Firewood and Charcoal - World's most popular fuels

Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature - School on Blog 

Firewood and charcoal are still the most popular fuels for cooking in the world. In fact they constitute at least 80 percent of rural households, and even in urban centers, they are preferred for specific uses such as pugon in making pandesal, and barbecue and broiling and roasting. Alternative sources of fuel have lately gained attention in the light of dwindling supply of fossil fuel and increasing cost of electricity, among them is charcoal.

For my students in Earth Science with Ecology: This is your assignment. I also invite followers and viewers of this blog. Write down the advantages of using charcoal. On the opposite side of your paper, write down its disadvantages. Which one weighs more? Write an essay of around 200 words, "To use or not to use charcoal, that's the question."

Truckloads of charcoal at Commonwealth Market, Manggahan QC.

Charcoal is the black residue consisting of impure carbon obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood, sugar, bone char, or other substances in the absence of oxygen. The resulting soft, brittle, lightweight, black, porous material resembles coal and is 50% to 95% carbon with the remainder consisting of volatile chemicals and ash.

Takip-kuhol (Centella asiatica) - A Panacean Home Remedy

Takip-kuhol (Centella asiatica)

 - A Panacean Home Remedy

Dr Abe V Rotor

Takip kuhol which means literally the operculum of gastropods or snails, grows wild, often as weeds in the garden and field where the soil is moderately damp.  It is easy to raise it in pots such as this sample (At home, QC)

Takip kuhol is a highly regarded plant of many uses; in fact it has a panacean reputation in folk medicine. Ask an herbolario, a bona fide housewife, or a village elderly. And they would say, "Takip kuhol lang ang kailangan diyan." (All you need is Centella asiatica, the scientific name of the plant.) 

Of course they are talking about common ailments, referring to ordinary colds, fever, flu, skin infection, sore throat, boil (pigsa), headache, constipation, blows and bruises.  The herbal may be prepared as decoction (boiled) or fresh.  It may be toasted and served as tea or infusion.*  For external use, the leaves are crushed and applied as ointment or liniment with vaseline or coconut oil. 

In a research conducted, takip-kuhol leaf extract was found to be an antibacterial agent against three common infectious bacteria, which explains the efficacy on the plant against infectious diseases which these bacteria cause.

• Escherichia coli, a type of bacteria that lives in our intestines. Most types of E. coli are harmless. However, some types can make us sick and cause diarrhea. 
• Staphylococcus aureus, a bacterium  frequently found in the human respiratory tract and on the skin. 
• Salmonella enterica. Salmonellosis is an infection with bacteria called Salmonella. Most persons infected with Salmonella develop diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps

Pure extract of Takip-kohol leaves is effective against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella enteritidis. Boiled extract is not as effective, especially against E coli. 

Panacea is often referred to as cure-all, which is mythological, Panacea being the Greek goddess of healing. There is no single remedy for all ailments. As a caution, takip kuhol should not be used as a prescription to serious ailments and diseases, specially those that require medical attention.~ 

Botany of Takip-kuhol
Family: Apiaceae
Scientific name: Centella asiaticaa (Linn) Urb
Synonym: Hydrocotyle asiaticaa Linn
Other common names: Gotu kola, hydrocotyle, Indian pennywort

   

Illustrated life cycle of Centella asiatica;  plant in bloom (Acknowledgement: Wikipedia)

Traditional Use:  Crushed leaves are commonly consumed by Sri Lankans as salad or hot beverage.  More recently the herb acquired a considerable reputation as an aphrodisiac, a agent that stimulates sexual vitality.

Phytochemicals: ALKALOIDS, ALKALOID CHLORIDES, ASIAtICOSIDE, BRAHMINOSIDE, BRAMOSIDE, CALCIUM, DEXTROSE, Fe2O3, MADECASSOSIDE, MUCILAGE, PECTIN, P2O5, RESIN, SAPONIN, TANNIN, VELLARINE, VITAMIN B

Other properties/actions: Hypotensive, longevity promoter, sclerotic, stimulant, tonic, treatment for abscesses, dysentery, fevers, headaches, high blood pressure, jaundice, leprosy, mental troubles, nervous disorders, rheumatism, skin eruptions, ulcer.

Plant Description:  Slended, creeping plant with stems that root at nodes. Leaves are rounded to kidney- or heart-shaped at the base.  Flowers are 3 sessile.  Fruits are minute, ovoid, white or green and reticulate. 

Reference: Rotor AV, De Castro D and RM Del Rosario, 

Philippine Herbs to Increase Sexual Vitality

*Infusion is the process of extracting chemical compounds or flavors from plant material in a solvent such as water, oil or alcohol, by allowing the material to remain suspended in the solvent over time (a process often called steeping). An infusion is also the name for the resultant liquid. The process of infusion is distinct from decoction, which involves boiling the plant material, or percolation, in which the water passes through the material as in a coffeemaker. Wikipedia 

Bromeliads form a unique aerial ecosystem

Bromeliads form a unique aerial ecosystem

Bromeliads are nature's reservoir of miniature ponds that provide abode to many organisms from insects to fish. 

Dr Abe V Rotor

Brightly colored false petals of bromeliad attract insects and other organisms to fertilize its shy, short-live flowers. The bright pseudo flowers serve as markers in the dense and vast forest high up in the trees. Here bromeliads form colonies with connecting rhizomes, and with other epiphytes - ferns, orchids and lianas - make a unique aerial ecosystem. 

