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Soil Conservation ... Decisions regarding appropriate crop rotation, cover crops, and planted windbreaks are central to the ability of surface soils to retain their integrity, both with respect to erosive forces and chemical change from nutrient depletion. Crop rotation is simply the conventional alternation of crops on a given field, so that nutrient depletion is avoided from repetitive chemical uptake/deposition of single crop growth...
Solar Cell Research ... The current industrial production of silicon is via the reaction between carbon (charcoal) and silica at a temperature around 1700 °C. In this process, known as carbothermic reduction, each tonne of silicon (metallurgical grade, about 98% pure) is produced with the emission of about 1.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide...
Organic Movement ... Organic food was initially seen as a fad observed by the eccentric few, however today it has become more widespread...
Soil Retrogression And Degradation ... At the beginning of soil formation, the bare rock out crops is gradually colonized by pioneer species (lichens and mosses). They are succeeded by herbaceous vegetation, shrubs and finally forest...
Hydrogen Economy ... Hydrogen advocates promote hydrogen as a potential fuel for motive power (including cars and boats), the energy needs of buildings and portable electronics. Free hydrogen does not occur naturally in quantity, and thus must be generated from some other energy source by steam reformation of natural gas or another method...
Organic Farming ... Organic agricultural methods are internationally regulated and legally enforced by many nations, based in large part on the standards set by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), an international umbrella organization for organic farming organizations established in 1972... IFOAM defines the overarching goal of organic farming as: "Organic agriculture is a production system that sustains the health of soils, ecosystems and people... Organic agriculture combines tradition, innovation and science to benefit the shared environment and promote fair relationships and a good quality of life for all involved." —International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements Since 1990, the market for organic products has grown from nothing, reaching $55 billion in 2009 according to Organic Monitor (www.organicmonitor.com)...
Solar Power In Israel ... With no oil reserves and the country's tenuous relations with its oil-rich neighbors, the search for a stable source of energy is a national priority. Solar technology in Israel has advanced to the point where it is almost cost-competitive with fossil fuels...
Climate Change And Agriculture ... At the same time, agriculture has been shown to produce significant effects on climate change, primarily through the production and release of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, but also by altering the Earth's land cover, which can change its ability to absorb or reflect heat and light, thus contributing to radiative forcing. Land use change such as deforestation and desertification, together with use of fossil fuels, are the major anthropogenic sources of carbon dioxide; agriculture itself is the major contributor to increasing methane and nitrous oxide concentrations in Earth's atmosphere...
Soil PH ... Below pH 4, H+ ions themselves damage root cell membranes. In soils with high content of Manganese (Mn) containing minerals, Manganese toxicity can become a problem at pH 5.6 and below...
Hydrogen Storage ... Most research into hydrogen storage is focused on storing hydrogen as a lightweight, compact energy carrier for mobile applications. Liquid hydrogen or slush hydrogen may be used, as in the Space Shuttle...
Organic Farming And Biodiversity ... Theory suggests that organic farming practices, which exclude the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, would be beneficial for biodiversity, and this has proven true... Spanning all associated species, there is an average of 30% more on organic farms versus conventional farming methods... Modern organic farm practices such as the removal of pesticides and the inclusion of animal manure, crop rotation, and multi-cultural crops provides the chance for biodiversity to thrive...
Organic Certification ... fertilizer, pesticides, antibiotics, food additives, etc.), genetically modified organisms, irradiation, and the use of biosolids; use of farmland that has been free from prohibited synthetic chemicals for a number of years (often, three or more); keeping detailed written production and sales records (audit trail); maintaining strict physical separation of organic products from non-certified products; undergoing periodic on-site inspections... In some countries, certification is overseen by the government, and commercial use of the term organic is legally restricted... Certified organic producers are also subject to the same agricultural, food safety and other government regulations that apply to non-certified producers...
Solar Cell ... Assemblies of solar cells are used to make solar modules which are used to capture energy from sunlight. When multiple modules are assembled together (such as prior to installation on a pole-mounted tracker system), the resulting integrated group of modules all oriented in one plane is referred to in the solar industry as a solar panel...
Motivations For Organic Agriculture ... Consumer surveys have consistently identified food quality as the main reason for purchasing organic food... Higher nutritional value, no toxic residues from pesticides, and better taste are often cited, as is the positive impact of organic production on the environment... Whether organic food actually delivers on these desires and beliefs is controversial and the subject of scientifically inconclusive debate...
Sustainable Energy ... Green Energy is energy that can be extracted, generated, and/or consumed without any significant negative impact to the environment. The planet has a natural capability to recover which means pollution that does not go beyond that capability can still be termed green...
Plant Breeding ... Plant breeding has been practiced for thousands of years, since near the beginning of human civilization. It is now practiced worldwide by individuals such as gardeners and farmers, or by professional plant breeders employed by organizations such as government institutions, universities, crop-specific industry associations or research centers...
