http://www.cleanergreenerchina.com/2008/10/13/china-finds-massive-underground-water-reserves-and-should-leave-them-there/

China Finds Massive Underground Water Reserves and Should Leave Them There

While China is going to have the most difficulty with going forward, the recent report China finds 14,000-km underground rivers in rock desert areas , gave me pause. With large areas of desertification occurring in the north, ocean desertifications occurring along the coast, and mismanagement of its major rivers: the Yangtze and Yellow river, tapping into these reserves is almost the equivalent of the US drilling for more oil.

A newly conducted geological survey has found more than 3,000 underground rivers with a total length of 14,000 kilometers in southwest China’s rock desert areas.

A latest report released by the China Geological Survey showed that these underground rivers collect water from a combined area of 300,000 square kilometers, with an annual runoff of 47 billion cubic meters, equivalent to that of the Yellow River, the country’s second longest river.

These underground rivers account for 70 percent of the total underground water in the rock desert areas, which is a valuable resource for future development, the report said.

China should focus on cleaning up the water it has and work to reverse the desertification process before going out and tapping what may be its only lifeline.

Dopo aver risolto, forse solo parzialmente, la crisi finanziaria degli ultimi mesi che ha colpito con metastasi tutte le Borse mondiali, c'è un altro problema legato alla liquidità, ben più importante di quello delle banche commerciali. Il pianeta ha sempre più sete e, in particolar modo, l'Italia ha sempre più sete. Negli ultimi 50 annni, infatti, le precipitazioni sono calate del 14%. Ad affermarlo è l'Organizzazione Mondiale della Sanità, la FAO e l'Autorità per la sicurezza alimentare europea in una nota congiunta in occasione della giornata mondiale dell'alimentazione, nell'ambito della quale si svolge un seminario sugli effetti del cambiamento climatico.
Calano le precipitazioni e aumenta il fabbisogno idrico del nostro Paese. Questa situazione è decisamente allarmante e preoccupante, molto più di un fallimento bancario. Se il nord Italia, infatti, gode di una certa indipendenza idrica dall'approvvigionamento delle precipitazioni, grazie alla presenza dei ghiacciai (che ogni anno si ritirano sempre più), molte zone del centro e del sud Italia hanno già tutt'oggi seri problemi legati all'acqua. Oltre al problema delle differenze nei costi dei servizi idrici in Italia, infatti, le risorse idriche nel meridione sono scarse e distribuite in maniera non omogenea, creando seri problemi per le attività produttive e la vita stessa in queste zone per i prossimi decenni o secoli. Purtroppo, però, questo problema non è di facile soluzione e all'orizzonte non si vede nulla di buono. L'area del Mediterraneo è destinata, secondo molti, a diventare sempre più torrida. Si stima, infatti, un aumento di circa 6 gradi delle temperature medie estive in Italia tra il 2070 e il 2100, aumento che porterà a ulteriore siccità e a devastanti effetti sull'agricoltura, come la perdita di molte colture, la riduzione delle zone umide e l'acidificazione dei terreni. Tutta l'Italia sarà colpita e gli effetti si vedono già oggi, con stagioni pazze che anticipano la fioritura delle piante facendo poi subire loro delle improvvise gelate.
L'unica cosa possibile da attuare è la progressiva riduzione dei gas serra, artefici di questi stravolgimenti climatici. A mio avviso, soluzione utopica perché la volontà del mondo non è questa: il protocollo di Kyoto rimane carta straccia e se, formalmente, lo si vuole rispettare, nella realtà nulla cambia all'orizzonte e, soprattutto, nulla cambierà finché gli Stati Uniti non lo ratificheranno. Per quanto concerne l'Italia, ha ratificato il protocollo ma è in pesante ritardo su di esso. Dal 1° gennaio 2008 paga 4.111.000 € al giorno per i ritardi nel raggiungimento dei propri obiettivi. Per chi fosse interessato, cliccando qui si trovano ulteriori notizie e il dato complessivo sulla cifra accumulata come costo di ritardo.

