The Super Tree

From an article by Ochieng’ Ogodo on 27 August 2009

African farmers could triple yields by planting a type of acacia tree that sheds its nitrogen-rich leaves in time for the growing season alongside their crops.

“Besides organic fertiliser and livestock fodder for farmers, it also acts as a windbreak, provides wood for fuel and construction and cuts erosion by loosening the soil to absorb water during the rainy season. The tree becomes dormant and sheds its leaves during the early rainy season at the time when seeds need fertiliser and regrows them at the beginning of the dry season, so not competing with crops for light” he said at the 2nd World Congress of Agroforestry in Nairobi this week.

Planting the trees can nearly triple yields, he says. In Malawi, maize yields under the acacia canopy are 280 per cent higher than outside it.

http://www.scidev.net/en/news/acacia-tree-can-boost-crops-and-more-across-africa.html?utm_source=link&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=en_news

Solar Power Experiences Strongest Year of Growth Yet

From an article by by Yingling Liu / June 18, 2009

http://www.worldwatch.org/node/6156?emc=el&m=258906&l=4&v=0acf32e1b9

The year 2008 saw the most phenomenal growth in the solar power market yet, with dramatic increases in installations of solar photovoltaics (PVs), which generate electricity directly from sunlight, and solar thermal plants, which use the sun’s heat to produce power. The latter include concentrating solar power (CSP)—a technology that uses mirrors to reflect and concentrate sunlight to heat water to drive a steam turbine for electricity generation—is expanding in many regions.

Newly added PV power installations amounted to 5,600 megawatts (MW), in one year increasing by more than half  cumulative total of 9,000 MW to almost 15,000 MW by the end of 2008.

Europe remains the leading market for PVs, accounting for over 80 percent of world demand in 2008. Spain overtook Germany to become the number one solar PV market worldwide, with its market increasing in one year from 560 MW to an estimated 2,600 MW in 2008. This 300+ % growth accounted for almost half of all new installations in 2008. Germany followed in second place, with new installations of about 1,500 MW.

The United States came in a distant third, adding approximately 348 MW, followed closely by Italy, South Korea, and Japan.

The phenomenal growth in the top two national PV markets—Spain and Germany—suggests that government support programs are pivotal in the development of the solar market. A feed-in tariff policy in Spain requires utilities to buy electricity generated from solar power projects at premium guaranteed long-term prices that are set by the government, an incentive introduced to encourage the adoption of renewable energy. The lucrative solar electricity rates in Spain fanned unexpected enthusiasm from the industry.

However in September 2008 the government considerably reduced the feed-in tariff payments and put a cap on annual PV installation from 2009 through 2010, aiming at a target of 3,000 MW by the end of 2010. This policy change is expected to slow the PV market in Spain significantly over the next few years.

Germany, which was the number one solar market for years, also has a feed-in tariff program for renewable energy. It aims to reduce the premium solar electricity rates gradually and predictably until solar energy achieves price parity with conventional power. As the result of amendments to the German law in mid-2008, payments for PVs declined considerably starting in January 2009, reflecting a reduction in installed cost. The stability and consistency of Germany’s feed-in tariff has proved beneficial for continuous market development, and the country is expected to regain the top PV market position in 2009.

The Chinese PV industry is leading in silicon-based cell production, primarily to meet soaring demand from Spain and Germany. Combined Chinese and Taiwanese production accounted for 39 percent of the global cell output in 2008, up from only 7 percent in 2004.

On an individual company basis, the German company Q-Cells was the number one producer of solar cells in 2008, First Solar of the United States ranked second, and Suntech of China came in third.²²

Cconcentrating solar power (CSP)— has seen considerable development in the United States, with more than 350 MW of CSP built in California between the mid-1980s and the early 1990s. The country also hosts one of the world’s largest CSP plants, the 64-MW Nevada Solar One CSP plant. The Mediterranean region has started to see increasing new CSP capacity as well, making Europe, North Africa, and Middle East a potential global hub for CSP generation. Two new CSP plants came on-line in 2008—the 50-MW Andasol-1 plant in Spain and a 5-MW plant in California. Projects with more than 6,000 MW of capacity are now in the pipeline in the United States, mostly planned for California, Arizona, and Florida. Over 3,000 MW of CSP projects have been announced in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East; out of these, 2,500 MW are to be built in Spain. Israel and the United Arab Emirates opened tenders for 350 MW projects in the Middle East during 2008, and projects are now planned for Algeria, Morocco, and Egypt.

Biodiesal from non-food crops on marginal land that is more productive

Ardent Energy Group has formed a sub-branch in Adis Ababa, Ethiopia to grow jatropha and castor oil plant. A 50-year lease on the land includes permission to operate an oil crushing plant and biodiesel processing facility has been given on marginal land in Western Ethiopia

Jatropha and castor were selected as the first source of oil by AEG due to the resiliency of the plant, its ability to grow in marginal soil conditions and the extremely high-yield of oil to hectare as compared to other crops such as soybean. The ability of jatropha to thrive in harsh climates is also favorable, as the plant will not be competing with land that could otherwise be used for food production.

RESTORING THE LIVELIHOODS OF POST-TSUNAMI VICTIMS IN THE MALDIVES WITH IRIS AUTOPOTS

I saw this article here about how this innovate method of farming in uncompromising circumstances was leading to improved community facilities (aka Fair trade-type arrangement) as well as  local people earning a better and more sustainable living using these autopots. It would seem that the Maldives are very sandy are were not much use for agriculture but are now into producing golden melons much loved by the tourists! And the system is sustainable, eco friendly etc.  etc. So I went searching and found this picture.

