Do you want to know a quick easy way to clean the silver cutlery for your Christmas dinner? An easier way than elbow grease and silver polish? We managed to get Keith to give us a tip using science to do the job for you.
Basically, silver gets tarnished on exposure to the air. The tarnish is a result of a chemical reaction between the silver and sulphur substances in the air. This produces a layer of silver sulphide on the silver. You can use polish to remove it, or you can use chemistry. Believe us, folks, the chemistry does the trick and you can get on with something else.
- a large dish to take about three or four pints of hot water
- a sheet of aluminium foil to cover the bottom.
- hot water
- gloves to protect your hands – you will be making an alkaline solution so don’t get it on your hands
- a tablespoon of baking soda
- a tablespoon of salt
- Lay the aluminium on the bottom of the dish or a pan (BUT NOT AN ALUMINIUM PAN!)
- Place the cutlery piece by piece on the foil. (IF THE CUTLERY HAS HANDLES OF ANY OTHER MATERIAL DO NOT DO THIS, YOU DO NOT WANT TO RISK AFFECTING THEM.)
- You need hot almost boiling water. Pour about two pints into a jug and put it in your sink. The reason you do it there is because you may get some effervescence or frothing. Add half a tablespoon of the baking soda and the same amount of salt salt and stir it up.
- Pour it over the cutlery in the large dish. Prepare another two pints of hot water and add the remaining half tablespoon of baking soda and half tablespoon of salt.
- Then just watch, you will see the tarnish mysteriously disappears and the silver is cleaned.
- The tarnish will be transferred to the aluminium, which will form as a residue on the foil.
- Using gloves, remove the silver when clean and thoroughly rinse and clean it in cold water.
- Pour the solution away.
[If you happen to get any of the solution near the eyes, wash with cold water]
This is a very simple electrochemical reaction that will not harm your silver. Essentially, Silver Sulphide in an alkaline medium will allow the sulphur in the Silver sulphide to react with the aluminium, to form aluminium sulphide, leaving the silver free of tranish.
If you are interested, this is shown by the chemical formula
3Ag2S + 2Al -> 6Ag + Al2S3
Silver Sulphide Alumnium Silver Aluminium sulphide
Remember to rinse thoroughly.
If you found that interesting and helpful, you may like to check out Keith’s book SCHOOLBOY SCIENCE REMEMBERED, available from Amazon. To get a flavour, just check out the video clip of the book – it will only take about a minute to view. You will find it in the September archive; just scroll down it. The book is available through the West Uist Chronicle bookshop at the bottom of the blog, or directly through Amazon
All the best for a Happy Christmas


What are the health risks of space travel?
The concept of space tourism is quickly becoming a reality. But taking a trip to outer space isn’t as simple as it may seem. Before donning your spacesuit, there are a few things you should know about the effects that space travel can have on the human body.
First and foremost, space travelers must be screened for certain diseases, explains Richard A. Scheuring, DO, FAsMA, an osteopathic physician and a NASA flight surgeon. Health problems such as heart disease or diabetes cannot be easily managed during space travel.
“Before space flight, a really, really good physical should be completed by a doctor to rule out any potentially dangerous health issues,” says Dr. Scheuring.
Once an individual has been cleared to travel, the following health concerns should be taken into consideration.
When taking short-term (10-14 days) visits, the first major issue travelers will notice is balance.
“When they first get to space, it takes them a while to figure out what’s up, down, right, left, because part of your inner ear turns off and takes about a day or two for them to get oriented to microgravity,” explains Dr. Scheuring. Similarly, it will take travelers a couple of days to get their “sea legs” back on Earth upon returning.
An urge to urinate
Space travelers will also experience what is known as a “cephalad,” which occurs when the fluid in the legs moves towards your core and towards your head. Travelers will experience a stuffy head and the frequent need to urinate due to gravity not pulling blood into their legs.
After 2-3 days, the fluid balance becomes normal for space. But similar to the balance issue, it will take a few days upon returning to Earth for things to get back to normal.
While these are the two big changes space travelers will experience, Dr. Scheuring says there are other changes that will occur, especially for longer-duration trips.
“There are other subtle immune changes that will occur when you’re up there for two or three weeks. Long-duration astronauts start developing a relative immunocompromised state because they’re basically in a sterile environment, so they’re not introduced to new bugs: no viruses, no COVID, nothing like that,” says Dr. Scheuring.
Upon returning to earth, space travelers must wait 3-7 days for their immune cells to “wake back up” and get their immunity back.
Back on Earth
What about the effects of traveling back to Earth? There are definitely some sensations that space travelers will feel during their return flight. Although return flights are usually quick, many travelers will get nauseous or throw up.
Upon trying to stand up, travelers may feel wobbly. To combat these issues, travelers should minimize the amount of time they’re standing by themselves. An IV with fluids will usually be started to counteract the volume loss, and gradual sips of water or Gatorade will be encouraged.
What lies ahead
Screening for diseases, anticipating changes in balance and fluids, understanding impacts on immunity, and preparing for re-entry—these are just some of the steps that space travelers will learn to take as the space tourism industry begins gaining traction.
“What’s exciting to me is that much of what we learn supporting astronauts actually translates to health improvements for everyone,” says Dr. Scheuring. “NASA scientists and physicians share their research with the healthcare community, leading to incredible advances in care for those who travel to space and for those here on Earth.”


