Here's an interesting article regarding top soil over on Time website. For years now we were warned about major fresh water shortages which is rapidly becoming a reality for a lot of countries rather than a crackpot conspiracy so why not take this a bit more seriously to add to your list of future worldwide doom and gloom.
Is soil really in danger of running out?
A rough calculation of current rates of soil degradation suggests we
have about 60 years of topsoil left. Some 40% of soil used for
agriculture around the world is classed as either degraded or seriously
degraded – the latter means that 70% of the topsoil, the layer allowing
plants to grow, is gone. Because of various farming methods that strip
the soil of carbon and make it less robust as well as weaker in
nutrients, soil is being lost at between 10 and 40 times the rate at
which it can be naturally replenished. Even the well-maintained farming
land in Europe, which may look idyllic, is being lost at unsustainable rates.
Why haven’t we heard more about this?
Probably because soil isn’t sexy. People don’t always think about how
it’s connected with so many other things: health, the environment,
security, climate, water. For example, agriculture accounts for 70% of
our fresh water use: we pour most of our water straight onto the ground.
If soil is not fit for purpose, that water will be wasted, because it
washes right through degraded soil and past the root system. Given the
enormous potential for conflict over water in the next 20-30 years, you
don’t want to exacerbate things by continuing to damage the soil, which
is exactly what’s happening now.
How does soil erosion happen?
Soil is a living material: if you hold a handful of soil, there will
be more microorganisms in there than the number of people who have ever
lived on the planet. These microbes recycle organic material, which
underpins the cycle of life on earth, and also engineer the soil on a
tiny level to make it more resilient and better at holding onto water.
Microbes need carbon for food, but carbon is being lost from the soil in
a number of ways. Simply put, we take too much from the soil and don’t
put enough back. Whereas the classic approach would have been to leave
stubble in the field after harvest, this is now often being burnt off,
which can make it easier to grow the next crop, or it’s being removed
and used for animal feed. Second, carbon is lost by too much disturbance
of the soil by over-ploughing and by the misuse of certain fertilizers.
And the third problem is overgrazing. If there are too many animals, they eat all the plant growth, and one of the most important ways of getting carbon into the soil is through photosynthesis.
What happens if this isn’t addressed?
There are two key issues. One is the loss of soil productivity. Under a
business as usual scenario, degraded soil will mean that we will
produce 30% less food over the next 20-50 years. This is against a
background of projected demand requiring us to grow 50% more food, as
the population grows and wealthier people in countries like China and
India eat more meat, which takes more land to produce weight-for-weight
than, say, rice.
Second, water will reach a crisis point. This issue is already
causing conflicts in India, China, Pakistan and the Middle East and
before climate change and food security really hit, the next wars are likely to be fought
over unsustainable irrigation. Even moderately degraded soil will hold
less than half of the water than healthy soil in the same location. If
you’re irrigating a crop, you need water to stay in the soil close to
the plant roots. However, a staggering paper was published recently
indicating that nearly half of the sea level rise since 1960 is due to
irrigation water flowing straight past the crops and washing out to sea.
Read the rest of the article;
http://world.time.com/2012/12/14/what-if-the-worlds-soil-runs-out/
Saturday, 2 May 2015
Thursday, 18 June 2009
Australian Drought Leads to First "Water Rage" Murder
In Australia's first known case of murder due to "water rage," a dispute over a suburban man's water usage led to him being beaten to death in front of his home. According to police, 66-year-old Ken Proctor was watering the lawn in front of his home in Sydney on October 31 at approximately 5:30 p.m. when a passerby made a comment to him about wasting water. Proctor then turned his hose on the other man, who knocked him to the ground and began to punch and kick him. The attacker was tackled by two bystanders, including an off-duty policeman, and an ambulance came for Proctor. Proctor later died in the hospital after experiencing a massive heart attack.
Due to a severe, nearly eight-year drought, intensive water restrictions are in place across most of Australia. Nearly all states have banned garden sprinklers and the use of hoses on cars or sidewalks.
Sydney, in addition, prohibits leaving hoses or taps unattended except to filling pools, and permits are required for pools larger than 10,000 gallons. The use of fire hoses is prohibited for any use other than firefighting. Hand watering of lawns or gardens is only allowed on Wednesdays or Sundays before 10 a.m. or after 4 p.m.
