The Biochar Blog

Air pollution is the process by which unhealthy chemicals or biological materials are introduced into the atmosphere. The atmosphere is a gaseous system that has the necessary ingredients to sustain life. Ozone depletion as a result of air pollution has long been recognized as a threat to the existence of life on earth.

The atmosphere in specific terms is a layer of gases surrounding Mother Earth. These gases are held in place as a result of Earth’s gravity. The atmosphere is like an umbrella protecting life on Earth by absorbing ultraviolet radiation from the sun. The atmosphere is responsible for warming the surface of the Earth by retaining heat through the greenhouse effect, and preventing temperatures from becoming too hot or too cold during day and night. The gas consistency of dry air in regards to volume is 78% nitrogen, 21%, oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.038% carbon dioxide, and a small amount of other gases. Air is also consists of water vapor, about 1%.With this said, there are cities in America where pollution is a big problem. We will discuss them later.

Air pollution can have a detrimental effect on health. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 2.4 million people die each year from causes directly associated with air pollution. One point five million of these deaths are caused by indoor air pollution. Epidemiological studies revealed that well over 500,000 Americans die each year from cardiopulmonary disease linked to breathing fine particles found in air pollution, (American Chemical Society). A study by scientists at the University of Birmingham has shown strong correlations between pneumonia related deaths and air pollution from motor vehicles. Therefore, it is a good idea to stay as far away from roads and motor vehicles as possible when jogging.

Knowing which cities have the best and worst pollution is paramount, especially if one suffers from respiratory ailments. According to the 2010 American Lung Association’s State of the Air Report, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, and Bakersfield, city ranks the lowest on the list of cleanest cities to live, in regards to air pollution. The 2010 report ranks cities affected most by three type of pollution: short-term particle pollution, year-round particle pollution, ozone pollution.

The 2010 Lists:

The 10 Most Polluted American Cities by Short-Term Particle Pollution:

1) Pittsburgh, Pa. 2) Fresno/Madera, Calif. 3) Bakersfield, Calif. 4) Los Angeles, Calif. 5) Birmingham, Ala. 6) Salt Lake City, Utah7) Sacramento, Calif. Logan, Utah9) Detroit, Mich. 10) Chicago, IL.

The 10 Most Polluted American Cities by Year-Round Particle Pollution:

1) Bakersfield, Calif. 2) Pittsburgh, Pa. 3) Visalia/Porterville, Calif. 4) Birmingham, Ala. 5) Visalia/Porterville, Calif. 6) Hanford/Corcoran, Calif. 7) Cincinnati, Ohio8) Fresno/Madera, Calif. 9) Detroit, Mich. 10) Cleveland, Ohio

The 10 Most Polluted American Cities by Ozone:

1) Los Angeles/Long Beach/Riverside, Calif. 2) Bakersfield, Calif. 3) Visalia/Porterville, Calif. 4) Fresno/Madera, Calif. 5) Houston, Texas6) Sacramento, Calif. 7) Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas8) Charlotte, NC. 9) Phoenix, AZ. 10) El Centro, Calif.

In order to see the rank of your city, please visit the American Lung Association website at stateoftheair.org.

Why is there a need for us to solve a problem like air pollution? Try to look at the world around you, what do you see? What do you feel? What do you smell? Everything around us is affected by air pollution. Say good bye to the days where you can enjoy fresh air and feel great about it.

Click Here For Carbon Revolt Instant Access!

It cannot be denied that there are problems brought about by air pollution, harmful effects of air pollution to be specific. Most of these harmful effects are health related. Yes, air pollution can cause detrimental effects to your health. You have to see to it that you make means in order to avoid all of these effects brought about air pollution.

Due to the presence of chemicals, gases and other harmful particles present in air pollution, it can cause respiratory problems such as asthma, bronchitis and lung cancer. It can also cause bad effects for a person with a heart disease.  Not only does air pollution causes harmful health effects but mostly it affects our ecosystem.

It can kill plants, trees and animals which are living in highly polluted areas. It also destroys our ozone layer and can bring detrimental effects which are not good for the environment and affects our quality of life. Our world is no longer a safe place to live in; it became a dangerous place for elderly and newborn babies. Air pollution can affect the quality of the air we breathe, the water and even the rain that we are experiencing.

We must do something about this air pollution before it is too late for us. Let us not wait for the time wherein we cannot do anything to stop the harmful effects of air pollution. Make our world a better place to live in. Make it something of importance. Do your part.

Click Here For Carbon Revolt Instant Access!