One morning in June 2017, while fighting the Frye Fire in southern Arizona, firefighters began visiting the on-site paramedic complaining of body aches, sore throats, fever, and fatigue. The paramedic diagnosed them with strep throat, a bacterial infection that can pass person to person or through food or water, and sent them to the regional medical center.
Then another crew showed up with the same symptoms. And then, a third.
Medical staff estimated nearly 300 people might have been exposed. They risked overwhelming the local hospital and spreading the infection into town.
Instead, sick crews were isolated, and a doctor and antibiotics brought to them. Other staff disinfected gear, dumped water, and tossed out catered food. People were told to stop shaking hands and use hand sanitizer. They considered these measures a success: Only 63 people were diagnosed with strep throat.
The incident and other infectious disease reports shared through the Wildfire Lessons Learned Center, a federally funded database that works to increase wildland firefighter safety, illustrates how infectious diseases can rapidly spread through fire camps — where large numbers of firefighters live for weeks, or months, when fighting fires.
With the looming fire season ripe for starting blazes in the Southwest, state and federal officials face the prospect of the new coronavirus, COVID-19, spreading through fire camps and potentially jumping to nearby towns, or returning home with firefighters. Crews commonly cross state lines, moving from one fire to the next.
“We do transfer these folks around the country as fires spread and as one state needs these folks less and another state needs them more,” said Luke Montrose, an environmental toxicologist and assistant professor at Boise State University. “In an instance where you’re trying to deal with a pandemic virus, this may be the exact type of activity that ends up spreading this around the country.”
To counter the threat, authorities are changing how wildland firefighters live and work as well as how fires will be managed this summer.
In New Mexico, these measures are already being tested in the field. Wildfires started in early May near Carlsbad, Lumberton, Mountainair and Reserve. Forest Service and local crews quickly extinguished or worked to contain all of them.
But the potential for large fires will increase through May, according to National Interagency Fire Center predictions. This month, the Southwest’s fire risk rises from moderate to high. Already, temperatures have run three to five degrees above normal in the northern mountains. The Southwest Coordination Center forecasts an above-average fire year, which often comes to a close when the monsoon arrives in July.
Fire tactics will shift
Wildfire managers in New Mexico have decided to quickly put out all wildfires this season, rather than letting some burn as they normally would. And the Forest Service intends to call for early aviation support. Fast suppression offers the best chance to keep fires small and, with that, fire camps smaller.
“There’s an emphasis on the initial attack and trying to catch fires before they get big,” Larry (Kaili) McCray, chair of the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) Emergency Medical Committee established in response to COVID-19. The NWCG helps organize response to wildfire across the country, moving resources, including personnel, around so no single agency must fight a massive fire alone.
The Forest Service and New Mexico State Forestry Division also canceled prescribed burns, normally run to each year to clear undergrowth that fuels large fires, to spare adjacent communities their smoke. Research from Harvard suggests a link between breathing fine particulate matter, like that in smoke, with worsened outcomes from COVID-19. An animal study showed habitually breathing woodsmoke decreases the lungs’ abilities to clear out pathogens.
But some worry those changes—made to protect public health—might pass those troubles on to firefighters.
Extinguishing every wildfire could add up to a longer fire season and one that subjects firefighters to more smoke, said Montrose, with Boise State University, who began studying the health effects of wildland firefighting a decade ago.
“Fires that firefighters otherwise wouldn’t have been suppressing, now they are going to be, so they may be more heavily, more chronically exposed,” he said.
The National Multi-Agency Coordinating Group’s (NMAC) Southwest regional COVID-19 plan briefly states that, while research hasn’t specifically studied wildland firefighters, exposure to wildfire smoke may lead to increased susceptibility to the virus. The Fire Management Board’s advice agrees and suggests fire managers adjust tactics and objectives with that in mind.
How well firefighters come through the season will be determined in part by how well equipped they are with handwashing stations, mobile shower units, and places to isolate sick firefighters, Montrose said.
With governments already straining under expenses, he worries about shortfalls. More fires will stretch those resources thin, as would a COVID-19 outbreak among firefighters. Much hinges on when and where fires start this season.
Overhauling ‘standard operating procedures’ for a pandemic
One of the chief concerns for firefighter health is where they live when they’re on the job: in fire camps. The NWCG describes fire camps as ideal environments for outbreaks of infectious diseases, with their “high-density living and working conditions, lack of access to and use of soap and sanitizers, and a transient workforce.”
Already, wildland firefighters are familiar with “camp crud,” an upper and lower respiratory tract infection accompanied by fatigue and a cough that recurs among firefighters. Incidences often peak toward the season’s end among rundown immune systems. NWCG documents recommend ramped-up sanitation practices to reduce its spread.
“It’s great that they recognize that, but it may not bode well for COVID-19,” said Montrose. “In addition to recognizing that it can spread through a camp, they had recognized and documented incidences where [camp crud] had spread from camp to camp.”
Both New Mexico and federal wildland fire managers say they’re preparing plans to limit the spread of COVID-19.
“We expect that we’re going to have to fight fire,” said McCray. “And in all of the models that we’ve been discussing, we planned for the worst-case scenario.”
Firefighters travel in crew buggies that carry 10 to 15 people at a time and cluster by the hundreds in fire camps, staying for weeks in the woods with little access to running water. These practical realities make it harder for them to abide by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advice, like keeping distance from others and washing hands frequently.
Still, fire coordination groups have encouraged those practices and instituted daily verbal screenings that check personnel for signs of COVID-19. Tents will be more spaced out and overall camp sizes kept small. Some support positions — people who manage finances or provide firefighters with maps, for example — will move out of fire camps. Crews will maintain physical distance from one another during briefings, or may do them by radio.
“Fire camp is going to look different this year,” McCray said.
Any new hires will be asked to self-isolate for two weeks, if possible, and monitored to ensure they’re symptom-free. Members of 20-person crews are advised to avoid contact with other crews, outside personnel, and the general public. Camps will be set up so crews can keep to themselves.
These new approaches to outside contact should mitigate concerns within a crew, McCray said, so that when firefighters line up for lengthy hikes, they don’t worry that the person in front of them is exhaling something they don’t want to breathe in.
This season, rapid-containment efforts will strive to keep fires small in part to limit the number of people involved in fighting them. If a fire does grow, Forest Service staff say their goal will be to balance having necessary resources on hand to protect lives and property with minimizing COVID-19’s transmission among both first responders and communities.
If a firefighter does turn up with a temperature above 100.4, that person will be isolated and sent for testing at local health facilities.
The Southwest regional COVID-19 plan says to treat a fever that high as confirmation of a coronavirus infection even if a test is unavailable.
In New Mexico, the state’s Forestry Division is adapting much like its national counterpart. The Forestry Division, which manages 43 million acres, worked with local and tribal partners to create new guidelines for their staff, said Vernon Muller, resource protection bureau chief with the New Mexico Department of Natural Resources.
Those include self-screenings at the start, middle, and end of every shift, even while on active fire assignments, for any signs of sickness. Only two individuals will ride in an engine while a string of chase vehicles transports the rest of the crew.
Crew buggies will carry a fraction of their capacity. Temperature tests will be taken. Meals will be packaged individually instead of served buffet-style. Already, Muller said, two individuals declined an assignment after their self-assessment questionnaire found they or their family members may have been exposed to coronavirus.
But these choices create tradeoffs. Some say it’s still not possible to keep six feet apart, and crowding the roads with almost twice as many vehicles creates a hazard of its own and doubles the workload when it’s time to sanitize trucks and equipment.
And because firefighters are paid only when on-assignment, passing on an assignment because they suspect exposure to COVID-19 cuts into their paycheck.
“That’s a tough one to override in all sorts of employment,” said Travis Dotson, an analyst with the Wildfire Lessons Learned Center. “There’s people that will go to work sick because they need to work, and we will face that as well in fire.”
There’s a cultural challenge, too. Firefighters are accustomed to working long hours, through fatigue, discomfort, and dirt, in the heat, and while shouldering packs of more than 45 pounds.
“‘Gut it out’ culture allows us to be able to do that work, and like so many things, that same culture can promote almost the thing that is going to cause harm, like not reporting an illness,” Dotson said.
He’s seen some change: social media posts of firefighters training while six feet apart from one another and wearing masks.
Some people, Dotson noted, are excited about large fire camps becoming a thing of the past. They’re noisy and crowded, a tough place to stay well and get rest even in good circumstances. A more dispersed model might suit a lot of firefighters, Dotson said, even if it spurs logistical nightmares.
What’ll work best to change behavior, he said, is buy-in at the boots-on-the-ground level.
Learn by doing
As reports about how guidelines are working come in, the Wildfire Lessons Learned Center shares them on a mass email list, through social media, and with regional safety specialists. People also use an online forum to ask questions or share ideas.
One “rapid lesson sharing” report posted on wildfirelessons.net from an April grassfire in Montana said firefighters wore masks during their 90-minute drive to the fire — but found them “hot, distracting, and uncomfortable.”
The supervisor noticed people, including drivers, feeling lethargic as a result and, to avoid touching their faces, not eating or drinking water although both are important components of an “alert and functioning firefighter.” More vehicles meant more drivers, he added, requiring someone who just spent 16 hours sawing trees to drive back to camp — “Is this what we want? I don’t.”
Everything needed to be reconsidered: cleaning bathrooms before and after use. Dodging handshakes from crews reluctant to drop that practice. Not taking back a pen someone had asked to use.
In the future, he noted, they will pack extra bottled water and soap so they’re not applying sanitizer to grit-covered hands, and a bottle of bleach for field cleaning. They received sack lunches, but the calorie content came up short, and because firefighters weren’t allowed in stores when they stopped for fuel, they just went hungry — and concerned about whether the person preparing their food wore personal protective equipment.
In that report, the hotshot crew superintendent wrote that while they had talked about and trained with social distance in mind, “It is damn tough to take these practices to the fireline.”
The supervisor said his assistant summed it up best: the agency can’t manage COVID. It’ll need to be managed within individual crews. “We need to limit the spread from unit to unit,” he said. “This is what will cripple us collectively.”


