Renewable Energy

The world has it's ups and downs, and at this time, there is change, change a long time coming, in the air. We are realising that, without the help of volcanoes, we have had the insidious greenhouse gases equivalent to many volcanoes, of thousands of chimney stacks and millions of exhaust pipes slowly poisoning the air. With the joyless toil (and bad backs and deaths) of the lower socio-ecomonic classes, we have been eating up the coal and oil, created by the lives and deaths of mostly microscopic creatures in ages past, and spewing forth the carbon and other elements, they stored there for millennia loose into the atmosphere. The filthy air has been making children sick, acidifying our oceans, which is easy to ignore for some, but it is slowly blanketing our thin atmosphere in gases that have ultimately a greenhouse effect (letting the heat in, but not out). Soot from Asia (we ALL have this dirt on our hands) is covering the Arctic, exacerbating the melting of the ice there. These are effects that are at first invisible to the eye, especially if you live in an urban environment, which most do. The child down the road has asthma, the summer is unusually hot, the spring rains came late, the evenings cloud formations change their path and shape, the farmers complain about the floods, or drought. Politicians bicker about water supply. And then fire or water consumes your neighbourhood.

We all know that change is coming, but what kind of change? It could be a disaster of blithering, as the pressure cooker slowly spoils the food, or we could plan for the long term, longer then a term in a political office, because we are all sharing the future, or our children will be, or we could re-incarnate in the mess we made this time round, if that is your view. If not, God loves what They created, and helps those who help themselves, and I won't want to explain why everything They made is dead or dying. Something about birds of the field and lillies of the valley. Anyway, who wants to live in sooty air, dirty oceans and rivers, with a bunch of sick farm animals and cold concrete and pipes for comfort? Plastic fantastic (credit cards) can't help you there, and is the cause of the current financial problems of the world. Band-aid solutions are wearing thin.

Or the change could be great, in a better way. If the population is willing, and the vast majority really are, we could mosh in together and save ourselves from, well, ourselves. Carbon trading is a buzz word when it comes to greenhouse gases, and although there are other fairly dire pollution problems, it is a great way to bring back life to our party exhausted planet (the "it" crowd of previous periods has had it's fun). There are risks in this change, but the Chinese define risk as "a dangerous opportunity". In the huge changes, healthy ones, that this entails, upheavals will happen. Upheavals will happen anyway, they already are, but they have been coming in distressing forms. In establishing new healthier ways to do our business, jobs will be lost, but many more will be created. Jobs you can love and be proud of for the right reasons. Also, with all that is coming, it will be all hands on deck. Many countries will be hard up for manpower! If you doubt this, or are looking for work (since the debt based global financial crisis), plug "Renewable Energy Jobs" into the Internet. Plenty of work there, and it is only the beginning! Anyway, enough preaching, let's look at one of the areas of solution, Renewable Energy. Coal is out (unless they can eventually get a satisfactory pollution-free method working), and nuclear is a dangerous joke. There is plenty of energy everywhere in the world (and cosmos), in a raw and active form, not just as a potential (as in matter). The ocean roars with it, the sun powers life into it, the air and water shapes entire continents with it, cosmic rays (gamma for instance) penetrate right through planets, dark matter changes the paths of galaxies. There is so much power, even in thought. It is very easy to tap into without trying too hard, or changing anything much. You just have to go with what it is doing, and could not stop doing, anyway. I have rated them out of five for potential I my humble (ha!) opinion.

Wind Power is already being established in many countries, proving to be an efficient provider of power. I personally think it should be put on everything mechanical that moves at high sped for increased efficiency, as well as being land bound. I think they look very futuristic and inspiring, like beacons of hope. It is greatly favoured, because it is very clean, and is easy to meter. I wonder if there is a way to get the blades to turn into the wind from whatever direction it blows, turning itself naturally, like pressure that lifts an aeroplane wing. A suggestion for research. *****

Water Power is presented in several forms, old and new. Firstly, ocean technology let's explore ocean technology.