*220 g Cherry tomatoes

*120 ml Vegetable oil

*3 tbsp Water

*2 tbsp Shallots, chopped

*2 tbsp Tomato ketchup

*2 tbsp Granulated sugar

*2 tbsp Red wine vinegar

*1 tbsp Garlic, chopped

*1 tbsp Fresh root ginger, chopped

*1 tbsp  Fish sauce

*4 tsp Cornflour

* Salt and freshly ground black pepper

* Coriander leaves - garnish

*Shredded spring onions - garnish

Method :

Dlean, rinse and discard the head of the fish, then score the skin diagonally on both sides.

Coat fish lightly on both sides with 1 tablespoon cornflour, shake off any excess.

Heat oil in a wok over medium heat and fry the fish approx. 7 - 8 minutes or until crisp and brown on both sides. Remove and set on a large platter.

Leave 2 tablespoons of the oil in the wok and add garlic, ginger and shallots and fry until golden brown Add the cherry tomatoes and cook until the burst open, then stir in the vinegar, sugar, ketchup and fish sauce.

http://www.tribune.com.ng/13102008/mon/agric.html

NCRI modernises rice production in Eastern Nigeria

By Sade Oguntola - updated: Monday 13-10-2008

The field was brownish from a distance and moving close, one may be tempted to think that it was all grass, but it turned out to be a field of rice plants ready for harvest. For members of Amakama-Olokoro community in Umuahia, the capital city of Abia State, many were astonished to see a rice field on a dry land and no swampy area close by. It was an eye opener for them because the community was used to planting rice only in wet areas. For many at the Farmers’ Field Day organised by National Cereal Research Institute (NCRI) at its Amakama sub station, it was an opportunity to see first-hand, how they can still grow rice even from their backyard to complement that produced in the swampy areas in their communities.

Dr. Anthony Ochigbo, Executive director of NCRI Badeggi, speaking to the farmers, members of the community and school children present at the rice field day said, “We are not unaware that the eastern region grows rice substantially, especially in areas like Bende and Uzuakoli, but these are mainly lowland varieties. We have gathered to showcase the performance of rice in upland ecology so that you can also have opportunity to grow upland rice, thereby make more money for yourselves.”

“We are just introducing the upland rice variety here so that they can have a higher yield by utilising both the lowland and upland varieties. The total effect in the long run is that more rice will be produced in this zone

For the agricultural research institute whose mandate crops include rice, sugarcane, soyabean, acha and castor, he said that the institute had identified upland rice varieties that can grow very well in every part of the eastern region, especially if NCRI’s improved rice production technologies can be fully adopted.

“We want you to look at the rice on the field and assess their level of performance and this will greatly improve rice cultural practices and through this event many more people will go into rice cultivation,” he declared.

Farmers’ Field Day normally is celebrated when the crop is on the field ready for harvesting so that farmers will appreciate the crop that is being introduced to them. It is a first-hand opportunity of considering such factors as the plant’s height and the yield as well as see it in the field. It affords farmers an opportunity to also ask any question and consider the possibility of planting such in their farms.

Meanwhile, Dr. Ochigbo also said that was the first time upland rice was being introduced to communities in the eastern part of Nigeria where what they usually grow is the low land rice so as to ensure they can grow rice all year round and also on every possible portion of land that is available. “So this complements what they have been producing before now and you know when we talk of food scarcity, particularly rice, more rice will be produced in this country, not only for self sufficiency but also export. This is the beauty of this field trip.”

He declared that from next year, NCRI would further introduce more rice varieties to different communities in the eastern part of Nigeria apart from the best cropping system, which will ensure they can grow rice with other crops successfully at the same time.

The mandate NCRI received to make rice production flourish in the nation, rather than continue to depend on imported rice that is no more forthcoming from Asian countries, Dr. Ochigbo, said would only be achievable when all the ecologies of the country, both lowland and upland areas, are used for rice production. He stated that especially in eastern communities of the country where access to land is a problem, utilising both the upland and lowland would ensure the maximum rice production in this zone.