How to Recognize the Early Signs of Alcoholism & Alcohol Use Disorder Treatment Options
Signs of Alcohol Abuse
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a medical condition characterized by an impaired ability to stop or control alcohol use despite adverse social, occupational, or health consequences. It encompasses the conditions that some people refer to as alcohol abuse, alcohol dependence, alcohol addiction, and the colloquial term, alcoholism. Considered a brain disorder, early signs of alcoholism can be mild, moderate, or severe.
Lasting changes in the brain caused by alcohol misuse perpetuate AUD and make individuals vulnerable to relapse. The good news is that no matter how severe the problem may seem, or how early signs of alcoholism show, evidence-based treatment with behavioral therapies, mutual-support groups, and/or medications can help people with AUD achieve and maintain recovery. According to a national survey, 14.1 million adults ages 18 and older (5.6 percent of this age group) had AUD in 2019.
Physical Signs of Alcohol Abuse
Drinking too much – on a single occasion or over time – can take a serious toll on your health.  Here’s how the early signs of alcoholism can affect your body:
Brain: Alcohol interferes with the brain’s communication pathways and can affect the way the brain looks and works. These disruptions can change mood and behavior, and make it harder to think clearly and move with coordination.
Heart: Drinking a lot over a long time or too much on a single occasion can damage the heart, causing problems including:
- Cardiomyopathy – Stretching and drooping of heart muscle
- Arrhythmias – Irregular heart beat
- High blood pressure
Liver: Heavy drinking takes a toll on the liver and can lead to a variety of problems and liver inflammations including:
Pancreas: Early signs of alcoholism causes the pancreas to produce toxic substances that can eventually lead to pancreatitis, a dangerous inflammation and swelling of the blood vessels in the pancreas that prevents proper digestion.
Cancer: According to the National Cancer Institute: “There is a strong scientific consensus that the early signs of alcoholism can cause several types of cancer. In its Report on Carcinogens, the National Toxicology Program of the US Department of Health and Human Services lists consumption of alcoholic beverages as a known human carcinogen.
“The evidence indicates that the more alcohol a person drinks–particularly the more alcohol a person drinks regularly over time–the higher his or her risk of developing alcohol-associated cancer. Even those who have no more than one drink per day and people who binge drink (those who consume 4 or more drinks for women and 5 or more drinks for men in one sitting) have a modestly increased risk of some cancers. Based on data from 2009, an estimated 3.5% of cancer deaths in the United States (about 19,500 deaths were alcohol-related.”
Clear patterns have emerged between alcohol consumption and increased risks of certain types of cancer:
- Head and neck cancer, including oral cavity, pharynx, and larynx cancers.
- Esophageal cancer, particularly esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. In addition, people who inherit a deficiency in an enzyme that metabolizes alcohol have been found to have substantially increased risks of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma if they consume alcohol.
- Liver cancer
- Breast cancer: Studies have consistently found an increased risk of breast cancer in women with increasing alcohol intake and early signs of alcoholism. Women who consume about 1 drink per day have a 5 to 9 percent higher chance of developing breast cancer than women who do not drink at all.
- Colorectal cancer
Immune System: Drinking too much can weaken your immune system, making your body a much easier target for disease. Chronic drinkers are more liable to contract diseases like pneumonia and tuberculosis than people who do not drink too much. Drinking a lot on a single occasion slows your body’s ability to ward off infections – even up to 24 hours after getting drunk.
Warning Signs of Alcoholism
Healthcare professionals use criteria from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), to assess whether a person has AUD and to determine the severity of the disorder that is present. Severity is based on the number of criteria a person meets based on their symptoms—mild (2–3 criteria), moderate (4–5 criteria), or severe (6 or more criteria).
A healthcare provider might ask the following questions to assess a person’s early signs of alcoholism.
In the past year, have you:
- Had times when you ended up drinking more, or longer, than you intended?
- More than once wanted to cut down or stop drinking, or tried to, but couldn’t?
- Spent a lot of time drinking? Or being sick or getting over other aftereffects?
- Wanted a drink so badly you couldn’t think of anything else?
- Found that drinking—or being sick from drinking—often interfered with taking care of your home or family? Or caused job troubles? Or school problems?
- Continued to drink even though it was causing trouble with your family or friends?
- Given up or cut back on activities that were important or interesting to you, or gave you pleasure, in order to drink?
- More than once gotten into situations while or after drinking that increased your chances of getting hurt (such as driving, swimming, using machinery, walking in a dangerous area, or having unprotected sex)?
- Continued to drink even though it was making you feel depressed or anxious or adding to another health problem? Or after having had a memory blackout?
- Had to drink much more than you once did to get the effect you want? Or found that your usual number of drinks had much less effect than before?
- Found that when the effects of alcohol were wearing off, you had withdrawal symptoms, such as trouble sleeping, shakiness, restlessness, nausea, sweating, a racing heart, or a seizure? Or sensed things that were not there?
Any of these symptoms may be cause for concern. The more early signs of alcoholism, the more urgent the need for change.
How to Recognize the Early Signs of Alcoholism
Those with substance use disorder (SUD) often try to hide their symptoms and downplay their problem. If you’re worried that a friend or family member may be misusing drugs or experiencing alcohol use disorder, look for the following early signs of alcoholism and substance abuse:
Physical warning signs of SUD
- Bloodshot eyes, pupils larger or smaller than usual
- Changes in appetite or sleep patterns
- Deterioration of physical appearance, personal grooming habits
- Runny nose or sniffling
- Sudden weight loss or weight gain
- Tremors, slurred speech, or impaired coordination
- Unusual odors on breath, body, or clothing
Behavioral warning signs of SUD
- Using causes difficulties in one’s relationships
- Engaging in secretive or suspicious behaviors
- Frequently getting into legal trouble, including fights, accidents, illegal activities, and driving under the influence
- Neglecting responsibilities at work, school, or home, including neglecting one’s children
- Sudden change in friends, favorite hangouts, and hobbies
- Unexplained need for money or financial problems. May borrow or steal money.
- Using drugs under dangerous conditions (driving while using drugs, using dirty needles, having unprotected sex)
- Increased drug tolerance (the need to use more of the drug to experience the same effects one used to achieve with smaller amounts)
- Misusing drugs to avoid or relieve withdrawal symptoms (nausea, restlessness, insomnia, depression, sweating, shaking, anxiety)
- Loss of control over drug misuse (using more than intended, unable to stop)
- Life revolves around drug use (always thinking of using, figuring how to get more, or recovering from use)
- Abandoning enjoyable activities(hobbies, sports, and socializing) to use drugs
- Continuing to use regardless of negative consequences (alcohol blackouts, infections, mood swings, depression, paranoia)
Psychological warning signs of SUD
- Appearing fearful, anxious, or paranoid, with no reason
- Lack of motivation; appearing tired or “spaced out”
- Periods of unusual increased energy, nervousness, or instability
- Sudden mood swings, increased irritability, or angry outbursts
- Unexplained change in personality or attitude
Get Help for Alcoholism
Several evidence-based treatment approaches are available for the early signs of alcoholism. One size does not fit all and a treatment approach that may work for one person may not work for another. Treatment can be outpatient and/or inpatient and be provided by specialty programs, therapists, and doctors.
Three medications are currently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to help people stop or reduce their drinking and prevent relapse: naltrexone (oral and long-acting injectable), acamprosate, and disulfiram. All these medications are non-addictive, and they may be used alone or combined with behavioral treatments or mutual-support groups.
Behavioral treatments, also known as alcohol counseling or “talk therapy,” provided by licensed therapists are aimed at changing drinking behavior. Examples of behavioral treatments are brief interventions and reinforcement approaches, treatments that build motivation and teach skills for coping and preventing relapse, and mindfulness-based therapies.
Mutual-support groups provide peer support for stopping or reducing the early signs of alcoholism. Group meetings are available in most communities, at low or no cost, at convenient times and locations—including an increasing presence online. This means they can be especially helpful to individuals at risk for relapse to drinking. Combined with medications and behavioral treatment provided by health professionals, mutual-support groups can offer a valuable added layer of support.
Please note: People with severe AUD may need medical help to avoid alcohol withdrawal if they decide to stop drinking. Alcohol withdrawal is a potentially life-threatening process that can occur when someone who has been drinking heavily for a prolonged period of time suddenly stops drinking. Doctors can prescribe medications to address these symptoms and make the process safer and less distressing.
Can People With AUD Recover?
Many people with early signs of alcoholism do recover, but setbacks are common among people in treatment. Seeking professional help early can prevent relapse to drinking. Behavioral therapies can help people develop skills to avoid and overcome triggers, such as stress, that might lead to drinking. Medications also can help deter drinking during times when individuals may be at greater risk of relapse (e.g., divorce, death of a family member).
If you or someone you love is seeking a safe, secure, and compassionate resource for early signs of alcoholism, We Level Up TX is here for you. Call us and speak with an addiction counselor today about our levels of care.


What can be done to control or relieve nausea and vomiting?
- Drink clear or ice-cold drinks.
- Eat light, bland foods (such as saltine crackers or plain bread).
- Avoid fried, greasy, or sweet foods.
- Eat slowly and eat smaller, more frequent meals.
- Do not mix hot and cold foods.
- Drink beverages slowly.
What causes nausea for no reason?
The timing of the nausea or vomiting can indicate the cause. When appearing shortly after a meal, nausea or vomiting may be caused by food poisoning, gastritis (inflammation of the stomach lining), an ulcer, or bulimia.
Why do I feel queasy all the time?
Common causes of nausea include drug side effects, food poisoning, motion sickness, pregnancy, and drinking too much alcohol. Sometimes intense or unpleasant smells induce feelings of nausea. Intense pain, as with a migraine headache or injury, can also cause nausea.
Why do I feel like throwing up but I don t?
Vomiting is what happens when your body empties its stomach contents through your mouth. Not all cases of nausea cause vomiting. Your nausea might be caused by something as simple as eating a food that doesn’t agree with your stomach. But in other cases, nausea has more serious causes.


Betadel was created by Russell Perdue, an American student, as an attempt to create a better writing system for American English, and also as a code for him to write in. He wanted to make it phonetic, unlike the current way of writing English words. Each letter represents one sound, each sound is represented by one letter, and there are no diphthongs. The letters are based mainly off Cyrillic and Greek letters, because the creator though they looked cool. Betadel was named after its first two consonants - B (Beta) and D (Delta).
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They
are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another
in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
Constructed scripts for: Ainu | Arabic | Chinese languages | Dutch | English | Hawaiian | Japanese | Korean | Russian | Sanskrit | Spanish | Tagalog | Taino | Turkish | Vietnamese | Welsh | Other natural languages | Colour-based scripts | Phonetic/universal scripts | Constructed scripts for constructed languages | Adaptations of existing alphabets | Fictional alphabets | Magical alphabets | A-Z index | How to submit a constructed script
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35 The First Nowell (word document)
Bekijk hier een video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJE9aqw5Qx8
Allen 1. The first Nowell,
the angel did say,
was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay.
In fields where they
lay keeping their sheeps
S + A on a cold winter’s night that was so deep.
Mannen on a cold winter’s night so deep.
Refrein (allen) Nowell, nowell, nowell, nowell.
Born is the King of Israël.
Allen 2. They looked up
and saw a star, shining in the East beyond them far.
And to they earth
it gave great light
S + A on so it continued both day and night.
Mannen and continued both day and night.
Allen 3. Then let us all
with one accord
sing praises to our heavenly Lord.
That hath made heav’n
and earth of nought
S + A and with his blood mankind hath bought
Mannen his blood mankind hath bought.


Cognitive Science, Development, and Psychopathology
The disciplines of cognitive neuroscience, development, and psychopathology are complementary in the study of human perception and attention, even though each discipline emerges from a decidedly different and sometimes incompatible worldview. The meeting of researchers across these disciplines results in a fruitful cross-fertilization that ultimately leads to better science within each discipline and a joint scientific endeavor that is greater than the sum of its parts. Cognitive Science, Development, and Psychopathology: Typical and Atypical Developmental Trajectories of Attention unites scholars sharing common interests in the development of attention and related areas of functioning with different perspectives and methodologies. The volume does not impose a single framework for discussing the relevant issues, but rather the authors highlight the importance of their own approaches to the study of the typical and atypical development of attention. Drs.
Burack, Enns, and Fox have organized the chapters into three sections: Atypical Environments, Threat, and the Development of Individual Differences in Attention; The Organization of the Development of Attention in Typical and Atypical Processing; and The Case of Orienting Attention in Developing an Integrated Science. Discussion topics include cognitive bias modification, attention and the development of anxiety disorders, deficient anchoring, reflexive and abnormal social orienting in autism, and social attention. This volume is a unique and critical resource for researchers in communication disorders, developmental and cognitive psychology, human development, neuroscience, and educational and counseling psychology.


