GLOBAL WARMING: PLANTS ARE NOT GOING TO HELP MUCH

GLOBAL WARMING: PLANTS ARE NOT GOING TO HELP MUCH
BY
DR. NITISH PRIYADARSHI

Climate change is neither new nor unusual. The earth’s average surface temperature and climate have been changing through out the world’s 4.7 billion history. Sometimes it has changed gradually (over hundreds to millions of years) and at other times fairly quickly (over a few decades).
The last two million years has seen more climate changes than any other time in the earth’s history. This period is known as the Quaternary period. More than nine separate cold and warm spells occurred in the Quaternary period.
Recent Warming:
Scientists have found that the earth’s temperature increased by up to 0.6º C. (1º F) during the 20th Century. They believe that one of the main cause of this global warming is the increase in green house gases in the atmosphere. They estimate that if the amount of green house gases continues to increase, the earth’s temperature will continue to rise too, perhaps up to 3.5º c. (6.3º F) over coming decades. Major cause of the green house gases are the burning fossil fuels and deforestation.
During the day, green plants absorb carbon dioxide in the air to make food. According to reports plants remove about 60 billion tones of carbon from the atmosphere each year.
Reports say ‘to minimize’ carbon from the atmosphere grow more tree. Surprisingly recent findings reveal that plant produce methane gas which is also the important green house gas responsible for global warming. Much more carbon dioxide is spread into the atmosphere every year, but one kilogram of methane warms the earth 23 times more than a kilogram of carbon dioxide does.
Most people know methane as natural gas. Found in oil fields and coal beds as well as in natural gas fields, it has become an important source of energy. Approximately 600 million metric tons of it- both anthropogenic and natural- rise into the atmosphere every year. Most of these emissions have been thought to come from the decay of non fossil organic material as result of activity by anaerobic bacteria. Wetlands such as swamps, marshes and rice paddies provide the greatest share. It was discovered that aging plants provide most of the chloromethane found in the atmosphere. Chloromethane is a chlorinated gas that destroys ozone.
It was also found that the rates of methane production increased dramatically, jumping to 10 to 100 times those of leaves detached from plants. In 2005 the scientists satellite measurements revealed “clouds” of methane over tropical forests.
During the last glacial maximum-around 21,000 years ago- the plant growth of the Amazon forests was only half as extensive as today, and tropical vegetation might thus have released much less than methane. Since that time, global surface temperature and carbon dioxide concentrations have risen, leading to enhanced plant growth and, we would expect, to more and more methane released from vegetation.

How might increased carbon dioxide levels affect photosynthesis?

Some studies suggest that more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere could increase the rate of photosynthesis in areas with adequate amounts of water and other soil nutrients. This would remove more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and help slow atmospheric warming.
However, recent studies cast doubt on such a generalization for these reasons. First, this effect would slow as the plant reach maturity and take up less carbon dioxide. Second, it is a temporary effect. When the plants die and are decomposed or burned, the carbon they stored is returned to the atmosphere.
Seeing the above studies it can be said that plants are not going to help much in fighting global warming. The way we are producing carbons in the atmosphere I don’t think the growing trees can absorb so much of carbons, on the other hand they may take part in increasing global warming.
References:
· G. Tyler Miller, Jr. 2004. Environmental Science working with the earth. Thomson Asia Pte. Ltd. Singapore.
· F. Keppler, T., Rockmann, Feb.2007. Methane, Plants and Climate Change. Scientific American, India Jour.


Dr. Nitish Priyadarshi
Geologist
Rch_nitishp@sancharnet.in

क्या पृथ्वी तीन मिनट मैं बनी ?

पृथ्वी क्या तीन मिनट मैं बनी

द्वारा

नीतीश प्रियदर्शी
समय पहले विश्व की प्रमुख विज्ञान पत्रिका 'नेचर' में एक शोध पत्र छपा था कि पृथ्वी को बनने में तीन मिनट से भी कम समय लगा । शोधकर्ता थे आर वी जेन्त्री। यह रिपोर्ट आने के बाद विश्व के खोजकर्ताओं में बहस चल रही है कि इस शोध पर कितना विश्वास किया जाए ।

इस शोध के बाद लोगों को कुछ धर्मों कही गई बात कि पृथ्वी तुरंत तथा आज से ६००० वर्ष पहले बनी सत्य प्रतीत होती है।

