used as energy.

But because the carbon in biochar so effectively resists degradation, it also can sequester carbon in soils for hundreds to thousands of years, effectively making it a permanent "sink"-a natural system that soaks up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Soils containing biochar made by ancient Amazon people still contain up to 70 times more carbon than surrounding soils and have a higher nutrient content. Steiner said scientists estimate biochar from agriculture and forestry residues can potentially sequester billions of tons of carbon in the world's soils.

Biochar also avoids the disadvantages of other bioenergy technologies that deplete soil organic matter, said Steiner.

"Removing crop residues for bioenergy production reduces the organic matter accumulating on agricultural fields and thus the soil organic carbon pool, which depends on constant input of decomposing plant material. In contrast, pyrolysis with biochar carbon sequestration produces renewable energy, sequesters CO₂ and cycles nutrients back into agricultural fields."

This unique system ideally utilizes waste biomass, and thus does not compete with food production," said Steiner. Currently most waste biomass decomposes or is burned in the field. Both processes release carbon dioxide stored in the plant biomass-for no other use than getting rid of it. Biochar can capture up to 50 percent of the carbon stored in biomass and establishes a significant carbon sink, as long as renewable resources are used and biochar is used as a soil amendment.

To address our world's climate change dilemma, said Steiner, "We need a carbon sink in addition to greater energy efficiency and renewable energy. Acceptance of the UNCCD proposal in Poland is a first step to make carbon trading based on biochar a reality.

"This has not only consequences for mitigating climate change, but also for agricultural sustainability, and could provide a strong incentive to reduce deforestation, especially in the tropics."

Owners of obese dogs and fat cats could face jail under controversial new rules

Owners of fat cats and obese dogs could be fined or jailed under controversial Government rules. New beefed-up codes of practice for UK pet owners published today state that overfeeding pets is a 'serious welfare concern' that can lead to unnecessary suffering. People who refuse to put seriously fat pets on a diet could be prosecuted under the Animal Welfare Act--and face a fine of up to $40,000 or even 12 months' jail.

Environment Minster Hilary Benn said the toughened codes of practice were designed to remind pet owners of their responsibilities under the law and would protect animals from cruelty.

But Tories branded the guidance 'absurd' and warned that much of the advice was patronising.


PERSONAL NOTE: I am all for owners of dogs or even children for this matter, being fined for not protecting their diets knowing good and well the detrimental outcome of their health due to obesity. I do however, also believe this fine is going a little too far. I mean come on now...12 months or $40,000! Wow, talk about steep.

Too pitiful to title

In life there are things that mold us. That fulfill us. That touch our souls so deeply we cannot run away from them. They make us who we are. To me what touches me most are children, animals and our environment. But mostly…animals.

Does this mean I don’t care for children? No of course not. Children are our future. It sounds cliché but it is the truth. They are innocence. They are love. How could I not love them? But animals are often overlooked. They offer us the deepest love and I’m not talking about the kind we receive from humans, but rather the unconditional kind that only they know how to provide. They can tell us we are sick before we know it. They put their lives before their very own to defend us. They cause us no harm and mean no pain yet we are torturous to them in many ways and aren’t even aware of it.

It is torturous when we buy lets say dogs, from pet stores, for those very animals come from puppy mills where they are kept in tiny cages in their own excrement and urine. Where they are tattooed with a date that expires them and they get killed. Where they have such little space they can barely stretch or turn around in their cages. These poor puppies often times if they don’t get adopted stay there for years without ever seeing the sunshine or playing in the grass. The have to urinate on themselves because they don’t let them go to the bathroom anywhere else. They don’t have their cages cleaned. There are too many of them to feed or care for and they never get human contact.

Other things we do without thinking of the consequences of the poor animal, is eat them. Many people are lovers of frois gras and consider it one of the most delectable of foods. When they go out to celebrate it is often something they order. But the grueling pain the ducks were put through to get you your frois gras on the table is disgusting and inhumane. Some of the things they do is stick a thick and long tube into their little mouths and force feed them. They aren’t careful they just shove them in there regardless of pain, discomfort, infection, cuttings, etc. They force feed them 10 times the amount of food their tummys can normally hold so that their livers will expand 10 times their size. And only then will they be released of such pain because they are murdered and then put on our tables, for our “celebration.”