Positive Future #761 (Feature photo – Foodbank Distribution Warehouse – Public Domain)
NPR a month ago reported that 10,000 cars lined up at a San Antonio emergency food distribution point – overwhelming what local food banks had prepared for. Why did this story not make headline news?
Feeding America – the nation’s coordinating food bank – now estimates that 1 in 6 people (55 million people) are facing hunger in the nation.
You can read the full story here: https://www.npr.org/2020/04/17/837141457/thousands-of-cars-line-up-at-one-texas-food-bank-as-job-losses-hit-hard


ALL men are created equal, but they do not stay that way for long. That is one message of a report this month by the OECD, a club of 35 mostly rich democracies. Many studies show how income gaps have evolved over time or between countries. The OECD’s report looks instead at how inequality evolves with age.
As people build their careers, or don’t, their incomes tend to diverge. This inequality peaks when a generation reaches its late 50s. But it tends to fall thereafter, as people draw redistributive public pensions and quit the rat race, a contest that tends to give more unto every one that hath. Old age, the OECD notes, is a “leveller”.
Will it remain so? Retirement, after all, flattens incomes not by redistributing from rich seniors to poor, but by transferring money to old people from younger, working taxpayers. There will be fewer of them around in the future for every retired person, reducing the role of redistributive public pensions.
One logical response to the diminishing number of workers per pensioner is to raise the retirement age. But that will exacerbate old-age inequality, if mildly. Longer careers will give richer workers more time to compound their advantages. And when retirement eventually arrives, the poor, who die earlier, will have less time to enjoy their pensions.
Today’s youngsters may resent having to provide for more pensioners, not least because they feel that older generations have it easier than them. The OECD provides qualified support for this complaint. Baby-boomers (mostly born in the 1950s) have accumulated far more wealth (property, shares and other savings) than Generation X (mostly in the 1970s) and millennials (the 1980s and after).
But that is partly because they have had more time to do so. Comparing generations at a similar stage of life paints a different picture. Today’s young adults have a significantly higher disposable income than previous generations had at the same age. OECD citizens now in their early 30s have 7% more than members of Generation X had at that age and over 40% more than boomers enjoyed when they were similarly short in the tooth (see chart). Youngsters may sigh with impatience when an old codger tells them how life was tougher “when I was your age”. But it was.
This millennial privilege is, however, smaller in America, which tends to set the tone for the generation wars. (Indeed Americans in their early 30s are slightly worse off than the preceding generation was at a similar age.) The gap also appears to close as the later generations get older. Gen-Xers were far more comfortable in their 30s than the people born a decade or two before them. But now they are in their 40s, their incomes have stopped rising, whereas their seniors enjoyed strong gains at the same age.
This may reflect the lingering influence of the global financial crisis. But if this trajectory persists, a time may soon come when old folk sigh with impatience as youngsters tell them how much easier life was “when you were my age”.
This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline "The generation gain"


Tourism is a complex industry. Different organizations are working for it to be successful not just for the economy but also for the people and environment’s welfare. The implementation of all the plans for tourism will be possible through the permission of the local, regional, and national government.
Tourism product growth is mostly undertaken to ease product diversification, development or change of tourism products together with all the avail of erudite and competent employees. It aims at improving visitor experience to be able to set up magnification, by building consensus and tactical coalitions.
Tourism product development attempts to fortify from growth, the maintenance and improvement of their tourism product. The accommodations consist of approaches and advancement, conferences, campaigns and tourism merchandise orchestrating for agencies operators and destination marketing organizations. These businesses make use of a stakeholder-predicated and neighborhood strategy to destinations and avail companies and websites like https://tripxperia.com/ to orchestrate from ecological cost-efficacious and communally sustainable viewpoints. These businesses supply a vast variety of lodging created to merchandise clubs and avail tourism operators, sodalities, program agencies and inculcative associations secure long-term objectives and their brief. A few of the businesses are intended to bureaus and avail program in the growth of the tourism business by coordinating and allowing actions between private and public industry fascinates.
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A positive impact is expected on clinical trials due to recent surge in big data initiatives in healthcare sector. The standards and rules that govern clinical research data will change the way clinical trials are conducted.
Clinical Data Management
Automation of clinical data management ensures reliability of records of complete data shared between different medical experts for better treatment of patients. The current new data analysis tools collaborate with different healthcare authorities after considering patient care. The existing patient and medical professional engagement platforms focus largely on clinical data management in healthcare sector with real world evidence. In large clinical trials, automation and processing of data from one format to another is expected to reduce the number of problems. Small health clinics have shied away from conducting research in the past due to exorbitant cost structures associated with trials which can now be more cost-effective while ensuring security of patient related data. Limiting actual authorization to a few personnel can ensure security and safety of the trial design. Clinical data insights are available publically with collaboration between different healthcare systems which also decreases operating costs.
An audit trail is available with various new policies to ensure a competitive edge with precise predictive models. This allows research to be more precise and the new cost effective products developed can be made available sooner in the market. Rectifying clinical failure by specific professionals or experts involved during the audit drastically reduces false claims during the trials with guidelines to meet medical and healthcare demands of the future. The results of crucial research and development processes are also made more authentic. Many software tools are used which may be built on open source or exclusively designed for pharma companies, contract research organisations, hospitals, etc.
Big Data Analytics
Big data includes a plethora of medical case studies and trends in the healthcare industry such as patient oriented care, commercialization of developed drugs, pooling of unstructured data, skilled human resources and infrastructure. Big data in clinical research refers to collection of information using electronic database that involves innovation via technology. The data collected during daily routine clinical practice retains the real world features without any modification with strict exclusion and inclusion criteria. Big data in medical, healthcare or epidemiological research consists of administrative registry of infectious and chronic diseases, electronic medical record system and medical insurance system.
The scenario of adoption of data analytics by healthcare sector is changing with generation of more skilled and trained professionals. Professional societies with emergence of big data analytics resource systems (BDARSs) are creating leading initiatives to demonstrate and encourage use of automated systems. Standardizations in data elements, nomenclatures and clinical processes increases veracity and decreases variability in automation of multi-institutional data pooling in BDARS to support clinical trial design, clinical validation phases and increase patient participation or recruitment. Increased standardization between trials and nomenclature of common data elements can assist in streamlined trial design, data exchange and allow easier multi-study analysis that directly reflects on effectiveness of clinical research.
Online Course in Clinical data Analytics
James Lind Institute (JLI) provides an online programs – Professional Diploma in Clinical Trial Management (PDCTM) and Advanced PG Diploma in Clinical Research & Data Management for a successful career in Clinical Research.
For more information please visit: www.jliedu.com


Comets are small (1-10 km in radius) icy objects that orbit the Sun on highly eccentric orbits. The composition of comets has been relatively unalterred since their formation 4.5 billion years ago due to their small size and their cold storage in the Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud. This makes comets "fossils" that can be studied in order to understand the physical conditions and composition of our Solar System during its infancy. Specifically, studying the volatile (ice) composition of comets can place constraints on molecule formation during the planetary formation stage and volatile transport to the inner Solar System. However, for most comets we must infer the volatile composition of the nucleus from gas present in the coma. The composition of the coma is alterred by physical and chemical processes, so the composition of the coma does not exactly reflect that of the nucleus. In this thesis we present analysis of observations of comets 103P/Hartley and C/2009 P1 Garradd in an effort to understand the physical and chemical processes operating in cometary comae. We obtained optical and NIR spectra in an effort to understand the gas production of comets Hartley and Garradd. We employed the ARCES instrument mounted on the ARC 3.5-meter telescope at Apache Point Observatory in Sunspot, NM to acquire optical spectra, while we used the CSHELL instrument mounted on NASA IRTF on Mauna Kea in Hawaii to acquire NIR spectra. We started our analysis with studies of atomic oxygen using the optical spectra and of CO and H2O using the NIR spectra. Specifically, the 5577 A, 6300, and 6300 A lines can potentially used as a proxy for CO2 in comets, which is very imporant because CO2 cannot be observed from the ground directly. Our analysis of the oxygen lines in several comets confirms that analysis of the oxygen line intensities can be employed to obtain quantitative measurements of CO2 in comets, though the accuracy of this method still needs to be firmly established. We also confirmed from observations of CO, H2O, and atomic oxygen in Garradd that CO photodissociation is not an important source of atomic oxygen in cometary comae. Our analysis of comets C/2006 W3 Christensen and C/2009 P1 Garradd at large heliocentric distance showed that the CO2 abundance in comets at heliocentric distances of > 2.5 AU is systematically higher than that of comets that are observed when they are closer to the Sun. Applying our analysis to other comets at heliocentric distances of < 2.5 AU demonstrates that comets have much higher CO2/H20 ratios than previously thought. This may suggest that comets formed in an oxidizing environment. We extended our analysis to the simple molecules CN, C2, CH, and NH2. These molecules are all products of coma photochemistry, and are not inherently present in the nucleus of the comet in ice form. Therefore understanding the progeny of these molecules is important for understanding coma photochemistry. We found that the CN and NH2 abundances in both Hartley and Garradd can be accounted for by HCN and NH 3 photodissociation, respectively. However, the C2 abundance in both comets cannot be accounted for by invoking only C2H 2 photodissociation. Therefore another source is needed. From studies of the rotational variation of C2 production in Hartley and heliocentric distance variation in Garradd, we present the hypothesis that a large fraction of the observed C2 in these comets originates from the sublimation of carbonaceous dust grains. We provide evidence that CH4 photodissociation cannot be the sole source of CH, and that another source, possibly carbonaceous dust grains or PAH's, is required. From analysis of the rotational variation of mixing ratios in Hartley and heliocentric distance variation of mixing ratios in Garradd, we found evidence that the parent of CN (HCN) is spatially correlated with CO 2 in the nucleus and is distinct from the H2O ice. This suggests that two or more phases of ice exist in cometary nuclei, thereby exhibiting small scale compositional heterogeneity. These results have profound consequences for cometary science, and pave the way for future work in the field. These results will prove beneficial to the in-tepretation of cosmogonie parameters, such as isotope and ortho-para ratios, in photodissociation products such as CN and NH2. This,.along with the possibility of atomix oxygen and C2 serving as tracers for CO2 and carbonaceous dust grains, respectively, will provide new avenues for cometary science that have previously been unexplored.
- Pub Date:
- Physics, Astronomy and Astrophysics


