[Biofuel] The top-down global response to bird flu
http://www.grain.org/articles/?id=12 GRAIN | "Against the grain" | 2006 | The top-down global response to bird flu GRAIN | April 2006 "We live in poverty, without any basic facilities and no one coming to enquire about our problems. All of a sudden all the television crew, media persons and doctors wearing surgical masks are roaming our dirt roads to collect more statistics. Our chickens were our only source of income and now they have destroyed even that. Is this what is called governance?" -- Ganesh Sonar, small farmer, Navapur, Maharashtra, India1 [READ "Fowl play: The poultry industry's central role in the bird flu crisis" by GRAIN, February 2006] [We have also compiled a bird flu resource page with relevant publications, articles and links - www.grain.org/go/birdflu] On 17 February 2006, the Egyptian government confirmed that bird flu had broken out in the nation's poultry. With the international spotlight beaming upon it, the government did not want to look unprepared or, worse, at fault. So it immediately responded by blaming migratory birds and traditional poultry practices. "The world is moving towards big farms because they can be controlled under veterinarian supervision The time has come to get rid of the idea of breeding chickens on the roofs of houses," said Egypt's Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif.2 Then the Egyptian government swung into action with a military-style cleansing operation. It ordered the culling of all backyard and rooftop poultry and banned live bird markets, where 80% of the nation's poultry is sold. Farmers were promised compensation and vendors were promised refrigerators, so they could switch to selling frozen chicken, but neither materialised.3 Meanwhile, the government banned the transport of live poultry and ordered that all slaughtering must take place in official slaughterhouses, leaving farmers not located near the few official slaughterhouses with no way to slaughter their chickens.4 In less than a month, the Egyptian government effectively destroyed its multi-billion dollar poultry industry, the livelihoods of millions of Egyptians and its ancient poultry practices and biodiversity. The government is now easing restrictions on imports of frozen meat to make up for domestic shortfalls and importing chicks from the US and Europe to restock its commercial farms.5 The response from the Egyptian government was not only insensitive to the importance of poultry for its people, it was misinformed. Yes, some backyard and rooftop flocks have been infected, but far more birds are dying from bird flu in factory farms. Plus, extensive testing of live migratory birds since 2004 did not report cases of bird flu.6 Although official veterinarian reports single out backyard flocks, the website of the Egyptian government clearly lists initial outbreaks at three factory farms where nearly 70,000 birds were culled, followed by further outbreaks on large factory farms in the regions of Ashmoun, Al-Marg, Giza Badrashaan and Damietta, as well as the culling of 77,000 birds at two farms near the desert city of Belbeis and 30,000 birds in nearby New Salhia where one of Egypt's largest poultry companies has its farms.7 The industry estimates that 50% of the commercial farms in the country have been infected and that over 25 million chickens have been slaughtered.8 Power politics at play The response from the Egyptian government is sadly typical of what is happening around the world. Today's power politics ensure that the consequences for the poor get completely overshadowed by theoretical concerns over a possible human pandemic. In India, for example, the government was badly prepared when bird flu broke out in the state of Maharashtra in March 2006. As in Egypt, the explosion of media interest propelled the government into action. Although the source of the outbreak was known to be from the area's major hatchery and although common sense would dictate that the proper response would be to follow the channels of transmission leading from there, the government imposed an indiscriminate cull in a 10 km radius around the infected sites following World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines.9 Similar culls were repeated in one of the poorest districts of the state when a small number of samples collected from various villages came back positive. Within that district, complete culls occurred over an area of 1,500 square km, involving more than 300,000 birds and over 300 villages.10 The state did provide some compensation to the affected farmers, but the US$0.88 given per bird was far below the value of a village chicken, which typically sells for three times the price of a factory chicken and produces eggs worth four times the price of industrial eggs.11 Needless to say, the government has no plans for replenishing the invaluable poultry biodiversity that it destroyed and there is even talk of new state regulations to ban back
[Biofuel] Fowl play - Updated references
Updated references Fowl play: The poultry industry's central role in the bird flu crisis GRAIN | February 2006 References [1] Hans Wagner, FAO-RAP, "Protecting the environment from the impact of the growing industrialization of livestock production in East Asia", APHCA 26th Session, Subang Jaya, Malaysia, 24-26 August 2002 [2] H5N1 is an avian influenza virus subtype, the one that is currently at the centre of fears of a human pandemic. [3] Isabelle Delforge, "The flu that made agribusiness stronger," Focus on the Global South, Bangkok, 4 July 2004: http://www.focusweb.org/the-flu-that-made-agribusiness-stronger-3.html [4] Mark Henderson, "Scientists aim to beat flu with genetically modified chickens," The Times, London, 29 October 2005: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,25149-1847760,00.html [5] A. Permin and M. Bisgaard, "The Scope and Effect of Family Poultry Research and Development: A general review on some important diseases in free-range chickens," Lead paper for the INFPD E-Conference [6] FAO, "In Praise of Family Poultry", Agriculture 21, Rome, March 2002: http://www.fao.org/ag/magazine/0203sp1.htm and website for the International Network for Family Poultry Development: http://www.fao.org/ag/againfo/subjects/en/infpd/home.html [7] Tran Dinh Thanh Lam, "Bird Flu Strategy Will Hit Poultry Farmers", IPS, Ho Chi Minh City, 15 November 2005 http://domino.ips.org/ips%5Ceng.nsf/vwWebMainView/9190FA02797E3832C125 70BA0022F907/?OpenDocument [8] A McLeod, N Morgan, A Prakash and J Hinrichs, "Economic and Social Impacts of Avian Influenza" FAO, Rome, November 2005 ; http://www.fao.org/ag/AGAinfo/subjects/en/health/diseases-cards/cd/documents/Economic-and-social-impacts-of-avian-influenza-Geneva.pdf Chanida Chanyapate and Isabelle Delforge, "The politics of bird flu in Thailand," Focus on the Global South, Bangkok, 20 April 2004: http://www.focusweb.org/the-politics-of-bird-flu-in-thailand-4.html [9] Elisabeth Rosenthal, "Bird flu threat takes away chickens' free range," International Herald Tribune, 9 December 2005. 