And that delicious steak? Oh yes, major torture. Everything from getting beat up, to electrocuted, to having their throats slashed in front of each other. Can you imagine the horror of watching your friends and family being murdered and knowing you are next? YES animals have feelings. Or the pigs and chickens…well I’ll stop here I don’t want to give you more details. You get the point.

Why do we do this? Why don’t we care? If someone did this to our loved ones we would be in an uproar. However since these animals have no voice we turn our heads and pretend we don’t know what is going on. In many cases people truly aren’t aware. Others think animal advocates are just being ridiculous and exaggerating.

Right now I am reading a book titled, “A Rare Breed of Love,” by Jana Kohl. If you haven’t read it and you are an animal lover I highly recommend it. It has made me smile and laugh and yes cry. Both happy and sad tears. Tears of thankfulness and tears of anger. It has also taught me a lot. Ignorance is no excuse to do wrong so reading it has enlightened me and made me respect and honor animals more than I even did before.

The story behind this book is of Baby, a poodle that was rescued from a puppy mill and her life traveling with her owner (or mommy) to teach people about puppy mills and how harmful they are. The photographs in the book are beautiful and inspiring. You can see the joy in Baby’s eyes that now she has a forever home. You can see that she no longer starves as she did in the puppy mill, and there are photos of her running in a field and she looks like she is in heaven. Literally. But Baby only has 3 legs. Since she wasn’t allowed to move in the cage she was in for 9 years and never steped out of it, her bones became brittle and one day she stepped of her adoptive mom’s home and lost her leg.

The book shows baby (in more photos than I can count) with celebrities and politicians. She is a famous little poodle now and she looks proud to be doing such justice for her friends she left behind in the puppy mills. Baby can’t bark because the owner of the puppy mills stuck scissors down her throat and cut her vocal cords so that they didn’t have to hear Baby’s barking cry’s for help when she was in pain and agony from starvation, diseases neglect. But even though she can’t bark, you can see the joy of freedom in her face. (this procedure of cutting the vocal cords is a common one amongst puppy mills).

One of the many celebrities that Baby met was Paul Harvey, the radio personality. There is a picture of her with him in the book and she looks like she is purring like a kitten she is so happy. I wish I could share the photo with you. I bet she loves all that loving after not having received any contact for the first 9 years of her life. She is so grateful to have a forever home.

When Baby and her owner (mommy), met Paul Harvey, he gave them something he had written a while back. I find it so true. Here it is:



PRIORITIES
By Paul Harvey

This is partly personal…

If your heart is burdened most by the starving babies of Sub-Saharan Africa, I will respect that.

If you lose sleep worrying about brutality within our prisons, I will respect that and do what I can to help.

If you are most anguished by the world’s ceaseless wars or by
The prospect of a nuclear war, your preoccupying priority defends itself.

Will you lend me mine?

My nightmares relate all of man’s inhumanity to man—
To our willing acceptance of cruelty to the other animals.

Somebody once sent to my attention a “humane mouse trap.”
The label promised that the “mouse dies in his sleep
Without pain or suffering.”

Before recommending it, I researched it.

I learned that the mouse smells peanut butter inside,
Enters the plastic box, and is trapped inside.

A spokesperson for the product said that 2 ½ years of testing
Had proven the mouse panics and dies of fright.

Or—because the area is so tiny, the mouse from hyperactivity
Works up a sweat and dies of heat prostration.

This, the label describes as “without pain or suffering.”
So much for the trugh in advertising.

I am going to try and be as dispassionate as possible about this.

I do not mean to suggest that it is but one step from
Suffocating animals to putting people in ovens.

It’s not.

It is several steps.

The first step is tolerating any pain which we cannot
Ourselves feel.

Anguish is anguish. It known no gender, no race, no species.

Pain is pain.

If it is your own child who is suffering,
You relate especially to his or her hurt
Any hurts to others---yours included
Are comparatively insignificant.

It is not that your child is suffering any more…
Perhaps your child is suffering less…

Than a mouse suffocating in its dark cramped coffin.

Your child is tortured. “That is hideous—a high crime!”
A mouse dies in agony. That is pest control.
And there are options.

So somebody allowed it to happen. Confronted with the options of allowing
The mouse to die in peace or pain, somebody had to say, “What’s the difference?”

There are equally effective options.
And civilization should have reached the point which we should care
which is which.

