Clipmarks | chiggles's clips

Vertical Garden: The art of organic architecture

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 19:24:16 GMT

clipped by: chiggles
clipper's remarks: Growing greenery on walls of all shapes and sizes.

Patrick Blanc overgrows the vertical surfaces of buildings in the most beautiful way. What he creates is far away from any fancy horticultural show, his Vertical Garden could rather be called eco-art, or greener architecture consisting of a variety of plants trailing gently up any interior or outside wall. Imagine the Hanging Gardens of ancient Babylon but this time on modern concrete buildings. But Patrick is not just simpy putting green on the walls which last for a day or two: set up with a highly scientific background he studies the many ways plants adapt to extreme situations at the CNRS, the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in Paris since 1982. Let’s have a closer look at these organic wallpapers of botanist Patrick Blanc today.

There’s no soil involved at all?

Plants don’t need soil in any situation because the soil is merely nothing more than a mechanic support.

Tags: vertical garden, gardening, green

The Four Day Work Week: 16 Reasons Why This Might Be an Idea Whose Time Has Come

Tue, 06 May 2008 16:17:00 GMT

clipped by: chiggles
clipper's remarks: 16 reasons from an oil based perspective.

Clip Source: www.theoildrum.com

It should be fairly obvious to anyone interested in conserving oil that reducing the number of daily commutes per week would reduce the overall demand for oil. There are about 133 million workers in America. Around 80% of them get to work by driving alone in a car. The average commute covers about 16 miles each way.

Reason #1; the impact a 4 day work week could have on crude oil imports. I'm talking about a reduction (5-10%? and perhaps even more--ED by PG) in the amount of oil we need Monday through Friday simply by rearranging our work week. No wonder this idea was utilized in the 70's.

Reason #2 The 4 Day Work Week would reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other air pollutants.

Reason #4 The 4 Day Work Week would mean less traffic congestion.

Reason #5 The 4 Day Work Week would reduce money spent on new road construction and existing road maintenance.

Reason #6 The 4 Day Work Week would result in a reduction in personal expenses.

Tags: oil, work

Oxygen depletion threatens ocean habitats: study

Mon, 05 May 2008 18:35:47 GMT

clipped by: JICWyllie

Clip Source: www.terradaily.com

Oxygen-depleted regions of tropical oceans are expanding, restricting habitats for fish and other marine life, an international team of scientists said

oxygen levels at 300 to 700 meters (985 to 2,300 feet) have declined significantly over the past five decades.

The largest decline in oxygen levels occurred in the northeast Atlantic,

"The ecological impacts of this increase could have substantial biological and economical consequences," a summary of the study said.

The team of oceanographers said it remained unclear if the reduction in oxygen levels could be linked to climate change

Tags: environment, water, i-risks, i-extinction, i-increase

Multinationals make billions in profit out of growing global food crisis

Sun, 04 May 2008 09:50:40 GMT

clipped by: JICWyllie

Clip Source: www.independent.co.uk

Giant agribusinesses are enjoying soaring earnings and profits out of the world food crisis which is driving millions of people towards starvation, The Independent on Sunday can reveal. And speculation is helping to drive the prices of basic foodstuffs out of the reach of the hungry.

Monsanto last month reported that its net income for the three months up to the end of February this year had more than doubled over the same period in 2007, from $543m (£275m) to $1.12bn. Its profits increased from $1.44bn to $2.22bn.

Cargill's net earnings soared by 86 per cent from $553m to $1.030bn over the same three months.

Similarly, the Mosaic Company, one of the world's largest fertiliser companies, saw its income for the three months ending 29 February rise more than 12-fold, from $42.2m to $520.8m, on the back of a shortage of fertiliser.

Tags: food, i-profits, i-hunger, i-increase

Low Spending Is Taking Toll on Economy

Thu, 01 May 2008 17:33:48 GMT

clipped by: JICWyllie
clipper's remarks: "Growth" is now clearly a meaningless concept. On the necessities side -- food, fuel etc. -- inflation is counted as "growth". (No more food or fuel is being produced or used.) This is balanced against deflation and recession in the discretionary economy, and is interpreted as positive growth. These are two different phenomena and cannot be added together in a meaningful way. Yet achieving this growth is what economics is supposed to be all about. Just another reason why the so-called science of economics is literally nonsense and innumerate to boot.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

the Commerce Department reported that the economy continued to stagnate during the first three months of the year, with a sharp pullback in consumer spending the primary factor at play.

Even more ominously, Americans cut back on a wide variety of discretionary purchases, conserving their cash for necessary spending.

economists saw evidence that the basic laws of arithmetic are now impinging on millions of households.