10] A Stegemen et al., "Avian influenza A virus (H7N7) epidemic in the Netherlands in 2003: Course of the epidemic and effectiveness of control measures," Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2004, 190:2088-2095; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&d opt=Abstract&list_uids=15551206 ME Thomas et al, "Risk factors for the introduction of high pathogenicity Avian Influenza virus into poultry farms during the epidemic in the Netherlands in 2003," Preventative Veterinary Medicine, 2005, 69:1-11 http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=16807501 [11] A. McLeod, N. Morgan, A. Prakash, and J. Hinrichs, "Economic and Social Impacts of Avian Influenza" FAO, November 2005 [12] After testing more than 13,000 wild birds in marshes within bird flu infested provinces in China, scientists identified only six highly pathogenic bird flu viruses in six ducks. The overall conclusion of the study: "Transmission within poultry is the major mechanism for sustaining H5N1 virus endemicity in this region." H Chen et al., "Establishment of multiple sublineages of H5N1 influenza virus in Asia: Implications for pandemic control," PNAS early edition, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, Washington DC, 10 February 2006: http://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.0511120103 [13] FAO and OIE, in collaboration with WHO, "A Global Strategy for the Progressive Control of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI)," November 2005 [14] BirdLife International, "Wild birds 'victims not vectors'", Cambridge, 8 December 2005: http://www.birdlife.org/news/news/2005/12/flu_migration.html ; FAO, "Fish feed formulation and Production; A report prepared for the project Fisheries Development in Qinghai Province," Rome, November 1990: http://www.fao.org/docrep/field/003/U4173E/U4173E00.htm . [15] Melville, D and K Shortridge "Reflection and Reaction," The Lancet Infectious Diseases, Vol 4, 2004, pp 261-262. [16] BirdLIfe International, "Are high risk farming practices spreading avian flu?", press release, Cambdridge, 18 January 2006: http://www.birdlife.org/news/news/2006/01/flu_agriculture.html [17] Id, op cit (note 14). [18] Suarez DL, Senne DA, Banks J, Brown IH, Essen SC, Lee C-W, et al, "Recombination resulting in virulence shift in avian influenza outbreak, Chile", Emerging Infectious Diseases, April 2004: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol10no4/pdfs/03-0396.pdf http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol10no4/03-0396.htm DL Suarez, "Evolution of avian influenza viruses", Veterinary Microbiology, 22 May 2000, 74(1-2):15-27; See: Evolution of avian influenza Toshihiro Ito et al, "Generation of a Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A Virus from an A-virulent Field Isolate by Passaging in Chickens," Journal of Virology, May 2001, 75(9): 4439-4443. http://jvi.asm.org/cgi/reprint/75/9/4439.pdf See: Generation of a Highly Pathogen
[Biofuel] Fowl play: The poultry industry's central role in the bird flu crisis
http://www.grain.org/briefings/?id=194 GRAIN | Briefings | 2006 | Fowl play: The poultry industry's central role in the bird flu crisis GRAIN | February 2006 Read the press release (Feb 2006) Read GRAINs letter about bird flu to the FAO (Feb 2006) Backyard or free-range poultry are not fuelling the current wave of bird flu outbreaks stalking large parts of the world. The deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu is essentially a problem of industrial poultry practices. Its epicentre is the factory farms of China and Southeast Asia and -- while wild birds can carry the disease, at least for short distances -- its main vector is the highly self-regulated transnational poultry industry, which sends the products and waste of its farms around the world through a multitude of channels. Yet small poultry farmers and the poultry biodiversity and local food security that they sustain are suffering badly from the fall-out. To make matters worse, governments and international agencies, following mistaken assumptions about how the disease spreads and amplifies, are pursuing measures to force poultry indoors and further industrialise the poultry sector. In practice, this means the end of the small-scale poultry farming that provides food and livelihoods to hundreds of millions of families across the world. This paper presents a fresh perspective on the bird flu story that challenges current assumptions and puts the focus back where it should be: on the transnational poultry industry. Men in white rubber suits and gas masks chasing down chickens in rural villages... Chickens sold and slaughtered in live markets... Wild birds flying across the sky... These are the typical images broadcast by the media in its coverage of the bird flu epidemic. Rare are photos of the booming transnational poultry industry. There are no shots of its factory farms hit by the virus, and no images of its overcrowded trucks transporting live chickens or its feed mills converting "poultry byproducts" into chicken feed. The selection of images sends a clear message: bird flu is a problem of wild birds and backwards poultry practices, not modern industry. In this way, the most fundamental piece of information needed to understand the recent avian influenza outbreaks gets left out of the picture. Bird flu is really nothing new. It has co-existed rather peacefully with wild birds, small-scale poultry farming and live markets for centuries. But the wave of highly-pathogenic strains of bird flu that have decimated poultry and killed people across the planet over the past ten years is unprecedented -- as is today's transnational poultry industry. Chicken concentrate The transformation of poultry production in Asia in recent decades is staggering. In the Southeast Asian countries where most of the bird flu outbreaks are concentrated -- Thailand, Indonesia, and Viet Nam -- production jumped eightfold in just 30 years, from around 300,000 metric tonnes (mt) of chicken meat in 1971 to 2,440,000 mt in 2001. China's production of chicken tripled during the 1990s to over 9 million mt per year. Practically all of this new poultry production has happened on factory farms concentrated outside of major cities and integrated into transnational production systems.[1] This is the ideal breeding ground for highly-pathogenic bird flu -- like the H5N1 strain threatening to explode into a human flu pandemic.[2] Nevertheless, the many papers, statements and strategy documents coming out of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), World Health Organisation (WHO) and relevant government agencies contain barely a whisper about the implications of industrial poultry in the bird flu crisis. Instead, fingers are pointed at backyard farms, with calls for tighter controls on their operations and greater "restructuring" of the poultry sector. The big poultry corporations are even trying to use the bird flu outbreaks as an "opportunity" to do away with what is left of small-scale poultry production.[3] "We cannot control migratory birds but we can surely work hard to close down as many backyard farms as possible," said Margaret Say, Southeast Asian director for the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council. The reactions from some scientists are no less outrageous. Researchers in the UK are pursuing transgenic bird flu-resistant chickens. "Once we have regulatory approval, we believe it will only take between four and five years to breed enough chickens to replace the entire world population," said Laurence Tiley, Professor of Molecular Virology at Cambridge University.[4] Backyard farming is not an idle pastime for landowners. It is the crux of food security and farming income for hundreds of millions of rural poor in Asia and elsewhere, providing a third of the protein intake for the average rural household.[5] Nearly all rural households in Asia keep at least a few chickens for meat, eggs and eve
