Showing posts with label environment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label environment. Show all posts

Australia Discovers New Way to Purify Water

||| Australia . |. |||
The UV light sterilization framework is broadly utilized to create clean water. It has issues that are not really made public. Microorganisms are killed off yet salts, petroleum byproducts, pharmaceuticals, metals and chlorine are not. The procedure uses large amounts of power, so everything stops when blackouts occur. In the event that the base water has solids the system does not function.   ||| australian Water purify way new australia on discovers photocatalyst ultraviolet |||
Ultraviolet water purification
Researchers have been attempting to discover another method for quite a while. The Australian National University Research School of Chemistry has figured out a new way. ANU conducted the study in collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the University of New South Wales, Western Sydney University, and the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation.  With the technique, toxins are disintegrated by utilizing modified titanium dioxide as a photocatalyst using daylight. The team added nitrogen and niobium ions in pairs into the titanium dioxide to improve its performance as a photocatalyst.  The process purifies wastewater faster, cheaper and more efficiently than anything currently on the market - all without the need for ultraviolet.   ||| australia water discovers way water new | |||    

Group leader Professor Yun Liu from Australian National University said that the invention was 15 times more efficient than leading commercialised products.  With innovative techniques, we can use our photocatalyst for the purification of water with natural sunlight instead of UV and dramatically reduce costs for operators.  The photocatalyst can completely decompose organic pollutants in wastewaters in 20 minutes, compared with the leading commercialised products which take one hour to decompose only 26 per cent of the same pollutants. It is an important breakthrough.  With four years of work done in this area, we now understand the schema and can rationally design catalysts.  | water australia new purify way| not. |      

The approach has an extensive range of applications: to treat water for human consumption,  glassmaking, to speed up chemical reactions, for industrial processes, in the automotive sector, self-cleaning building materials, the environment, making hydrogen fuel, medical and other sectors. It is cheaper than the current approach. Moreover, the new technique is 15 times more productive.  ANU has filed a provisional patent covering the discovery, which involves the design strategy, chemical composition and manufacturing.  |||discovers Water purify on way new discovers .|||
  titanium to dioxide national||| travel news stories || |
| | |
◆ Archeology 
Tys Outback
 
 
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
FRESH DRINK
| university ultraviolet | | photos articles news blog stories |||

GM Not for Food Okay for Health

Genetic modification is favored in health but not for food.
Convincing people to eat genetically modified food still has a long way to go to gain majority acceptance. Yet, just about everyone is in favor of using gene technology to treat health problems. This is a strange anomaly. Gene manipulation of any kind will change the world we live in. Once a change has been made and it spreads through the environment it is there forever.
The case against genetically modified crops, GMCs
Drug companies admit they have lost the war in Europe. There is no way that GM food will ever be accepted there. It is largely an emotional decision, not scientifically based. Possibly, in the near future, Europe will ban DNA experimentation in health as well. This will be counter-productive. If money is invested in nations that welcome gene science then the environment will change anyway because we all live in the same world.

There is a major problem looming, however, on the real future of genetically modified crops. To be profitable farmers must use Monsanto's Roundup. This is losing its effectiveness, particularly in Western Australia which has recently relaxed laws restricting GMCs. The cart isn't much use without the horse.  Even crops modified to be resistant against glyphosate could become weeds in the future.  Unless a new effective herbicide is developed soon the industry will not attract investors - potential profit drives everything.
 Gemetics by Ty Buchanan 
 Australian Blog
            Australian Blog   Adventure Australia
ALL BLOG ARTICLES· ──► (BLOG HOME PAGE)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
GM MAYBE
genetically, modified, food, crops, health, dna, genes, environment, manipulation, europe, drug, companies, gm, gmc, articles news politics economics society anthropology historiography history sociology people nations country asia europe africa u.s. south america central Mediterranean eastern western interesting funny technology adventure australia blog australian blog free news sex end

First-NIght-Effect Means Little Sleep at New Hotel

SAnthropology: we have evolved to be on guard on the first night when sleeping in a new place.
Man is still a hunter. We may live in cities and believe we are advanced but our genes have evolved to survive in the wild outdoors beneath the starlit night sky. If we move into a new environment getting a good night's sleep on the first night is a problem. Our brain is "on-guard" against unknown dangers.
Primitive man sleeps
This phenomenon is in all animals. One hemisphere of the brain will sleep while the other remains on sentry duty. This "first-night-effect" is permanent. There is no cure because it isn't an illness. After the first night the brain adapts, records the new environment and deems it to be safe.

