YouTube - Desertification erodes Mongolian livelihoods - 11 Jul 07
Desertification erodes Mongolian livelihoods - 11 Jul 07
Tuesday 29 June 2010
The greatest battle on Earth has already begun and humans are losing it!
If we are to survive on this planet, we will need the help of all nations pulling together. Those barren lands we call deserts are the key to global warming and without the cooperation of people living in arid lands we are well and truly screwed. Eventually we will realise the need to manage our soils and lands better than we have ever done in the past and convert them into fertile lands to help cool the planet and feed the ever increasing populations. The Sahara Desert covers an area of approximately 3.5 million square miles. Imagine if this was restored to fertility and instead of sand and rocks we had forests, lakes and rivers.
History tells us that It is politicians who determine whether we are at peace or at war. Soldiers do not want to kill people and risk being killed. They would be equally comfortable with melting down their weapons and turning them into the tools to make this world a far better place. As a child in the UK, we were all taught that the cowboys were the good guys and the Indians were bad. We were taught that the Zulu’s were savages and our soldiers were brave and outnumbered. As the years roll by we gather evidence to suggest the contrary is reality where cowboys and cavalry are the true invaders commanded by the politicians to grab the land from the indigenous peoples and farm it. The Africans were slaughtered in their tens of thousands to pave way for the “civilised world” to rip the heart out of Africa. Slash and burn mentality impoverishes the soils which are blown away on the wind or washed into the ocean by flash floods. One would think that we might have learned something, given the history of mankinds miserable attempts at soil stewardship. Ancient civilisations have all perished leaving behind their monumental pyramids and stone pillars as epitaphs to their follies, as a warning for all to see. Is Dubai yet another modern version of those follies? Did the dinosaurs overexploit their own environment and initiate global warming just as we are now doing?
Politicians can and have done a great deal of good work, so let us hope that a concerted assault on the worlds impoverished soils will transform them into fertile productive lands for the greatest battle on Earth has already begun and humans are losing it!
History tells us that It is politicians who determine whether we are at peace or at war. Soldiers do not want to kill people and risk being killed. They would be equally comfortable with melting down their weapons and turning them into the tools to make this world a far better place. As a child in the UK, we were all taught that the cowboys were the good guys and the Indians were bad. We were taught that the Zulu’s were savages and our soldiers were brave and outnumbered. As the years roll by we gather evidence to suggest the contrary is reality where cowboys and cavalry are the true invaders commanded by the politicians to grab the land from the indigenous peoples and farm it. The Africans were slaughtered in their tens of thousands to pave way for the “civilised world” to rip the heart out of Africa. Slash and burn mentality impoverishes the soils which are blown away on the wind or washed into the ocean by flash floods. One would think that we might have learned something, given the history of mankinds miserable attempts at soil stewardship. Ancient civilisations have all perished leaving behind their monumental pyramids and stone pillars as epitaphs to their follies, as a warning for all to see. Is Dubai yet another modern version of those follies? Did the dinosaurs overexploit their own environment and initiate global warming just as we are now doing?
Politicians can and have done a great deal of good work, so let us hope that a concerted assault on the worlds impoverished soils will transform them into fertile productive lands for the greatest battle on Earth has already begun and humans are losing it!
Saturday 12 June 2010
Use of Wastewater Sludge for the Amendment of Crude Oil Bioremediation in Meso-Scale Beach Simulating Tanks
Use of Wastewater Sludge for the Amendment of Crude Oil Bioremediation in Meso-Scale Beach Simulating Tanks
Authors: H. Maki; T. Sasaki; E. Sasaki; M. Ishihara; M. Goto; S. Harayama
DOI: 10.1080/09593332008616857
Publication Frequency: 14 issues per year
Published in: journal Environmental Technology, Volume 20, Issue 6 June 1999 , pages 625 - 632
Subjects: Biotechnology; Environment & the Developing World; Environmental Engineering; Environmental Geography; Environmental Sciences; Environmental Studies; Hydrology; Industry & Industrial Studies; Physical Geography; Waste Treatment & Disposal; Water Quality & Pollution; Water Supply & Treatment;
Formats available: PDF (English)
Previously published as: Environmental Technology Letters (0143-2060) until 1990
Abstract
We investigated the effects of the application of wastewater sludges on microbial degradation of crude oil. the experiments were carried out in four beach simulating tanks. In each tank, filled with gravel and seawater, crude oil was added on the surface of seawater. Dehydrated-wastewater sludge, liquid-wastewater sludge and synthetic fertilizers were added in tanks A, D and C, respectively. In tanks A and D, sharp increases in the bacterial number and the oxygen consumption occurred immediately while the increases in tank C was slower. The concentration of nitrogen was high during first few weeks and later decreased in tanks A and D. The synthetic nitrogen fertilizer was maintaining the nitrogen concentration above 1 mg l-1 for the whole experimental period. These observations indicated that the effect of the synthetic nitrogen fertilizer was more enduring than those of the liquid and dehydrated sludges. However, higher concentrations of phosphorous were supplied by both the liquid and dehydrated sludges than by the synthetic phosphorous fertilizer. No significant differences were observed between the biodegradation rates of crude oil in each amended tank. Thus, it was concluded that the wastewater sludges are useful as fertilizers for crude oil bioremediation.