[Biofuel] Fwd: Re: [LittleHouses] "Bioconversion of Putrescent Wastes"
crosspost http://www.esrla.com/brazil/frame.htm interesting Kirk To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Cynthia Womack <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2007 18:26:42 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: [LittleHouses] "Bioconversion of Putrescent Wastes" Thank you for an excellent article! I'd like to know what Dr. Olivier et al might have done with large commercial and industrial use of these units. How do they work with medical wastes such as hospitals and nursing homes? How have they worked at malls,theme parks,concert or sports arenas,livestock areas and the like? My hometown hosts horse shows year round. We get quite a few biting flies and mosquitoes,tons of food waste and a large amount of used stable dressing. It sounds as if these units could be incorporated into the general design for a nominal cost and decrease waste disposal,pests,disease,odor,etc. a great deal. Other measures of reducing waste and recycling could be implemented much more easily to manage the rest of the impact of having so many people and animals in attendance for such extensive periods. This wouldn't even count the synergy of incorporating traditional composting and using the flies and the food residue to grow plants and feed fish and poultry. This would be an 'invisible',toxin-free way of making our most inefficient and unpleasant areas a boon rather than a bane to our environment. --- David Neeley wrote: > Please pardon the cross-posting, but I think this > would interest both > of these lists. > > For those who live in a rural location who want to > get away from waste > disposal problems, there is a fascinating > presentation with the name I > put in the subject line at the ESRLA site. This is > by Dr. Paul > Olivier, the same gentleman who published about > using bagasse (sugar > cane waste) and rice hulls in construction. > > His development uses black soldier fly larvae > (benign to humans) to > consume "putrescent wastes"--food residue and both > human and animal > waste. In the process, the volume is reduced by 95%. > In short, a > two-foot unit resembling a plastic trash can would > consume the wastes > of a typical family of four for two to three years > before having to be > emptied--without problems of disease or foul smell, > as it happens. > > One of the pages of the presentation also shows how > a urine-diverting > toilet could be incorporated into the top of one of > these units. > > I corresponded with Dr. Olivier several years ago, > and he was going > into production with the small plastic version at a > plant in Asia. He > also designed very low-cost concrete versions of the > device and makes > molds that he sells in Latin America and elsewhere. > > I find the concept fascinating--and once I settle > down again somewhere > I plan to look into trying one out. Tony Adrian says > he has an early > prototype of this unit, which is too large for his > family. > > Anyway, enjoy! > http://www.esrla.com/brazil/frame.htm > > David > Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LittleHouses/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LittleHouses/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ - Don't get soaked. Take a quick peek at the forecast with theYahoo! Search weather shortcut.___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
[Biofuel] New political metaphors
I think most of us will agree that the terms 'left' and 'right' are fast losing their relevence in the political sense. Many of us will optimistically try to deny that there is any new dichotomy in its place. I have been aware of such a dichotomy for over a decade, and I submit that it is real, that it is definite, and that it has a rock-face that, when reached, will not be susceptible to any post-modern 'both-and' notion. Soon, people will have to choose, and their choices will have implications, possibly tragic ones, possibly heroic ones. Might I suggest two new political terms: 'permacultural' and 'hydroponic'? The world is increasingly moving to the latter approach: systems are simplified so that they may be tightly monitored by government agencies and strictly controlled by legislation. To this end oligopolies are nurtured and renegade human creativity stifled, co-opted, or restricted to superficial irrelevancies. People are reduced to passive 'pure consumers'. The attitude seems to be that the environment is too important to allow people near it. Thus we find the world becoming in a sense 'indoor', a controlled environment. One gets the impression that all of Europe is turning into a single big Victorian drawing-room. Many would disagree with this approach, and there is an old tradition that answers well to the term 'permacultural'. It runs through a number of writers: Fritz Schumacher springs immediately to mind, but there are others. The aim is rather to build systems that have an intrinsic propensity to produce what is desirable, and then to leave them to get on with it. It is an approach that can accommodate a lot of exceptional behaviours, and it thrives on renegade creativity. It is however much more likely to run up against vested interests, be they political or economic, and therefore cannot really thrive inside a 'hydroponic' system. Many of the differences of opinion that have arisen from time to time in this group can be understood in the above terms. Try it. What say you? -Dawie ___ What kind of emailer are you? Find out today - get a free analysis of your email personality. Take the quiz at the Yahoo! Mail Championship. http://uk.rd.yahoo.com/evt=44106/*http://mail.yahoo.net/uk ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] man pays $520 electric bill in pennies
I suspect Ameren CIPS will be instituting a policy, where they will not accept cash payments in cash, below a certain denomination. I recall a case where it was revealed while US coins are legal tender, for amounts less than a dollar, but I can't find a reference to it. In regards to nationalization. I suspect that those who now are reaping the profits, will be the ones reaping the profit, after any nationalization. Doug, N0LKK Kansas USA inc. Kirk McLoren wrote: > necessities of life shouldnt be available to exploitation by piggish folks- > like the electricity corporations and natural gas. > Nationalize oil! > Kirk > > ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
[Biofuel] GRAIN: Bird flu: a bonanza for 'Big Chicken'