Given the drudgery associated with rice processing, he said the farmers attending the Farmers’ Field Day can also avail themselves the rice processing machines the institute developed, which he said were able to produce rice that is of a higher quality than the imported ones. “The rice is fresher, tastier and the aroma is very good. It is crispy, unlike the imported ones,” he stated.

He opined that from the institute’s experience from train the trainers workshops it conducted round the six geo-political zones, milling was one of the major factors militating against high prodution rate of rice in Nigeria.

Also at the occasion, Dr. Emmanuel Maji, the head of the NCRI substation at Amakama-Olokoro, explained that the institute had been involved in developing rice seeds in collaboration with National Seed Service, for distribution to farmers at affordable costs, as part of efforts to encourage increased rice production and food sufficiency in the nation.

(continued)

* Chopped spring onions for garnishing

* 1 onion diced in big cubes

* 1 capsicum diced in big cube shape

* 250 gm chicken chopped into small pieces

* 1 egg

* 2 tsp ginger garlic paste

* Soy sauce

* White pepper powder

* Little butter and oil

* 2 or 3 cups Chicken stock

* 2 Green chillies

* ajinomoto salt

* Little sugar

Method

 Step 1 – Marinate chicken cubes with salt, 1 tsp garlic ginger paste, soy sauce, ajinomoto, white pepper, egg and 1 tbsp. cornflour. Keep aside for ½ hour and then deep fry these chicken chunks and drain on tissues tork.

 Step 2 – Deep fry the capsicum and onion cubes and leave aside.

 Step 3 – To prepare stock, add 2 cups of water (or 3 if more gravy required) and one chicken Maggie cube. Cook till the Maggie cube dissolves.

 Step 4 – Add a little oil and butter to a vessel. Fry the green chillies a little. Add 1 tsp. garlic ginger paste, then add ajinomoto, soy sauce (as required), white pepper (as per spicy taste), a pinch of sugar. Fry for two mins, then add Chicken stock. Let the stock boil, upon boiling add fried chicken chunks. Add fried capsicum and onion. Boil for two mins more. Then add 1 ½ tbsp cornflour mixed with a little water to the boiling stock. When the sauce thicken as required, remove from heat.  Garnish with chopped spring onions

http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/509701.html

Eng: Water usage up, reservoirs on decline

WAILUKU - Periodic but isolated showers on windward and mauka areas of the islands had little effect on the watersheds, Maui County Water Director Jeff Eng reported Friday. In his weekly water use report, Eng said water use was up by 620,000 gallons a day in the Central Maui and Upcountry systems, while the water sources for the Upcountry system have continued to falter. "I would like to remind our customers of our request for Upcountry customers to reduce water usage by 5 percent and our Central customers to reduce water usage by 10 percent," he said. "It's been a dry week and the Upcountry reservoirs have been steadily dropping, going from 100.6 million gallons on October 2 to 81.4 million gallons on October 10. That is less than half of the total storage capacity of 180 million gallons." The islands as a whole continue to dry out even with occasional trade-wind showers, with the Big Island suffering the worst of the abnormally dry conditions. The U.S. Drought Monitor expanded the area of North Kohala under extreme drought, increasing the area rated extreme drought from 10 percent to 12.3 percent of the islands.

Central Maui and West Molokai also are rated in extreme drought, with Upcountry rated in severe drought. Lanai and West Maui are rated in moderate drought, and most of the rest of the islands are abnormally dry. The ratings, based on rainfall, soil moisture, stream flows and related measures, are: abnormally dry, moderate drought, severe drought, extreme drought and exceptional drought.

The West Wailua Iki rain gauge in the East Maui watershed is recording significant amounts of rain, with nearly 4.5 inches measured between Oct. 1 and Saturday. But the showers have been sporadic and isolated, rather than spread across the watershed, and have had little effect on the water flows out of the watershed.