Keywords: Crude oil; marine environment; microbial degradation; nutrient supply; wastewater sludge
Authors: H. Maki; T. Sasaki; E. Sasaki; M. Ishihara; M. Goto; S. Harayama
DOI: 10.1080/09593332008616857
Publication Frequency: 14 issues per year
Published in: journal Environmental Technology, Volume 20, Issue 6 June 1999 , pages 625 - 632
Subjects: Biotechnology; Environment & the Developing World; Environmental Engineering; Environmental Geography; Environmental Sciences; Environmental Studies; Hydrology; Industry & Industrial Studies; Physical Geography; Waste Treatment & Disposal; Water Quality & Pollution; Water Supply & Treatment;
Formats available: PDF (English)
Previously published as: Environmental Technology Letters (0143-2060) until 1990
Abstract
We investigated the effects of the application of wastewater sludges on microbial degradation of crude oil. the experiments were carried out in four beach simulating tanks. In each tank, filled with gravel and seawater, crude oil was added on the surface of seawater. Dehydrated-wastewater sludge, liquid-wastewater sludge and synthetic fertilizers were added in tanks A, D and C, respectively. In tanks A and D, sharp increases in the bacterial number and the oxygen consumption occurred immediately while the increases in tank C was slower. The concentration of nitrogen was high during first few weeks and later decreased in tanks A and D. The synthetic nitrogen fertilizer was maintaining the nitrogen concentration above 1 mg l-1 for the whole experimental period. These observations indicated that the effect of the synthetic nitrogen fertilizer was more enduring than those of the liquid and dehydrated sludges. However, higher concentrations of phosphorous were supplied by both the liquid and dehydrated sludges than by the synthetic phosphorous fertilizer. No significant differences were observed between the biodegradation rates of crude oil in each amended tank. Thus, it was concluded that the wastewater sludges are useful as fertilizers for crude oil bioremediation.
Keywords: Crude oil; marine environment; microbial degradation; nutrient supply; wastewater sludge
Friday 11 June 2010
Oil Leak from Damaged Well in Gulf of Mexico
Oil Leak from Damaged Well in Gulf of Mexico
An estimated 42,000 gallons of oil per day were leaking from an oil well in the Gulf of Mexico in late April, following an explosion at an offshore drilling rig on April 20, 2010. The rig eventually capsized and sank.
These images of the affected area were captured on April 25 by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite (top, wider view) and the Advanced Land Imager on NASA’s Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite (bottom, close up).
In the top image, the Mississippi Delta is at image center, and the oil slick is a silvery swirl to the right. The oil slick may be particularly obvious because it is occurring in the sunglint area, where the mirror-like reflection of the Sun off the water gives the Gulf of Mexico a washed-out look. The close-up view shows waves on the water surface as well as ships, presumably involved in the clean up and control activities.
The initial explosion killed eleven people and injured several others, and a fire burned at the location for more than a day until the damaged oil rig sank. An emergency response effort is underway to stop the flow of oil and contain the existing slick before it reaches wildlife refuges and beaches in Louisiana and Mississippi.
The slick may contain dispersant or other chemicals that emergency responders are using to control the spread of the oil, and it is unknown how much of the 700,000 gallons of fuel that were on the oil rig burned in the fire and how much may have spilled into the water when the platform sank.
On April 25, 2010, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Emergency Response Division issued the following update on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill incident in the Gulf of Mexico: “An attempt to control the leaking well using a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) was not successful, and the well continues to leak.”
Twice-daily images of the Gulf Coast are available from the MODIS Rapid Response Team in additional resolutions and formats, including a georeferenced file that can be used with Google Earth.
An estimated 42,000 gallons of oil per day were leaking from an oil well in the Gulf of Mexico in late April, following an explosion at an offshore drilling rig on April 20, 2010. The rig eventually capsized and sank.
These images of the affected area were captured on April 25 by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite (top, wider view) and the Advanced Land Imager on NASA’s Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite (bottom, close up).
In the top image, the Mississippi Delta is at image center, and the oil slick is a silvery swirl to the right. The oil slick may be particularly obvious because it is occurring in the sunglint area, where the mirror-like reflection of the Sun off the water gives the Gulf of Mexico a washed-out look. The close-up view shows waves on the water surface as well as ships, presumably involved in the clean up and control activities.
The initial explosion killed eleven people and injured several others, and a fire burned at the location for more than a day until the damaged oil rig sank. An emergency response effort is underway to stop the flow of oil and contain the existing slick before it reaches wildlife refuges and beaches in Louisiana and Mississippi.
The slick may contain dispersant or other chemicals that emergency responders are using to control the spread of the oil, and it is unknown how much of the 700,000 gallons of fuel that were on the oil rig burned in the fire and how much may have spilled into the water when the platform sank.
On April 25, 2010, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Emergency Response Division issued the following update on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill incident in the Gulf of Mexico: “An attempt to control the leaking well using a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) was not successful, and the well continues to leak.”
Twice-daily images of the Gulf Coast are available from the MODIS Rapid Response Team in additional resolutions and formats, including a georeferenced file that can be used with Google Earth.
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2010, April 25). Deepwater Horizon Incident: NOAA Situation Update 25 Apr 10. Emergency Response Division, Office of Response and Restoration Website. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team. Caption by Rebecca Lindsey.
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