What fun it has been for the last six years observing the behaviour of visiting birds to my garden. Observational learning is what I have been doing but in my case the reward has been in seeing the variety of bird species arriving in my garden. I guess it’s quite apt that I take a bird break on a high point :-)
“Observational learning is when one animal can watch the actions of another and learn from those actions. This may be as simple as learning the location of a food source or as complicated as learning a sequence of actions that needs to be taken to earn a reward.http://www.animalbehavioronline.com/observationallearning.html
The most famous putative example of observational learning was the spread of the ability to open milk bottles, among blue tits, Parus caeruleus, and European robins, Erithacus rubeculain, in Great Britain. These birds learned to rob cream from the top of milk bottles during the early part of the 20th century, and the blue tits later adapted to the use of aluminum foil seals on the bottles, learning to tear them to access the cream. There are actually two hypotheses which could explain the increase in these behaviors: First, birds might observe other birds feeding in this manner and adopt the behavior. Second, each bird might, independently, discover this feeding option. This second possibility is particularly likely if a bottle opened by one bird serves as a clue to other birds that the bottles are food resources.”
Last week I was entertained for some time by the antics of what I thought was our regular male Brambling as it attempted to feed from a hanging peanut feeder. However, It wasn’t until the weekend when I was doing my Garden Birdwatch count that I spotted there were 3 males and a female around so it is possible that this wasn’t the Brambling seen with a female Reed Bunting during my count.
A group of three peanut feeders in my garden are popular with a wide variety of birds which include Blue tits, Coal tits and Great tits which you might expect. The Great Spotted Woodpecker and Starlings will also feed there getting a good grip on the metal cage and I have seen a Blackbird have a go on occasions.
However the peanut feeders in my garden are a hot spot for finches and Siskins can cover every space available – again fun to watch. I have also seen odd Goldfinches and Greenfinches feed here but never a male Chaffinch – the female Chaffinches could be a maybe.
More recently, perhaps due to no fat balls on offer this winter, House Sparrows are finding the peanut feeders a hot spot and it was groups of them that the male Brambling, shown above, was watching with great interest. Was this an example of Observational Learning?
I would take a guess that yes it could be as the Brambling had other options (much easier) to feed on. Did this Brambling rate the food choice by the House Sparrows as a good one and that is why it wasted energy that it needed on a cold winter’s day attempting to hold on to this feeder? I can only assume so. You have to see him try ...
Another assumption I’d make based on my gardenwatch observational learning over the last six years is that garden birds do appreciate the cover of plants especially ones like evergreen shrubs and trees where they can hide from predators. I’m guessing that’s why many people with a new house build garden find their new bird tables unvisited as the new young plants need time to grow. The birds will come.
A garden matures in many ways through use from all its residents. My eldest daughter had just celebrated her first birthday when we moved into this one and through observational learning my garden adapted as my daughters grew. I had great fun with this too.
During February I want to take a look back at the many changes my garden has seen. I do like the idea of a Memory Lane Month and if I get organised enough I might invite other bloggers to join me too. I’ve wanted to do this for some time now. After listening to other bloggers ask how can blogs stay fresh after many years I’ve decided this may be a refreshing spell during a dull month for many who find winter hard and long for summer days.
During March, I will return to the garden birds and wildlife that have distracted me from ironing, other household chores and gardening! It’s been a nice distraction, where I’ve learnt a lot about garden birds. Oh no… my dear garden blogging friends, I’ve not been an expert in this area at all. I have been an observational learner and what fun the last six years have been to share with you all – thank-you for joining me :-D
Wishing you all a great weekend! To my gardening friends, I'm looking forward to reconnecting with you all again soon! To my nature friends, see you in a month (unless something exciting visits the garden). Please do watch the video above as it is for you. Previous posts you might have missed include my birdcount results, snow shelter table and mixed seed trial. Enjoy your Winter visitors and if you are interested in hearing all about Waxwings do pop over to ShySongbird's Nature News there's a great post there :-D
This post was published by Shirley for shirls gardenwatch in January 2013.


Relational databases that speak SQL are the data-storage backbone for most developers. Unfortunately, but most of the data that’s created outside the control of the technology caste at a typical workplace is in Excel format. Because of this, being able to procedurally read and write Excel documents with a familiar language can open up a whole world of possibilities for automation and data migration.
Assuming you’re attempting to read and write standard text (Ie. not binary/graphic) data from Excel worksheets, this is actually fairly doable in PHP and Perl.
A recent article by Mike Diehl at Linux Journal peaked my interest in this. He shows off some of the features of the Spreadsheet::ParseExcel Perl module, which can be used to pull data and even formatting information from cells in an Excel worksheet. Once you have your hands on the data, you can do what you want with it: output it to XML, toss it in a database for subsequent querying, or even convert it into other Excel documents (oh, the shame).
Perl Excel Libraries and Information
Spreadsheet:ParseExcel – Read from Excel 95/97/2000 documents
Spreadsheet:WriteExcel – Write to Excel 97/2000/2002/2003 documents
Linux Journal – Reading Native Excel Files in Perl
There are libraries for dealing with native Excel files in PHP as well. The following two seem to be the only options for binary Excel documents.
With the most recent version of Excel, there is an XML file format option that will allow you to read and write data in a worksheet by directly interacting with the saved file’s DOM. IBM has a document that details doing this with PHP, and it would be straightforward to apply this technique to Perl as well.
Finally, if all you need to do is output a document that can be read in Excel, a standard CSV-format file will usually do the trick. Escaping can be a bit tricky, however, and my preferred format has become a plain-old HTML table. Just create a file that contains a TABLE element (no BODY or HTML tags necessary), with any number of TR rows and html-escaped data in the TDs, and save it out. If you use the XLS file extension, it will open directly in Excel with a double-click and Excel never seems to mind reading in the data.
Do you have any other Excel programming hacks? Give us a shout in the comments.