(continued)

"Check for leaks and reduce outdoor irrigation," Eng urged. "Most plants can handle one day less of watering and if they cannot, then it means they are not suited for the climate they are in. Maui Nui Botanical Gardens has a beautiful array of plants that grow best on Maui."

On the Net:

* U.S. Drought Monitor, www.drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html

Ingredient to prepare:

• 1 egg white, beaten
• 2 cups water
• 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
• 6 cups bread flour
• 5 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F)
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 tablespoons cornmeal
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Step By Step Instructions:

1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture with 2 cups water, 3 cups flour, salt, sugar and vegetable oil; stir well to combine. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
3. Divide dough half. Roll each half into a 9 x 12 rectangle and roll up jelly roll style, starting at long edge. Seal edges and place seam side down on a large baking sheet that has been sprinkled with cornmeal.
4. Use a sharp knife to slash each loaf diagonally 3 times. Brush with beaten egg white and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Cover and allow to rise 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
5. Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes, or until golden brown.

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Energy efficiency becomes the new buzzword in the houses while the total energy crisis leads prices of energy by the roof. It doesn’t matter if you are trying to sell your house or right test to allow the life in it, taking measures to improve your house energy efficiency is an investment in value research.Naturally, the purchase and the installation of the windows and the apparatuses of ideal efficiency are the first stage towards reducing these invoices of energy. The air-conditioners and the heaters exhaust electricity actively, and if they do not function well or up to the modern levels, they could be calculation of the costs you a fortune. Windows, naturally, allows heat inside and outside in the exact direction you want, thus look in isolating them or obtaining the replacements of ideal efficiency. If you already put 't know one, by seeking a good contractor of improvement of the habitat to draw up a long-term report/ratio is an good idea. Initially, you never know when you need them, and in the second place they can give you good ideas to increase the energy efficiency which you could not have thought of.

Once you have make the latter, however, it can be the hour to look at the broader sectors of your house. The walls and the roof are the greatest only sectors on your house outsides and because such are your greater sector of loss of energy. They can not pour energy out of your house like the can of windows, but with time the larger surface adds. Moreover, heat can go up well outside by your roof in winter if you have materials and the unsatisfactory insulation of roof.

The vinyl siding does not offer much energy efficiency alone. On the other hand, it offers a structure which the extremely effective insulation can be applied to. That the structure combined with the extremely good insulation is where you obtain true energy efficiency, not vinyl siding by itself.

Obtain a professional appraisal on the energy efficiency of your current roof. If your current material of roof is old or if it were installed badly, you could lose much heat by it. Metal is largely regarded as the material of roof the most ideal efficiency, but the suitable installation and the insulation are much more important than the exact material of roof than you employ. This is why it's so important to obtain a good contractor of roof which is tested with the material want you on your roof.

While it can not be worth it with you to have an installation of siding of replacement or vinyl of roof made just for energy efficiency, if you 'about having to replace it in any event you can as well go for energy efficiency. Only import, you can want that your good contractor of improvement of the habitat left and throws a glance to inform you of what is matched exactly above in your house and with your invoice of energy.

From the Washington Post:

Doubt, Anger over Brazil Dams

The waves come in threes according to my mother-in-law. Is she my muhare? Where is muhare? Abeulita? The white, foamy bubbles on top of the blue, metallic-looking water, always spreading out, like a flag on my bent flag pole.

Everything held out okay during the Colorado/Texas war in terms of the flag, but in terms of the war the folks from the Longhorn State brought the beef and slapped Colorado like the wind slapped the bright flag. That being said, the flag was fine after the war, with no rips or tears, even after McCoy's slaughter. The flag lived on in order to help the pole get bent forevermore.

--30--

You can cover the walls external of your house with vinyl siding, a flexible material. A good guard for the outside of your house can be make starting from the polyvinyl chloride which is machine to be a barrier against heat, the cold and moisture. The vinyl siding is also resistant to strong winds and inequality.