Because the incident that led to his death happened on a Wednesday, Proctor was actually complying with the city's water rules at the time.
The drought is Australia's worst in at least 100 years. Combined with over-extraction of water, the drought has caused the flows of the country's two largest southeast rivers, the Murray and Darling, to dwindle. More than three-quarters of New South Wales is experiencing a drought, and Victoria has announced that 100 percent of its farmland has been hit.
While a number of suburban disputes, arguments and calls to police have risen from water restrictions, Proctor's is believed to be the first death cause by such a water dispute.
Due to a severe, nearly eight-year drought, intensive water restrictions are in place across most of Australia. Nearly all states have banned garden sprinklers and the use of hoses on cars or sidewalks.
Sydney, in addition, prohibits leaving hoses or taps unattended except to filling pools, and permits are required for pools larger than 10,000 gallons. The use of fire hoses is prohibited for any use other than firefighting. Hand watering of lawns or gardens is only allowed on Wednesdays or Sundays before 10 a.m. or after 4 p.m.
Because the incident that led to his death happened on a Wednesday, Proctor was actually complying with the city's water rules at the time.
The drought is Australia's worst in at least 100 years. Combined with over-extraction of water, the drought has caused the flows of the country's two largest southeast rivers, the Murray and Darling, to dwindle. More than three-quarters of New South Wales is experiencing a drought, and Victoria has announced that 100 percent of its farmland has been hit.
While a number of suburban disputes, arguments and calls to police have risen from water restrictions, Proctor's is believed to be the first death cause by such a water dispute.
Global Food Production Plummets in 2009
Global food production is expected to plummet between 20 and 40 percent in 2009, due to widespread drought and other stresses on agricultural production
Two-thirds of the world's food is produced in countries currently in the grip of droughts. The extent of this crisis can easily be seen by a chart on the Web site of the Center for Research on Globalization:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index....
Much media attention has focused on a severe drought in Northern China, one of the wheat producing capitals of the world. There, the worst drought in 50 years has already resulted in damage to 161 million mu (26.5 million acres) of crops. In Australia, suffering its worst drought in 117 years, 41 percent of crops have been harmed, farmers have begun abandoning land, rivers have run dry and lakes have evaporated to such an extent that they have turned toxic.
In the United States, Texas and the Southeast remains in the throes of a severe drought. California's drought is the worst in recorded history, with thousands of acres already fallow and worse likely to come -- the Northern Sierra snowpack, which provides much of the state's water as it melts, only reached 49 percent of its average thickness this winter.
Less well-publicized but equally devastating droughts have also gripped other agricultural areas of the world. In Latin America, agricultural emergencies have been declared in six countries, including soy-, corn- and cattle-producing giants Argentina and Brazil. The La Nina weather pattern is expected to make the situation worse in both Pacific South America and the southern United States.
Eastern and southern Africa, and western and central Asia are also facing severe droughts. The wheat harvest in eastern South Africa is expected to be the lowest in 30 years. In Central Asia and the Middle East, wheat harvests have dropped an average of 22 percent, reaching as high as 98 percent in northern Iraq.
Farmers have also been hurt by a lack of credit due to the financial crisis, making it harder to buy fertilizer or seed. Even in Europe, which has been relatively untouched by drought, unusual climate conditions and degraded soil have led to a projected 10 to 15 percent drop in crop output.
Two-thirds of the world's food is produced in countries currently in the grip of droughts. The extent of this crisis can easily be seen by a chart on the Web site of the Center for Research on Globalization:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index....
Much media attention has focused on a severe drought in Northern China, one of the wheat producing capitals of the world. There, the worst drought in 50 years has already resulted in damage to 161 million mu (26.5 million acres) of crops. In Australia, suffering its worst drought in 117 years, 41 percent of crops have been harmed, farmers have begun abandoning land, rivers have run dry and lakes have evaporated to such an extent that they have turned toxic.
In the United States, Texas and the Southeast remains in the throes of a severe drought. California's drought is the worst in recorded history, with thousands of acres already fallow and worse likely to come -- the Northern Sierra snowpack, which provides much of the state's water as it melts, only reached 49 percent of its average thickness this winter.