Wave Power is one path being experimented with, which is currently using floating devices being pushed and pulled to and from the other by the waves. I think it has a way to go, and maybe thinking inside the box may help, or simply turning it inside out! *** (extra star for originality)

Osmotic Power, which uses the flow of salt from a high salt solutions (ocean) to low salt solutions (river mouths) in an estuary type situation as a method of creating power. I think desalination plants may be more interested in developing this technology. There is another "out there" (love them!) field of research called vortex power which I didn't understand. ***

Tidal Power is being researched that uses the ebb and flow of tides, channelled, for generating power in the usual hydroelectric way. Maybe they can use technology from the wave power research. ****

Ocean Thermal Power uses the flow of warm water flowing into cold water and visa versa to harness power. I think it would have be fairly mobile and be capable of catering to seasonal and el Nino etc cyclic change, but I may have not understood clearly enough. ****

Marine Current Power is where the currents of the ocean are harnessed for power. This would work well around the Cape of Good Hope of South Africa, the Bass Straight of Australia or any other channelled consistent areas of current. ****

Then there is the more traditional river hydroelectric power.

Damless Hydroelectric power consists of simply harnessing the power of fast flowing rivers, like a water mill used to. A great method, that works with what nature is doing anyway, without interfering too much. *****

Micro Hydroelectrics are used in small amounts all over the world already. All together they produce quite a bit of power. *****

Large Dam Hydroelectric Power is an old traditional that needs little explanation. However, regular flushing and byways for spawning fish to travel is a lesson we have learnt and need to accommodate. Fish such as salmon that go from ocean to river take nutrients back into the land by being eaten or otherwise dying, returning the minerals and proteins back to the land. Damless systems are preferable, because it goes with the flow better. **

Splitting Water Molecules for burning is where they are researching splitting the hydrogen element from the oxygen (in H2O, splitting the H2 from the O), both which are combustible (you can burn hydrogen and oxygen). Then, when you have burnt them for energy, they can be recombined as water. It is a tricky thing to want to do, as well as ironic (burning water), and it would have to be clean. Apparently there are already vehicles that run on water, of methods unknown to me (one case is rumoured to be in California), but the inventors have been quieted for now because of the difficulty in metering the fuel for profit. Or so the gist goes. ***

Solar Power is being used and experimented with in various forms as well. I might add that you could use combinations of things, not necessarily "solar" separately from "water" or "air". These factors all effect each other in nature, so combining their effects in energy tapping is an area that could be explored more. Using them together but separately is fine as well (let's say wind and solar farms), but there is greater scope (what about solar winds?!)!

Solar Cells are well known and being established in a lot of different forms. They are in deserts, on roofs, and even on vehicles. A new battery has been designed that charges very fast, so storage of energy could be a problem solved. ****

Concentrating Solar Power, like a magnifying glass or satellite disk is being used to. That way the energy is condensed and amplified. Maybe it can be used in conjunction with other methods. ***

Solar Updraft Towers uses the flow of heat from the sun and the way it rises (like when you see heat rising off the ground on a hot day) to create energy.*****

Hydrogen Generation uses solar panels and rust (very cheap, stable and accessible) to split water molecules to utilise to hydrogen. Other methods like electrolysis are more difficult and expensive. Other methods split it out of gas, which create greenhouse gases. If it has safe bi-products this will be great. ***

Solar Thermal Panels heat panels and then send the heat up through a chamber thus creating power. It is sort of like a mini solar updraft tower. ****

Passive solar building design uses architecture to make the building cool in the heat and warm in the cold. Termite nests have inspired east/west placement and air flow for temperature maintenance. Using vines and trees to shade in the summer and let the sun in in the winter (by dropping their leaves) is another technique. Insulation is another. *****

Solar Ovens are wonderful things that use the sun in concentration to cook food. They look like a space aged barbecue, and are popular amongst the futuristic and the developing world alike. It is fun and it uses absolutely no fuel. *****

Solar Air Conditioning uses the energy from hot days to cool air in the air conditioning. The hotter the day, the more energy there is to cool the office/house/school whatever. Very savvy! *****

Solar hot water systems can be installed to create hot water for the home. Also you can use solar water heating on camping trips and other temporary situations.*****

Biofuel is another area of research. This includes ethanol (pure alcohol), biodiesel and bagasse (sugar cane left overs).