भूवैज्ञानिक मान्यता है कि पृथ्वी को वर्तमान स्वरूप में आने में करोडो वर्ष लगे। विभिन्न radioactive और कार्बन डेटिंग से यह ज्ञात हुआ है कि पृथ्वी की आयु ४.५ बिलियन वर्ष है।
जेन्त्री ने granite पत्थर में मौजूद radioactive पदार्थ पोलोनियम -२१८ को लेकर शोध किया । उनका कहना है कि पोलोनियम-२१८ कि आधी आयु (Half life) महज तीन मिनट है । दूसरे शब्दों में कहें तो यह धातु कुछ ही मिनट तक विकिरण दे सकता है । अपने कम होने के दोरान यह अल्फ़ा विकिरण देता है जो बगल मे मौजूद धातु को प्रभावित करता है । धातु के चारो तरफ एक ring बन जाता है जिसको हम 'हेलोस' (प्रभामंडल) कहते हैं । उनका यह मानना है कि अगर इन छल्लो को चट्टानों मैं मौजूद रहना है तो चट्टानों को तरल से ठोस होने में तीन मिनट से भी कम समय लगना होगा नहीं तो सारे पोलोनियम-२१८ विलुप्त हो जायंगे तथा छल्लों का प्रभाव नहीं दिखेगा। अगर हम पोलोनियम-२१४ कि बात करे तो उसकी आयु महज .०००१६४ सेकंड है। अगर इनके द्वारा बनाए गए छल्ले हम चट्टानों में देखते हैं तो आप यह सहज यह अनुमान लगा सकते हैं कि चट्टानों को ठोस होने में कितना समय लगेगा । यानी एक सेकंड का हजार वां हिस्सा ।
उनका मानना है कि पोलोनियम अरबों कि संख्या में विश्व के granite चट्टानों में पाया जाता है तथा विश्व का आधा से ज्यादा हिस्सा इन चट्टानों का है। वे granite को ही धरती का मूल चट्टान मानते हैं.
कुछ भूवैज्ञानिकों का मानना है कि जेंत्री भोतिकी के जानकर हैं। उनको भूविज्ञान के बारे में ज्यादा जानकारी नहीं है। पृथ्वी कि आयु जानने के लिये जरूरी है कि हमे चट्टानों के प्रकृति कि गहन जानकारी होनी चाहिऐ। उन्होने सिर्फ एक चीज को देखकर निष्कर्ष निकाल लिया कि पृथ्वी तीन मिनट के अन्दर बनी।

आज अगर हम देखें तो लोग विज्ञान और धर्मं को एक साथ जोड़कर देखने कि कोशिश कर रहें हैं। बात कुछ भी हो इतना जरूर है कि धर्मं और विज्ञान के बीच की लड़ाई पहले भी थी और आज भी है और कल भी रहेगा।

डाक्टर नीतिश प्रियदर्शी
भूवैज्ञानिक

ईमेल: rch_nitishp@sancharnet.in

PESTICIDES MAY CAUSE ASTHMA AMONG FARM WOMEN

Pesticides May Cause Asthma Among Farm Women
12.28.07, 12:00 AM ET
http://www.forbes.com/health/feeds/hscout/2007/12/28/hscout611311.html
FRIDAY, Dec. 28 (HealthDay News) -- Farm women who come in contact with some widely used pesticides may have an increased risk of developing allergic asthma, a new study suggests.

However, the risk of developing non-allergic asthma does not increase for women exposed to pesticides, according to the study authors.

"Women who apply pesticides on farms were 50 percent more likely to have allergic asthma, although this was not true for non-allergic asthma," said study author Jane Hoppin, a staff scientist with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in Research Triangle Park, N.C. "Also, women who grew up on farms were protected against allergic asthma and that protection was evident whether or not you applied pesticides."

The findings are published in the January issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, non-allergic asthma is caused by factors not related to allergies. But allergic asthma -- the most common form of asthma, affecting more than 50 percent of the 20 million asthma sufferers in the United States -- is characterized by symptoms that are triggered by an allergic reaction. Some typical triggers for allergic asthma include dust mites, pet dander, pollen and mold.

Experts already knew that growing up on a farm minimizes the risk of allergic disease, that pesticides have been associated with respiratory symptoms in farmers, and that farmers are at increased risk for respiratory diseases -- including asthma -- due to exposure to grains, animals, dust and other factors.

Little research, however, has delved into respiratory risk factors for farm women.
Hoppin and her colleagues examined data on 25,814 such women in North Carolina and in Iowa who are participating in the Agricultural Health Study, a large government-funded look at the effects of environmental, occupational and other factors on the health of the agricultural population.

"This is the largest study of farmers and their families in the world, so it gives us an opportunity to look at diseases that haven't been well characterized," Hoppin said.