Hydrogen Production ... In 2006, the United States was estimated to have a production capacity of 11 million tonnes of hydrogen. 5 million tonnes of hydrogen were consumed on-site in oil refining, and in the production of ammonia (Haber process) and methanol (reduction of carbon monoxide)...
Sustainable Agriculture ... The most important factors for an individual site are sun, air, soil and water. Of the four, water and soil quality and quantity are most amenable to human intervention through time and labour...
Organic Clothing ... Retailers charge more for organic clothing because such the material used are free from chemicals or genetically modified seeds... Benefits Authentic organic fabrics and clothing can help the environment in a number of ways, such as: Manufacture of chemicals is not required Chemical residues are not entered accidentally into the environment Humans and animals are not exposed to chemicals When the fabric is finished with chemicals are not returned to the earth in landfill, or enter into recycling process... Criticism Many highstreet retailers market organic clothing ranges that contain chemicals from the dyeing to bleaching process, which is inconsistent with the idea of Organic Clothing...
Electric Double-layer Capacitor ... A typical D-cell-sized electrolytic capacitor may have capacitance of up to tens of millifarads. The same size EDLC might reach several farads, an improvement of two orders of magnitude...
Agriculture ... The history of agriculture dates back thousands of years, and its development has been driven and defined by greatly different climates, cultures, and technologies. However, all farming generally relies on techniques to expand and maintain the lands suitable for raising domesticated species...
Organic Farming Methods ... Organic farming uses a variety of methods to improve soil fertility, including crop rotation, cover cropping, reduced tillage, and application of compost... By reducing tillage, soil is not inverted and exposed to air; less carbon is lost to the atmosphere resulting in more soil organic carbon... In contrast, organic farming tends to tolerate some pest populations while taking a longer-term approach...
History Of Organic Farming ... Consciously organic agriculture (as opposed to traditional agricultural methods from before the inorganic options existed, which always employed only organic means) began more or less simultaneously in Central Europe and India... The British botanist Sir Albert Howard is often referred to as the father of modern organic agriculture... In Germany, Rudolf Steiner's development, biodynamic agriculture, was probably the first comprehensive organic farming system...
Further Reading: Farming
Domestication ... Using companion planting and the birds' insect cuisine habits is a traditional method for biological control agent pest control in an organic garden and any landscape, and in organic farming and sustainable agriculture...
Energy Crop ... Plants domesticated primarily for aesthetic enjoyment in and around the home are usually called house plants or ornamentals, while those domesticated for large-scale food production are generally called crops. A distinction can be made between those domesticated plants that have been deliberately altered or selected for special desirable characteristics (see cultigen) and those plants that are used for human benefit, but are essentially no different from the wild populations of the species...
Wind Power In Australia ... Soil is composed of particles of broken rock that have been altered by chemical and mechanical processes that include weathering and erosion and precipitation into the form of clay. Soil is altered from its parent rock due to interactions between the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and the biosphere...
Biological Pest Control ... The development of bioenergy in China is needed to meet the rising energy demand. Several institutions are involved in this development, most notably the Asian Development Bank and China's Ministry of Agriculture...
Photovoltaics ... According to British environmentalist Norman Myers, 5% of deforestation is due to cattle ranching, 19% due to over-heavy logging, 22% due to the growing sector of palm oil plantations, and 54% due to slash-and-burn farming...
Wind Farm ... The term deforestation is often misused to describe any activity where all trees in an area are removed. However in temperate climates, the removal of all trees in an area—in conformance with sustainable forestry practices—is correctly described as regeneration harvest...
Bioenergy In China ... South Australia had close to half of the nation's wind power capacity, accounting for almost twenty percent of that state's electricity needs of as October 2010. Victoria also had a substantial system, with about a quarter of the nation's capacity, and projects under construction forecast to more than double that capacity by the end of 2013...
Electrical Energy Efficiency On United States Farms ... Installations may be ground-mounted (and sometimes integrated with farming and grazing) or built into the roof or walls of a building (building-integrated photovoltaics)...
Livestock ... History Animal-rearing has its origins in the transition of cultures to settled farming communities rather than hunter-gatherer lifestyles...
Wind Power ... Many of the largest operational onshore wind farms are located in the USA. As of November 2010, the Roscoe Wind Farm is the largest onshore wind farm in the world, with a capacity of 781.5 MW of power, followed by the Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center (735.5 MW)...
Deforestation ... Commercial energy crops are typically densely planted, high yielding crop species where the energy crops will be burnt to generate power. Woody crops such as Willow or Poplar are widely utilised, as well as temperate grasses such as Miscanthus and Pennisetum purpureum (both known as elephant grass)...
Environmental Impact Of Agriculture ... The total amount of available power from the wind is considerably more than present human power use from all sources. At the end of 2011, worldwide nameplate capacity of wind-powered generators was 238 gigawatts (GW), growing by 41 GW over the preceding year...