Liquid Biofuel includes ethanol. There is research into butanol, which is worrying as it is highly combustible in the explosive sense (it is close to lighter fuel). The other is to use animal fat (lipids) and vegetable oils. I'm not sure it is ethical to use food to travel when others are hungry. Also the biofuel may originally just use offcuts and wastes, but demand may outstrip supply leading to further decimation of living biomass, which we do not need in reducing greenhouse. It's only "asset" is it is easily metered. *

Solid Biomass and Biogas includes wood fuel which produces less sulphur then coal. However, using wood means less trees and more CO2. The other idea is using manure and other organic bio"waste" to create methane as it decomposes for fuel. The remaining byproduct of decomposed organic material can be used as fertilisers, therefore returning the nutrients and energy to the earth. It is an excellent idea that solves several problems at the same time. China has these methane generators established already on farms. *****

Another area being explored is the heat in the earth's core.

Geothermal Power puts a pipe into a thinner layer of the Earth's crust into the warmer rocks underneath. Water is poured down and heated, creating steam for power. *****

There is a Magnetic Power Generator available which uses magnetic attraction/repulsion to spin a turbine, creating free energy absolutely without any fuel.*****

If you are interested in Magnetic Power Generators or any of the other products, look up www.energy.sourceguide.com for information and products.

Maybe turbines can be put in drains? Or on windy building tops? Or use the down draft of cold wind from icy mountain tops (after all, glaciers move tonnes of rock). There is massive energy everywhere in the world, all it needs is creativity, nouse and respect and we can tap into it!

Selenium

Selenium is a trace mineral that, in it's organic form, is stored by the body. When it bonds with some proteins, it forms selenoproteins, which are antioxidant enzymes, and regulate thyroid activity and effect the immune system.
Selenium is best absorbed in it's organic form, which is acquired in plants and animals, but it depends on the selenium levels found in the soil. Selenmethionine is stored in muscles and tissues. It stimulates the immune system, helpful in the fight against cancer and arthritis, reduces aging, reduces cardio-vascular disease, strokes and heart attacks, lowers blood clotting, increases elasticity of skin, is an aphrodisiac, helps fertility, reduces tobacco damage, and when applied topically has antibacterial and antifungul effects so is good for dandruff and age spots as well. These are the claims anyway.
A deficiency can lead to heart disease, weakened immune system, hypothyroidism, cataracts, muscular dystrophy, retarded growth, liver problems, infertility, some forms of cancer, Kashin-Beck disease, Keshan disease, Myxedematous Endemic Cretinism. A deficiency often does not cause disease, it just makes one more susceptible. Severe gastro-intestinal problems (such as Crohn's disease) depletes all nutritional absorption, and being on total parenatal nutrition (TPN), that is being fed only by a drip, can reduce selenium if not properly distributed. High levels of selenium leads to selenosis, which has the symptoms of gastro-intestinal upsets, blotchy white nails, hair loss, "garlic breath", irritability, fatigue, and nerve damage.
It is found in brazil nuts (has a high level), tuna, beef, cod, turkey, chicken, pasta, egg, cottage cheese, oatmeal, rice, wholegrains, walnuts, and cheese. Corn, wheat and soyabeans have selenomethionine.

