Biodiversity is the variability of all living organisms -- including animal and plant species -- of the genes of all these organisms, and of the terrestrial, aquatic and marine ecosystems of which they are part.
Biodiversity makes up the structure of the ecosystems and habitats that support essential living resources, including wildlife, fisheries and forests. It helps provide for basic human needs such as food, shelter, and medicine. It composes ecosystems that maintain oxygen in the air, enrich the soil, purify the water, protect against flood and storm damage and regulate climate. Biodiversity also has recreational, cultural, spiritual and aesthetic values. – J Randerson
According to the researchers, organic farming aids biodiversity by using fewer pesticides and inorganic fertilisers, and by adopting wildlife-friendly management of habitats where there are no crops, including strategies such as not weeding close to hedges, and by mixing arable and livestock farming.
Mixed farming particularly benefits some bird species. Lapwings, for example, nest on spring-sown crops, but raise their chicks on pasture. Intensive agriculture has been blamed for the 80% decline in lapwing numbers in England and Wales since the 1960s. One of the reviewed studies from the UK also points to benefits for bats. Foraging activity was up 84% on organic farms and two species, the greater and lesser horseshoe bats, were found only on organic farms.
The studies might even have underestimated the benefits to wildlife, says Phillip Grice of English Nature. Some looked at farms shortly after they turned organic, so wildlife numbers may just have started increasing.
Some argue that farms that adopt a few organic practices, swapping chemical weeding for mechanical, for example, may help wildlife flourish just as much as completely organic farms. And it is possible that farmers who switched to organic farming may have been predisposed towards environmentally friendly methods. So the biodiversity on their farms may have been higher than average before conversion. The current studies are not detailed enough to answer these questions.
Ref: Biological Conservation/ Reed Business Info
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
What is Greenhouse Effect?
Seen from space, our atmosphere is but a tiny layer of gas around a huge bulky planet. But it is this gaseous outer ring and its misleadingly called greenhouse effect that makes life on Earth possible – and that could destroy life as we know it.
The sun is the Earth’s primary energy source, a burning star so hot that we can feel its heat from over 150 million kilometers away. Its rays enter our atmosphere and shower upon on our planet. About one third of this solar energy is reflected back into the universe by shimmering glaciers, water and other bright surfaces. Two thirds, however, are absorbed by the Earth, thus warming land, oceans, and atmosphere.
Much of this heat radiates back out into space, but some of it is stored in the atmosphere. This process is called the greenhouse effect. Without it, the Earth’s average temperature would be a chilling -18 degrees Celsius, even despite the sun’s constant energy supply.
In a world like this, life on Earth would probably have never emerged from the sea. Thanks to the greenhouse effect, however, heat emitted from the Earth is trapped in the atmosphere, providing us with a comfortable average temperature of 14 degrees.
So, how does it work? Sunrays enter the glass roof and walls of a greenhouse. But once they heat up the ground, which, in turn, heats up the air inside the greenhouse, the glass panels trap that warm air and temperatures increase.
Our planet, however, has no glass walls; the only thing that comes close to acting as such is our atmosphere. But in here, processes are way more complicated than in a real greenhouse.
The sun is the Earth’s primary energy source, a burning star so hot that we can feel its heat from over 150 million kilometers away. Its rays enter our atmosphere and shower upon on our planet. About one third of this solar energy is reflected back into the universe by shimmering glaciers, water and other bright surfaces. Two thirds, however, are absorbed by the Earth, thus warming land, oceans, and atmosphere.
Much of this heat radiates back out into space, but some of it is stored in the atmosphere. This process is called the greenhouse effect. Without it, the Earth’s average temperature would be a chilling -18 degrees Celsius, even despite the sun’s constant energy supply.
In a world like this, life on Earth would probably have never emerged from the sea. Thanks to the greenhouse effect, however, heat emitted from the Earth is trapped in the atmosphere, providing us with a comfortable average temperature of 14 degrees.
So, how does it work? Sunrays enter the glass roof and walls of a greenhouse. But once they heat up the ground, which, in turn, heats up the air inside the greenhouse, the glass panels trap that warm air and temperatures increase.
Our planet, however, has no glass walls; the only thing that comes close to acting as such is our atmosphere. But in here, processes are way more complicated than in a real greenhouse.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Organic Food isn't Posh
“The paradox is there’s this view that organic is elitist, it’s expensive, it’s a lifestyle choice for people who can afford it.
It’s become much easier than it used to be, as supermarkets continue to respond to our demand for organic food.
One can’t go organic overnight. After years of using agrochemicals, it takes at least two years for land to become “clean” enough to farm without them.
