Natural Microsystems

By David Maillie

The fall migration of Monarch butterflies is one of those fascinating natural mysteries to which human beings still do not have any answers. For centuries, the black and orange Monarchs have been great winter attractions in the Californian and Mexican regions. However, no one had any clue to this huge influx of Monarch butterflies in these regions.

In 1937, part of this mystery was unfolded through the attempts of a researcher named F. A. Urquhart; he began putting wing tags on the butterflies in order to track their origins and whereabouts. His endeavors bore results and it was brought to light that the Monarch butterflies were original natives of the northern regions. The winged beauties soared and glided in the sunlit skies across USA from March through October. Come winter, and they would migrate to the warmer regions southwards to avoid the cold winds, returning to their summer grounds in the wake of spring.

The migration and the life cycle of a Monarch butterfly continue to puzzle human beings. Studies have established that a Monarch butterfly completes a round trip only once in its entire life cycle. With an average life span of about 6-8 weeks (of one generation through the various stages - egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, butterfly), the migration chapter is not covered in a single generation. In fact, it is the fourth generation Monarch butterflies that take the long flights (ranging to some 1800-2500 miles) from their summer homes to their winter roosting spots traversing many mountains and forests in their way.

The first three generations complete their life cycles in the northern regions. The fourth generation butterflies attain maturity at the onset of Fall. These adults are slightly different from the summer adults; they do not mate rather take to flight to keep warm. Monarch butterflies east of the Rocky Mountains migrate to the Oyamel fir trees of Mexico and the ones west of the Rockies migrate to the eucalyptus trees of Pacific Grove and surrounding areas in southern California. The fall generation Monarchs hibernate in their warm nesting grounds of Mexico and southern California until the arrival of spring when they wake up to mate and migrate back to the summer homes. There they lay eggs and die.

In spite of the most sincere researching, Monarch butterflies have remained an enigma for humankind. We yet do not have any explanation to how these little winged creatures keep revisiting the same trees year after year and that being fourth generation offsprings!

About The Author

David Maillie is Cornell Alumni and award winning writer and researcher. For more great info, tips and ideas please visit http://www.bestbraindrain.com

By David Maillie

The fall migration of Monarch butterflies is one of those fascinating natural mysteries to which human beings still do not have any answers. For centuries, the black and orange Monarchs have been great winter attractions in the Californian and Mexican regions. However, no one had any clue to this huge influx of Monarch butterflies in these regions.

In 1937, part of this mystery was unfolded through the attempts of a researcher named F. A. Urquhart; he began putting wing tags on the butterflies in order to track their origins and whereabouts. His endeavors bore results and it was brought to light that the Monarch butterflies were original natives of the northern regions. The winged beauties soared and glided in the sunlit skies across USA from March through October. Come winter, and they would migrate to the warmer regions southwards to avoid the cold winds, returning to their summer grounds in the wake of spring.

The migration and the life cycle of a Monarch butterfly continue to puzzle human beings. Studies have established that a Monarch butterfly completes a round trip only once in its entire life cycle. With an average life span of about 6-8 weeks (of one generation through the various stages - egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, butterfly), the migration chapter is not covered in a single generation. In fact, it is the fourth generation Monarch butterflies that take the long flights (ranging to some 1800-2500 miles) from their summer homes to their winter roosting spots traversing many mountains and forests in their way.

The first three generations complete their life cycles in the northern regions. The fourth generation butterflies attain maturity at the onset of Fall. These adults are slightly different from the summer adults; they do not mate rather take to flight to keep warm. Monarch butterflies east of the Rocky Mountains migrate to the Oyamel fir trees of Mexico and the ones west of the Rockies migrate to the eucalyptus trees of Pacific Grove and surrounding areas in southern California. The fall generation Monarchs hibernate in their warm nesting grounds of Mexico and southern California until the arrival of spring when they wake up to mate and migrate back to the summer homes. There they lay eggs and die.

In spite of the most sincere researching, Monarch butterflies have remained an enigma for humankind. We yet do not have any explanation to how these little winged creatures keep revisiting the same trees year after year and that being fourth generation offsprings!

