Eco Sustainable Village
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Eco Sustainable Village |
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Very few people know that only 3% water reaches to the plants and 97% is wasted either by evaporation or absorption. Now we have means and technology to save this enormous waste with a targeted approach with great accuracy. The importance of soil issues:
It is important to understand current soil conditions, and our relationship as habitants and what will happen when we change these conditions. a. Desertification I feel that if Eco villages were to proliferate all over the world, it would slow the amount of pollution from our industries. It is estimated that the annual global loss to desertification is an area about the size of Sri Lanka. Our planet is drying up and the soil quality is deteriorating. There is increased salinity in soils around the world, because once the salt is in the soil, it stays there. There is no economical way to remove the salt from soil. b. Soil Compaction Soil compaction has been a problem, because plants constantly break down organic matter. The soil particles get smaller in size; compacting the soil. Organic humus of unplanted soil is loose and spongy, thus resisting compaction. Earth worm farms can do this expensive job for almost free, besides retaining the right amount of moisture for plants and conditioning the soil from excessive acidity and alkali, saving tons of fertilizer. c. Erosion Soil erosion is a problem caused by the effects of weather upon the soil. Some people view the soil of the world as a never-ending commodity. It is, however, a finite substance, and the quality is variable. One can notice soil erosion when driving through the countryside, especially after a rain or after the soil has been plowed. The tops of the hills appear lighter in color than the valleys. The humus and the decayed plant matter are washed from the top of the hills into the valleys. Farmers typically spread fertilizer mainly on the high spots in their fields. In Pakistan, especially the costal areas near the Arabian ocean, high winds cause substantial damage by soil erosion. It is treatable as it does not cost a fortune. It is curable now using eco friendly PAM erosion control liners. d. Soil Depletion Of the sixteen or more elements that are essential for plant growth, only three are commonly put back (Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potassium or NPK). Plants that are grown on the same soil over the last 20 or more years have experienced a drop in the mineral level. This depletion can take as little as 10 years and be significant enough to cause errors in the Composition of Foods Chart first published in 1948 and updated in 1963. The soil is depleted of selenium in most parts of the world, and often only marginal levels of zinc, magnesium, calcium, and other minerals. The Earth Summit Report in 1992 said that the levels of soil-based minerals in North America have dropped 85% in the last 100 years. By using eco friendly technologies we can revive recycling these nutrients back to soil at no cost. World food supply: More than half the world’s present 6 billion people live in perpetual hunger! 50,000 children starve to death each and every day. 80 million people will starve to death this year. If we were suddenly to join the less fortunate, our next meal would be a small bowl of rice and perhaps a piece of fish an inch square the day after tomorrow. Even in the U.S., there is only about three week supply of food in supermarkets and food stores. Grain stocks have been down to 6o days of consumption. Most foods do not store well; even peanut butter, popcorn, and sunflower seeds go bad after a few years or so. Only a couple canned foods—beef stew and tuna last 5 years or longer. The emergency preparedness/survival companies advise the optimal conditions to store food, but it is difficult to keep food very long under average conditions. Of the 160 or so nations of the entire world, 140 of these are dependent on North American grain exports. There are only four food grain exporters in the world, United States, Canada, Argentina, and Australia. I feel that proliferation of the Eco village technology would increase the food supply by making each family a producer of food at home, rather than having a single American farmer produce food for some 500 people and ship it half the world across with premium charges. Current path: a. Effects on Plants/Animals It is estimated that approximately 200 species of plants and animals become extinct each year, never to be seen again. It is also estimated that an approximate 4°C rise in the ocean temperature would virtually eliminate commercial fishing, because of the dependence of the fish on the lower forms of life, which cannot exist in a warmer ocean. El Nino is a good example. It is time to rejoin nature with eco friendly technologies and reclaim sustainability. b. Aquifer Depletion The entire world’s aquifers (underground water supplies) are being depleted rapidly. (The aquifers are also being polluted by chemical waste dumps and toxic contaminants of various kinds.) Africa is a good example of the drought conditions due to the lowering of the water table. As of 1993, Africa has experienced an almost continuous drought for seven years. Some eighty countries are experiencing water shortages enough to threaten agriculture, such as northern China, southern India, Pakistan, and Mexico. California’s water supply is also critically low. In the Eco village system, most of the wastes and gray water are recycled for further use, so the drain upon the existing water supply would be much less. c. Global Warming/Greenhouse Gasses Global warming is another critical environmental problem. The book, Global Warming: The Greenpeace Report, by Jeremy Leggert, is a very knowledgeable book in the area of environmental problems. After reading this book, UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher said of it: “We have an authoritative early warning system, an agreed assessment of some 300 of the world’s leading scientists of what is happening to the world’s climate. A report of historic significance, what it predicts will affect our daily lives. This report is an extensive compilation of studies regarding the environment of the planet. The book goes on to say that many scientists agree that the emissions resulting from human activities are substantially increasing the atmospheric concentration of the greenhouse gasses. These increases will enhance the greenhouse effect, resulting in warming of the Earth’s surface. In 1990, the scientists predicted that, if greenhouse gas emissions are not sharply decreased, we might experience a 1°C to 3°C rise in global temperatures. This temperature increase is predicted to occur between the year 2030 and the turn of the next century, 2100. The author/scientists suggest(s) that we, as a species, must reduce our emissions of greenhouse gasses to about 60% of today’s concentration. Basically, we will have to cut in half our use of coal, oil, and gas to maintain the concentration of greenhouse gasses at today’s level. An alternative technology to use compressed air or hydrogen power technology can reduce the rate of green house gases considerably. In poor countries sterling engines and solar power is a great alternative. Please explore the technologies on the left bar in the beginning of this page.
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