As real estate prices plunge, so does the ability of homeowners to borrow against the value of their homes, crimping a major artery of spending. As banks grow tighter with their dollars in a period of uncertainty, families are running up against credit limits, forcing many to live within their incomes. And as companies lay off employees and cut working hours, paychecks are effectively shrinking.

Consumer spending fell for a broad range of goods and services, including cars, auto parts, furniture, food and recreation, reflecting a growing inclination toward thrift.

Tags: economy, i-recession, consumers, i-spending, i-decrease, i-record

Shortages Threaten Farmers’ Key Tool: Fertilizer

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 16:32:53 GMT

clipped by: JICWyllie

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

the widespread use of inexpensive chemical fertilizer, coupled with market reforms, helped power an agricultural explosion

Yields of rice and corn rose, and diets grew richer.

Now those gains are threatened in many countries by spot shortages and soaring prices for fertilizer, the most essential ingredient of modern agriculture.

The squeeze on the supply of fertilizer has been building for roughly five years. Rising demand for food and biofuels prompted farmers everywhere to plant more crops. As demand grew, the fertilizer mines and factories of the world proved unable to keep up.

Some dealers in the Midwest ran out of fertilizer last fall

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Overall global consumption of fertilizer increased by an estimated 31 percent from 1996 to 2008, driven by a 56 percent increase in developing countries

At least 50 plants to make nitrogen fertilizer are under construction, many in the Middle East

This is a basic problem, to feed 6.6 billion people

Without chemical fertilizer

The game is over.”

Tags: food, fertiliser, i-supply, i-decrease, i-demand, i-increase, i-risk

Nuclear may lose green tag if fuel costs rise

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:20:40 GMT

clipped by: JICWyllie

Clip Source: www.abc.net.au

Environmental costs of nuclear power are likely to increase as high-grade uranium becomes harder to find, according to new research

the average grade of the uranium extracted from mines around the world has gradually declined over the past 50 years.

That trend is likely to continue, says lead author Dr Gavin Mudd from Melbourne's Monash University.

This means mining companies will have to use more energy and more water to extract the ore and process it for use in power stations.

the debate has been characterised by a lack of real facts and figures on the total environmental impact of nuclear power, a problem their paper begins to address.

Tags: energy, nulclear, i-costs, i-climate change, i-increase

Food Riots Erupt Worldwide

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 17:55:45 GMT

clipped by: JICWyllie
clipper's remarks: The real culprits are the economic ideologies of free trade and interest driven growth which, masquerading as science, drive disastrous policy decisions.

Clip Source: www.alternet.org

Over the last few decades, the United States, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have used their leverage to impose devastating policies on developing countries. By requiring countries to open up their agriculture market to giant multinational companies, by insisting that countries dismantle their marketing boards and by persuading them to specialize in exportable cash crops such as coffee, cocoa, cotton and even flowers, they have driven the poorest countries into a downward spiral.

In the last thirty years, developing countries that used to be self-sufficient in food have turned into large food importers.

Dismantling of marketing boards that kept commodities in a rolling stock to be released in event of a bad harvest, thus protecting both producers and consumers against sharp rises or drops in prices, has further worsened the situation.

support a country's effort to manage stocks and pricing

promote production and consumption of local crops raised by small,

farms

Tags: economy, trade, i-policy, i-consequences, i-starvation

The end of cheap clothes is near

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 22:26:45 GMT

clipped by: JICWyllie

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Garment makers are seeing demand shrink as consumers in the US and Europe are cutting back on spending.

US cotton consumption is set to fall 6.5% from last year to less than a million tonnes whilst EU consumption is expected to fall 11%

At the same time, they are hit by more expensive raw materials and by soaring oil prices, which make their factories more expensive to operate and which pushes up the cost of shipping to foreign markets.

In India, the weaving industry is in crisis. In China, the textile sector is squeezed.

But costly cotton is only one factor hitting clothing manufacturers.

"It all comes down to energy," explains Bradley George, head of commodities and resources at Investec Asset Management.

Fertiliser costs are also soaring, adding to raw material costs, and the credit crunch is adding to the squeeze as low-margin clothes manufacturers are finding it harder to raise finance.

The wages paid to factory workers have risen too, especially in China.

Tags: economy, business, textiles, i-prices, i-increase, i-forecast

Step Aside Dollar, Is Rice the New Global Currency?

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 22:06:54 GMT

clipped by: JICWyllie

Clip Source: www.alternet.org

What are the world's investors doing with the trillion dollars a year they used to invest in American securities, including subprime derivatives and various forms of collateralized obligations that turned out to have more obligation than collateral? They aren't buying American companies because they are not permitted to. They are buying food and other stores of value instead.

China is exchanging its depreciating reserves of US dollars for things of value, notably rice, with frightening consequences for dependent countries, and deadly consequences for American foreign policy.