http://www.grain.org/articles/?id=22 GRAIN | "Against the grain" | 2007 | Bird flu: a bonanza for 'Big C Bird flu: a bonanza for 'Big Chicken' GRAIN "Against the grain" Available in PDF: (62k) http://www.grain.org/articles_files/atg-8-en.pdf Author: GRAIN Date: March 2007 See also the GRAIN Bird flu resource page here http://www.grain.org/m/?id=84 GRAIN | Bird Flu The bird flu crisis rages on. One year ago, when governments were fixated on getting surveillance teams into wetlands and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) was waving the finger of blame at Asia and Africa's abundant household poultry, GRAIN and other groups pointed out that large-scale industrial poultry farms and the global poultry trade were spreading bird flu -- not wild birds nor backyard flocks. Today, this has become common knowledge, even though little is being done to control the industrial source of the problem, and governments still shamelessly roll out the wild bird theory to dodge responsibility. Just a few weeks ago, Moscow authorities blamed migratory birds for an outbreak near the city -- in the middle of the Russian winter. A more sinister dimension of the bird flu crisis, however, is becoming more apparent. Last year, we warned that bird flu was being used to advance the interests of powerful corporations, putting the livelihoods and health of millions of people in jeopardy. Today, more than ever, agribusiness is using the calamity to consolidate its farm-to-factory-to-supermarket food chains as its small-scale competition is criminalised, while pharmaceutical companies mine the goodwill invested in the global database of flu samples to profit from desperate, captive vaccine markets. Two UN agencies -- FAO and the World Health Organisation (WHO) -- remain at the centre of this story, using their international stature, access to governments and control over the flow of donor funds to advance corporate agendas. Slaughtering the small poultry sector Authorities in charge of dealing with bird flu are finally acknowledging the role played by the poultry trade in spreading the virus. This is long overdue. The first bird flu outbreaks in Southeast Asia -- Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Indonesia -- occurred in closed, intensive factory farms. But thorough investigations were never made into why the disease broke out on those farms and how it subsequently spread from there. The same goes for Turkey and Egypt, where wild birds and backyard flocks were quickly condemned while the poultry companies, which supplied markets and "backyard" producers with birds as the disease raged through the industry, were left off the hook. Even in South Korea, with healthy free-range poultry roaming next to factory farms hit by the disease, authorities are obsessed with the role of wild birds. It was only in the UK this past February that the myth that large farms are "biosecure" was shattered and the shroud concealing the many ways that bird flu spreads through the transnational poultry industry was torn off. Government officials at first blamed wild birds for the outbreak on a large factory farm owned by poultry giant Bernard Matthews and the company dismissed media reports about a possible link with its operations in Hungary, saying that these were far from the area in that country where bird flu recently broke out. But both explanations fell apart when a government inspector found a wrapper on the company's UK premises proving that meat from a slaughterhouse in Hungary's bird-flu infected area had indeed been processed at the UK factory farm just prior to the outbreak. Yet back in the Asian epicentre of the crisis, the message to poultry farmers is still, "Get big, really big, or get out." In 2006, Vietnam, under a joint government-UN programme, laid out a ten-year plan to, in the words of its Minister of Agriculture, turn its poultry sector "into a modern, large-scale industry in terms of farming, slaughter and consumption." The government began with a ban on live poultry in urban centres, putting an end to thousands of backyard stocks. Then new regulations on trade and on poultry slaughtering in residential areas came into effect. Small-scale markets and butchers were shut down, and slaughterhouses were moved to a few licensed facilities on the outskirts of the cities. In Ho Chi Minh City, over 200 local markets sold chicken before the bird flu crisis; today, chicken can be legally sold only by supermarkets or factory farm "selling points". The number of slaughterhouses in the city has plummeted from 50 to three. The changes are devastating small-scale producers because the supermarkets and new slaughterhouses sell only poultry that is certified according to standards that small farmers cannot comply with. The three or four companies that control Vietnam's industrial poultry production thus not only get captive urban markets; they also get a low-wage labour
Re: [Biofuel] Cheese Whey to Ethanol or tagatose sugar? ;)
It is the same whey and cheese whey. I get 25,000 liters of cheese whey for free each day. I make a project to convert cheese whey to ethanol, but the tagatose sugar is very interesting. I am located in Panama, Central America. A program of the Europe Union grant me a few euros to make it happens, you know, we are on the third world. I am going to use the same pilot plant to produce ethanol from sugar cane. I am located in a sugar cane region here in Chiriqui, Panama.I want to buy a small plant with a fermentor/separator and/or use pervaporation to make the production cost smaller. At first I wanted to recover lactoferrin and lactoperoxidase, but the ultrafiltration equiment is too expensive. >From: Kirk McLoren <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Reply-To: biofuel@sustainablelists.org >To: biofuel@sustainablelists.org >Subject: Re: [Biofuel] Cheese Whey to Ethanol >Date: Sun, 11 Mar 2007 22:05:02 -0700 (PDT) > >What is the difference between whey and cheese whey? > Whey that body builders buy is not cheap. > > Kirk > >NV Dhana <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > To, Ramirez, You can find lot of information about fermenting whey by >using >google, just type Whey fermentation and see what can you get. Also try this >website. w. bio-process.com/wheyethanol.htm. Any college with micro-biology >class will tell you where to get K.Fragilis or K. Lactis. N.V. Dhana > > > >From: "Dimas Ramirez" > >Reply-To: biofuel@sustainablelists.org > >To: biofuel@sustainablelists.org > >Subject: Re: [Biofuel] Cheese Whey to Ethanol > >Date: Sat, 10 Mar 2007 19:54:49 + > > > > > > > > > > > >What I need to produce this sugar? > > > > > > > > > >From: "NV Dhana" > >Reply-To: biofuel@sustainablelists.org > >To: biofuel@sustainablelists.org > >Subject: Re: [Biofuel] Cheese Whey to Ethanol > >Date: Sun, 10 Sep 2006 12:54:50 -0400 > > >To Saludos, Why you want to ferment whey to ethanol when you can make > > >Tagatose sugar that is more lucrative fron whey. > > > > > > > > > >From: "Dimas Ramirez" > > > >Reply-To: biofuel@sustainablelists.org > > > >To: biofuel@sustainablelists.org > > > >Subject: [Biofuel] Cheese Whey to Ethanol > > > >Date: Fri, 08 Sep 2006 23:56:32 + > > > > > > > >I have a waste of 20,000 liters of cheese whey every day. > > > >I want to convert it to ethanol, but a can not find Kluyveromyces > >Fragilis > > > >to break the lactose. Anybody knows about it or another method to >make > >it > > > >happens? > > > > > > > >Saludos! > > > >Dimas > > > >- >Don't be flakey. Get Yahoo! Mail for Mobile and >always stay connected to friends. >___ >Biofuel mailing list >Biofuel@sustainablelists.org >http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org > >Biofuel at Journey to Forever: >http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html > >Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 >messages): >http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ > _ The average US Credit Score is 675. The cost to see yours: $0 by Experian. http://www.freecreditreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=660600&bcd=EMAILFOOTERAVERAGE ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] kind of interesting