Source : Organicfoodee.com
Purchasing Organic Food in supermarkets and via the internet is on the increase - The idea is to bring seasonal produce to your door, cutting out the wholesaler and the time produce spends languishing in lorries and on supermarket shelves. Suddenly we are discovering the joy of scrubbing mud and creepy crawlies off our vegetables, and finding ourselves being inventive with kale and root vegetables. As Jane Grigson said, the best potatoes are always the dirtiest.
It’s the only way to be sure of what you are eating, as no other term is strictly defined. For example, “free range” hens may be more tightly packed than battery ones. Organic producers have had to adhere to many regulations from a diverse number of organisations across the world.
People who never used to give a thought to the Common Agriculture Policy, maximum residue levels, organophospahtes or nitrate vulnerable zones are now worried enough to ring the Pesticides Action Network — calls are doubling every year… And there has been a massive increase in visits, especially from people wanting to to find out where to buy organic locally.
It’s become much easier than it used to be, as supermarkets continue to respond to our demand for organic food.
One has to be committed. But if it’s supporting the ecosystem, it’s more likely to be healthy food. Industrial farmers continue to impoverish the landscape, pollute soils and watercourses and market contaminated food, all without penalty.
One can’t go organic overnight. After years of using agrochemicals, it takes at least two years for land to become “clean” enough to farm without them.
Source : Organicfoodee.com
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Raw and Organic Food
What is Raw Food?
A raw foodist is someone that eats 75-100% live, organic-uncooked and unprocessed food and drinks pure, live water. A raw food diet consists of unprocessed foods that have not been heated above 115 degrees F. Raw foodists believe that foods cooked above this temperature have lost their enzymes and a therefore a significant amount of their nutritional value are harmful to the body whereas uncooked foods provide proper nutrition and living enzymes says organic goji berries nutritionist.
Other benefits to a raw food diet include weight loss, more energy, clear skin, improved digestion and improved overall health. Many people say that they eat a ‘high raw” or a certain percentage of raw foods or organic food in their diet such as “75% raw diet because maintaining a 100% raw diet can be challenging at times. A few people include raw, unprocessed dairy products in their diet but most follow a raw vegan diet.
What is Organic Food?
In agriculture, this means that crops were grown without the use of pesticides, artificial fertilizers or sewage sludge, and that they were processed without food additives (like chemical preservatives). When it comes to animals, they must be reared without the routine use of antibiotics and growth hormones and fed a diet of organic foods. In most countries, organic produce must not be genetically modified.
A growing number of consumers, and especially those dealing with chronic illness, are switching to raw and organic food. A key motivation for consumers doing this is a simple belief that it’s better for them.
Official food agencies around the world are unanimous in claiming there is no evidence of a nutritional difference. Yet a more careful and thorough review of the science comparing organic and non-organic food reveals that, collectively, the available evidence does indeed support the consumer belief and claims by the organic food online industry that their food is safer, more nutritious, and better for you than non-organic food.
Article Source
http://articlesooper.com/
A raw foodist is someone that eats 75-100% live, organic-uncooked and unprocessed food and drinks pure, live water. A raw food diet consists of unprocessed foods that have not been heated above 115 degrees F. Raw foodists believe that foods cooked above this temperature have lost their enzymes and a therefore a significant amount of their nutritional value are harmful to the body whereas uncooked foods provide proper nutrition and living enzymes says organic goji berries nutritionist.
Other benefits to a raw food diet include weight loss, more energy, clear skin, improved digestion and improved overall health. Many people say that they eat a ‘high raw” or a certain percentage of raw foods or organic food in their diet such as “75% raw diet because maintaining a 100% raw diet can be challenging at times. A few people include raw, unprocessed dairy products in their diet but most follow a raw vegan diet.
What is Organic Food?
In agriculture, this means that crops were grown without the use of pesticides, artificial fertilizers or sewage sludge, and that they were processed without food additives (like chemical preservatives). When it comes to animals, they must be reared without the routine use of antibiotics and growth hormones and fed a diet of organic foods. In most countries, organic produce must not be genetically modified.
A growing number of consumers, and especially those dealing with chronic illness, are switching to raw and organic food. A key motivation for consumers doing this is a simple belief that it’s better for them.
Official food agencies around the world are unanimous in claiming there is no evidence of a nutritional difference. Yet a more careful and thorough review of the science comparing organic and non-organic food reveals that, collectively, the available evidence does indeed support the consumer belief and claims by the organic food online industry that their food is safer, more nutritious, and better for you than non-organic food.
Article Source
http://articlesooper.com/
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