Vitamin B4

Vitamin B4 is believed to be water soluble, which is not exactly completely proven yet, but as all the other B vitamins are, it probably is. It is a pre-cursor for other B vitamins to work. It is called, in it's pure form, adenine. In it's two purine bases of nucleotides it forms nucleic acids in RNA and DNA. Adenine binds to thymine (T) to stabilise DNA. Adenine binds to uracil (U) in RNA. Forms adenosine, and the three phosphates added to create ATP (energy). It is given intravenously to identify heart rhythm and to cure or sedate suprasventricular tachycardia (SVT). It used as a secondary messenger in hormonal stimuli. It helps alleviate fatigue, increases antibodies, helps cell formation/growth, prevents cell mutation, balances blood sugar, increases time of the intestinal tract. It is good for the alimentary canal, blood, brain, eyes, gallbladder, adrenal glands, hair, heart, immune system, joints, lungs, muscles, reproductive organs, and gums.
A deficiency leads to a weakened immune, more infections, allergies, dizziness, fatigue, anemia, depression (mental and physical), insulin sensitivies, hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), muscle weakness, gastro-intestinal problems, nausea, constipation, blood and skin problems, and stunted growth.
It is blocked or damaged by most medications, fungicides, herbicides, pesticides, chemical fertilisers, processed foods, refined sugar, artificial sweeteners, overcooking, polluted air, chocolate coffee tea (caffeine), soft drinks and alcohol.
It is found in most fruits and vegetables, propolis, royal jelly, bee pollen, raw honey, whole grain, brewer's yeast, all complex carbohydrates. It is found in various herbs, being blessed thistle, blue cohosh, burdock, capsicum, caraway, cascara sagrada, catnip, cloves, couch grass, ginger, golden seal, hawthorn, hops, jojoba, kelp, lady's slipper, mullein, rosehip, sage, sarsaparilla, spearmint, strawberry, thyme, and yucca.