When it comes to suffering, the only thing which separates the smartest of us
From the dumbest is our vocal cords.

If we allow them to hurt only because they cannot speak,
May God have mercy on them—and us.

Caribbean Monk Seal Becomes Extinct

This is sad. The extinction of anything is, well...sad. But what makes the extinction of this particular seal so sad is that it wasn't due to "life" or "natural causes." It was do to US, the HUMAN RACE. We seem to be the coldest blooded-killers that have no respect for anything that does not benefit us. We kill innocent animals for our own profit. The forests for our own gain and even harm our own race due to envy, jealousy and too many other reasons to count.

We seem to be so proud of being "human." Walking around with out heads held high. Believing that we are the ultimate creatures on Earth. And yes, in reality we are superior to other animals in the sense that we have reason. That we have intellect and many attributes that they don't have. But with more power, more brains, more beauty, more of anything, comes more responsibility too. Did we forget that part? Responsibility not only to our own race, but to our 4 legged friends as well. To any living thing really. Why did we allow ourselves to forget this?

If I had one wish, it would be for Humans to start realizing the harm and destruction they cause and STOP. But who am I kidding? We've been the same...since the beginning of time.

This morning I read an AOL article about the extinction of the Caribbean Monk Seal and it broke my heart.

You can read the AOL article below:


CARIBBEAN MONK SEAL BECOMES EXTINCT
By James Song, AP
Posted: 2008-06-07 12:37:04
Filed Under: Science News
HONOLULU (June 7) - Federal officials have confirmed what biologists have long thought: The Caribbean monk seal has gone the way of the dodo.

Humans hunting the docile creatures for research, food and blubber left the population unsustainable, say biologists who warn that Hawaiian and Mediterranean monk seals could be the next to go.

The last confirmed sighting of a Caribbean monk seal was in 1952 between Jamaica and Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration's Fisheries Service confirmed Friday that the species is extinct.

Kyle Baker, a biologist for NOAA's Fisheries Service southeast region, said the species is the only seal to become extinct from human causes.

The seals were first classified as endangered in 1967, and wildlife experts investigated several reported sightings over the past few decades. But officials determined they were other seal types.

The federal agency says there are fewer than 1,200 Hawaiian and 500 Mediterranean monk seals remaining, and their populations are declining.

"We hope we've learned from the extinction of Caribbean monk seals, and can provide stronger protection for their Hawaiian and Mediterranean relatives," Baker said.

The Hawaiian monk seal population, protected by NOAA, is declining at a rate of about 4 percent annually, according to NOAA. The agency predicts the population could fall below 1,000 in the next three to four years, placing the mammal among the world's most endangered marine species.

"When populations get very small, they become very unstable," Baker said. "They become more vulnerable to threats like disease and predation by sharks."

Vicki Cornish, a wildlife expert at the Ocean Conservancy, said the fate of the Caribbean monk seal is a "wake-up call" to protect the remaining seal populations.

"We must act now to reduce threats to existing monk seal populations before it's too late," she said. "These animals are important to the balance and health of the ocean. We can't afford to wait."

Monk seals are particularly sensitive to human disturbance. And the sea creatures have been losing their food supply and beaches, officials say.

"Once Hawaii, the Caribbean and the Mediterranean were teeming with fish, but these are areas under severe fishing pressure," Cornish said. "They'll eat almost anything - shellfish or finned fish - but their food supply is waning and they're in competition with man."

The Caribbean monk seal, first discovered during Christopher Columbus' second voyage in 1494, once had a population of more than 250,000. But they became easy game for hunters because they often rested, gave birth or nursed their pups on beaches.

From the 1700s to 1900s, the seals were killed mainly for their blubber, which was processed into oils, used for lubrication and coating the bottom of boats. Their skins were used for trunk linings, clothing, straps and bags.

The endangered Hawaiian monk seals face different types of challenges, including entanglement in marine debris, climate change and coastal development.

About 80 to 100 live in the main Hawaiian Islands and 1,100 in the largely uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, a marine national monument.

Biologist Bud Antonelis said NOAA's Fisheries Service has developed a monk seal recovery plan for the Hawaiian monk seals.

"But we need continued support from organizations and the public if we are to have a chance at saving it from extinction," he said. "Time is running out."

As for the Caribbean monk seal, NOAA said it is working to have them removed from the endangered species list. Species are removed from the list when their populations are no longer threatened or endangered, or when they are declared extinct.