Domesticated bromeliads are popular ornamental plants in gardens and around homes. One disadvantages though is that it becomes a breeding place of mosquitoes and other vermin. It is because we have detached them from their natural habitat where they are part of a complex food web. Here mosquito wrigglers are preyed upon by naiads of Odonatans (dragonflies and damselflies), while the adults are trapped in spider webs. Tree frogs have their fill of flies and other insects.  Fish live in the axil ponds and can even transfer to nearby bromeliads and even to the water below to hunt and to mate.  While reptiles occupy the top of the food pyramid, hawks and eagles come to prey on them. Like a chain, just one link broken, and the system fails. 

Bromeliads, which includes the pineapple (the only edible member in the family), are nature's reservoir of miniature ponds that provide abode to many organisms from insects to fish. The central receptacle collects water from dew and rain which spills over to the adjoining leaf axils, making a contiguous pond. The sequence, like a series of terraces, makes water collection and retention efficient, giving chance for the various resident organisms to complete - and repeat - their life cycles. And for transient organisms to have their regular visit.

In this pond system, detritus accumulates and fertilizes the bromeliad as well as other plants around and below it, including its host tree, in exchange for its foothold and other benefits. And being epiphytic and colonial in growing habit on trunks and limbs of trees, bromeliads  form a unique aerial ecosystem with other epiphytes, and the surrounding trees.~   

Family Bromeliaceae consists of monocot flowering plants of 51 genera and around 3475 known species native mainly to the tropical Americas. Only one species is edible and considered one of the most important fruits in the world – pineapple (Ananas comosus).

 Pineapple plantation in Bukidnon; 

 

Ornamental pineapple and varieties

Pineapple inflorescence, top and side view.

  

The largest bromeliad is Puya raimondii, which reaches 3–4 m tall in 

vegetative growth with a flower spike 9–10 m tall, and the smallest is 

Spanish moss. (Tillandsia usneoides) an epiphytic bromeliad. 

Acknowledgement: Internet 

Scenarios of Current Trends in Agriculture:

Scenarios of Current Trends in Agriculture

Dr Abe V Rotor 

 

Never in the history of agriculture, or the history of man for that matter, had we experienced five simultaneous and overlapping farming movements that constitute the Green Revolution in our Postmodern era: 

1. Stem Cell Farming (SCF), the latest.
2. Farming of GMO plants and animals 
3. Single Cell Protein (SCP) farming 
4. Hydroponics and aeroponics 
5. Natural and Indigenous Farming

Here are ten scenarios on the current trend of agriculture

1. Stem cell farming will ignite rage and ethico-moral controversy. What with the wild thought of human stem cell hamburger! 

2. GMO farming has stirred worldwide controversy since its early stage. Worldwide, countries and organizations are calling for its restriction, if not total ban. 

3. Genetic engineering has given rise to a new and most destructive form of pollution to the living world - Genetic Pollution, which is destroying the integrity of natural gene pools of plants, animals, and microorganisms. 

4. Genetic pollution spreads through pollination in plants and mating in animals, albeit induced mutation. GM plants can pollute whole fields. The mechanism is true to animals, consequently populations. There is no way of stop genetic pollution once it has set in, unlike conventional pollution. 

5. Farming the sea will continue with harmful ecological consequences. Like deforestation on land, marine vegetation, from mangrove to seaweeds and sea grasses will greatly suffer, even as the cultivation of seaweeds like Eucheuma and Calerpa, is now a lucrative industry. 

6. Fish farming of marine and freshwater species has expanded into off shore floating cages and plantation-size fish pens. Wild species in captivity proved to be successful in groupers, mullets, and lately, the salmon which has virtually lost its homing instinct through genetic manipulation.  

7. Hydroponics (soiless farming) and aeroponics (farming on multi-storey buildings) continue to "bring agriculture into the city," as more and more people move into urban centers. 

 Aeroponics, farming in the city 

8. Home gardening and backyard orchards are back with the objectives of recycling, self-sufficiency and sanitation, not to mention aesthetic beauty. This trend goes hand in hand with the revival of traditional societies, as people are tired living in the city.   

9. People are becoming conscious of their health by avoiding chemically grown plants and animals, aware of the harmful effects of chemical residues, "Frankenfood"  (GMOs), toxic metals and antibiotic residues, among others.    

10. Wild food plants like Amaranthus, Portulaca, Corchorus and Mollogo have found their way to the dining table and market.  So with many native varieties of fruits and vegetables on one hand, and native breeds of animals and poultAry, on the other. 

cknowledgement: Internet Photos; Living with Nature AVR

Stone Bird

Stone Bird  

Dr Abe V Rotor      

Your wings that everyday flap

     are now in surrender,

And the wind that carried you up
      has left you down under.

Majestic and lovely, oh bird,
     lord of the open skies,
Across the land were once heard,
      your pleading, helpless cries.

Would a monument suffice
      to enthrone your life and deed,
Bestow a posthumous prize,
      to hide man's folly and greed?

The stone bird does not answer,
      its world too, shall soon depart,
And man takes pride in his power
      of make-believe in his art.

Philippine Eagle Monument. Marcos Highway, Agoo, La Union.

Sentry Skippers

Dr Abe V Rotor

Your dainty wings spread shining,

sowing tiny dots in waning light;

if my evening is your morning,

would you be my sentry tonight?