Less well-publicized but equally devastating droughts have also gripped other agricultural areas of the world. In Latin America, agricultural emergencies have been declared in six countries, including soy-, corn- and cattle-producing giants Argentina and Brazil. The La Nina weather pattern is expected to make the situation worse in both Pacific South America and the southern United States.
Eastern and southern Africa, and western and central Asia are also facing severe droughts. The wheat harvest in eastern South Africa is expected to be the lowest in 30 years. In Central Asia and the Middle East, wheat harvests have dropped an average of 22 percent, reaching as high as 98 percent in northern Iraq.
Farmers have also been hurt by a lack of credit due to the financial crisis, making it harder to buy fertilizer or seed. Even in Europe, which has been relatively untouched by drought, unusual climate conditions and degraded soil have led to a projected 10 to 15 percent drop in crop output.
Indigenous ‘genocide’ in battle for oilfields
It has been called the world’s second “oil war” but the only similarity between Iraq and events in the jungles of northern Peru over the past few weeks has been the mismatch of force. On one side have been police armed with automatic weapons, tear gas, helicopter gunships and armoured cars. On the other are several thousand Awajun and Wambis Indians, many of them in war paint and armed with bows and arrows, and spears.
In some of the worst violence in Peru in 20 years, the Indians warned Latin America what could happen if companies are given free access to the Amazonian forests to exploit an estimated 6billion barrels of oil and take as much timber as they like.
After months of peaceful protests, the police were ordered to use force to remove a roadblock near Bagua Grande.
In the fights that followed, nine police officers and at least 50 Indians were killed, with hundreds more wounded or arrested. The indigenous rights group Survival International described it as “Peru’s Tiananmen Square”.
“For thousands of years, we’ve run the Amazon forests,” said Servando Puerta, one of the protest leaders. “This is genocide. They’re killing us for defending our lives, our sovereignty, human dignity.”
As riot police broke up more demonstrations in Lima and a curfew was imposed on many Peruvian Amazonian towns, President Alan Garcia backed down in the face of condemnation of the massacre. He suspended – but only for three months – laws that would allow the forest to be exploited.
Peru is just one of many countries in open conflict with its indigenous people over natural resources. Barely reported in the international press, there have been major protests around mines, oil, logging and mineral exploitation in Africa, Latin America, Asia and North America. Hydroelectric dams, biofuel plantations as well as coal, copper, gold and bauxite mines are all at the centre of major land rights disputes.
A massive military force continued last week to raid communities opposed to oil companies’ presence on the Niger delta. The delta, which provides 90 per cent of Nigeria’s foreign earnings, has always been volatile but guns have flooded in and security has deteriorated.
Nigeria’s main militant group said yesterday it had destroyed an oil pipeline belonging to the US company Chevron.
“A major gas pipeline manifold and another major crude oil pipeline belonging to Chevron JV recently repaired at a sum of over $US56 million [$68million] were both blown up,” the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta said.
It warned that its fighters were heading to the Chevron tank farm in Escravos and urged staff to flee.
The escalation of violence came in the week that Shell agreed to pay £9.7million ($19.7million) to ethnic Ogoni families – whose homeland is in the delta – who had led a peaceful uprising against it and other oil companies in the 1990s, and who had taken the company to court in New York accusing it of complicity in writer Ken Saro-Wiwa’s execution in 1995.
In West Papua, Indonesian forces protecting some of the world’s largest mines have been accused of human rights violations. Hundreds of tribesmen have been killed in the past few years in clashes between the army and people with bows and arrows.
“An aggressive drive is taking place to extract the last remaining resources from indigenous territories,” said Victoria Tauli-Corpus, chairwoman of the UN permanent forum on indigenous issues. “There is a crisis of human rights. There are more and more arrests, killings and abuses.
“This is happening in Russia, Canada, the Philippines, Cambodia, Mongolia, Nigeria, the Amazon, all over Latin America, Papua New Guinea and Africa,” MsTauli-Corpus said. “It is global. We are seeing a human rights emergency. A battle is taking place for natural resources everywhere. Much of the world’s natural capital – oil, gas, timber, minerals – lies on or beneath lands occupied by indigenous people.”