VETIVER GRASS TECHNOLOGY FOR FLOOD AND STREAM BANK EROSION CONTROL
(Paper presented at the Bioengineering Technology for
Erosion and Sediment Control Nanchang, China, October 1999)
Dr. Paul Truong
Resource Sciences Centre,
Queensland Department of Natural Resources
The use of vegetation as a bio-engineering tool for erosion control and slope stabilisation has been implemented for centuries but its popularity has increased in the last decades. This is partly due to the low costs of bio-engineering techniques, and partly due to the fact that more knowledge and information on vegetation are now available for application in engineering designs. (Hengchaovanich, 1999).
The World Bank first developed the Vetiver Grass Technology (VGT) for soil and water conservation in farmlands. While this application still plays a vital role in agricultural lands, vetiver grass unique morphological, physiological and ecological characteristics including its tolerance to highly adverse growing conditions provide a unique bio-engineering tool for land stabilisation, and flood and stream bank erosion control (Truong, 1999). Xu and Zhang (1999) presented a very comprehensive review and various applications of VGT in China including highway, railways and flood mitigation.
2.0 UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS OF VETIVER GRASS SUITABLE FOR FLOOD AND STREAM BANK EROSION CONTROL
2.1 Morphological Characteristics
2.2 Physiological Characteristics
-14oC to 55oC.
Table 1: Adaptability Range of Vetiver Grass in Australia and Other Countries
|Adverse Soil Conditions|
|Acidity||pH 3.3||pH 4.2 (with high level soluble aluminium)|
|Aluminium level (Al Sat. %)||Between 68% - 87%||80%-87%|
|Manganese level||> 578 mgkg-1|
|Alkalinity (highly sodic)||pH 9.5||pH 12.5|
|Salinity (50% yield reduction)||17.5 mScm-1|
|Salinity (survived)||47.5 mScm-1|
|Sodicity||33% (exchange Na)|
|Magnesicity||2 400 mgkg-1 (Mg)|
|Arsenic||100 - 250 mgkg-1|
|Copper||35 - 50 mgkg-1|
|Chromium||200 - 600 mgkg-1|
|Nickel||50 - 100 mgkg-1|
|> 6 mgkg-1
> 1 500 mgkg-1
> 74 mgkg-1
|Location||150S - 370S||410N - 380S|
|Annual Rainfall (mm)||450 - 4 000||250 - 5 000|
|Frost (ground temp.)||-110C||-140C|
|Drought (without effective rain)||15 months|
|Vetiver can be established on very infertile soil due to its strong association with mycorrhiza||N and P
(300 kg/ha DAP)
|N and P, farm manure|
|Palatability||Dairy cows, cattle, horse, rabbits, sheep, kangaroo||Cows, cattle, goats, sheep, pigs, carp|
|Nutritional Value||N = 1.1 %
P = 0.17%
K = 2.2%
|Crude protein 3.3%
Crude fat 0.4%
Crude fibre 7.1%
2.3 Weed Potential
It is imperative that plants used for bio-engineering purposes do not become weeds in the local environment. A sterile cultivar was selected from a number of existing cultivars in Australia and rigorously tested for its sterility. This cultivar was registered in Queensland, Australia as Monto vetiver.
Vetiver grass was introduced to Fiji over 100 years ago and it has been widely used for soil and water conservation purposes for more than 50 years. Vetiver grass did not become a weed in the new environment (Truong and Creighton, 1994).
Vetiver grass can be eliminated easily either by spraying with glyphosate or uprooting and drying out.
3.0 HYDRAULIC PROPERTIES OF VETIVER HEDGES
When planted in row, vetiver plants will form thick hedges and with their stiff stems, these hedges can stand up to at least 0.6m, forming a living barrier, which slows and spreads runoff water. Appropriately laid out these hedges can act as very effective diversion structures spreading and diverting runoff water to stable areas or proper drains for safe disposal. Hydraulic characteristics of vetiver hedges under deep flow were determined by flume tests at the University of Southern Queensland, Australia for flood mitigation on the flood plain of Queensland. (Dalton et al, 1996) (Fig.1)
Figure 1: Hydraulic Model of Flooding Through Vetiver.
q = discharge per unit width y = depth of flow y1 = depth upstream
So = land slope Sf = energy slope NF = the Froude number of flow.
4.0 VGT FOR FLOOD PLAIN EROSION CONTROL
In Australia, field trials using hydraulic characteristics determined by the above tests showed that vetiver hedges were successful in protecting agricultural lands from flood damage.
VGT has been used as an alternative to strip cropping practice on the flood plain of Queensland. This practice relies on the stubble of previous crops for erosion control of fallow land and young crops. On this experimental site, vetiver hedges that were established at 90m interval provided a permanent protection against flooded water. Following several major flood events VGT has shown to be very successful in reducing flood velocity and limiting soil movement, with very little erosion in fallow strips. Furthermore, a young sorghum crop was completely protected from flood damage thanks to VGT.
The incorporation of vetiver hedges as an alternative to strip cropping on floodplains has resulted in more flexibility, more easily managed land and more effective spreading of flood flows in drought years and with low stubble producing crops. An added benefit is that the area cropped at any one time could be increased by up to 30%.
5.0 STREAM BANK STABILISATION
The combination of the deep root system and thick growth of the vetiver hedges will protect the banks of rivers and streams under flood conditions. Its deep roots prevent it from being washed away while its thick top growth reduces flow velocity and its erosive power. In addition, when properly laid out hedges can be designed to direct water flow to appropriate areas.
Very successful stream bank and riverbank stabilisation has been carried out in Malaysia, the Philippines and Australia. Following are the two examples of very successful riverbank applications in Australia.
North Pines River
The realignment of a new bridge on a major rural road had caused serious flood erosion to the river bank bordering a farmers property. After repair was carried out to the eroded banks vetiver was successfully used to stabilise a section of the creek bank on his property. Planting was done both horizontally and at right angles to the flow direction to minimise the impact of the high velocity flood flow. That section of the river is now completely stabilised and has withstood several minor floods in the last few years.
A section of the riverbank bordering a housing development has been badly eroded by a recent flood. That section requires stabilisation and conventional engineering methods (concrete and rock retaining walls, geofabrics etc.) were considered, but due to the high cost and instability of the conventional structures, VGT was proposed by the consulting engineer as a substitute. The purpose of the vetiver grass is to stabilise the lower bank (just above the tidal level) in conjunction with some geofabrics and act as a sediment filter for any runoff down the bank slope. Vetiver will be planted in rows both horizontally and diagonally to stabilise the bank by its deep root system and to reduce the high flow velocity by its top growth.
6.0 PROTECTION OF CONCRETE STRUCTURES
The deep root system of the vetiver plants provide excellent protection to concrete structures such as causeway, drains, culvert inlets and outlets, gabion structures or other solid barriers under flood from undermining and scouring by high velocity flows.
Concrete causeways, built on erodible soils are very vulnerable to flood damage. Vetiver planted both upstream and downstream of these structures has provided excellent protection against flood flows up to 3m deep.
When planted upstream from culvert inlets vetiver hedges will not only protect the inlets but they also trap the sediment outside the culverts where it can be easily cleaned if required.
7.0 STABILISATION OF SUBMERGED STRUCTURES
VGT has been used very effectively to stabilise a water cascade built to cool wastewater on the bed of a flood prone river in tropical Queensland. One side of the cascade is a large bund of about 200m long and 4m high at the top end lowering down to river floor level at the bottom end, with 2:1 side slope. This bund was built mostly from the highly erodible sand and gravel material from the riverbed and vetiver was used to stabilise the steep side slope, protecting it from high velocity flow during the flood season. Vetiver has successfully protected this bank from several flood flows during the last six years, with flow velocity estimated up to 3.5m/sec.
The costs of road construction and associated land stabilisation works in flood prone areas are very high and can be prohibitive as conventional designs rely on expensive concrete and rock structures for flood protection. The following is a good example of the cost saving of VGT and its effects.
In June 1998 I was invited by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to Madagascar to assess the feasibility of incorporating VGT into the design of a submergible road to be built on a flood plain on the west coat of Madagascar. The submergible road option was considered because the original cost estimate, based on the conventional designs, far exceeded the allocated budget. UNDP intended to abandon the project, but as a last resort, a panel of international experts was called to consider the submergible road option, using VGT as the main stabilising technique. The cost estimate of the VGT based designs was less than 50% that of the original design, well within the allocated budget.
Vetiver grass was very successful in preventing erosion on the spillway of a very large dam on a sugarcane estate in Zimbabwe. Thick stands of vetiver effectively reduced the high velocity flow of the discharge water to prevent serious erosion to the spillway structure.
A weir was built across the Leichhardt River in tropical Australia to provide water supply to a nearby copper mine. Floodwater flowing across the weir very fast frequently submerged this weir during the rainy season, up to 3m deep. A very extensive cover of rock mattresses was built to protect both the upstream and downstream sides of this weir. However most of the rocks inside the mattresses were washed away during last seasons floods, exposing the bare wire. In an attempt to repair the damaged mattresses, the eroded surface was covered with topsoil first, compacted and planted with vetiver grass. Although the vetiver was not fully mature when the weir was again flooded this year, very little damage occurred on the surface. The surface was repaired and replanted again and it is expected that with its deep and penetrating root system vetiver will not be washed away and can reduce the high velocity of floodwater preventing it from eroding the rock mattresses.
A new dam/spillway system was built to protect the extracting operation and machinery of a quarry located on the bank of a river north of Brisbane. Under normal tidal fluctuation, the water is kept out of the site by the dam wall. However during the rainy season, when heavy rain coincides with high tide period, flooding often occurs. To protect the dam wall from flood damage, floodwater is allowed to enter the quarry to provide the counter-balance force, this provides extra support for the dam wall. The flood water is designed to enter the quarry via a series of strategically placed spillways where vetiver is used exclusively to protect the spillway surface.
Although the main reason for vetiver application in this design is its lower costs, vetiver tolerance to saline conditions, its long term stability and low maintenance are also important factors, which were taken into consideration. The construction of this quarry is now under way and a second quarry will be built with this design next year.
9.0 ADVANTAGES OF THE VGT
The major advantage of VGT over conventional engineering measures is its low cost. For steep slope stabilisation, the saving is in the order of 85% to 90% in China (Xie, 1997 and Xia et al, 1999). Similar savings could be expected elsewhere as the saving was based on the relative costs of the two technologies locally. Secondly, as with other bio-engineering technologies, VGT provides a natural and environment friendly method of erosion control and land stabilisation which softens the harsh look often associated with conventional engineering measures such as concrete and rock structures. Thirdly, VGTs maintenance costs are low in the long term. In contrast with conventional engineering structures, the efficiency of bio-engineering technology improves with time as the vegetative cover matures VGT requires a good maintenance program in the first few years but once established it is virtually maintenance free in the long term.
10.0 APPROPRIATE DESIGNS AND TECHNIQUES
It should be stressed that VGT is a new technology. As any new technology, it has to be learnt and applied appropriately for best results. Failure to do so will bring disappointing outcomes and sometimes adverse results. As a soil conservation technique and recently a bio-engineering tool, the application of VGT requires the understanding of biology, soil science, hydraulic and hydrological principles.
In addition, it has to be understood that vetiver is a grass by botanical classification but it acts more like a tree than a typical grass with its extensive and deep root system. Failures of VGT in most cases can be attributed to bad applications rather than the grass itself or the technology recommended.
From the results of research and the successes of numerous applications presented above, it is clear that we now have enough evidence that VGT is a very effective and low cost bio-engineering tool for flood erosion control.
However it must be emphasised that to provide an effective support for engineering structures, the two most important points are good quality of the planting material and the all-important appropriate design and correct planting techniques.


Whether you’re new to distance learning or an experienced online teacher, you can find free online training resources to fit your needs.
Are you a “face to face” classroom teacher considering shifting to online education?
Or are you an online teacher interested in the latest technology to make your online courses more effective?
For example, some online schools offer free training modules to help campus-based teachers learn how to transition to cyber-classrooms. Other organizations offer tips on designing online classes and teaching with technology.
Originally developed for Texas Woman's University, this course includes modules showing how to design a course, along with explanations of best practices for distance education.
7) Effective Online Teaching - Faculty Quick Tips
Seven Pace University online instructors give their best advice about being an effective online educator. Go to iTunes U's Pace University page and select "Faculty Contributions" to access these videos.
8) MERLOT (Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching)
MERLOT provides a large, peer-reviewed collection of online curricula and other resources, as well as forums and publications aimed at online educators. Search the MERLOT database for “distance learning” to find links to material to help you plan and design effective online classes.
9) Free Textbooks for Online Courses - Community Colleges Online
The Community College Consortium for Open Educational Resources (OER) is a great site that assists faculty who are developing online courses for community or junior colleges in finding and utilizing free online textbooks, learning modules, and creative commons resources for distance learning courses.
10) Sloan Consortium Effective Practices
The Sloan Consortium studies and funds online education. The consortium’s Effective Practices site is a way for online educators to share techniques, strategies, and practices in online education that have worked for them. Practices are peer-reviewed before being put on the site.
Guide to Finding Work as an Online College Instructor