Tests show that the left hemisphere sleeps lighter in a new situation. Slow-wave activity is weaker than the right hemisphere. Furthermore, the default-mode network which involves mind wandering is more active. This indicates that the brain is checking the environment. Sleeping test subjects were played some normal and some unusual sounds. The left hemisphere became even more alert when it heard unusual sounds or even loud sounds. After the first night the brain became "normalized" then no such activity was observed.
 Anthropolgy by Ty Buchanan 
 Australian Blog
            Australian Blog   Adventure Australia
ALL BLOG ARTICLES· ──► (BLOG HOME PAGE)

man, hunter, genes, evolved, first, night, effect, sleep, hemispheres, default, mode, environment, left, right, brain, articles news politics economics society anthropology historiography history sociology people nations country asia europe africa u.s. south america central Mediterranean eastern western interesting funny technology adventure australia blog australian blog free news sex

Objections are Strong Against Carmichael Coalmine in Queensland

Conservation has always been ideologically polarized in Australia. There are those who seem to want to stop all development to prevent any deleterious change and those who want to rape the environment in search of the holy dollar - and ne'er the twain shall meet! With the Greens now gaining a handful of seats in the Senate they have voting power beyond their number. All shades of national government will have to compromise. Even state governments are not free of the Green "scourge", as they see it.
Adani coal mine mining
There is an issue with a planned coalmine in Queensland, the Carmichael mine near Bowen. Former premier Campbell Newman was fully supportive of the development and showed an intention to introduce new legislation to achieve it. This has changed. Labor is not so enamored with new projects at any cost. This is the case even though the Greens do not have the balance of power in the Queensland parliament.

Like medication you get from your doctor - there are always side effects. The natural environment will certainly be damaged in some way by a new mine. Objectors say the black-throated finch which is already threatened will be wiped out. Even the Waxy Cabbage Palm could be decimated. The evergreen problem of changes in water flow means that Doongmabulla Springs will probably dry up.

Claims by the investor Adani that a 30,999ha site will be set aside for the bird are not based on solid theory. The birds have access to that area already. And land used in the development will be taken away. Black-throated finch prefer their home ground and have never been known to travel to new areas. Raving about economic benefits will not change the views of ardent greens.
Economics by Ty Buchanan
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
            Australian Blog   Adventure Australia
ALL BLOG ARTICLES· ──► (BLOG HOME PAGE)

Maremma Dogs to Look After Bandicoots

The Maremma Sheepdog guards sheep in Italy. Dogs are intelligent and are trained for many things. They are now being trained to protect the endangered eastern barred bandicoot. Whoever came up with the idea should be given an award. In hindsight it would be seen as obvious, but it was smart thinking.

Maremma dogs will be selected for the specific job. The bandicoot will be released into the wild with the dogs. Protected release locations will be closely monitored. Their welfare is important: there are no eastern barred bandicoots currently living free.

Landowners will be asked to feed the dogs. This will reduce funding requirements. The bandcoots will be given freedom to live as naturally as they can - living alongside a dog. Ironically, the animals that kill bandicoots are imports from Europe like the wolf and feral cat.

As well as training the dogs to look after the bandicoot, they have to be taught not to hunt natural wildlife themselves. It is easy for dogs to turn wild if left alone. Australia has already had success with teaching dogs to protect penguins on Middle Island, Warnambool. No doubt the enterprise will work.
Environment by Ty Buchanan
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
     Australian Blog                         
ALL BLOG ARTICLES· ──► (BLOG HOME PAGE)

Protecting Children From the Environment Causes Disease in Old Age

When is human advancement and achievement not necessarily so? When improvement leads to deleterious side effects. There are theories that protection of children from the environment by medication and physical intervention causes such things as hay fever and autism. These are only theories and not proven.