Source: Global Research
In some of the worst violence in Peru in 20 years, the Indians warned Latin America what could happen if companies are given free access to the Amazonian forests to exploit an estimated 6billion barrels of oil and take as much timber as they like.
After months of peaceful protests, the police were ordered to use force to remove a roadblock near Bagua Grande.
In the fights that followed, nine police officers and at least 50 Indians were killed, with hundreds more wounded or arrested. The indigenous rights group Survival International described it as “Peru’s Tiananmen Square”.
“For thousands of years, we’ve run the Amazon forests,” said Servando Puerta, one of the protest leaders. “This is genocide. They’re killing us for defending our lives, our sovereignty, human dignity.”
As riot police broke up more demonstrations in Lima and a curfew was imposed on many Peruvian Amazonian towns, President Alan Garcia backed down in the face of condemnation of the massacre. He suspended – but only for three months – laws that would allow the forest to be exploited.
Peru is just one of many countries in open conflict with its indigenous people over natural resources. Barely reported in the international press, there have been major protests around mines, oil, logging and mineral exploitation in Africa, Latin America, Asia and North America. Hydroelectric dams, biofuel plantations as well as coal, copper, gold and bauxite mines are all at the centre of major land rights disputes.
A massive military force continued last week to raid communities opposed to oil companies’ presence on the Niger delta. The delta, which provides 90 per cent of Nigeria’s foreign earnings, has always been volatile but guns have flooded in and security has deteriorated.
Nigeria’s main militant group said yesterday it had destroyed an oil pipeline belonging to the US company Chevron.
“A major gas pipeline manifold and another major crude oil pipeline belonging to Chevron JV recently repaired at a sum of over $US56 million [$68million] were both blown up,” the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta said.
It warned that its fighters were heading to the Chevron tank farm in Escravos and urged staff to flee.
The escalation of violence came in the week that Shell agreed to pay £9.7million ($19.7million) to ethnic Ogoni families – whose homeland is in the delta – who had led a peaceful uprising against it and other oil companies in the 1990s, and who had taken the company to court in New York accusing it of complicity in writer Ken Saro-Wiwa’s execution in 1995.
In West Papua, Indonesian forces protecting some of the world’s largest mines have been accused of human rights violations. Hundreds of tribesmen have been killed in the past few years in clashes between the army and people with bows and arrows.
“An aggressive drive is taking place to extract the last remaining resources from indigenous territories,” said Victoria Tauli-Corpus, chairwoman of the UN permanent forum on indigenous issues. “There is a crisis of human rights. There are more and more arrests, killings and abuses.
“This is happening in Russia, Canada, the Philippines, Cambodia, Mongolia, Nigeria, the Amazon, all over Latin America, Papua New Guinea and Africa,” MsTauli-Corpus said. “It is global. We are seeing a human rights emergency. A battle is taking place for natural resources everywhere. Much of the world’s natural capital – oil, gas, timber, minerals – lies on or beneath lands occupied by indigenous people.”
Source: Global Research
Tuesday, 12 May 2009
Ipod apps of interest
If you own an iphone or ipod touch then here's a selection apps that may be of some interest to the outdoor enthusiast.
First up is Chirp! and Chirp! USA. I highly recommend these apps from ispiny, here's the marketing from their website:
First up is Chirp! and Chirp! USA. I highly recommend these apps from ispiny, here's the marketing from their website:
The Chirp! family of apps for iPhone and iPod Touch feature the songs of the most common birds of backyards, gardens, parks and woodland, in north-west Europe and the USA. Tap the name of the bird to hear its song, tap again to stop the song. If you need extra help in learning the songs, simply tap the bird photo to flip it over and reveal helpful tips. After listening, try the quiz to test your memory. Answer fast to earn a score multiplier and get on the high score table!
A very special feature of Chirp! is that birds are arranged in order of commonness - no more searching through rare birds to find the one singing on your lawn.
Other key features include:
* Your location is checked on first start-up to load the correct bird data
* A map screen allows birds from different areas to be compared
* High quality sounds and stunning photos (male birds)
* Links to Wikipedia and (USA only) Cornell Lab of Ornithology
* Quiz with three levels of difficulty - suitable for all the family
* Frequent updates, adding extra birds
Chirp! USA features birds from across continental USA (excl Alaska). More birds will be added, with priority given to user's suggestions. We already have a variety of Chickadees, Grosbeaks, Woodpeckers, Sparrows, Bluebirds and many more, so let us know if your favorite is missing.