Recently captured satellite imagery shows Iran’s efforts to produce bigger and better rockets that, because of their dual-use nature, could bring the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps closer to having intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Satellite imagery reveals that throughout 2021, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has been steadily expanding its facilities at Shahrud, the complex that is central to Iran’s military space program. The expansion suggests that the IRGC’s efforts to develop large-diameter, solid-fuel rockets are picking up speed. Because such rockets can be equally useful for space launch applications or for missiles, the accelerated effort could soon bring the IRGC closer to an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capability.
Even without nuclear weapons, an ability to strike Western Europe or the United States directly would dramatically shift the stakes of any potential military confrontation. This on its own might provide Iran with an additional level of deterrence, giving it greater freedom of action in pursuing its interests in the region. But such a capability would become an even more urgent issue if the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the agreement that placed constraints on Iran’s nuclear program, collapses completely. That would raise the specter of Iranian nuclear and missile development programs advancing unconstrained, side-by-side.
Iran’s Two Space Efforts
Iran has two space-related efforts. The first is the pseudo-civilian program run by the Iranian Space Agency (ISA), which is part of the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology. The ISA could be fairly characterized as something of an ersatz NASA, and it plans to eventually put humans into space. But, for now, the program is focused on the more modest goal of putting satellites into orbit by means of carrier rockets, often called space-launch vehicles.
It is these rockets that give the ISA effort something of a military dimension and make it a valuable case study on a how civilian program can become the target of international sanctions and export controls. All of the ISA’s space-launch vehicles are designed and produced by the Aerospace Industries Organization and its sub-groups, the same institutions responsible for building Iran’s missiles. Moreover, up until very recently, Iran had employed just two space-launch vehicle designs, the Safir and the Simorgh, and both are adapted from Iran’s Shahab-3 missile. The Safir is essentially an elongated version of the Shahab-3 with a small second stage on top, and the larger Simorgh uses a cluster of four Shahab-3 engines for its first stage.
This institutional overlap, compounded by the fact that rocket boosters are inherently a dual-use technology, has led some experts and numerous U.S. officials to claim that Iran’s space-launch program is nothing more than a cover for ICBM development work. But for the Safir and Simorgh this concern is overblown. Both systems are large, cumbersome, require hours or even days to fuel up and prepare for launch, and would be an easy target for a pre-launch counterattack. Because of such features, those space-launch vehicles could never really satisfy the rigorous operational requirements to be valuable as a weapon, and serious missile experts refuted the idea that the Safir or Simorgh represented a credible path to an ICBM.
Beyond the ISA’s space program, there is a second space effort directed by the IRGC’s Research and Self-Sufficiency Jihad Organization. The origins of this program, initially called Project Ghaem, are difficult to piece together, but it likely began in the late 2000s and carried on its work at an IRGC base located on the western outskirts of Tehran called Shahid Modarres Garrison. The man in charge was Hassan Tehrani Moghaddam, considered by many to be the father of Iran’s missile program.
Unlike the ISA effort, the IRGC program was established as a hedging strategy to advance work on long-range, solid-fuel missile technology. In 2014, the deputy commander of the IRGC’s Aerospace Forces Majid Musavi admitted as much when he stated that Moghaddam had begun working on space-launch vehicles following Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s decision to set a unilateral range limit of 2,000 kilometers (1,242 miles) for all of Iran’s missiles. Moghaddam, Musavi said, did this because he wanted to continue making progress in the field of solid-fuel rocket technology. More directly, Moghaddam’s own brother claimed in an interview in 2011 that Moghaddam had been conducting work directly related to an ICBM.
Solid-fuel rockets have several operational advantages over their liquid-fueled brethren, and these heighten the dual-use risks. They are safer and easier to operate, have shorter launch preparation times, and generally have a lower signature since they do not require as large a convoy of support and fueling vehicles to accompany them. Beyond this, in the specific case of Iran, there’s another reason. Iranian engineers have squeezed about as much potential out of the liquid-fueled rockets as possible. For the Safir and Simorgh, there is very little else they can do to reach higher altitudes (or, in the case of a missile, longer ranges) without replacing the current engine with a better one, which would mean an entirely new system. On the solid-fuel side, however, once Iranian engineers master large-diameter solid-propellant motors, reaching longer and longer ranges becomes feasible.
Clearing that technical hurdle is much easier said than done. Moghaddam and his colleagues were apparently close to doing so in 2011 when an explosion – it’s unclear if it was an accident or sabotage – killed Moghaddam and 38 of his colleagues. Given the loss of human capital as well as the destruction of much of the facility itself, it was plausible to assume that the IRGC program might have gone away entirely. But in 2018, researchers at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey discovered that, before his death, Moghaddam had overseen the development of a new facility for his project, located at Shahrud, and that the program likely lived on. Shahrud had been the site of Iran’s first test of the Shahab-3 in 1998, and was on many analysts’ radars following a 2013 report in Jane’s Intelligence Review noting the construction of a new launch pad and other facilities, visible in satellite imagery. But no one had quite connected it to Moghaddam’s space program.
The launch of the Qased rocket on April 22, 2020, made clear that, although it may have gone dormant for a time, the IRGC program was carrying on. More than that, though, the launch was a sign of things to come. A few days later, the commander of the IRGC’s Aerospace Forces Amir Ali Hajizadeh went for an interview on Iranian state television and explained that the launch had been designed to test the rocket’s second and third stages, including the IRGC’s new, advanced Salman motor. For that reason, engineers relied on proven technology for the first stage, using an adapted liquid-fueled missile (Ghadr) for the purpose. Future launches, he said, would use rockets with only solid propellants. Recent developments at Shahrud suggest that work is underway to make that goal a reality.
New Developments at Shahrud
The sprawling complex at Shahrud, central to the IRGC’s solid-fuel space-launch and missile development activities, has undergone a comprehensive expansion over the course of 2021, portending an increase in more overt space launch and missile activities in the coming years. Recently, there has been activity at five areas in the complex: the administrative support area, the storage area, the solid propellant production area, the test stand area, and the launch pad.
On the northwestern end of the complex is Shahrud’s main entry point, which includes buildings that are likely associated with administrative support, as well as a mosque. Satellite imagery provided by Maxar Technologies reveals that construction for a new building in this area, measuring about 40 meters long and 30 meters wide, began in January 2021 and was completed before early July. Additionally, imagery from April 3 shows a possible trench extending in a southeast direction from one of the buildings, though by July this appears to have been covered. Similarly, the image from July shows another possible trench extending from a building to the northeast, along with grading for a new road extending in a parallel direction.
About 1.5 kilometers to the southeast of the administrative area is likely the main production area for solid-propellant rocket motors, given the visible safety measures in place. These include large earthen berms that surround several of the buildings, providing a modicum of protection to other buildings in the event of an accidental explosion, as well as lightning arrestors. Already, as of 2020, this area consisted of some 23 buildings, the tallest of which is at least five stories high and, given that it sits next to an apparent casting pit, may be used for assembling multi-stage rockets.
Over the first eight months of 2021, construction was underway on at least seven new buildings in this area. The largest of these is a 60-meter-by-50-meter structure with a curved roof, resembling a large aircraft hangar, but whose exact purpose is unclear. Another of the new buildings is about 32 meters in length and is similar in form to three adjacent, preexisting structures. All appear to be drive-through garages for vehicles that would transport assembled rockets or missiles.
Nearby, foundation work has begun on seven structures that, based on their layout pattern, could be additional storage either for transport vehicles or explosives.
Around mid-March, a large burn scar appeared in the rocket motor test stand area. This was the first time Iranian engineers had made use of this test stand, the largest of the four in the area, indicating that they have reached a milestone in terms of the size of the motors. Additionally, a report in Jane’s noted that another rocket motor test on a different test stand was likely conducted in mid-July.
The launch pad has also been the site of activity during 2021, although there do not appear to have been any launches. Rather, the moveable gantry tower that normally sits on the eastern side of the launch pad was moved to the middle sometime between Jan. 10 and Feb. 24. It apparently remained there for several months, until it was moved back to the eastern side sometime between May 30 and July 7. The gantry tower also apparently spent much of the latter half of 2020 in the center position. Generally, a gantry tower would be employed in the case of a launch, but since in this case no launch appears to have occurred, the reason for its changed position is unclear.
These developments point to the conclusion that the IRGC will continue ramping up its effort to produce large-diameter, solid-propellant motors, and it would be no surprise to see the flight testing of a rocket that would be useful in both space-launch and missile applications in the near future.
Of course, Iran has already demonstrated a significant breakthrough in solid-propellant rocket technology with the February 2021 reveal of the Zoljanah, a space-launch vehicle employed by the ISA. With a 1.5-meter diameter first stage, the Zoljanah was the largest solid-fuel rocket motor Iran had ever flight tested, and if it had been flown on a ballistic trajectory, it may have reached 5,000 kilometers. Moreover, it was launched from a mobile launcher. In other words, even though it is apparently owned by the civilian space program, the Zoljanah carries with it many if not all of the dual-use risks that would be associated with an IRGC solid-fuel space-launch rocket.
But despite the ISA’s launch of the Zoljanah, the IRGC has still yet to deliver on its own promise of an all-solid-propellant space-launch vehicle, raising the prospect of two separate entities in Iran with that technological capability in the near future.
Currently, Iran does not have any deployed missiles in its arsenal that could reach Western Europe, let alone the United States, but if Iranian engineers can master solid-propellant rocket technologies for space-launch applications, it would give Iran a latent ICBM capability. It also comes at a time when U.S. policymakers have been repeatedly caught off guard by significant developments in other countries’ missile capabilities, such as North Korea’s recent long-range cruise missile test or unconfirmed reports of China’s test of a nuclear-capable Earth-orbiting missile. Accordingly, U.S. policymakers would benefit from greater vigilance and attention to the Iranian missile problem now, while it is still possible to prevent an Iranian ICBM capability.
For years, non-governmental experts and some officials have talked about trying to negotiate a cap on Iranian missile ranges, locking in the country’s self-imposed 2,000-kilometer range limit. But that proposal was predicated on two considerations. First, it was made before Iran had any dependable system that could reach beyond 2,000-kilometer ranges. And second, it assumed that Iran would continue to rely on the Safir, Simorgh, and related liquid-fueled systems for space launches, keeping the dual-use risks manageable. What happens when those considerations no longer hold true?
It is only recently that policymakers have started to take the issue seriously, particularly in the context of negotiations to restore the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran. Press reports indicate that, during talks in Vienna earlier in the year, U.S. and European officials had pushed for Iran to commit in writing to participate in follow-on talks that would address Iran’s missiles and its support for proxy groups. Indeed, this was one of the main sticking points of the Vienna talks, which have been on hiatus since June 20.
If the West ends up dropping the demand to address Iranian missiles as a condition to restore the JCPOA, there is no clear backup plan for bringing Iran to the table on this topic, or on the topic of Iran’s regional posture and support for proxy groups. Plus, with the new government in Iran dragging its feet on returning to Vienna – and floating new, fanciful trial balloons that could be interpreted as preconditions just for returning to the table – it is possible that the JCPOA will not be restored at all.
What is needed is more serious debate among policymakers in the United States as well as among allies and partners in Europe and the Middle East about how to bring Iran to the table to discuss missile-related issues, what the appropriate forum for such a diplomatic process would be, who would lead it, what outcomes it might realistically hope to achieve, and how the dual-use risks of Iran’s space-launch programs might be managed. A negotiated 2,000-kilometer range limit may soon no longer be a feasible objective, if it ever was.
John Krzyzaniak is a Research Analyst for the Non-Proliferation and Nuclear Policy Program, where he focuses on Iran and North Korea. Iran’s nuclear and missile programs, North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, and arms control. Before joining the Institute, John was an editor at the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. He holds a master’s degree in International Affairs from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He tweets at @john_krzyzaniak.


