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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...
Genetically Modified Organism ... In 1986, field tests of bacteria genetically engineered to protect plants from frost damage (ice-minus bacteria) at a small biotechnology company called Advanced Genetic Sciences of Oakland, California, were repeatedly delayed by opponents of biotechnology. In the same year, a proposed field test of a microbe genetically engineered for a pest resistance protein by Monsanto Company was dropped...
Thin Film Solar Cell ... Thin-film solar cells are usually categorized according to the photovoltaic material used: Amorphous silicon (a-Si) and other thin-film silicon (TF-Si) Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) Copper indium gallium selenide (CIS or CIGS) Dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC) and other organic solar cells Possible combinations of Group-(XI, XIII, XVI) elements in the periodic table that yield a compound showing photovoltaic effect (Cu, Ag, Au | Al, Ga, In | S, Se, Te)...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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)...
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...
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...
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...
Organic Movement ... Organic food was initially seen as a fad observed by the eccentric few, however today it has become more widespread...
Further Reading: Farming
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)...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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)...
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...
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...