Ever Wonder What to do with Your Plastic Bags?

Lets help out the environment a bit. I found this article in WikiHow (I just LOVE taht website). Someone apparently wrote up an article on how to Recycle Plastic bags. Something we probably don't give much thought to but should because it is one of the simplest of things we can all do to help the environment. With wiki, you can edit articles. I am going to see if I can edit this one in some way to add my own ideas. If you have any you should look the article up and edit it as well. The more more ideas and options of what to do with these plastic bags, the better.

1)Take them with you to the grocery store to be reused when bagging your groceries, instead of taking new ones.

2)Return your bags back to the grocery store for recycling. Most stores have a container to take these bags back and recycle them for you.

3)Keep plastic bags around the house to replace trash can liners in the bathrooms, office and bedrooms... anywhere you have a small trashcan.

4) Keep some in the laundry room to throw out pocket trash found in clothes and empty the lint filter in the dryer.

5) Use plastic bags in the kitchen to store perishable trash in the refrigerator. This is especially good to do in the summer. If you have a long wait between trash pick-ups, it will keep flies out of your trash can.

6)Keep a stash of bags in each vehicle to help keep the car tidy. Hang one over a seat, arm rest, or simply keep it under a seat.

7)If you have pets, use plastic bags to clean out the litter box or scoop the poop in the yard. When you take your dog for a walk, tie a couple of bags to the leash handle so you will always have a bag available to scoop the poop.

8)Donate them to animal shelters who often need plastic bags for cleaning and to use when walking dogs, they'll appreciate having a few extra around.

9)Donate the bags to your local charity shop or thrift store library, so that people who borrow books can use them to bring the books home.

10)Plastic bags can be used for packing material for packages to be mailed or stored. Wad them up and stuff around the items.

11)When removing old vacuum cleaner bags put the bag in a plastic bag and tie. If the pets or kids get into the trash (or you press down instead of taking out) you won't end up with a fine dust cloud.

12)Shove them inside of shoes to help keep their shape while air drying.

13)Cut into strips and knit/crochet into a stronger reusable shopping bag. You can find a crochet pattern here. These work well because strips of plastic bag have a lot of tensile strength and the knit/crochet stitch makes this even stronger. For instructions go to this site: Take them with you to the grocery store to be reused when bagging your groceries, instead of taking new ones. (I think these were put together by a woman by the name of Marla.)

14)You can store them in fabric bag tubes at local craft or kitchen stores. These tubes have small elastic holes at the top and bottom and a loop for hanging it on the back of a door or on a hook. You may be able to find one in a color scheme for your decor. You could also use an empty baby wipe container or empty tissue box - this keeps them tidy and you'll always know where to find them.

15)The best strategy is to avoid getting plastic bags in the first place. Get a couple of canvas bags and take them with you to the store. They're stronger and hold more than the flimsy plastic bags that most stores use -- this means fewer trips from the car once you're home, and no risk of a bag breaking and spilling your groceries all over the ground.

16)Some stores give a small discount for bringing your own bags, but the real benefit is not consuming or accumulating plastic bags.

17)Use one of the bags to stuff the rest in just for storage. Hang the bag in the garage, pantry, under the kitchen sink or in the laundry room. Alternatively, wad up the first bag, and put it into the next. Wad this up, and put it into the next, and so on. This way, you can always just remove the outermost bag-layer.

18)Find a specific place to keep your extra bags. Once this area is full of bags you should take them to the store for recycling and not try to find more places
If you do art paint or ceramic painting on top of the kitchen table, spread out a bag on top of the table to keep the paint off the table. When you are finished, toss in any mess you made and toss the bags away.

19)Don't reuse plastic bags that were used to transport meat or poultry. They may contain bacteria that can be harmful.

Massive Ice Chunk Collapses in Anartica

A huge portion of Antarctic ice -- said to be about seven times the size of Manhattan -- can been seen breaking off from an even larger portion of glacial ice Tuesday. Scientists said the chunk broke off from the Wilkins Ice Shelf in western Antarctica, and had been there for anywhere between hundreds to 1,500 years.

Massive Ice Chunk Collapses in Antarctica
By SETH BORENSTEIN,AP
Posted: 2008-03-25 21:44:32
Filed Under: Science News

WASHINGTON (March 25) - A chunk of Antarctic ice about seven times the size of Manhattan suddenly collapsed, putting an even greater portion of glacial ice at risk, scientists said Tuesday.