Chirp! Europe features birds of north-west Europe. It is available in English, German, French, Dutch, Swedish and Norwegian and also partially translated into Danish and Irish Gaelic. The app runs in the main language of your iPod/iPhone but to see the bird names and song comments on another language, go to the main settings of your device, scroll down until you see the Chirp! settings and choose a language from the list.
Cheap Chirp! is a free ad-supported cut-down version of Chirp! It does not include all the birds and does not include a map screen for changing location, but does give you a taste of the full version.
The chirp series are updated regulary, you can download the free lite version or if you have jailbroken your phone/touch and are a cheap bastard then try out the full versions via the installous app.
Next up is Butterflies of Britain & Ireland from birdguides.com.
I only had a vague interest in butterflies before but this app gives you more than the usual identifying info. Each of the many butterflies have photos for the upperside, underside, colour varients, larva, egg, pupa, male/female, larvae etc it also gives details on which plants they commonly lay or feed on along with a map of distribution and phenogram.
A lot of work and detail went into this app and you will never fail to learn something new each time you look at it. (Did you know the Red Admiral likes to get drunk on over ripe orchard fruit or fermenting tree sap, the guy who wrote this info found over forty of them at one time lying totally drunk , some on their backs waving their legs feebly in the air, under a damaged tree).
This app is £9.99 or to see if it's worth it then you can find it via installous.
Next up is the north woods field guides which can be found seperately or in a all in one app. It covers 7 subjects: fish, flowers, fly fishing, garden insects, scat, tracks and trees.
Each subject has very little to choose from, some have a little info on the subject and some don't but all have hand drawn colour pictures which lack detail and even worse not a single sample includes the Latin name, it's local common names in America.
The one good thing going for this i the quiz which will give a picture and you have a choice of 4 answers but the whole app looks and feels like it's still in it's alpha stage, it has a lot of potential so much so i wish i could improve it myself. At the moment this app is just a basic idea and not worth paying anything for it even if it is only 59p each or £2.99 for the lot, one for installous only.
More apps tomorrow
_________________________________________________
Next up is Butterflies of Britain & Ireland from birdguides.com.
I only had a vague interest in butterflies before but this app gives you more than the usual identifying info. Each of the many butterflies have photos for the upperside, underside, colour varients, larva, egg, pupa, male/female, larvae etc it also gives details on which plants they commonly lay or feed on along with a map of distribution and phenogram.
A lot of work and detail went into this app and you will never fail to learn something new each time you look at it. (Did you know the Red Admiral likes to get drunk on over ripe orchard fruit or fermenting tree sap, the guy who wrote this info found over forty of them at one time lying totally drunk , some on their backs waving their legs feebly in the air, under a damaged tree).
This app is £9.99 or to see if it's worth it then you can find it via installous.
_________________________________________________
Next up is the north woods field guides which can be found seperately or in a all in one app. It covers 7 subjects: fish, flowers, fly fishing, garden insects, scat, tracks and trees.
Each subject has very little to choose from, some have a little info on the subject and some don't but all have hand drawn colour pictures which lack detail and even worse not a single sample includes the Latin name, it's local common names in America.
The one good thing going for this i the quiz which will give a picture and you have a choice of 4 answers but the whole app looks and feels like it's still in it's alpha stage, it has a lot of potential so much so i wish i could improve it myself. At the moment this app is just a basic idea and not worth paying anything for it even if it is only 59p each or £2.99 for the lot, one for installous only.
More apps tomorrow
Free Map Reading Book
Howdy ho folks thanks to BT and their remarkable incompetence i lost my connection for while but thanks to Dick Branson and his virgin pipes i have a much faster connection.
Well for anyone who actually bothers returning to this blog then here is a link to a free ebooklet written by the Ordnance Survey called Map Reading: From the beginner to the advanced map reader.
Down it from George Fisher directly
or from here if old George removes it.
1.91MB
Well for anyone who actually bothers returning to this blog then here is a link to a free ebooklet written by the Ordnance Survey called Map Reading: From the beginner to the advanced map reader.