Hi Joe, Why yes (she said modestly), Mark knows Bill. I have forwarded your note to him so he can tell you all about it. Your story is so cool!! Imagine seeing that formation fly over, yipers. Mark is proud to be part of a group who is organizing to green up the IATSE film union activities here in Toronto, on-site recycling, the reuse of building materials: all stuff that the biz has been doing for years and is now integrating with the general community. There's a big new studio going up that is squeeky green. Jess --- Joe Street <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Really Jesse? Mark knows Bill Lishman? What a > small world. You know I > was standing down at the mouth of wilmot creek where > it blows into Lake > Ontario trout fishing when the ultralight went > directly over me with the > classic V formation of geese. It was just after > Dawn and I had been > fishing since 4 am and I know I had imbibed but I > stood there in > disbelief first wondering why in heck the ultralight > jockey would > venture beyond gliding range of the shore and second > what the heck was > wrong with these geese who decided to form up on the > ultralight and > wondering if I was actually losing my mind. Later > the story was on the > news. It gets richer, the movie Fly Away Home which > chronicles > Lishman's work ( hollywood style of course) has all > the flying scenes > done by Michael Robertson a long time hang glider > and Canadian icon of > sorts ( he flew a hang glider from the top of the CN > tower) and he is a > local activist trying to stop the expropriation of > farm land in the GTA > for the proposed new airport. He is a real great > down to earth guy just > like Bill. They cut their teeth on the old home > made rogallo wing hang > gliders back in the late 60's and 70's. He lived > with a red tail hawk up > in Locust hill when I met him back in '85 when I > bought my first wing. > What a sweet guy. He will be building one of my > biodiesel reactors this > summer. He has an open petition you can sign if you > want to add your > voice to the protest over the land issues. > I think you can find a link to it on his page > http://www.flyhigh.com/index.php > This is a big issue as the area has primo fertile > land and wetlands > which stand to be harmed if the airport goes in. > The area I used to fish is all suburbia now.:( > Caught a 40 pound > chinook there once upon a time.sigh. > > > Joe > > Jesse Frayne wrote: > > >Thanks for this completely engaging picture of your > >nutty feathered friends. What lucky birds to be > >closely observed and respected. > > > >My husband worked on a film years ago about birds > who > >imprinted on a guy who showed them how to migrate, > >leading them south with a pair of ultra-lights. > Came > >home from work with wonderful stories about the > social > >life of geese: their hard-working natures, how > they > >would play and relax at the end of a long film > >shooting day, their community interaction and > >supportiveness... but especially their sense of > >humour! > > > >Damn! I used to love to eat a goose, but boy, you > >can't do that to someone who can crack a joke. > > > >As a cook, I'm dismayed to read that the chickens I > >prepare regularly are also in the "wide-awake > species" > >category... humm. > > > >Not to resurrect the vegan theme. We all know we > must > >be grateful for anything that sustains us > (broccoli!), > >and try to make something worthwhile with it. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > --- Keith Addison <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >wrote: > > > > > > > >>Hi Jesse > >> > >> > >> > >>>Thanks Keith, > >>>and I loved reading about your birds! No > flirting, > >>>just the fanning of feathers. > >>>-J > >>> > >>> > >>:-) > >> > >>I've had a day fraught with birds, especially > broody > >>females getting > >>bad-tempered with everyone else because they think > >>it gives them the > >>moral high ground. Marilyn the duck came out of > her > >>nest-box where > >>she's sitting on 11 eggs, had an enormous shit, > had > >>a large meal, > >>attacked poor Lucy and Spot and beat them up, > >>snarled at the others, > >>and went back to her eggs, making weird squeaking > >>noises. She's a > >>sweetie, is Marilyn, when she's sane, which she's > >>always been up to > >>now. The two big drakes stood off all the while > and > >>huffed a lot, > >>left the womenfolk to it, very wise. Anyway Lucy > and > >>Spot weren't > >>exactly beaten up, Muscovies are built like those > >>special rubber > >>balls that bounce 10 times higher, it's hard to > make > >>an impression. > >> > >>The geese, though, are being sweet and reasonable > >>about it all, for > >>once. Well, they're always extremely sweet, unless > >>you happen to be > >>not a goose (we're sort of honorary geese), but > >>they're not always > >>reasonable. They argue about everything, they're > >>terrible busybodies. > >>They untied all the knots holding up the
[Biofuel] Fwd: RE: [SOLAR] Evacuated Tubes In Trough (Was US renewable energy policy)
crosspost from Solar-concentrator mailing list If you look into solar collectors this is high technology and gets excellent reviews. Efficiency is good even with diffuse light. Expect to pay contractors 1500 -2500 for this performance. 318 from www.tec-solar.com is most definitely a good price. Kirk Gerhard Stemmler <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: From: "Gerhard Stemmler" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "'solar concentrators for thermal and photovoltaic applications'" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: RE: [SOLAR] Evacuated Tubes In Trough (Was US renewable energy policy) Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2007 15:17:59 +1200 We bought 15 sets of 24 tubes each from www.tec-solar.com Each set comes with 24 evacuated tubes 1.85 meters long and holders and one manifold. Cost per set was USD318.00 plus freight. Very friendly service. Company is in China like most of the manufacturers of such tubes. gks -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jeff Barlow Sent: Tuesday, March 13, 2007 13:26 PM To: solar concentrators for thermal and photovoltaic applications Subject: Re: [SOLAR] Evacuated Tubes In Trough (Was US renewable energy policy) Lee Wright wrote: >I've been looking at this too. I've bought a tube - only cost $42. Where does one buy these? -- Later, Jeff ___ Solar-concentrator mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.cichlid.com/mailman/listinfo/solar-concentrator Problems to [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___ Solar-concentrator mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.cichlid.com/mailman/listinfo/solar-concentrator Problems to [EMAIL PROTECTED] - Sucker-punch spam with award-winning protection. Try the free Yahoo! Mail Beta.___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] man pays $520 electric bill in pennies