Carbon Dioxide is a colorless, odorless, and slightly acid-tasting gas, sometimes called carbonic acid gas, the molecule of which consists of one atom of carbon joined to two atoms of oxygen (CO2). It was called “fixed air” by the Scottish chemist Joseph Black, who obtained it through the decomposition of chalk and limestone and recognized that it entered into the chemical composition of these substances. The French chemist Antoine Lavoisier proved that it is an oxide of carbon by showing that the gas obtained by the combustion of charcoal is identical in its properties with the “fixed air” obtained by Black. Carbon dioxide is about 1.5 times as dense as air. It is soluble in water, 0.9 volume of the gas dissolving in 1 volume of water at 20° C (68° F).

Carbon dioxide is produced in a variety of ways: by combustion, or oxidation, of materials containing carbon, such as coal, wood, oil, or foods; by fermentation of sugars; and by decomposition of carbonates under the influence of heat or acids. Commercially, carbon dioxide is recovered from furnace or kiln gases; from fermentation processes; from reaction of carbonates with acids; and from reaction of steam with natural gas, a step in the commercial production of ammonia. The carbon dioxide is purified by dissolving it in a concentrated solution of alkali carbonate or ethanolamine and then heating the solution with steam. The gas is evolved and is compressed into steel cylinders. The atmosphere contains carbon dioxide in variable amounts, usually 3 to 4 parts per 10,000, and has been increasing by 0.4 percent a year. It is used by green plants in the process known as photosynthesis, by which carbohydrates are manufactured.

Carbon dioxide is used in the manufacture of sodium carbonate, Na2CO3· 1OH2O (washing soda); sodium bicarbonate, NaHCO3 (baking soda); and basic carbonate of lead, Pb3 (OH)2(CO3)2 (white lead). Dissolved under a pressure of 2 to 5 atmospheres, carbon dioxide causes the effervescence in carbonated beverages. Carbon dioxide does not burn and does not support ordinary combustion, and because of these properties it is used for extinguishing fires. The CO2 extinguisher is a steel cylinder filled with liquid carbon dioxide, which, when released, expands suddenly and causes so great a lowering of temperature that it solidifies into powdery “snow.” This snow volatilizes (vaporizes) on contact with the burning substance, producing a blanket of gas that cools and smothers the flame. Solid carbon dioxide, known as dry ice, is widely used as a refrigerant. Its cooling effect is almost twice that of water ice; its special advantages are that it does not melt as a liquid but turns into gas, and that it produces an inert atmosphere that reduces bacterial growth. The presence of carbon dioxide in the blood stimulates breathing. For this reason, carbon dioxide is added to oxygen or ordinary air in artificial respiration and to the gases used in anesthesia.

Carbon Monoxide is a chemical compound of carbon and oxygen with the formula CO. Carbon monoxide melts at -205°C (-337°F) and boils at -191.5°C (-312.7°F). It is a colorless, odorless gas, about 3 percent lighter than air, and is poisonous to all warm-blooded animals and to many other forms of life. When inhaled it combines with hemoglobin in the blood, preventing absorption of oxygen and resulting in asphyxiation. Carbon monoxide is formed whenever carbon or substances containing carbon are burned with an insufficient air supply. Even when the amount of air is theoretically sufficient, the reaction is not always complete, so that the combustion gases contain some free oxygen and some carbon monoxide.

An incomplete reaction is especially probable when it takes place quickly, as in an automobile engine; for this reason, automobile-exhaust gases contain harmful quantities of carbon monoxide, sometimes several percent, although antipollution devices are intended to keep the level below 1 percent. As little as 1/1000 of 1 percent of carbon monoxide in air may produce symptoms of poisoning and as little as a fraction of 1 percent may prove fatal in less than 30 min. Carbon monoxide is a major component of air pollution in urban areas. In addition to being present in automobile exhaust, carbon monoxide also occurs in cigarette smoke.

Because it is odorless, carbon monoxide is an insidious poison. It produces only mild symptoms of headache, nausea, or fatigue, followed by unconsciousness. An automobile engine running in a closed garage can make the air noxious within a few minutes; a leaking furnace flue may fill a house with unsuspected poison. Fuel gas, which may contain as much as 50 percent carbon monoxide, often has small quantities of unpleasant-smelling sulfur compounds purposely added to make leaks noticeable.