Down it from George Fisher directly
or from here if old George removes it.
1.91MB
Thursday, 19 March 2009
WILDERNESS MEDICINE - 5th Edn
This book is expensive, really expensive, you can buy it new on Amazon UK for £133.35 ($159.20 Amzon.com = £109.40) and comes with a DVD which is a lot of money to gamble on a book so I decided to post the link to the torrent for the .chm edition of the book (DVD not included). If you like it and think it's worth it then make sure you buy it.
WILDERNESS MEDICINE
Text with DVD
Fifth Edition
By
Paul Auerbach, MD, MS, FACEP, FAWM, Clinical Professor of Surgery, Division of Emergency Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA
Description
Manage any medical emergency you encounter in the great outdoors! Every day, more and more people are venturing into the wilderness and extreme environments...and many are unprepared for the dangers that come with these adventures. Whether these victims are stranded on mountain tops, lost in the desert, trapped deep in the woods, or injured far out at sea, this indispensable resource equips rescuers and health care professionals to diagnose and treat the full range of emergencies and health problems encountered in the wilderness!
Contents
MOUNTAIN MEDICINE
1. High Altitude Medicine 2. Avalanches 3. Lightning Injuries
COLD AND HEAT
4. Thermoregulation 5. Accidental Hypothermia 6. Immersion in Cold Water 7. Nonfreezing Cold-Induced Injuries 8. Frostbite 9. Polar Medicine 10. Pathophysiology of Heat-Related Illnesses 11. Clinical Management of Heat-Related Illnesses
BURNS, FIRE AND RADIATION
12. Wildland Fires: Dangers and Survival 13. Emergency Care of the Burned Victim 14. Exposure to Radiation from the Sun 15. Volcanic Eruptions
INJURIES AND MEDICAL INTERVENTIONS
16. Injury Prevention 17. Principles of Pain Management 18. Bandaging and Taping 19. Emergency Airway Management 20. Wilderness Trauma, Surgical Emergencies, and Wound Management 21. Improvisation in the Wilderness 22. Hunting and Other Weapons Injuries 23. Tactical Medicine and Combat Casualty Care 24. Wilderness Orthopaedics 25. The Eye in the Wilderness 26. Wilderness Dentistry and Management of Facial Injuries 27. Wilderness Cardiology 28. Wilderness Neurology 29. Chronic Diseases and Wilderness Activities 30. Mental Health in the Wilderness
RESCUE AND SURVIVAL
31. Wilderness Emergency Medical Services and Response Systems 32. Search and Rescue 33. Technical Rescue in the Wilderness Environment 34. Litters and Carries 35. Aeromedical Transport 36. Essential of Wilderness Survival 37. Jungle Travel and Survival 38. Desert Travel and Survival 39. Whitewater Medicine and Rescue 40. Caving and Cave Rescue
ANIMALS, INSECTS, AND ZOONOSES
41. Protection from Blood-Feeding Arthropods 42. Mosquitoes and Mosquito-Borne Diseases 43. Malaria 44. Arthropod Envenomation and Parasitism 45. Tick-Borne Diseases 46. Spider Bites 47. Scorpion Envenomation 48. Bites by Venomous Reptiles in the Americas 49. Bites by Venomous Snakes outside the Americas 50. Antivenoms and Immunobiologicals: Immunotherapeutics of Envenomation 51. Bites and Injuries Inflicted by Wild and Domestic Animals 52. Bear Behavior and Attacks 53. Wilderness-Acquired Zoonoses 54. Rabies 55. Emergency Veterinary Medicine
PLANTS
56. Seasonal and Acute Allergic Reactions 57. Plant-Induced Dermatitis 58. Toxic Plant Ingestions 59. Toxic Mushroom Ingestions 60. Ethnobotany: Plant-Derived Medical Therapy
FOOD AND WATER
61. Field Water Disinfection 62. Infectious Diarrhea from Wilderness and Foreign Travel 63. Nutrition, Malnutrition, and Starvation 64. Dehydration, Rehydration, and Hyperhydration 65. Living off the Land 66. Seafood Toxidromes 67. Seafood Allergies
MARINE MEDICINE