I posted a blog of horror stories earlier. He is not just one selected case. That was the point of the blog. They were sharing horror stories. I still suspect some manipulation. I can cite numerous predatory practices. Conservation is definitely needed. Better yet personal energy independence. That would be the best solution. A company in China is manufacturing vacuum insulated glass tubes that become a solar water heater. Works even on cloudy days. Kirk [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I expect the reality is somewhere in between. I would be surprised if everyone in Illinois was facing a 2.7 times increase in their electrical bills, if there was not something close to open revolt. According to the stories I read around this, the rate increases were approved by a regulatory body. I can't imagine that they would approve a one-time, overnight, 270% increase in rates. Undoubtedly, there is more to it. The media story is decidedly light on facts. It seems likely this case is exceptional, and selected for that purpose. It may be a combination of the rate increase, unusually cold weather and increased electricity use that resulted in this outlier result. I suppose what galls me is that the media thinks the penny protest constitutes action, while more constructive efforts (conservation, efficiency, substituting renewables, stimulating consumer awareness) go unreported, although they could really benefit from such coverage. Darryl Quoting Kirk McLoren : > Tripling ones bill doesnt make sense if the rate increase was 10%. > Nor does bad weather explain it. A bad month may bump it 50%. So > there is a problem here. > Granted there are usually 3 sides to a story. But 300% > I am inclined to think something else was in there besides the > rate increase- some fine print about passing on some generating > cost. We saw that happen in Northern California and the story was > the same - tripling of bills. > > Kirk > > Darryl McMahon wrote: > Am I the only one who sees this as a particularly feeble response to the > issue? > > First, here's the company side on the rate increases. > http://www.ameren.com/AboutUs/ADC_AUE_RateFiling.asp > > A couple of snippets from that page. > > "If approved, this electric rate increase would mark the first one for > AmerenUE in almost 20 years." > > "Typical residential customers using 1,000 kilowatt-hours a month would > see their electric bills rise from approximately $66 per month to $72 > per month, excluding taxes." > > Clearly, some people did get hammered by the changes. Testimony of > Scott Cisel, President and CEO, Ameren Illinois Utilities - 2007.02.27 > > http://illinoischannel.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!B0DB128F5CD96151!2007.entry > > Even Cisel says that low electrical rates were partly to blame for > people using more electricity (as opposed to say, insulation) than > necessary. > > BTW, the new, higher rates are still below 10 cents/kWh. > http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/illinoisnews/story/C80ED6D9855C9A18862572920017A867?OpenDocument > > But not to worry, there is political pressure to force the prices back > down. (see story above) > > So, in order to make his point, Hancock ups his cost by another 10-20%. > And increases the company's overhead to deal with the protest payment, > which is not likely to reduce electricity rates. > > So, based on the evidence I came across, it seems likely Hancock heats > with electricity, and the unseasonably cold weather had the expected > effect. > > Let's hope his next step (and for his neighbours) is to figure out how > to reduce his electrical consumption in the future. Unlikely though, it > appears instead they'll apply political pressure to end up in the > Ontario scenario (keep residential electrical rates unrealistically low, > let taxpayers make up the difference, remove the incentive to conserve). > > Nationalizing oil will simply lead to exploitation by a (somewhat) > different group of piggish folks: government. PetroCanada is a > disappointing example of what "nationalizing" oil accomplishes. > > Darryl > > > > Kirk McLoren wrote: >> necessities of life shouldnt be available to exploitation by piggish >> folks- >> like the electricity corporations and natural gas. >> Nationalize oil! >> Kirk >> >> http://www.kfvs12.com/global/story.asp?s=6206504&ClientType=Printable >> >> Carterville, IL >> *Carterville man pays electric bill with 52,000 pennies* >> March 12, 2007 03:14 AM PST >> >> *Carterville man pays electric bill with 52,000 pennies* >> By: Carly O'Keefe >> CARTERVILLE, Ill. - A Carterville man wanted to give Ameren CIPS more >> than just his two cents about the recent rate hike. He's giving them >> 52,000 cents, by paying his electric bill entirely in pennies. >> Hancock withdrew $525 dollars from his bank entirely in pennies. It was >> a large enough withdrawal he needed a pick-up truck to take it all home. >> He sent his payment to Ameren CIPS in six flat-
Re: [Biofuel] kind of interesting
Really Jesse? Mark knows Bill Lishman? What a small world. You know I
was standing down at the mouth of wilmot creek where it blows into Lake
Ontario trout fishing when the ultralight went directly over me with the
classic V formation of geese. It was just after Dawn and I had been
fishing since 4 am and I know I had imbibed but I stood there in
disbelief first wondering why in heck the ultralight jockey would
venture beyond gliding range of the shore and second what the heck was
wrong with these geese who decided to form up on the ultralight and
wondering if I was actually losing my mind. Later the story was on the
news. It gets richer, the movie Fly Away Home which chronicles
Lishman's work ( hollywood style of course) has all the flying scenes
done by Michael Robertson a long time hang glider and Canadian icon of
sorts ( he flew a hang glider from the top of the CN tower) and he is a
local activist trying to stop the expropriation of farm land in the GTA
for the proposed new airport. He is a real great down to earth guy just
like Bill. They cut their teeth on the old home made rogallo wing hang
gliders back in the late 60's and 70's. He lived with a red tail hawk up
in Locust hill when I met him back in '85 when I bought my first wing.
What a sweet guy. He will be building one of my biodiesel reactors this
summer. He has an open petition you can sign if you want to add your
voice to the protest over the land issues.
I think you can find a link to it on his page
http://www.flyhigh.com/index.php
This is a big issue as the area has primo fertile land and wetlands
which stand to be harmed if the airport goes in.
The area I used to fish is all suburbia now.:( Caught a 40 pound
chinook there once upon a time.sigh.
Joe
Jesse Frayne wrote:
Thanks for this completely engaging picture of your
nutty feathered friends. What lucky birds to be
closely observed and respected.
My husband worked on a film years ago about birds who
imprinted on a guy who showed them how to migrate,
leading them south with a pair of ultra-lights. Came
home from work with wonderful stories about the social
life of geese: their hard-working natures, how they
would play and relax at the end of a long film
shooting day, their community interaction and
supportiveness... but especially their sense of
humour!
Damn! I used to love to eat a goose, but boy, you
can't do that to someone who can crack a joke.
As a cook, I'm dismayed to read that the chickens I
prepare regularly are also in the "wide-awake species"
category... humm.
Not to resurrect the vegan theme. We all know we must
be grateful for anything that sustains us (broccoli!),
and try to make something worthwhile with it.
--- Keith Addison <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:
Hi Jesse
Thanks Keith,
and I loved reading about your birds! No flirting,
just the fanning of feathers.