Another issue is the massive intake of carbohydrates humans have taken into their bodies over the last ten thousand years. We have not evolved to digest the diet. For most of our evolution we lived on meat and fruit with tubers in small amounts.  Societies have changed a great deal.

There are now strong indications that Alzheimer's disease (AD) is caused by people keeping the environment too clean when children are toddling around. "Good" bacteria and viruses do not get into our bodies. It should be noted that the rate of Alzheimer's is rising only in wealthy nations. Lack of microbes could also be increasing strokes.

This seems to be an insurmountable problem. Do we let children catch diseases some of which can be deadly and crippling, or do we continue along our present path? Even providing clean drinking water reduces exposure to microorganisms. Perhaps science can develop ways of injecting the required T-cells into people. It is becoming an epidemic. The number of AD sufferers will treble by the year 2050. Some estimates put the rate higher.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Health by Ty Buchanan
     Australian Blog                         
ALL BLOG ARTICLES· ──► (BLOG HOME PAGE)

Bad Weather From Climate Change Becoming Accepted

It seems the first signs of general acceptance of extreme weather from climate change are forming. Some scientists are openly declaring that change in weather patterns will be permanent or worsen as climate change takes hold. This past year has been one of the wettest on record in eastern Australia. This is blamed on damage to the environment by human activity.

Change is regional with heavy rains in Europe, east Asia and Oceania. The US and Africa were very dry. Greenhouse gasses caused a warming of oceans. This put more moisture into the atmosphere to fall as rain in the large land masses of Europe, Asia and Oceania. A downpour occurred in New Zealand that was a once in 500 years event.

Just  why the US remains dry is a problem. It should have received more rain, but weather patterns tends to vary around the world due a balancing effect in humidity. Hurricane Sandy indicates the probable future damage from extreme weather due to climate change. Rising sea levels increases destruction. Such events affects people for the rest of their lives.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Climate by Ty Buchanan
     Australian Blog                         
ALL BLOG ARTICLES· ──► (BLOG HOME PAGE)
Share Article

No-Car Future Is the Only Sustainable Option

The National Sustainability Council presented its long awaited report called the Sustainable Australia 2013: Conversations with the Future. This is the first of a series of biennial papers to advise the government about the state of the economy vis-a-vis the environment.

Full of optimism, the newly founded council said the future looked bright if we changed to building sustainable communities. However, the type of community needed is far more radical than envisaged by the council. Despite Australia having many of the most livable cities in the world we need to start planning immediately for the kind of balanced society of the future.

Oil will not be around forever and coal is too polluting to be used at such high rates. This means individuals driving around in five seater cars will not be possible. Electricity use is skyrocketing with Internet cloud servers and hungry mobiles gobbling up tonnes of coal and oil in power stations. Future cities will have to be designed with houses laid out in a manner that allows public transport to easily be used to get to work. Little is said about this now, but it will be in the future.

Somehow workers will have to be able to get from side roads to main roads where buses or vehicles on rails can travel. This will involve many more stops than at present and it will take longer to get to places of employment. We could see the return of bicycles or low-powered slow speed electric vehicles.

A place without car ownership will be an odd place to people of the current era. Nonetheless, it will have to happen eventually. Modern cities are car dependent. If an economic crisis stops the flow of oil these cities will die.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
History
Australian Blog                         
ALL BLOG ARTICLES· ──► (BLOG HOME PAGE)

The Impact of Peak Oil

It seems that we have pushed the peak oil period further forward by obtaining coal seam gas from just about everywhere we look. Fracking does damage the environment and the current freedom for the gas companies could be curtailed.

When peak oil is reached the impact on Australia's rural areas will be significant. Supplies of oil will fall and prices for the scarce commodity will rise. Farmers use advanced machinery to sow, plant and harvest food crops. If governments set priorities then agriculture will have to be given precedence over private use. Transport will be next in line.