The vinyl siding is a great investment. To reside a house is among the ten principal projects of final improvement in terms of total refunding. The vinyl siding needs no maintenance. We make often do not wish ourselves to have several hours to save each day? It is a great manner of embellishing the outside of your house and you will note that the siding provides flexibility and the choice without end.

If you found that to add vinyl trimming to your house is cost prohibitory, you could plan to paint, who is much inexpensive. Does the cost in value is it the end result? They are some points to be taken into account.

If you must paint every four years, how much spend-you during the 15-20 years to come? It is reasonable to suppose that a certified work of vinyl siding would last that a long time.

How much hour of maintenance is saved when you put owe raffle, to paint, or replace the councils of decomposition? The facility of the cleaning and the siding of vinyl maintenance is as simple as pulverizing with a pipe of garden and employing a soft detergent.

The vinyl siding is durable, thus him doesn’t inequality of obtains damaged time.

You can take your selection of a set of colors, models and textures to create your clean glance and to feel.

What to seek must-you?

The one-way to check quality is to seek certification by the institute of vinyl siding. Industry is praised that a certification called standard special of VSI which makes sure the way of garage meets or exceeds conditions of presetting.

Which are your options?

The weather resistance and the impact are better if the panel is thicker. Thicker panels seem better because they will hang more right, and extend against the flatter from wall. Seek the correct size of measurement more inexpensively.040 at the higher level. Have-you heard of the habit-classified habit of vinyl siding, including one with additional expenses 48 inches?

Grains

With grains, you can obtain a more contemporary and more orthodox glance. A grained effect deadened on the colors of vinyl siding evokes a rustic feeling at the interiors of the house.

Make love you a traditional model of clapboard?
Have-you ever heard of a vinyl siding called the panel of Dutch lap? The traditional model of a beaded panel? Explore the various influences that the various profiles can give your house.

Color

You can select of a set of colors, which will be considered to be better by the siding and the vinyl end longer than painting.

He dropped her off at daycare and on his way to work, he called the doctor's to see when they could see her.  This was around 8am and they told him they had an opening at 8:15 and he said I will take it.  He turned around and went backc to the daycare, picked up Ariyana, and headed to the doctor's.  When they got there they went right into the examination room and saw the doctor.  He checked her breathing, ears, nose and throat and decided that she just had a bad cold and lots of congestion.  He said he didn't see any signs of it being pneumonia and as for the throwing up, he said it was probably a little bit of a stomach virus.  He said it wasn't contagious and she was okay to go back to daycare.  He said give her Triaminic and Little Nose nasal drops to help with the congestion, and Infant Tylenol for the fever and aching. He also said not to force her to eat but to make sure she had plenty of water, formula, and pedialyte to keep her hydrated.

She went back to daycare and was okay the rest of the day.  When I picked her up, they said she was not herself.  They said she just wanted to be held and that she slept a lot.  The doctor said she might want to sleep a lot and to let her so that was kind of good.  She was the same way when we got home, very clingy and didn't really want to play.  She did, however, go right to sleep when we put her to bed.

South Bowers Rd, Kent County, Delaware

I could swear this place wasn't marked as private property last time I was there, but I can see it's been refurbished significantly, and now there are signs. I don't think the poles that are blocking off most of the lot were there before either, but it's been a while.  Anyway, I only barely stuck my toes over the line to get these shots, and I guess I won't stop back anymore.

Went back to the local lake last night.  Caught up with not ONE heron - but TWO!  Took about 300 photos but all with a lens that is too short (Darn you short lens!  I want that 100-400mm and I want it now!!!)  I did get extremely lucky in that one of the two came very close to the edge of the pond while absorbed in a fishing expedition and that's when I managed to get this.

South Bowers, Kent County, Delaware

Arrived just before sunrise, but it never did really come out until I was on my way out. Lots of noise from town, but no one else down my way, at least not until the crabbers showed up offshore.

No idea what the mysterious sea creature was.

South Bowers, Kent County, Delaware

Arrived just before sunrise, but it never did really come out until I was on my way out. Lots of noise from town, but no one else down my way.