About The Author

David Maillie is Cornell Alumni and award winning writer and researcher. For more great info, tips and ideas please visit http://www.bestbraindrain.com

By Chris Marshall

Global Warming is one of the things people search a lot for on the Internet. People often search for articles with questions like does global warming lead to a high death rate and whilst there is information around a lot of it will not be useful if you do not word your search well. It is also important to remember that the Internet is full of websites written with agenda and that the information on some websites may not be factual or correct, this is especially important in the case of websites about Global Warming.

Climate change can affect everything and it could eventually affect the death rate of our population if things do continue to get worse over the next few years. Climate change will affect everything and that includes global warming affecting ocean life. The truth about climate change is that no matter how people deny or ignore it the Worlds temperature is increasing and with that rise the sea levels in the world are rising so the global warming affecting ocean life will happen and make things different in the World.

If you are wanting to know about the human causes global warming then there is not only plenty of information available online but also plenty that you can do to help prevent global warming from getting worse.

People often want to know about the effects of global warming in Singapore and the places like this that are at major risk and there are websites on the Internet that can offer you accurate advice about what exactly climate change will do and what areas will be most affect by Global Warming.

One of the biggest worries about the planet is that global warming can”t be reversed and it will eventually destroy our planet if we do not take action against the rising temperature and the problems that it will cause for future generations. If you do ignore the problems then they may go away for you but will not in the long term and we are all accountable and could do more to ensure that our planet is save for many years to come. If you are interested then there are plenty of things you can do and you can start to make a difference straight away even with little things like turning appliances off and making sure that you wash clothes on a lower temperature. They may seem trivial things but if everybody in the world starts to do them then it will start to make a big difference.

About The Author

Global Warming Website explores the issue of climate change and the environment so that you can find out more information about the effect you have on the environment and the effect it has on your life. For more information please visit http://www.globalwarmingwebsite.com.

By Jimmy Cox

North, South, East or West - no matter where you live - there are evergreens for every garden. The luxuriance of their foliage, the different shades of green, their variety of forms, textures, and heights contribute lavishly to the planting design. Indeed, like old friends, they can always be depended on to give us real enjoyment through the years. Their easy upkeep, permanence, and the all-year-round green they provide make them all-important in garden-making.

In making a planting plan it is very important to select the right evergreen for the allotted space. This can hardly be overemphasized. For instance, avoid using tall-growing trees or shrubs directly in front of a window. All too often one sees houses literally smothered with towering evergreens placed in just such a location, shutting out the vista, the air, and the light. Furthermore, a planting of this kind spoils the architectural lines of the house, whereas actually one of the purposes of the planting is to set off these lines to best advantage.

Bear in mind the shape of the evergreen selected, and visualize how it will fit into the general planting scheme. Evergreens have definite forms, use the pyramidal and columnar types sparingly; in fact, these are especially adapted for accent purposes, and where space permits they are sometimes well placed each side of a doorway. The globular kinds are very distinctive, and they should also be used with much thought. Evergreens with a bushy habit of growth and the creeping species, such as some of the Junipers, can be used more freely than those with more formal lines.

Another factor that should be considered is whether the planting is to be made in the sun or in the shade. There are evergreens that thrive in every location, and it is an easy matter to find the right plant for the available situation. Some of those that are shade-tolerant include such favorites as Laurel, Oregon Holly-grape, Holly Olive, Cherry-laurel, and the evergreen species of Privet.

If your builder has given you an allowance for purchasing plant material, you are then a free lance. In spending this sum it is much wiser not to attempt to stretch the planting over too extensive an area, but rather to make each part perfect in itself. Be sure to buy your trees and shrubs from reliable sources. A good buyer looks over the plants carefully to make certain that each one is compact and vigorous.

It is important not to introduce too great a variety of evergreens in the planting scheme, but rather to have each kind well represented, otherwise the planting would be too heterogeneous, which would give a confused effect. This does not apply to plants that are columnar or globular in shape. These should be used sparingly.