-J
:-)
I've had a day fraught with birds, especially broody
females getting
bad-tempered with everyone else because they think
it gives them the
moral high ground. Marilyn the duck came out of her
nest-box where
she's sitting on 11 eggs, had an enormous shit, had
a large meal,
attacked poor Lucy and Spot and beat them up,
snarled at the others,
and went back to her eggs, making weird squeaking
noises. She's a
sweetie, is Marilyn, when she's sane, which she's
always been up to
now. The two big drakes stood off all the while and
huffed a lot,
left the womenfolk to it, very wise. Anyway Lucy and
Spot weren't
exactly beaten up, Muscovies are built like those
special rubber
balls that bounce 10 times higher, it's hard to make
an impression.
The geese, though, are being sweet and reasonable
about it all, for
once. Well, they're always extremely sweet, unless
you happen to be
not a goose (we're sort of honorary geese), but
they're not always
reasonable. They argue about everything, they're
terrible busybodies.
They untied all the knots holding up the pasture
fence netting, we
had to retie everything with strong plastic cord.
They didn't want to
get out, they just really enjoy untying knots.
They're really good at
it. Very hi-tech gear, those beaks of theirs.
Anyway there are two nests of eggs in their hutch,
lots of eggs,
probably a communal effort rather than two separate
nests for two
geese. Very tight-knit are the geese. Very sexually
liberated too,
they're not rapists like cocks and drakes, it's much
more like making
love. It also gets to be a communal effort, I saw
five them in a
tangle the other day, I couldn't tell who was doing
what to whom.
They sure seemed to be enjoying it, with the other
two standing by
providing a torrent of advice and encouragement.
Suppose they'd
already had their turn. These teenagers of today,
tut-tut. ("Tut-tut"
is Otjiwarongan for "Wish I'd had it so good in my
day".)
All first-timers so far, these new mums-to-be, and
quite a lot of
chaos with it, probably not helped by the fact
Re: [Biofuel] man pays $520 electric bill in pennies
I expect the reality is somewhere in between. I would be surprised if everyone in Illinois was facing a 2.7 times increase in their electrical bills, if there was not something close to open revolt. According to the stories I read around this, the rate increases were approved by a regulatory body. I can't imagine that they would approve a one-time, overnight, 270% increase in rates. Undoubtedly, there is more to it. The media story is decidedly light on facts. It seems likely this case is exceptional, and selected for that purpose. It may be a combination of the rate increase, unusually cold weather and increased electricity use that resulted in this outlier result. I suppose what galls me is that the media thinks the penny protest constitutes action, while more constructive efforts (conservation, efficiency, substituting renewables, stimulating consumer awareness) go unreported, although they could really benefit from such coverage. Darryl Quoting Kirk McLoren <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > Tripling ones bill doesnt make sense if the rate increase was 10%. > Nor does bad weather explain it. A bad month may bump it 50%. So > there is a problem here. > Granted there are usually 3 sides to a story. But 300% > I am inclined to think something else was in there besides the > rate increase- some fine print about passing on some generating > cost. We saw that happen in Northern California and the story was > the same - tripling of bills. > > Kirk > > Darryl McMahon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Am I the only one who sees this as a particularly feeble response to the > issue? > > First, here's the company side on the rate increases. > http://www.ameren.com/AboutUs/ADC_AUE_RateFiling.asp > > A couple of snippets from that page. > > "If approved, this electric rate increase would mark the first one for > AmerenUE in almost 20 years." > > "Typical residential customers using 1,000 kilowatt-hours a month would > see their electric bills rise from approximately $66 per month to $72 > per month, excluding taxes." > > Clearly, some people did get hammered by the changes. Testimony of > Scott Cisel, President and CEO, Ameren Illinois Utilities - 2007.02.27 > > http://illinoischannel.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!B0DB128F5CD96151!2007.entry > > Even Cisel says that low electrical rates were partly to blame for > people using more electricity (as opposed to say, insulation) than > necessary. > > BTW, the new, higher rates are still below 10 cents/kWh. > http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/illinoisnews/story/C80ED6D9855C9A18862572920017A867?OpenDocument > > But not to worry, there is political pressure to force the prices back > down. (see story above) > > So, in order to make his point, Hancock ups his cost by another 10-20%. > And increases the company's overhead to deal with the protest payment, > which is not likely to reduce electricity rates. > > So, based on the evidence I came across, it seems likely Hancock heats > with electricity, and the unseasonably cold weather had the expected > effect. > > Let's hope his next step (and for his neighbours) is to figure out how > to reduce his electrical consumption in the future. Unlikely though, it > appears instead they'll apply political pressure to end up in the > Ontario scenario (keep residential electrical rates unrealistically low, > let taxpayers make up the difference, remove the incentive to conserve). > > Nationalizing oil will simply lead to exploitation by a (somewhat) > different group of piggish folks: government. PetroCanada is a > disappointing example of what "nationalizing" oil accomplishes. > > Darryl > > > > Kirk McLoren wrote: >> necessities of life shouldnt be available to exploitation by piggish >> folks- >> like the electricity corporations and natural gas. >> Nationalize oil! >> Kirk >> >> http://www.kfvs12.com/global/story.asp?s=6206504&ClientType=Printable >> >> Carterville, IL >> *Carterville man pays electric bill with 52,000 pennies* >> March 12, 2007 03:14 AM PST >> >> *Carterville man pays electric bill with 52,000 pennies* >> By: Carly O'Keefe >> CARTERVILLE, Ill. - A Carterville man wanted to give Ameren CIPS more >> than just his two cents about the recent rate hike. He's giving them >> 52,000 cents, by paying his electric bill entirely in pennies. >> Hancock withdrew $525 dollars from his bank entirely in pennies. It was >> a large enough withdrawal he needed a pick-up truck to take it all home. >> He sent his payment to Ameren CIPS in six flat-rate boxes through the >> United States Postal Service. But he didn't send nice, neat rolls of >> pennies. Hancock broke open each and every one of the 1050 rolls, to >> protest his electric bill that increased three times as much as it was >> this time last year from $193 to $522. "When my bill came, my first >> reaction was shock. That didn't last long. Then I got mad, and then I >> remembered: don't get mad, just get even," Hancock sa
Re: [Biofuel] man pays $520 electric bill in pennies