What appears to be the way it works is that water + nutrients flow through the pipe to a valve on the lower right – the little box then fills and allows liquid through to the tray on the left. Once full, the valve closes and does not open again until all the liquid has been taken up by the plant in the big pot.

These are the types used in the Maldives. However, in many other areas big commercial systems using the same system in big banks  in China and many other places in Malaysia (where it was first developed) and other Far Eastern Countries.

Biomass made into electricty produces more miles than bio-ethanol

Electric vehicles using biomass converted into electricity travelled 81 percent farther per area of cropland than vehicles with internal combustion engines running on  ethanol, researchers in California found.

A small sport utility vehicle could do 36,000 km on the energy produced from a hectare of switch-grass converted into ethanol. But converting that biomass into electricity allowed a battery-powered SUV to get 56,000 km on the highway, the study published in Science magazine said.

But we do not yet produce enough switch grass to run power stations nor is the development of 2nd generation  bio-fuels sufficiently advanced for this to be a current reality. But certainly the idea that electric cars could prove to be more efficient than those run on bio-fuels is something to bear in mind.

Source: http://planetark.org/wen/52798

Lives changed by a millipede

This is in Kenya, near Mombasa

Look around at the lush and fertile landscape and it’s hard to believe that this is a man-made environment. Yellow weaver birds making a huge din whilst building their pendulous nests, a sleek cormorant prepares to dive into the water and even a hippo wallows in the mud.

The hippo as it turns out has a vital role to play in the ecosystem. The mud on it’s back is removed from the ponds and so stops the water hole from silting up. The crocodiles too play their part. They feed on the dead farm animals or remnants from the thriving organic fish-farm. And their excreta helps fertilise the water making the algae grow, which is food for the fish as well as nutrients for the rice paddies and bananas

Only 30 years ago – this thriving forest landscape was a rocky, lunar-like desert, created by mining coral for cement. Actually, there are still parts of it which have been newly quarried to give one an idea of how it all started. The inspiration behind the transformation is Dr. Rene Haller, a Swiss agronomist, who has just celebrated his 50th anniversary of living on the Kenyan Coast.

He started experimenting with different trees to see if any would put down roots into the dry, rocky terrain. The Casuarina tree, whose seeds had been washed onto Kenyan shores when Krakatoa erupted in the 1860s, was the best candidate. It produces nutrients in nodules on its roots and so is self-sustaining

But Haller’s most miraculous discovery was the beneficial effects of the millipede. This marvellous red-legged insect loves eating the needles dropped by the casuarinas. It’s pooh then becomes the humus for the more vegetation – thus starting the whole ecosystem development.

Haller’s vision didn’t stop there. He managed to set up lots of different business enterprises supported by rehabilitated land, both employing and providing food for hundreds of local people. He also managed to demonstrate the value of conservation – for example, by showing farmers the benefits of tree-planting in preserving water for irrigation.

To find out more about his ideas go to www.haller.org.uk

2 Suriname men win global environmental prize

Wanze and Hugo are descendants of African slaves.  These Africans took off into the rainforest when they were brought to Surinam as slaves where they have lived a tribe ever since and are known as the Maron Tribe. The Saramaca — the largest Maroon tribe in Suriname — live by fishing, hunting, planting crops and gathering wild nuts and fruits.

Wanze and Hugo have been fighting tirelessly, and not without threats being made against them, for more than 10 years.

“They saved not only their communities’ 9,000 square kilometers of forest, but strengthened the possibility of saving countless more,” therepresentative of  Goldman Environmental Foundation. Wanze and Hugo are to share the $150,000 cash prize.

Third-World Stove Soot Is Target in Climate Fight

This article from the New York Times implies that 18% of the global warming effect is caused by soot as against 40% from CO2. In areas where there are few vehicles and little electricity, soot from smoky wood fire that are used by nearly everyone in these poor areas for cooking may be having a major impact on polar warming. As you will from elsewhere in this blog, there are many attempts to provide cooking facilities which do not have unpleasant side effects for the users and prevent them having to cut down trees.  Appropriate technological solutions are coming thick and fast and this might have the unforeseeable side effect of reducing polar melting.

A delightful quote from the article ‘Like tiny heat-absorbing black sweaters, soot particles warm the air and melt the ice by absorbing the sun’s heat when they settle on glaciers.’

Prize winning Kyoto Box

This box, costing a little over £3 a time, will save wood in poorer countries, as it uses solar power to turn it into an oven.

It won an award for sustainablilty as it was th simplest idea put forward, that will help save the forests and save the poorest people a lot of time and/or money.

It is made of 2 cardboard boxes with newspaper between the layers for insulation.  The inside is painted black and the outside is covered with silver foil. This  maximises the amount of heat that is trapped inside. It is appropriate technology that can easily produced locally, and because it is a flatpack, is easily transported.

Slum Cooker Protects Environment, Helps Poor

This cooker is a community resource which will burn the rubbish, save the forest and provide hot water for slum dwellers and people on fefugee camps. This one has been set up in  Kibera in Nairobiin Kenya. It has taken a long time to design a cooker that will turn at a high enough temperature to break down the toxins.

Now the Kenyan Red Cross is preparing to install similar cookers in the Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps near the Somali border, where cholera has already broken out this year, and at least one European aid organisation is looking at wide deployment.

Juma Ochieng of the Red Cross told Reuters the Community Cooker had benefits for health, sanitation and conservation, and would create employment for young people working to build and maintain the stoves.

To see more look here