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Alex Knapp
FORBES STAFF
http://www.forbes.com//research-confirms-that-carbondiox/
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Anumakonda Jagadeesh Facebook 26 May 2015
PLANT CAM PLANTS LIKE AGAVE AND OPUNTIA TO
REDUCE HIGH TEMPERATURES.
Excellent.
It is a tragedy hundreds of deaths took place even in
temperatures below 45 degrees Celsius. There were
places in Andhra Pradesh like Rentachintala which
experience high temperatures in summer.
In Rajasthan to face hot temperatures people use neem
leaves on head.
Common sense tells us that CAM plants act as Carbon
Sink. Crassulacean acid metabolism, also known
as CAM photosynthesis, is a carbon fixation pathway
that evolved in some plants as an adaptation
to arid conditions. In a plant using full CAM,
the stomata in the leaves remain shut during the day to
reduce evapotranspiration, but open at night to
collect carbon dioxide (CO2). The CO2 is stored as the
four-carbon acid malate in vacuoles at night, and then in
the daytime, the malate is transported
to chloroplasts where it is converted back to CO2, which is
the world is still derived from food crops such as corn and
sugarcane. Speculators have argued for years now that
using such crops for fuel can drive up the price of food.
Agave, however, can grow on hot dry land with a highyield and low environmental impact. The researchers
proposing the plants use have modeled a facility in
Jalisco, Mexico, which converts the high sugar content of
the plant into ethanol.
The research, published in the journal Energy and
Environmental Science, provides the first ever life-cycle
analysis of the energy and greenhouse gas balance of
producing ethanol with agave. Each megajoule of energy
produced from the agave-to-ethanol process resulted in a
net emission of 35 grams of carbon dioxide, far below the
85g/MJ estimated for corn ethanol production. Burning
gasoline produces roughly 100g/MJ.The characteristics
of the agave suit it well to bioenergy production, but also
reveal its potential as a crop that is adaptable to future
climate change, adds University of Oxford plant scientist
Andrew Smith. In a world where arable land and water
resources are increasingly scarce, these are key
attributes in the food versus fuel argument, which is
likely to intensify given the expected large-scale growth
in biofuel production.
Agave already appeared to be an interesting bio ethanol
source due to its high sugar content and its swift growth.
For the first time Researchers at the universities of
Oxford and Sydney have now conducted the first lifecycle analysis of the energy and greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions of agave-derived ethanol and present their
promising results in the journal Energy & Environmental
Science.
On both life cycle energy and GHG emissions agave
scores at least as well as corn, switch grass and
sugarcane, while reaching a similar ethanol output. The
big advantages agave has over the before mentioned
plants is that it can grow in dry areas and on poor soil,
thus practically eliminating their competition with food
crops and drastically decreasing their pressure on water
resources.
Plants which use crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM),
which include the cacti and Agaves, are of particular
interest since they can survive for many months without
water and when water is available they use it with an
efficiency that can be more than 10 times that of other
plants, such as maize, sorghum, miscanthus and
switchgrass. CAM species include no major current or
potential food crops; they have however for centuries
been cultivated for alcoholic beverages and low-lignin
fibres.
They may therefore also be ideal for producing biofuels
on land unsuited for food production.
In Mxico, there are active research programs and
stakeholders investigating Agave spp. as a bioenergy
Source: Internet
Opuntia Farm
Agave Farm
ASIA
Hundreds die in India heat wave
Death toll from severe heat wave reportedly crosses 500, with the country's southern
states the worst affected.
25 May 2015 16:38 GMT |
The
government of Andhra Pradesh has declared the situation caused by the heat wave as
"alarming" [AFP]
The death toll from a severe heat wave has risen to 500 in India, with at least 470 of the
deaths reported in India's two southern states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Hospitals in both states were flooded with patients suffering from sun stroke and
dehydration from the intense heat, as the weather office predicted similar conditions for
the next two weeks.
The situation has been aggravated further with frequent power cuts.
Some people complained that the water supply at the hospital in Visakhapatnam city of
Andhra Pradesh was irregular, and fans were not functioning.
The government of Andhra Pradesh had last week declared the situation caused by the
heat wave was "alarming" and appealed to people not to venture out between 11am and
4pm.
The chief minister of the state also announced it would deliver aid of one lakh rupees
($1572) to the families of victims of heat wave.
Humidity
Al Jazeera's senior weather presenter, Rob McElwee, said: Temperatures this high
occur elsewhere in the world and are survivable, but its the level of humidity which
causes heat stress.
"Chennais 42C on Monday was accompanied by 43 percent relative humidity. These
two figures together, temperature and humidity, create a dangerous heat stress
environment.
Meanwhile, Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) officials in southern Hyderabad city
said that the acute heat would continue for the next two weeks.
"In coastal Andhra Pradesh, the temperature now in most of the districts is between 43
and 47C. In Telangana (a neighbouring state), most of the places recorded 40 to 45C.
Severe heat wave conditions persist in both states. This is expected to continue today
and tomorrow. After that, both the states would get some relief as we expect rainfall.
Temperatures would fall by three to four degrees but the relief would only be temporary.
This type of heat wave would continue till the onset of monsoon over the southern
coast," said IMD assistant director, M Narasimha Rao, in Hyderabad.
He added that the monsoon, which was expected to hit the southern Kerala coast on
May 30, would reach Andhra Pradesh and Telangana by the first week of June,
providing respite to people.
The twin southern states have so far been the worst affected from this year's heat wave.
India has long-suffered deadly heat waves and periods of extreme temperatures have
led to thousands of deaths since the 1990s.
Northern, western and central parts of India suffer intense heat waves from mid-April to
July before monsoon rains hit the region and provide relief.
Source: Al Jazeera And Reuters
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