Take care of the key planting first of all; this is usually along the foundation of the house. Evergreens are unsurpassed for tying the house to the ground; they give an exceptionally handsome setting - in fact they bring about a real metamorphosis. A touch of deciduous material introduced into the evergreen planting gives a light note. It adds interest and beauty because of the contrast in habit of growth and color of foliage that it provides. Flowering shrubs which are conspicuous for their blooms, berries, and autumn coloration are excellent for this purpose.

Along the boundary of the place a combination of the taller-growing and lower-growing evergreens gives more complete seclusion than any other kind of plant material, and provides an all-year-round line of demarcation. The taller-growing kinds are excellent for the background, and the dwarf types are used as facers.

In many suburban communities houses are built on small lots. Under these conditions landscaping is often difficult. When a good neighbor policy can be adopted, this sometimes turns out to be a solution to the problem of restricted space for garden-making. By co-operating in a plan with your next-door neighbor a landscape effect can be developed that will be of mutual benefit. This can be done by treating the two places as a unit in developing the planting plan. The result will be a more spacious, open garden.

Have fun with your gardening!

About The Author

Here’’s The Secret To Fast Growing Evergreens No Matter Where You Live - Your Garden Will Bloom With Color And Beauty All Year Round!

Click here for FREE online ebook!

http://www.fastgrowingevergreens.net/

By Jerry Work

Bamboo may be one of the very best candidates for a kind of plant to grow in or outside your home. Bamboo is attractive, can bloom in a multitude of colors (depending on the variety), and, once mature, can survive with relatively little maintenance. It is a good choice of plant for the busy, modern day person - except it’’s not really a plant. Bamboo is actually a kind of tall forest grass, which is what makes it such an adaptable plant. There are many different kinds of bamboo which are appropriate for specific environments - wet, dry, warm or cold. Picking the right bamboo for your surroundings is very important.

Do not be fooled by the “lucky bamboo” that is sold in some stores. That bamboo, which requires nothing but some water in a vase to grow, is actually dracaena, a very common houseplant. As a side note, you can save a lot of money on lucky bamboo by buying it under its true name. There is a huge markup in the price when it is tagged and sold as lucky bamboo. Real bamboo requires more diligence than the falsely named lucky variety.

Bamboo grows best when exposed to maximum sunlight, although it is often advisable to provide shading for young bamboo plants. Bamboo also needs water, fertilizer, and protection to grow to its fullest, just like any other plant. You need to give your bamboo as much love and attention as your other plants.

Bamboo should be planted in a rich, organic soil. If your soil is too heavy, you might want to add mulch. The mulch should be placed around the bamboo at a thickness of about two inches. Good sources of mulch for growing bamboo include grass, compost, and manure.

Bamboo thrives best in warmer climates. If you live in a climate where it is reasonably warm year-round, then you can just about plant your bamboo any time you want. However, if you live somewhere with cold winters, you should plant the bamboo early enough in the year to allow it to harden before winter arrives. A layer of heavy mulch can also help bamboo survive a cold winter environment.

One thing to keep in mind about bamboo is that it is a running plant, meaning that it has roots that spread out, often destroying nearby plants and animal habitats. For this reason, it is often recommended that a barrier be placed up to 30 inches in the ground to block the spread of roots. When bamboo roots encounter obstacles while expanding outward, they will grow downward, looking for a new way to go. That is why the barrier needs to be so deep.

Bamboo can also be grown in a pot, although it requires more care and attention. For example, in a pot, bamboo can get too dry or too wet because it lacks its own access to soil in the ground. Bamboo grown in pots does not tend to grow as well as bamboo in the ground.

Young bamboo plants should be watered liberally, as much as every day during the summertime. More mature bamboo requires less watering. Also, young, thin bamboo stalks may need to be tied to a stake or some kind of sturdy object to prevent wind damage.

So, yes, bamboo does require some work, especially in the beginning - way more than your lucky bamboo. But it is definitely worth the effort to introduce such a pleasing and unusual plant to your home.

About The Author

For more information about bamboo or bamboo flooring, visit http://www.WorldFloorsDirect.com, a company specializing in wood flooring that originates from managed sustainable forests.