Carbon monoxide is an important industrial fuel because it contains more than two-thirds of the heating value of the carbon from which it was formed. It is a constituent of water gas, producer gas, blast furnace gas, and coal gas. In smelting iron ore carbon monoxide formed from coke used in the process acts as a reducing agent, that is, it removes oxygen from the ore. Carbon monoxide combines actively with chlorine to form carbonyl chloride, or phosgene, and it combines with hydrogen, when heated in the presence of a catalyst, to form methyl alcohol. The direct combination of carbon monoxide with certain metals, forming gaseous compounds, is used in refining those metals, particularly nickel.

At Lumo Energy we love our planet and we know that you do too! So for all the planet lovers out there, we have Green Energy packages to suit your needs and your budget too. We offer two different Green Energy packages: Lumo Life 10 & Lumo Life 100. Now you have the option to be planet friendly when using your energy.

So what makes green energy so GREEN? Green Energy is derived from renewable sources, which means the energy comes from sources that will never run out, such as the sun, wind, biomass (waste), wave power or hydro (tidal power).

Now that you know what green energy is, how does it work? The answer is: exactly the same as your current electricity supply. The only difference is that instead of non-renewable energy sources feeding into the grid, Lumo Energy will purchase energy from renewable sources on your behalf to feed into the grid that powers your home.

At Lumo Energy, we’ve got a lot of big ideas. Ideas about doing things differently from the rest, about trying new things, about doing everything we can to keep you shining. We don’t just talk big, we follow through on our promises. We promise to provide you with the best service, the most flexible options and to take care of all of the fiddly stuff. So you can worry about more important stuff.

Choose Life, choose to shine, choose one of our renewable energy packages and help the Earth out! We look forward to helping you shine.

Involvement in the algae biofuels industry shot up by companies 550% between 2005 and 2007, driven by environmental concerns and high crude oil prices. However, oil prices have since declined, and the recent global financial crisis stymied many industries. Currently there seems to be continued interest in algae biofuels, but the industry is also plagued by excessive hype… So what is the near-term outlook for the algae biofuels production technologies market? 

One of the great benefits of algae as a feedstock is that it can be used to produce an array of biofuels: algal oil, biodiesel, renewable diesel, aviation biofuel, renewable jet fuel, biogasoline, ethanol, butanol, biomethane, and even hydrogen. Algae biofuels production also involves a wide array of technologies, from genetically engineered diatoms, green algae, and cyanobacteria; to open ponds or photobioreactors for cultivation; centrifuges and presses for extraction; and refineries, fermenters, and digesters for processing into fuels. 

Because the market for algae biofuels production technologies is diverse, it is helpful to break it down according to subsets of production technologies: cultivation technologies, harvesting and extraction technologies, and algae biofuels production facilities. Through 2015, cultivation technology sales are expected to hold most of the total algae biofuels production technologies market. The remaining market segments will be held by a combination of harvesting and extraction and fuels production facilities, for a total projected market value of over .6 billion in 2015. Starting at an estimated 1 million market size for 2010, this increase is significant and underscores that this is a quickly changing and evolving industry, expected to show an annual growth rate of nearly 43 percent. 

Algae biofuels production technologies are currently undergoing substantial development and scaled testing. As demonstration and commercial implementation move forward, emerging algae biofuels production technologies will garner up to about a third of the total market by 2015, as some current technologies are rendered obsolete or underperforming in terms of cost and production efficiency.

How many times have you bought a stock, bond, or mutual fund – just when the fundamentals sounded great – only to see that investment go into a protracted decline?  The key to any successful strategy is buy low and sell high.   But a successful implementation of that strategy requires an in-depth understanding of market cycles.  “The knowledge and exploitation of cycles embodies one of the most powerful analytical tools available for identifying trends and forecasting their reversals” notes Stan Harley, editor/publisher of The Harley Market Letter.  “I have long recognized that the study of market cycles is the key factor in understanding how markets move” observes Harley.  Cycles provide the essential algorithm in predicting how long a trend should run and when to expect reversals.  Studying the chart history of a stock or index will reveal that there are, indeed, rhythmical beats that define the up and down market movements.  But, like any stream of data comprising a solution set, the time period between cyclical occurrences will vary from beat to beat.  At times a high occurs where a low is expected.  And not every projected cyclical turn results in a market reversal of importance.  At other times, the larger, more-dominant trend will be so strong that the shorter-term cycles will seemingly disappear or skip a beat.  A 50 percent phase shift either forward or backward is not uncommon at times either.  All of these peculiarities present frustration to many traders and investors looking for the “holy-grail.”  Investors should recognize that these windows of times are ones to monitor for the potential – but not the certainty – for a cyclical trend change to occur. 