Darryl, I tend to agree with you. Instead of taking personal responsibility for his USAGE of a service, which he now must pay for, he blames the service provider. What would he do if CIPS turned off his power tomorrow for being a PITA customer? He'd freeze, but I bet he'd never take personal responsibility for any of it. He'd be a lot better off spending that $50 bucks on a case of insulating spray foam than postage. Of course, CIPS can't turn him off, they are required by the state to offer him power service until he doesn't pay or elects to turn it off. The new rates are less than I pay here in SC. On 3/12/07, Darryl McMahon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Am I the only one who sees this as a particularly feeble response to the > issue? > > First, here's the company side on the rate increases. > http://www.ameren.com/AboutUs/ADC_AUE_RateFiling.asp > > A couple of snippets from that page. > > "If approved, this electric rate increase would mark the first one for > AmerenUE in almost 20 years." > > "Typical residential customers using 1,000 kilowatt-hours a month would > see their electric bills rise from approximately $66 per month to $72 > per month, excluding taxes." > > Clearly, some people did get hammered by the changes. Testimony of > Scott Cisel, President and CEO, Ameren Illinois Utilities - 2007.02.27 > > http://illinoischannel.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!B0DB128F5CD96151!2007.entry > > Even Cisel says that low electrical rates were partly to blame for > people using more electricity (as opposed to say, insulation) than > necessary. > > BTW, the new, higher rates are still below 10 cents/kWh. > http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/illinoisnews/story/C80ED6D9855C9A18862572920017A867?OpenDocument > > But not to worry, there is political pressure to force the prices back > down. (see story above) > > So, in order to make his point, Hancock ups his cost by another 10-20%. > And increases the company's overhead to deal with the protest payment, > which is not likely to reduce electricity rates. > > So, based on the evidence I came across, it seems likely Hancock heats > with electricity, and the unseasonably cold weather had the expected > effect. > > Let's hope his next step (and for his neighbours) is to figure out how > to reduce his electrical consumption in the future. Unlikely though, it > appears instead they'll apply political pressure to end up in the > Ontario scenario (keep residential electrical rates unrealistically low, > let taxpayers make up the difference, remove the incentive to conserve). > > Nationalizing oil will simply lead to exploitation by a (somewhat) > different group of piggish folks: government. PetroCanada is a > disappointing example of what "nationalizing" oil accomplishes. > > Darryl > -- Thanks, PC He's the kind of a guy who lights up a room just by flicking a switch An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field. - Niels Bohr (1885 - 1962) ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
[Biofuel] Introduction to tropical homegardens: time-tested agroforestry
Publication date: March 12, 2007 The Overstory #186--Introduction to tropical homegardens: time-tested agroforestry by P.K.R. Nair and B.M. Kumar Contents: : INTRODUCTION : THE CONCEPT OF HOMEGARDEN : GENESIS AND GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION OF HOMEGARDENS : --> Temperate homegardens : COMPLEXITY OF HOMEGARDENS : HOMEGARDENS IN THE CONTEXT OF CONTEMPORARY LAND USE ISSUES : REFERENCES : ORIGINAL SOURCE : ABOUT THE AUTHORS : WEB LINKS : RELATED EDITIONS OF THE OVERSTORY : PUBLISHER NOTES : SUBSCRIPTIONS THE CONCEPT OF HOMEGARDEN It is rather customary that any writing on homegardens starts with a "definition" of the term. There is no universally accepted "definition" of the term. An examination of the various "definitions" used or suggested by various authors shows that they all revolve around the basic concept that has been around for at least the past 20 years, i.e., since the "early literature" on the subject (Wiersum, 1982; Brownrigg, 1985; Fernandes and Nair, 1986; Soemarwoto, 1987): homegardens represent intimate, multistory combinations of various trees and crops, sometimes in association with domestic animals, around the homestead. This concept has been developed around the rural settings and subsistence economy under which most homegardens exist(ed). The practice of homegardening is now being extended to urban settings (Drescher et al., 2006; Thaman et al., 2006) as well as with a commercial orientation (Abdoellah et al., 2006; Yamada and Osaqui, 2006). Even before the advent of such new trends as urban and commercial homegardens, the lack of clear-cut distinctions between various stages in the continuum from shifting cultivation to high-intensity multistrata systems and the various terms used in different parts of the world to denote the different systems has often created confusion in the use of the term homegarden and its underlying concept. The confusion is compounded by the fact that in many parts of the world, especially in the New World, swidden farming such as the milpa of Mesoamerica evolve over a period of time into full-fledged homegardens consisting of mature fruit trees and various other types of woody perennials and the typical multistrata canopy configurations. In such situations, it is unclear where the swidden ends and homegarden begins -- and often they co-exist. Yet another cause of confusion is the term itself: homegarden. Even for most agricultural professionals who are either not familiar with or are not appreciative of agroforestry practices, what we write as one word 'homegarden' sounds as two words 'home' and 'garden' sending the signal that the reference is to ornamental gardening around homes. While ornamentals are very much a part of homegardens in many societies, homegardens, in our concept, are not just home gardens of strictly ornamental nature. As we explained in our recent paper (Kumar and Nair, 2004), we use the term homegardens (and homegardening) to refer to farming systems variously described in English language as agroforestry homegardens, household or homestead farms, compound farms, backyard gardens, village forest gardens, dooryard gardens and house gardens. Some local names such as Talun-Kebun and Pekarangan that are used for various types of homegarden systems of Java (Indonesia), Shamba and Chagga in East Africa, and Huertos Familiares of Central America, have also attained international popularity because of the excellent examples of the systems they represent (Nair, 1993). In spite of the emergence of homegardening as a practice outside their "traditional" habitat into urban and commercial settings, the underlying concept of homegardens remains the same as before "intimate, multistory combinations of various trees and crops, sometimes in association with domestic animals, around homesteads." Intimate plant associations of trees and crops and consequent multistory canopy configuration are essential to this concept. Equally important in this concept is the home around which most homegardens are maintained; but in some situations, multistory tree gardens (such as the Talun or Kebun of Indonesia: Wiersum, 1982) that are not in physical proximity to homes but receive the same level of constant attention from the owners' household and have similar structural and functional attributes as other homegarden units located near homes are also considered as homegardens. GENESIS AND GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION OF HOMEGARDENS Tracing the history of homegardening, Kumar and Nair (2004) describe it as the oldest land use activity next only to shifting cultivation that has evolved through generations of gradual intensification of cropping in response to increasing human pressure and the corresponding shortage of arable lands. The Javanese homegardens of Indonesia and the Kerala homegardens of India -- the two oft-cited examples -- have reportedly evolved over centuries of cultura