By Steven Broffman

If you are a gardening fanatic, then you have probably gone to book stores before with specific gardening books in mind. To your surprise, you are then bombarded by shelf upon shelf of books on every type of gardening imaginable except the one that you really want! Who knew there were this many gardening books? And what about going online? You know the internet is a good place to find information, so you go to your favorite search engine expecting to find exactly what you”re looking for. Instead, you”re just bombarded with tons of information overload. Again.

So what is the solution? It’’s actually not as hard as you might think. No, I don”t want you to buy the bookstore. You could pay someone to sift through all the internet information, but that’’s not what I”m talking about either. Why don”t you just write your own gardening book?

I know it seems to defeat the purpose of your research. You”re probably thinking that if you knew anything about gardening, you wouldn”t be looking in the first place!

You also might think that it’’s too tough to write a book, but I don”t buy that. Writing a book doesn”t have to be difficult, if you know how to talk then you know how to write! People love easy to read information, as long as it’’s quality info.

But you don”t know enough about gardening to write a gardening book, right? I don”t believe that! If you truly are a gardening enthusiast, then I”m sure you know enough to write a small book. I”m sure you remember digging up your mother’’s nice neat flower beds to see exactly ”how it worked”! So, you”ve got the essential know-how necessary to at least write one gardening book.

So now what? Get to work! The hardest part is just starting. Get in front of that computer and type! You might forget standard day-to-day activities once you start writing, but that’’s normal. You won”t need to be reminded to water your garden, because meticulous gardener that you are, that”ll be the last thing that you forget. You”re an expert gardener, you just might not know it yet.

So what to do after you write? Take a nice break! Congratulate yourself on a job well done. Eventually, you”ll want to start on a sequel because I”m sure your first book doesn”t cover everything there is to know about gardening. There are always new developments to write about. Use your personal flare to attack a gardening niche from a new angle. Whatever you do, don”t just sit back in your recliner and get all lazy on me. You are now a respectable author. So get out there and enlighten aspiring gardeners!

About The Author

Steven Broffman is a contributing writer to http://www.mygardeningtip.com, a website dedicated to the the various aspects of gardening and home of The Gardener’’s Handbook & Audio Book.

By Catherine Harvey

You see many manufacturers these days churning out all sorts of pollution for the sake of earning a few extra pounds at the expense of the environment. The onus for saving the environment seems to have fallen on the average person who uses a car to get to work or puts out too much rubbish for the landfill and not enough for recycling.

BMW are not a company to shirk their responsibilities in this regard. Their plants around the world have taken the initiative to do their part and have, in fact, excelled with their innovative ways of manufacturing their cars whilst avoiding air and water pollution.

This doesn”t just apply to their manufacturing process but their vehicles also. To this end, they have just one World Green Car of the Year with their BMW 118d. They have applied their Efficient Dynamics programme to the car and the proof that this works so well comes from the 47 motor journalists from 24 countries who have awarded the 118d model with this prestigious accolade at the New York International Auto Show 2008.

It’’s thanks to BMW’’s drive to supply their cars with systems and ideas to reduce fuel consumption and cut CO2 emissions as a standard practice. At 62.8 mpg with emissions at just 119g/km the BMW 118d has done just that. Drivers will also be very glad to know that these statistics put this car in the band B bracket for duty and brings road tax down to a mere 35 pounds a year. I feel one going on the Christmas wish list already!

BMW have used Brake Energy Reduction, Auto Start-Stop and Electric Power Steering to do the job of cutting emissions and fuel consumption and it works a treat. To encourage economical motoring, BMW have also included a gearshift change indicator.

The Chairman of BMW North America is very happy with this outcome. After years of providing top level vehicles to the public they can now claim to be one of the most efficient too, in fact this puts them in the forefront of environmentally friendly premium cars. BMW have also won similar green awards in the UK and overseas, including ”What Car?” and ”Car Magazine” green awards. The Fleet News Environmental Award was presented in the UK with many others that came to light during the Geneva Motor Show.