Tags: economy, food, i-speculation, i-price. i-increase, i-record

Viruses Keep Us Breathing

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 18:29:14 GMT

clipped by: JICWyllie

Clip Source: www.terradaily.com

"It is beginning to become to clear to us that at least a proportion of the oxygen we breathe is a by-product of the bacteria suffering from a virus infection," says Professor Mann. "Instead of being viewed solely as evolutionary bad guys, causing diseases, viruses appear to be of central importance in the planetary process. In fact they may be essential to our survival."

Viruses may also help to spread useful genes for photosynthesis from one strain of bacteria to another.

The study provides new insight into the role that viruses play in both the processes of evolution, and in making our planet a habitable environment for living organisms.

Tags: environment, species, viruses, i-evolution

Sewing machines make a comeback

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 11:11:56 GMT

clipped by: JICWyllie
clipper's remarks: A definite sign of the times, as the new age of thrift arrives. Sewing machine manufacturers would be a good investment, too ... not to mention Adam Smith's favorite - pin manufacturers

Clip Source: www.independent.co.uk

consumers are shunning disposable high street fashions in favour of home tailoring. As a result, sewing machine sales are at their highest level for years. The number of Singer and Brother models sold by Argos catalogue shops rose by 50 per cent in 2006-7. Sales of Argos's cheapest model, costing £69.99, were up 500 per cent, while sewing machine sales at Woolworth's shot up by 258 per cent over the same period.

Experts say the boom is driven by a greater awareness of social and environmental issues and a desire to stand out from the crowd, which encourages shoppers to make and customise their own clothes. The credit crunch is also playing a role, with needleworkers coming up with creative ways of looking good without spending a fortune.

Richard Webster, sewing machines buyer at Argos, described their revival as a "backlash against a throw-away society".

It's a modern take on the "make do and mend" attitude of previous generations."

Tags: economy, consumers, i-spending, i-decrease, i-consequences, i-thrift

Let them eat spuds: the world's new staple

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 10:57:48 GMT

clipped by: JICWyllie
clipper's remarks: Anybody can grow them in their garden. They are much prettier than grass and the loosen up the soil for the next crop. And with 5,000 varieties, they should be out of reach of the biotech industry. Indeed, they are the perfect recession / depression crop. Also, once you start growing potatoes, you start growing other food, too.

Clip Source: www.independent.co.uk

With world food prices soaring and with riots breaking out everywhere from Egypt to Indonesia, experts believe that increased use of potatoes could provide at least part of the solution. Easy to grow, quick to mature, requiring little water and with yields two to four times greater than that of wheat or rice, the potato is being cultivated more in an effort to ensure food security,

"It is ideally suited to places where land is limited and labour is abundant, conditions that characterise much of the developing world. The potato produces more nutritious food more quickly, on less land, and in harsher climates than any other major crop."

In Peru, where the potato was first cultivated, a doubling in the price of wheat in the past year has led to the launch of a government programme to encourage bakers to use potato flour rather than wheat flour to make bread.

It is a source of complex carbohydrates which release their energy slowly and have just 5 per cent of the fat content of wheat

Tags: economy, business, farming, food, i-supply, i-increase, i-opportunity

Why flowers have lost their scent

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 12:53:51 GMT

clipped by: JICWyllie

Clip Source: www.independent.co.uk

Pollution is dulling the scent of flowers and impeding some of the most basic processes of nature, disrupting insect life and imperilling food supplies, a new study suggests.

The potentially hugely significant research – funded by the blue-chip US National Science Foundation – has found that gases mainly formed from the emissions of car exhausts prevent flowers from attracting bees and other insects in order to pollinate them. And the scientists who have conducted the study fear that insects' ability to repel enemies and attract mates may also be impeded.

pollution is dramatically cutting the distance travelled by the scent of flowers.

"Scent molecules produced by flowers in a less polluted environment could travel for roughly 1,000 to 1,200 metres. But today they may travel only 200 to 300 metres. This makes it increasingly difficult for bees and other insects to locate the flowers."

pollution is making life more difficult for bees and other insects in many ways.

Tags: environment, bees, flowers, i-pollution, i-risks, energy, oil, i-emiissions, i-consequences

Eat more to increease your matabolism

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 18:49:57 GMT

clipped by: weightlosswidow
clipper's remarks: Not the calorie intake is important, but your NET calorie intake

Clip Source: www.gather.com

Contrary to what many often think, it is not advisable to make a drastic cut on the intake of calories. It will only decelerate metabolism and delay weight loss. Diets with a 1000 daily calorie do not provide enough energy to maintain the pace of weight loss. A smarter move would be to eat more frequently but in smaller amounts, say five or six times a day. This practice stabilizes insulin levels and averts incidences of blood sugar crash where you feel so hungry you end up eating more than you should.