XLPE is an abbreviation used for cross linking polyethylene cables which have high grade insulation properties and has shown excellent electric conductor characteristics. Since power cables are more prone to hazards and susceptible to damage, they require more attention and care while manufacturing these cables. XLPE are primarily used for power distribution and transmission. The manufacturing of these cables include variety of materials such as Polyvinyl chloride, polyethene, polyurethane, nylon, ethylene propylene diene monomer, thermoplastic elastomers, and many others. XLPE are considered to be ideal to be used as insulating material due to its ability to hold high capacity of short circuit current. XLPE have gained huge significance in large transmission networks due to the stability these cables offer.
The current electricity generation in the world is witnessing an upward trend especially from renewable energy sources however, since the electricity generation points are very far from the areas of consumption for instance residential or industrial areas. Hence transportation of this electricity that is generated requires the use of XLPE cables. This point is particularly applicable in terms of renewable energy sources because the production houses are very far (Solar farms, Wind mill farms). This is one of the key drivers for XLPE cable market. As the world is shifting from non renewable to renewable forms of energy development hence more demand of these cables not only because of its capacity to hold high amount of current but also because the transmission loss in these cables is quite less. Other advantage of XLPE cables include that these cables can operate in harsh weather conditions. This makes them all the more suitable for long distance transmission.
According to the study, ‘GLOBAL XLPE CABLE MARKET RESEARCH REPORT: FORECAST TO 2023’, some major companies manufacturing XLPE cables include Brugg Kabel AG (Switzerland), Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd.(Japan), ABB Ltd (Switzerland), The Prysmian Group (Italy), General Cable Corporation (U.S.), Nexans S.A.( France), Encore Wire Corporation (U.S.), NKT A/S (Denmark), Finolex Cables Ltd (India), Relemac Technologies Pvt. Ltd (India), Laser Power & Infra Pvt. Ltd (India), KEI Industries Limited (India), Universal Cables Ltd.(India) and Eland Cables (U.K.).
The basic segmentation that is prevalent in the global XLPE cable market is on the basis of area of usage. This includes overhead, underground and underwater cables. Among these the highest share is grabbed by underground cables due to their limited exposure to accidents and lower amount of current dispersion. However, other segmentations in the industry is on the basis of voltage and this includes high medium and low voltage with low voltage holding the highest share because of greater demand from smaller establishments. The market is also divided on the basis of end user application and this includes power, oil & gas, chemical, manufacturing, metals & mining, infrastructure & transportation, and others. Since all these industrial sectors require power, it naturally explains its highest share in this segment. Geographically, U.S. is the market leader for the production of XLPE cables.
Global XLPE market is expected to grow at a very fast rate due to increasing usage on non renewable sources to produce electricity. The competition in this industry is highly fragmented and new companies need to innovate and invest greater amount in the R&D in order to compete with the existing companies.
For More Information, Refer to the Link below:
Ankur Gupta, Head Marketing & Communications


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Map of Zambia showing the Southern Province
|• Total||85,823 km2 (33,136 sq mi)|
|• Density||22/km2 (56/sq mi)|
Southern Province is one of Zambia's ten provinces, and home to Zambia's premier tourist attraction, Mosi-oa-Tunya (Victoria Falls), shared with Zimbabwe. The centre of the province, the Southern Plateau, has the largest area of commercial farmland of any Zambian province, and produces most of the maize crop.
The Zambezi River is the province's southern border, and Lake Kariba, formed by the Kariba Dam, lies along the province's south-eastern edge. The eastern border is the Kariba Gorge and Zambezi, and the north-east border is the Kafue River and its gorge, dividing it from Lusaka Province. The Kafue Flats lie mostly within the province's northern border with Central Province. In the north west lies part of the famous Kafue National Park, the largest in Zambia, and the lake formed by the Itezhi-Tezhi Dam. The south-western border with Western Province runs through the teak forests around Mulobezi which once supported a commercial timber industry and for which the Mulobezi Railway was built.
The provincial capital is Choma. Until 2011 the provincial capital was Livingstone City. The Batonga are the largest ethnic group in the Province. A rail line and the Lusaka-Livingstone road forms the principal transport axis of the province, running through its centre and its farming towns: Kalomo, Choma, Pemba, Monze, and Mazabuka. In addition to maize, other commercially important activities include sugar cane plantations at the edge of the Kafue Flats, and cattle ranching.
Southern Province has the only large source of fossil fuel in Zambia, the Maamba coal mine in the Zambezi valley, served by a branch line of the railway.
National Parks and wildlife areas
- For more detail see Southern Province in the Wildlife of Zambia
- Southern half of Kafue National Park
- Lochinvar National Park and the Kafue Flats in the north
- Victoria Falls National Park, the Zambezi and Batoka Gorges in the south
- Lake Kariba in the south-east.
Southern Province is divided into 13 districts:
- Chikankata District
- Choma District
- Gwembe District
- Kalomo District
- Kazungula District
- Livingstone District
- Mazabuka District
- Monze District
- Namwala District
- Pemba District
- Siavonga District
- Sinazongwe District
- Zimba District


Government of Canada is taking action to protect species at risk
VANCOUVER, Aug. 26, 2014 /CNW/ - Colin Carrie, Parliamentary Secretary to the Environment Minister and Member of Parliament for Oshawa, on behalf of Canada's Environment Minister, the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, today announced $11.5 million in funding from the Habitat Stewardship Program (HSP) that will fund more than 160 projects across Canada that will help protect species at risk.
Stewardship is an important step in protecting critical habitat of species at risk. HSP fosters stewardship measures like land and resource use practices that maintain habitat necessary for the survival and recovery of species at risk, enhance existing conservation activities and encourage new ones. Voluntary activities are clearly making a difference in habitat protection, the recovery of species, and the conservation of biodiversity.
One example of an initiative that the HSP will fund this year is a project led by the British Columbia Conservation Foundation. Their project aims to address the degradation of Coastal Sand Ecosystems on British Columbia's Southern Coast by mitigating threats due to habitat destruction, invasive plants and human recreational activities. Conservation activities will take place in Boundary Bay, Iona Beach, Thormanby Islands and Savary Island all within the Coastal Douglas Fir and the Lower Fraser Valley areas.
The HSP is also providing funding to the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre for their important work that focusses on habitat protection for cetacean and sea turtles species at risk and reducing threats such as physical disturbances, entanglements, and ship strikes.
In support of such stewardship activities, the National Conservation Plan, announced by Prime Minister Harper in May, includes funding of $50 million over five years to support voluntary actions to restore and conserve species and their habitats. Programs like HSP are an important part of the Government of Canada's National Conservation Plan to conserve and restore our lands and waters, and connect Canadian families to our natural spaces.
- Since 2006, under the Habitat Stewardship Program, we have invested over $86 million to support 1,467 local conservation projects, benefitting the habitat of 431 species at risk. Activities funded by the Program must take place on private, provincial Crown, or Aboriginal land, or in freshwater or marine environments across Canada.
- Non-governmental organizations, Aboriginal organizations and communities, individuals, businesses, community associations, and provincial/territorial and municipal governments are eligible for funding.
"Our Government is proud to support the environmental efforts of local communities through the Habitat Stewardship Program for Species at Risk. With this investment and the recently announced National Conservation Plan, the Government is building a stronger Canada, a country that cares about conserving its natural heritage and a country where we can all enjoy the beauty of nature from coast to coast to coast."
- Colin Carrie, Member of Parliament for Oshawa and Parliamentary Secretary to Canada's Environment Minister
For more information and to view a backgrounder on this announcement, please visit the Web site of Environment Canada.
Canadians can also learn more about the National Conservation Plan.
SOURCE Environment CanadaFor further information:
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of the Environment