BMW also won this award in 2006 and promise to continue implementing their initiatives to provide us with excellent cars that keep our air pollution free. This year, BMW beat Mercedes Benz and Volkswagen Passat in their bid for the green awards.

Other news from BMW comes in the form of the fact that they are now the leading sellers of premium four-wheel drive vehicles in Europe. In the premium car arena, BMW sold 320,900 vehicles with its unique xDrive system, topping the next best seller by a staggering 4,500.

In the UK alone, BMW represent ten per cent of total sales with their X3s and X5 models. For all those impressed with the figures from such a long standing powerful player in the vehicle market, watch this space for the launch of the BMW X6, promised for the 31st May.

About The Author

Eco expert Catherine Harvey looks at the way initiatives from BMW go a long way in aiding our environment. To find out more please visit http://www.cooperbmw.co.uk/

By Roger Munns

Ski resorts all over the world are taking an active interest in the affects of global warming.

This is because global warming will have a direct impact on their business for the worst. Temperatures around the globe are expected to rise an average of 6 degrees Celsius within the next century. It may sound like a small number, but the affects can be devastating to a ski resort business that depends on frigid temperatures to attract visitors.

A few major ski resort tycoons have already begun steps to “go green” by hiring environmental affairs specialists to come up with ways to keep them in business and have their operations run more efficiently. Much of these efforts involve implementing practices of conservation when it comes to water usage and reducing greenhouse emissions. One such resort taking these steps is Aspen in North America. They have also set up consultants who work with other ski resorts to ”go green.”

Experts agree that by reducing greenhouse emissions, we could see an increase in snow production. To this end, ski resorts are beginning to install compact fluorescent lights in lieu of high wattage bulbs. They are also using more paperless forms of recordkeeping to reduce the amount of trees being cut down for paper sources. Ski resorts are also encouraging their guests to take part in energy conservation, because they realize that it takes much human power to reduce the affects of global warming.

The Alps in Europe are on-board with energy conservation, as the glaciers are melting too quickly for comfort. It is estimated that if steps to control global warming are not taken immediately, low-lying ski resorts in Europe may have winters where they receive no snow at all. This could be a reality within 15 years.

Some European ski resorts have already invested much money into snow-making machines, but have come to realize that even these machines only work if temperatures are below freezing. They will do no good in the scenario of global warming, if temperatures are consistently rising.

While the gradual lack of snowfalls weighs heavily on the minds of ski resort owners, so does the fact that global warming will eventually cause massive floods as glaciers continue to melt rapidly. If this is the case, lack of snowfall will not be the biggest issue ski resorts have to face.

In summary, ski resorts all over the world are working together to develop plans of energy conservation and reduction of greenhouse emissions to keep their industry alive in the coming years. If every resort takes steps to help the environment, then the whole world will benefit.

About The Author

Andorra is a European ski destination in the European Pyrenees and for first time visitors YourAndorra.com includes a map of Andorra at http://www.yourandorra.com/map

By Kevin Rockwell

One of the best things about biomass is that everyone makes their own literally and everyone can potentially put it to greater use.

On a Personal Scale
A quick search of the web will turn up hundreds of resources on personal-scale biomass energy, including information on products, procedures, energy loans, tax incentives, sources, energy providers and other important data. Here are some things you can do.

* Manufacture your own biodiesel. That’’s right. Using common feedstock, anyone in the U.S. can make a gallon of biodiesel for less than a buck. Where do you get feedstock? One common source is restaurants, which have gallons of used vegetable oils they have to dispose of anyway. There are many other sources. With a biodiesel manufacturing setup you can make enough biodiesel to run your car (say, 10 gallons per week) on about %5 to $7 per week, $300 to $400 a year. Buy a brand new diesel car, Volkswagen, for instance, promotes all of its diesels as biofriendly, and stop lining the pockets of the price-gouging, earth-raping, water-polluting oil companies (and you know who they are).

* Buy a diesel vehicle and run it with biodiesel or, at minumum, B20. Better yet, watch for the diesel/electric hybrids that manufacturers have been developing.