Satellite images show the runaway disintegration of a 160-square-mile chunk in western Antarctica, which started Feb. 28. It was the edge of the Wilkins ice shelf and has been there for hundreds, maybe 1,500 years.

This is the result of global warming, said British Antarctic Survey scientist David Vaughan.

Because scientists noticed satellite images within hours, they diverted satellite cameras and even flew an airplane over the ongoing collapse for rare pictures and video.

"It's an event we don't get to see very often," said Ted Scambos, lead scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colo. "The cracks fill with water and slice off and topple... That gets to be a runaway situation."

While icebergs naturally break away from the mainland, collapses like this are unusual but are happening more frequently in recent decades, Vaughan said. The collapse is similar to what happens to hardened glass when it is smashed with a hammer, he said.

The rest of the Wilkins ice shelf, which is about the size of Connecticut, is holding on by a narrow beam of thin ice. Scientists worry that it too may collapse. Larger, more dramatic ice collapses occurred in 2002 and 1995.

Vaughan had predicted the Wilkins shelf would collapse about 15 years from now. The part that recently gave way makes up about 4 percent of the overall shelf, but it's an important part that can trigger further collapse.

There's still a chance the rest of the ice shelf will survive until next year because this is the end of the Antarctic summer and colder weather is setting in, Vaughan said.

Scientists said they are not concerned about a rise in sea level from the latest event, but say it's a sign of worsening global warming.

Such occurrences are "more indicative of a tipping point or trigger in the climate system," said Sarah Das, a scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.

"These are things that are not re-forming," Das said. "So once they're gone, they're gone."

Climate in Antarctica is complicated and more isolated from the rest of the world.

Much of the continent is not warming and some parts are even cooling, Vaughan said. However, the western peninsula, which includes the Wilkins ice shelf, juts out into the ocean and is warming. This is the part of the continent where scientists are most concern about ice-melt triggering sea level rise.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2008-03-25 15:04:23

NOTE: Who are the IDIOTS in our government that have the NERVE to say that "Global warming" does not exist and is "just" "hype?" What do they think we are? Stupid? Just look at what our "made up" global warming is doing to our world!!

Tap vs. Bottled Water

Posted Mon, Jan 07, 2008, 1:10 pm PST

Glug, glug, glug--that’s the sound a ginormous number of us make as we sip bottled water in our cars, at the gym, behind our desks.

The sound you DON’T hear is the thwack of 60 million bottles a day being tossed into U.S. landfills, where they can take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade.

If that’s not enough to turn your conscience a brighter shade of green, add this: Producing those bottles burns through 1.5 million barrels of crude oil annually--enough fuel to keep 100,000 cars running for a year. Recycling helps but reusing is even better. Invest in a couple of portable, dishwasher-safe, stainless steel bottles like Klean Kanteens that won’t leach nasty chemicals into your water. (Don’t get into the habit of refilling the water bottle you just emptied; the polyethylene terephthalate it’s made of breaks down with multiple usings.)

4 REASONS TO TURN ON THE TAP

1. Tap water is tested daily
Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, water suppliers are required to provide an annual report on the quality of your local water and to test tap water daily. By comparison, the FDA examines bottled water only weekly, and consumers can’t get the agency’s results. You can easily get the lowdown on your state’s drinking water quality at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/dwinfo/index.html

2. Tap water is a bargain
Bottled water costs about 500 times more than tap. If you’re into really fancy labels, up to 1,000 times more.

3. Tap water is a tooth saver
It has more fluoride than bottled water, which helps prevent tooth decay. (Yes, you never outgrow your need for fluoride.)

4. Tap water is often tasty
Some places (New York City for one) have delicious water, but if you don’t love the flavor of yours, the solution is simple: Run your tap water through a Brita or Pur filter to remove most tastes and odors. The average home filter goes for $8.99 and produces the equivalent of 300 large (16.9 ounce) bottles of water. That’s about $0.03 cents a bottle, versus the $1.25 or so you’d pay in a market.

One last thing: Don't just think about making this switch; actually do it. Today. It does the world and you good. Plus, allowing nagging, unfinished tasks (known as NUTs) to go undone can make your RealAge 8 years older!