The women reported whether or not they had been diagnosed with asthma and were then divided into two groups: those with atopic (allergic) asthma and those with nonatopic (non-allergic) asthma.

More than half the women in the study had used or been exposed to pesticides. Sixty-one percent of the women were raised on a farm, which protected against allergic asthma and, to a lesser extent, non-allergic asthma. Using pesticides was associated almost solely with allergic asthma, increasing the risk almost 50 percent, the study found.

The association between pesticide use and allergic asthma was strongest among women who had grown up on a farm. But because of the protective effect of having grown up in an agricultural setting, these women still had a lower overall risk of allergic asthma than women who did not grow up on a farm.
Women who were raised on farms but did not use pesticides had the lowest overall risk of allergic asthma, compared with women who neither grew up on farms nor applied pesticides.

Some less commonly used pesticides such as parathion were associated with triple the risk of allergic asthma. Some more commonly used pesticides such as malathion were also associated with a higher risk, the researchers said.
Other experts said the study findings were far from clear-cut.

"It's a little bit confusing," said Dr. Len Horovitz, a pulmonary specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. "I would expect that there would be more allergic asthma in anybody who grew up on a farm, but that's not exactly what they're saying. Also, it's difficult to separate farm work from pesticide use. I would need to see more data before coming to the same conclusions as the authors of the article did."

Because Hoppin's analysis was "cross-sectional," it can't show a cause and effect. "But given what we see in animals, it suggests that we should do a prospective analysis where we can then say pesticide use preceded asthma or asthmatic symptoms. That's really the next step," she said.

Hoppin said she and her colleagues are in the process of planning that next study.

There is no longer any serious doubt that health officials are covering up a big story, trying to side step a growing swell of evidence that threatens the very foundation of medical science and practice. It is obvious that the medical profession cannot afford to have the public ever find out the truth about vaccination for there is simply just too much at stake for them. - Dr Mark Sircus, MD.

UNDERGROUND MINE FIRE ENGULFING JHARIA TOWN

JHARIA-FIRE IN THE BELLY
Underground mine fire engulfing Jharia town.
BY
DR. NITISH PRIYADARSHI


The haunting inscription that marks the gates of hell in Dante’s Inferno could well be true for Jharia, located in Jharkhand in India. For, the underground fires that have been raging in the coalfields of this town over several decades are now beginning to engulf its thickly inhabited areas as well.
Panic gripped Sudamdih new mines area under eastern Jharia on 28th December , 2007 morning when large cracks developed on the road and buildings spread over an area of nearly half km. due to the land subsidence. While major cracks developed in almost all the rooms of Birsa Memorial High School, minor cracks were seen on walls of many houses of mini slum area situated by the side.

According to eyewitness, the residents of the locality heard some gurgling sound from beneath the earth at around 9.30 in the morning and cracks started developing on the earth surface. Fearing major land subsidence, residents came out of their houses and started running helter-skelter.
In October 2007, the area had experienced gas leakage from beneath the earth after which the coal organization management dug many holes to control the underground fire by stowing water mixed sand through the holes. It is all due to underground mine fire which is now slowly engulfing the area. Fire errupted on 19/1/2008

Such is the intensity of the fires that even a mid-summer sun pales in the smoky haze that they generate. After dusk, the flames take on morbid hues. “Jharia resembles a cremation ground at night”.
Few years ago the town’s temple snapped into two. The next moment, flames leapt out from underneath spewing noxious gases. The people of Jharia then realized that the underground fire had finally reached their doorstep.
Some 150,000 miners, truck drivers, loaders and other workers brave this hazard to eke out a living. The fires have consumed about 42 million tones of India’s best coking coal.
There appears to be no permanent solution in sight. The only opinion seems to be cut out trenches to disconnect fire seams which have been identified. But this would require a huge investment. But the extent to which has flared up in Jharia makes dousing it an uphill task-particularly when all the prevailing conditions further fan the fire.
The only solution which is now seen is the “shifting of town”. This means that the relocation would affect the nearly 0.3 million population of Jharia, approximately 0.1 million houses and other buildings and prospering economy.
About Study Area:

India has a long history of commercial coal mining covering nearly 220 years starting from 1774 by M/s Sumner and Heatly of East India Company in the Raniganj Coalfield along the Western bank of river Damodar. Jharia coal field is the largest coal producer in India Consisting of 23 large underground and nine large open cast mines. The mining activities in these coalfields started in 1894 and had really intensified in 1925. The history of coalmine fire in Jharia coalfield can be traced back to 1916 when the first fire was detected. At present, more than 70 mine fires are reported from this region. The Jharia coalfield which is the only coking coal source of India is located in the district of Dhanbad (Jharkhand). The southern edge of this coalfield is marked by perennial river Damodar. Coal mine in this region was started as early as in 1890 providing a long span of hundred years of exploitation. There are 28-major coal seams, 19-in Barakar formations. Fires in Jharia coalfield have been originated basically from spontaneous combustion occurring either underground or along the outcrops, and are restricted in Barakar formations with shallow depth of less than 40m. Mainly top seams, which are thick and therefore more prone to spontaneous heating fires. There are about 20 fires spots covering an area of 17.35 sq.km. Jharia coalfield, which is a famous coalfield of Dhanbad stretches from west to east in the shape of sickle. The landscape of the area is characterized by undulating rocky and gritty surface with thin veneer of in situ-soil supporting thin and sporadic vegetation. Seasonal crop is grown over valley filled alluvium/colluviums soil. Mining quarries, mine waste dump, subsidence of land surface, settlement for mining activities etc. are very common in the region. Lower Gondwana sedimentary rocks surrounded by Achaean metamorphic and granites rocks constitute the general geology of the area.

Causes of Coal Fires:
Coal fires are a natural occurrence and as widespread as forest fires. Besides the blaze in India’s Jharia town, the coal fire of Indonesia is regarded as the wildest on the earth.
An organic and highly carbonaceous material, coal-when exposed to moisture and oxygen- tends to catch fire immediately. Coal absorbs oxygen at all temperatures with slight rise in temperature. If ventilation is not adequate to take away the heat thus formed, more oxygen will be absorbed, and more will be the rise in temperature. This process continues till it catches fire. Reaction rate is doubled for every 10 degree rise in temperature. This phenomenon of spontaneous combustion is the main natural cause of coal fires. Lightning, forest fires or frictional heat generated during churning inside the Earth’s crust can also ignite coal fires. Regarding Jharia research says that no single reason can be attributed to the fire. Jharia coal is not very prone to auto-oxidation.

Effect of coal fire on surrounding:

The pollution caused by these fires affects air, water, and land. Smoke, from these fires contains poisonous gases such as oxides and dioxides of carbon, nitrogen and sulphur, which along with particulate matter are the causes of several lung and skin diseases. High levels of suspended particulate matter increase respiratory diseases such as chronic bronchitis and asthma, while the gases contribute to global warming besides causing health hazards to the exposed population. Methane emission from coal mining depends on the mining methods, depth of coal mining, coal quality and entrapped gas content in the coal seams. These fires also pollute water by contaminating it and increasing its acidity, which is due to a certain percentage of sulphur that is present in coal. These fires lead to degradation of land and do not allow any vegetation to grow in the area. Satellite picture below shows a haze over Jharia and Dhanbad due to mine fire causing atmospheric pollution.

How to minimize fire:

Fire-fighting techniques include drilling holes and pumping inert gases or foams that stifle flames, burying the fire to deprive it of oxygen, building walls to isolate burning sections, saturating coal with liquid nitrogen, and dousing coal with water or water and soil slurries. Slurry water usually with sand, fly ash, mud is used for decreasing voids and cracks in the fire area. Water solid ratio 10:1 works well. A mixture of cement and milk of lime or CaCl2 or sodium silicate with water under pressure are becoming popular. Flooding the mine with water is the last resort in fighting fire. It is slow and very costly to repair damage it causes. When all direct methods fail, the fire area is to be sealed off. Stopping should be as close to the fire as possible and they should be leak proof. Where methane evolves the seals should not be too close to fire but 100-300 m. away so an explosive mixture is not formed.

References:
· Down to Earth Nov.2002. Jharia fires: a burning issue. Vol.11, no.13.
· Underground mine fire and explosions. 1995. CMPDI Ltd. Ranchi.

Author:
Dr. Nitish Priyadarshi
Geologist
Rch_nitishp@sancharnet.in
Nitish.priyadarshi@gmail.com

Jharkhand rock paintings of India under threat

Jharkhand Rock paintings under threat.
By
Dr. Nitish Priyadarshi

10,000 year-old-rock paintings found recently in Tangar Basli block some 40 kms from the state capital Ranchi is now under threat.
Threat is from the stone quarrying due to which these paintings have been exposed to the flying stone dust and open atmosphere. Most of the paintings now have been faded.

Drawings are made on granite and granite gneiss rocks. In these paintings red ochre has been used. Dancing is the major subject of all these paintings.
For more detail contact the author.
Nitish Priyadarshi
Nitish.priyadarshi@gmail.com
Rch_nitishp@sancharnet.in