On a Community/Regional Scale

* Just because you don”t have any local biofuel makers nearby doesn”t mean it has to stay that way. Biofuel is no longer a ”fringe” product, so with a little research and an investment in human energy you can probably convince your town, or your school system, or a group of people interested in forming a cooperative, to do something along these lines:

* Thanks to pressure to “clean up its act,” a public utility in the state of New Hampshire converted a 50-megawatt power plant that had previously been run on coal to on now operating entirely on wood chips as a feedstock. Rather than burning130,000 tons of coal each year, it now uses 400,000 tons of wood scrap from local resources, and emits just a quarter of the NOX and only 2 percent of the SO2 previously pouring into the air.

* The Portland, Oregon, school system has long been a staunch supporter of the Reduce-Reuse-Recycle way of life. Now the schools system has convinced the local division of the largest waste hauler in the U.S. Waste Management, Inc., to run its fleet on B20 biodiesel.

About The Author

Alternative Energy HQ is a great resource for info and news about the world of energy and energy trends for the future. Free ebook on Alternative Energy will educate you on what is going on! http://alternativeenergyhq.com

By Thomas Fox

Homes and offices that are built without regard to productivity hardly ever work effectively. Productivity, and with it human effectiveness and relationships, are influenced by the environment within the four walls.

Research has shown that people who live or work in a space not designed for human productivity generally do not collaborate as well in it. Not surprisingly, small changes in working or living environments do have a big impact on productivity, both economic and social.

According to Austrian researchers, architects and engineers who specialize in living and working environment dynamics, a workplace and a home or office place can be designed and arranged in a way so it supports the collaboration verbally and visually. (A. Fuchs, and H. Hinneberg, 2007) Among their findings is one that may seem counter-intuitive in today’’s hyper-connected email office environment.

Intra-office cross-desk electronic correspondence systems (in other words, email, Blackberry, instant messaging) have proven ineffective when collaboration is required. Coworkers sit next to each other in their cubicles, separated physically by a flimsy wall partition. They are separated on the human level as well, as they email notes to each other instead of speaking. Can that approach really be expected to increase collaborative effectiveness?

We have always found in observational research projects that bad decisions, conflicts and mistakes happen. It’’s a fact of life, both at work and at home. When the relationships between the people affected by these issues are strong, the mistakes and errors are easier forgiven than when the relationship is already conflict-prong.

In this electronic age, emails do not easily improve relationship; rather they actually tend to derail them when the human context is removed. The confusion that comes with missing tone of voice, facial gestures or body language has a huge impact. How many times have you misinterpreted an email or instant message, and been offended or otherwise upset by a sarcastic or joking comment?

Studies have shown that employees who sit in large rooms without any barriers tend to improve their productivity and the quality of their collaboration. Sitting next to each other, in an open environment that supports and promotes visual and acoustic interaction, humans bring back the human element to their relationships. This can only help to improve their results.

While studies support these improvements in productivity and collaboration at work, the home living space can also be designed to foster better relationship. A well- laid home will tend to bring the family members together. On the other hand, poorly designed living spaces tend to separate family members into culture-class differentiations of “parent” and “child.”

For example, an open living area that includes an area of homework, meal preparation and leisure activities brings a more egalitarian structure to the family relationship. Everyone is an equal and on the same floor level instead of parents upstairs and the children a mile away in their basement family room, or sequestered in their rooms.

Based on their research, the Austrian scientists propose to custom design the home or office structure to bring out the best in a collaborative setting. This helps to address all cultural and social aspects that are important to improved collaboration. Among their considerations are energy sources, rest, relaxation areas and creative spaces. It’’s also critical to allow for areas in which productivity and collaboration are the goal, as well as areas where privacy must prevail and be respected.

When human needs are met to their fullest satisfaction, there you”ll find the best foundation for a happy and balanced live at home and at the workplace.

About The Author

T Fox researches collaboration and productivity. He is discussing the need for customized consideration of all aspects in nature, environment, human collaborative needs, and the purpose of the building when designing the architecture. http://www.123vita.com/41.html