Cyclical analysis is a top-down approach Harley advises.  Identify the longest dominant cycle, then work down to the smallest cycle affecting price activity.  Most cycles have subcycles embedded within them, usually two or three, which Harley refers to as the alpha, bravo, and charlie components.  When a particular cycle is nearing its trough, it will tend to dominate the shorter cycles which comprise it, causing them to contract or expand beyond their usual frequency schedule.

Harley defines three essential elements required in cyclical analysis.  The first element requires an awareness of the numerology underlying the derivation in market cycles.  Most market cycles have their roots grounded in fibonacci numerology Harley has found.  The second element requires that the analyst employ statistical analysis to verify the numerology premise and provide mathematical organization (computation of the central tendency and its variation) to the data under study.  The third element involves the development of properly designed tracking tools that can measure the cyclical function under study and recognize its turn in as close to real time as possible.

Long-term readers of The Harley Market Letter are aware that in performing cyclical analysis of the financial markets, it will often be found that the time period taken for one complete cyclical rhythm will vary from beat to beat.  To ascertain the central tendency of the data, Harley performs a statistical analysis of the data.  From this analysis, he uses both the mean and the median of the data to project the window of time for the next reversal point.  Experience has taught him that even though a cycle has had a history of market lows, it may not necessarily produce another low at the next occurrence.  One has to be ready for a low or a high to occur.  However, it is little more than academic to know that a cycle has occurred in the past – as a trader, investor, and newsletter author, it is critical to know that a cycle high or low is occurring in the present – necessitating the need for mathematical tools than can track a cycle in real time.  One of the tools Harley employs involves the calculation of the rate of change in price – the slope at which a stock or commodity moves up or down.   So called “market momentum” is really no momentum at all, for those with a background in physics or engineering will recognize that any measurement of price over time is correctly called price velocity.  For a price velocity indicator to be valid, it must be based on cycle length.  If it is, the indicator will correctly measure the rate of change of prices with a cycle and turn up or down as the cycle itself turns up or down. 

The other calculation the analyst should perform involves determining trend through measurement of price range.  Any range-based measurement – stochastic, percentage range, or relative strength indicator – will do.  The important point is to employ the calculations over multiple time periods (no less than three).  A trade-execution signal will be generated when both sets of indicators – price velocity and price range – turn together in the desired trading direction.

Cyclical turns can be reflected in a number of ways.  Sometimes they mark the exact low or high of the move.  Sometimes they mark a retest point.  At other times they are marked by the apex of a sideways pattern that results in an expansion to the upside or to the downside.  It’s not always possible to know in advance which of the aforementioned will define the cyclical structure until after the fact.  One form or a multiplicity of forms may occur.  Harley defines the cyclical turn as the point at which price velocity balloons in the direction opposite of the trend that preceded it.  In a bottoming evolution, for example, the time point that immediately precedes the point at which price velocity suddenly expands to the upside is the cycle low point in his definition. 

One final characteristic of cyclical behavior involves the concept of translation.  In bull markets, there is the tendency for the cycle high (crest) to occur to the right of the midpoint of the cycle.  This is known as right translation, with prices rising for a greater amount of time to the high than it takes to decline to its next low, and is characteristic of bull market cyclical structure.  In bear markets, the same cyclical schedule from low-to-low is retained, but there is the tendency for the cycle high to occur to the left of the midpoint of the cycle.  This is known as left translation, with prices rising for a shorter amount of time to the high than it takes to decline to it next low, and is characteristic of bear market cyclical structure.

Knowing when to buy and when to sell is the cardinal axiom for successful investing.  The knowledge and exploitation of market cycles embodies one of the most powerful analytical tools available for identifying trends and forecasting their reversals.   But market cycles do not present the investor with a magical formula that will time a market upturn to the precise moment.  What they do afford, in objective fashion, is a means to quantify the timing of your investment decisions. 

In a rather “environmentally concerned” approach to cut down on the carbon emission from flights, Lufthansa airlines has announced that they will start commercial biofuel flights daily between Hamburg and Frankfurt in a six-month trial from April 2011. The move to operate an aircraft engine with biofuel over a long stretch of six months, is first of its kind in the world.

Energy security issues, hike in petrol prices and climate change from greenhouse gases emitted by airplanes have been troubling the airline industry for quite some time. Virgin Atlantic Airlines, British Airways and Continental Airline have have already tested on biofuel flights in the last two years. However, environmentalists have been constantly warning that production of biofuels can also have adverse effects on environment.