There are two aspects of transport. Movement of food is very important, but as people will not be able to freely use their cars they will opt for public transport to get to their places of employment.

People will have to live with limited mobility as they did in the days of the horse and buggy. A day out will be a luxury. Economies will go into recession as trade slows down. Perhaps people will turn to other sources of energy like wood. This will not be sustainable. Stricter and clearer laws will be needed to control activities. Rationing will not be a choice. It will be absolutely necessary.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Society
Australian Blog                        

Lead Remains High in the Blood of Children

Despite changes in the supply of motor fuel, i.e., the move toward unleaded petrol, high levels of lead in the blood of children is still an issue. In the northern hemisphere there are seasonal fluctuations in levels of lead.

Though the general amount of lead present in the environment has fallen, it remains significantly high in the blood of children. Much of the lead released decades ago is still there. The polluted fine particles are swept up into the air in the warmer months of July, August and September. This is the time when children are outside playing their sports.

Money would be better spent on "fixing" the suspended lead rather than reducing content in products we use. Finding a way to "lock-in" the lead particles would end the damage to future generations of people. Once lead reaches a high level in the blood it is extremely difficult to reduce. Damage to the brain and nervous system is permanent.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Health
Australian Blog                        

The Demise of Species Will Have to be Prioritized

Not much can be done about saving endangered species when the great majority of people "don't give a damn". Like global warming many just do not want to hear the truth. Money is not forthcoming for conservation. Stopping animals from going extinct is only being done on a piecemeal basis. We have to choose what to save.

This really means that the blame for the loss of some animals lies solely with Mankind. Just who is to decide the fate of creatures is not yet known. It will have to be bodies that receive funding for such purposes. They are probably doing the selection process as we speak. If what is to be saved and what is to be lost was publicly known there would probably be an outcry - everyone has their favorites.

More funding is the answer of course. Whether times be good or bad giving money for conservation has never been popular. Other things seem more important. It is really inevitable that prioritizing what goes extinct will occur. The global warming issue shows that people only care about their present welfare. Environmental damage continues.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Conservation
TwitThis

Plastic Resin Pellets Pollute Western Australian Beaches

Western Australian beaches are in the throws of an ecological disaster. Tiny pellets of plastic resin are in the environment which absorb industrial chemicals particularly pesticides. The pellets are a bi-product of plastic drink bottle manufacturing.

There is real danger that Bisphenol A will create estrogen leading to infertility. Bisphenol A was first found in plastic in the 1950s. Such plastic is now found everywhere. It is not known how or even if marine animals consume the plastic. Other chemicals, many estrogenic, are put into bottle plastic for flexibility, color and other properties. The chemicals are not fully absorbed in the plastic, so they migrate to the surface and escape. It was established several years ago that PCBs, DDT and HCH chemicals. all hormone disruptors. were in plastic resin pellets.

Australia is playing a "waiting game", watching to see what other countries do in regard to these pellets. Many people are not worrying because the pellets blend into the sand being small and a similar color. Stopping production in Australia will not do any good: many pellets drift here from other countries.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Science

Cat Danger

"Aren't you afraid I might fall down that crack?"


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Funny Animal Photos

Potential Future Disaster From Nanotechnology

There is danger from future widespread use of nanotechnology. It is seen as the new savior to save the world from food shortages and so on. But like bio-fuel production it could do more harm than good. CSIRO is calling for more study of nanotechnology. This is despite the fact that no country has yet examined safety issues involved with it.

Nanotechnology creates "micro-fine" products that have no safe disposal system. If they get into the environment there is not telling what damage they could do.

Risks are seemingly endless: use by terrorists; environmental damage; self-reproduction (goo everywhere); even the future of Mankind on this planet could be under threat.

Once a material has been modified or a new nano-product created it becomes a permanent structure. It must be chemically altered to make it safe. A nano-substance is not inert. It will act on the environment if it can. At the moment there are no restrictions. Developers can do what they wish. Let's hope regulations are put in train before a disaster occurs.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Science