Teaching Maths to Artistic Children

Maths is about logic and the left brain, and art is about intuition and the right brain, and have little in common, with little to offer the other, right? Sort of, no. Maths is taught often by rote, with dry explanations and repeated exercises. For busy, big picture minds, it can be very boring when presented that way. Especially if they ask questions about the important stuff. Or are hyper logical! Albert Einstein nearly got removed from school for being retarded, when it was probably the people around him that were slow off the mark. There was little wrong with his (now preserved) mind, just the small view of the educators and his childhood peers. In relation to art, Einstein has been known to say generally "Imagination is more important then knowledge".
For artistically inclined children, their first loves lie generally in 4 areas. Art, music, drama and writing. There is a way to help each type of mind "get" maths.
For writers, those students that excel in language skills, it is very simple. Maths IS a language, a very pure and universal language. Any logical idea can be expressed with little room for error in the clearest of ways. You have an infinite amount of "letters", with fixed values. If you look at page of times tables or addition in logical order, you can see a plane of pure language like a blank page with all the keys to express logical ideas. The rules of mathematics are grammar in pure logic, theoretical and scientific knowledge. If you do a sum or formula, you are expressing a word or sentence, that expresses an idea. Algebra is simply extending this understanding that all mathematicians have.
Musical children like sound. Music is a very mathematical art form, for all of it's emotiveness. If you explain that each number is a quantity, like a sound. 1 might be compared to a high sound, like top C, and ten is a low sound, like concert A. Zero is no sound at all. It is the pauses that make the music, as much as the notes. Showing them the times tables list as a smorgasbord of aural possibility is a great way to gain their understanding. Vibrational rates of sound works well in differentiating quantities. Also for understanding how quantities "cancel out" or "multiply" one another. Sine waves are an excellent teaching aide, and so is the concept of time, both which relate to music and maths. Electronic music is a great tool as well, as it is full of formulas. Using actual sound to get the idea across will implant the idea emotionally in their mind. Also, echoes, resolution and sound space is a great way to teach geometry.
Artists relate to colour, shape and form. If you show the times tables again, only relating it to a complex spectrum of colour, to be used like a palate, they will be delighted at the prospect of maths. Shape and form are good for geometry. Light and colour are great for understanding vibrations and sine waves. For example. if you compare "cool" colours to those in negative numbers and "warm" colours to those in positive numbers, the child will picture it in a emotion evoking way. Mixing colours is an idea that might help them understand the rules of maths, as in some colours mix well, some clash (not a "bad" thing, just undesirable), and some cancel others out.
For children who are socially orientated, relate it to people, and what effect it has on them. Shape and form relate to fashion, the body, and how things look. Hair, make up, etc lends itself well to maths, as in what hair length/colour is what amount (and what is says about who) or whatever fashion of the day lends itself to whatever concept. Also, you have to be precise when mixing chemicals for fashion, or it can go horribly wrong, as any beauty school student can tell you! Maths is like a secret language that "little kids" (and often parents) don't get, so it cliques. If you compare numbers to people, like 1 is a person, 2 is a couple, 3 is best friends, 4 is a pair of couples, 9 is a "magic" or "powerful" group which is very balanced, etc. Groups (pairs, parties or gangs and individuals) make basic maths easy, and is transferred easily to algebra (the letters are "names" for groups, gangs or person in the popularity competition). Also, you can relate it well to the big picture of both the greater society and maths, areas they need to expand their understanding in. After all, Einstein had bad hair, but we remember him still.
Children who are interested in the dramatic arts, they are visual, social, aural and tactile. You can borrow ideas from all these areas. They are either highly observational, or need to extend their observational ability to realise their starry eyed dreams. They need to be informed that methodical observation is necessary to becoming highly observable as an actor or director or camera operator. This lends itself easily to maths, in the effects of light, cause and effect, angling, heights, distances, sounds, shapes, etc.
Here's an idea for physical or tactile children. If the child enjoys sport, relate the mathematics to sport. Scores, positioning, and angles all relate well. If the child is highly environmentally aware, relate it to their area of interest. Physically showing them what you mean (bouncing the ball, or better, getting them to, or physically counting the leaves and petals) really will implant the idea emotionally in their mind.
For big picture children which despair at detail and often are leaders, giving them the task of solving a large project is a great way to interest these self starters. If they can't see why the are doing it, they lose interest. Tell them they will be designing a windmill or something grown up, complex and futuristic sounding BEFORE you give them the skills (you could even get them to individually choose what problem they would like to solve, whether it's sports, art, social, visionary or whatever). Then, as you teach the skills used in maths, they will have a grand idea to relate it back to, keeping their emotional interest involved. This is good for all kinds of children, artistic, leader, social, or physical. The main thing is to get them to grasp the "big picture" of what maths is (a pure, accurate language) and maintain there interest by relating to their, often lifelong, personal emotive interests. Well, those are my musings on mathematical teaching.

One liners

If you are addicted to something, which you need to keep supplying, you are probably needing something else.

When you are young, or not so young, romantic love is often a ruse for what the real problem is.

U.N. Peace Keeping Armed Forces

In the current world climate, globally we have two problems created and compounded by an every increasing and consuming population of humanity. One is climate change, and the other is resource related wars. This leads to mass displacement, acts violating human rights, species loss, and general mayhem and tragic anarchy. Famine, war, weather extremes and disease are natural checks and balances for the problem, but they are harsh and tragic for all involved, and the innocent (such as other species) are rarely unaffected. Education, cultural evolution (which human rights helps with) and technology (using our brains) are a far less painful way to counteract the potential disasters. Here is an idea to counteract the devastating effects of over-population and resource issues.
The United Nations were formed as a global co-operative after World War II to promote peace between nations and to prevent further man-made disasters such as humungus wars. In many ways it has been effective, as we have not had a major war since. However, there has been many, many more wars of a smaller range, of which the U.N. will attempt to tone down with diplomacy, condemnation and, after the war, international war crimes trials. However, when the heat is on BEFORE the atrocities, the diplomats often have to flee. Many a diplomat or world leader has realised that the U.N. really does need more teeth. It can bark, but it has very little bite. It is an ideal with heart and mind, but has a very light body.
If the armed forces of each and every country donated 1% of there troops, time, money and equipment to the U.N. purely for peace-keeping and natural disaster relief exercises, the U.N. would certainly have a bit more clout. Expecting America to be "the policemen of the world" is a white elephant of dangerous proportions. It tempts the power hungry into a path that is damaging for all. However, there would have to be a system to prevent such a large armed force designed purely for peacekeeping and relief work from being used for less honourable purposes. Firstly, there would be unilateral voting involving all nations of the U.N., with unchangeable laws in that fair system (no nation having a greater vote then another), and also, a right for any nation to remove their troops if they see an exercise to be unfit. So if a dictator attempts to take over the U.N.'s armed forces, the majority could remove their forces and regroup once they have been subdued.
This will free up other U.N. resources for the purposes of education, developing cultural growth, and technological advancement for the greater health and well being of the global citizens, including helping the natural resources be managed responsibly, and helping humanity reach it's greater potential.