Utilizing biofuel in flight operations can save around 1,500 tonnes (15,00,000 kg) of Carbon dioxide emissions. However, as the airline industry worldwide is calling for an alternative source of energy, there’s a need to check for the sustainability of biofuels against fossil fuels and their effect on aircraft’s engine over a longer term. Plus, environmental concerns are another big issue related to production of biofuels.

According to a report by UN Food and Agricultural Organisation, biofuel plantations are destroying ecosystem of various regions in the world. Palm oil plantations set up for biofuel production in Indonesia and Malaysia, have led to deforestation resulting in more emission of greenhouse gases as the worst consequence.

In such a situation, a sustainable and environment-friendly way to produce biofuels is the need of the hour.

It is very important for any business to scan and analyze their marketing environment by continuously monitoring what is going on in the marketing environment. Marketing decision makers must collect, analyze and diagnose information about the environment. These actions of marketing decisions are explained under:

Environment scanning-it is the process of collecting information about forces in marketing environment; environmental analysis-it is the process of assessing and interpreting the information gathered through environment scanning; environmental diagnosis- it is the process of making decisions by accessing the significance of threats and opportunities. The following are importances of scanning marketing environment:

To understand elements of the environment.
To observe and understand the changes which are occurring in the environment.
To analyze market situations
To fit the organization properly into the environment so that effective strategies can be developed.

Any person venturing into any kind of business must be aware of his/her business environment. It is therefore very important for business to be positioned and be designed in a way that its image is in distinctive place in the market. It must thrive to provide best quality, best service, best value, lowest price and more advanced technology. When a business understands its environment correctly there is no doubt for it to achieve success and become profitable throughout its running.

SWOT analysis is an overall evaluation of a company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. It involves monitoring the external and internal marketing environment. SWOT analysis assumes that organization will achieve success by maximizing strengths and opportunities and minimizing weaknesses and threats.  It is very important for a company to indentify its weaknesses and opportunities as the information provided will help in informing the managers of the company on the various developments in the external and internal environment that have taken place. Also it leads to improved organizational performance and the company can also be in a position to framework its current and future positions.

A SWOT analysis is a procedure for identifying and examining opportunities and strengths, weaknesses and threats facing the business. It gives insight into company’s position in the competitive arena. When carrying out SWOT analysis to determine how you rate against a competitor, the following should be used (Kottler,2002)

Strengths –consider your company’s strong points, this should be both from your own and your customers, don’t be modest but be realistic, consider distinct advantages that your company offers; what customers say, do they enjoy doing business with you; is there anything you currently offer that cannot be copied by a competitor now or in future.

Weaknesses-evaluate your company weaknesses, not only from your own perspective but also from your competitors.

Opportunities- consider the areas in your market that offers a room for your company to grow; opportunities can come from changes in technology and markets on both broad and narrow scale, changes in government, policy related to your industry, changes in social patterns, demographic and customers lifestyle changes.(Lydon,2005)

Threats-although we don’t like to think about them, we all face threats in our businesses, many times they are out of control e.g. downturn in the economy, shift in market demographics or perhaps a new mega corporate opening in your local area.

After the research was conducted on telemarketing, the following threats and weaknesses facing it were found:

Lack of experienced personnel.
Inadequate fund for them to promote their services.
Change of technology which requires them to train their employees now and then.
Demographic changes of their target customers.

Equally they had some opportunities and strengths that have held them up high on their market, they are:

They have strong brands that sells world wide.
They have employed penetration method of pricing.
They have very strong sales team.
They have corporate image all the whole world.

To maximize their profit telemarketing industry should apply the following strategies to run successfully, they are:

Marketing planning-this involves overall strategies of marketing that helps company achieve its overall objectives. It is a tool for improving performance and it leads to development of standards for control. Marketing planning will help this industry to instill discipline in time and the management team will have a control mechanism for detecting future problems. Marketing planning provides on opportunities and threats, weaknesses and strengths of accompany. It works as a warning mechanism by making a company alert and sensitive to the environment.

Marketing communication-this involves communicating to the target market basically to inform about the product and influence them to buy their products. Marketing communications creates awareness of the existence of a product; and remind and reassures the customers so that decision they make while buying a product is effective. By communicating to their customer’s a favorable climate for future sales is created and competitive difference through careful choice of word.(Gelb,2003)

Use of promotional mix-this comprises of five elements, advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, public relations and direct marketing. It is also necessary to conduct marketing audit, this involves comprehensive, independent and periodic examination of a company’s or business units, marketing environment, objectives, strategies and activities with a view to determine problem areas and opportunities. It is a plan of action to improve the company’s marketing performance.