Natural Remedies For Reducing Methane In Livestock

One of the big produces of methane (a greenhouse gas) is the livestock industries (farm animals). Cows, sheep, goats, pigs etc, produce gas through their digestive system. Here's an idea, although it would only help partially.
Peppermint, or even the weed like mint, is a well known herb for helping digestion and easing stomach gas and cramps. If you gave livestock peppermint or mint (very easy and cheap to grow) in their feed, maybe it could reduce gases. It would also reduce the incidence of bloating, bloating related vet bills, and help make a healthier animal.
You could grow peppermint, or mint, in the field, or add it to hay or grain feed, or feed it to them separately. In the wild, the animals ancestors of modern livestock had access to a lot of different plants. They would graze on a variety of wild, naturally formed grasses, and herbs, and nibble on bushes. Their diets were rarely a monotone of exactly the same plant day in and day out. Near rivers there were rices, on the plains were all kinds of grain grasses. Near forests or in heathers, marshes and plains were herbs and scrub which added to there diet's variety. I would almost guarantee that they ate certain things deliberately for certain conditions. Peppermint would almost certainly be one of those plants.
Observing their wild counterparts in a natural native environment to see what they do to ease certain health problems could lead to all sorts of possible natural cures for livestock health issues. If they nibble on certain bushes or herbs or vines for certain conditions, like stomach pain, gestation, wounds or whatever, growing the plants in paddocks (as ground cover or hedgerow) saves a lot of time and monitoring. You do not have to give the animal the cure, it just takes it as needed. Then, if further help is needed, the animal is observed, like a pet cat eating grass. Nurseries could benefit financially from selling the plants and farmers could save a lot of time and effort after the initial start up, and time and effort is money and health. Some plants grown as trees and bushes in hedges or as herbs could be extended as well as a cash crop.
Sheep and other animals that tend to chew cud, there is a lot of greenhouse gas burped up. In their stomachs and intestines there is a conglomerate of all kinds of interesting bacterias in a mini ecosystem of their own, hopefully balanced for the comfort and health of the animal. Here is another idea. With a little research, a (or a few) good bacteria for these animals, that produce less methane or bad gases, can be isolated, developed and grown for commercial reasons. Like pro-biotics. Then, the bacteria can be fed to the animals, the logical time being when they are lambs or at the milk feeding age. Current systems of economy that sell preventative medicines for livestock could benefit from it financially.
An interesting fact, incidentally, is that herbivores stand facing north while they are grazing. If you are lost in the country and need to know where north is, just look which way the grazers are pointing. That's north. It is a bit mysterious but probably has a very reasonable explanation to why. The how is probably magnetic. Maybe it has something to do with the sun or predators (of the past).

Glossary
Cud - grazing animals who have more then one stomach vomit up food from one stomach, chew it again, and then pass it into it's next stomach.
Herbivores - animals that eat plants only.
Pro-biotics - good bacteria eaten for their beneficial effects on the digestion, like yogurt.