68. Submersion Incidents 69. Emergency Oxygen Administration 70. Diving Medicine 71. Hyperbaric Medicine 72. Injuries from Nonvenomous Aquatic Animals 73. Envenomation by Aquatic Invertebrates 74. Envenomation by Aquatic Vertebrates 75. Aquatic Skin Disorders 76. Safety and Survival at Sea
TRAVEL, ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS, AND DISASTERS
77. Travel Medicine 78. Non-North American Travel and Exotic Diseases 79. Natural Disaster Management 80. Natural and Human-Made Hazards: Disaster Risk Management Issues
EQUIPMENT AND SPECIAL KNOWLEDGE
81. Wilderness Preparation, Equipment and Medical Supplies 82. Outdoor Clothing for Wilderness Professionals 83. Nonmedical Backcountry Equipment for Wilderness Professionals 84. Ropes and Knot Tying 85. Wilderness Navigation Techniques
SPECIAL POPULATIONS AND CONSIDERATIONS
86. Exercise, Conditioning, and Performance 87. Children in the Wilderness 88. Women in the Wilderness 89. Elders in the Wilderness 90. Persons with Special Needs and Disabilities 91. Wilderness and Endurance Events 92. Wilderness Medicine Education 93. Medical Liability and Wilderness Emergencies 94. The Ethics of Wilderness Medicine
THE WILDERNESS
95. The Changing Environment 96. Wilderness Management and Preservation 97. Aerospace Medicine Appendix: Drug Storage and Stability Index
Bibliographic details
Hardbound, 2336 pages, publication date: MAR-2007
ISBN-13: 978-0-323-03228-5
ISBN-10: 0-323-03228-1
Imprint: MOSBY
You can grab a torrent from the list HERE 418MB
WILDERNESS MEDICINE
Text with DVD
Fifth Edition
By
Paul Auerbach, MD, MS, FACEP, FAWM, Clinical Professor of Surgery, Division of Emergency Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA
Description
Manage any medical emergency you encounter in the great outdoors! Every day, more and more people are venturing into the wilderness and extreme environments...and many are unprepared for the dangers that come with these adventures. Whether these victims are stranded on mountain tops, lost in the desert, trapped deep in the woods, or injured far out at sea, this indispensable resource equips rescuers and health care professionals to diagnose and treat the full range of emergencies and health problems encountered in the wilderness!
Contents
MOUNTAIN MEDICINE
1. High Altitude Medicine 2. Avalanches 3. Lightning Injuries
COLD AND HEAT
4. Thermoregulation 5. Accidental Hypothermia 6. Immersion in Cold Water 7. Nonfreezing Cold-Induced Injuries 8. Frostbite 9. Polar Medicine 10. Pathophysiology of Heat-Related Illnesses 11. Clinical Management of Heat-Related Illnesses
BURNS, FIRE AND RADIATION
12. Wildland Fires: Dangers and Survival 13. Emergency Care of the Burned Victim 14. Exposure to Radiation from the Sun 15. Volcanic Eruptions
INJURIES AND MEDICAL INTERVENTIONS
16. Injury Prevention 17. Principles of Pain Management 18. Bandaging and Taping 19. Emergency Airway Management 20. Wilderness Trauma, Surgical Emergencies, and Wound Management 21. Improvisation in the Wilderness 22. Hunting and Other Weapons Injuries 23. Tactical Medicine and Combat Casualty Care 24. Wilderness Orthopaedics 25. The Eye in the Wilderness 26. Wilderness Dentistry and Management of Facial Injuries 27. Wilderness Cardiology 28. Wilderness Neurology 29. Chronic Diseases and Wilderness Activities 30. Mental Health in the Wilderness
RESCUE AND SURVIVAL
31. Wilderness Emergency Medical Services and Response Systems 32. Search and Rescue 33. Technical Rescue in the Wilderness Environment 34. Litters and Carries 35. Aeromedical Transport 36. Essential of Wilderness Survival 37. Jungle Travel and Survival 38. Desert Travel and Survival 39. Whitewater Medicine and Rescue 40. Caving and Cave Rescue
ANIMALS, INSECTS, AND ZOONOSES
41. Protection from Blood-Feeding Arthropods 42. Mosquitoes and Mosquito-Borne Diseases 43. Malaria 44. Arthropod Envenomation and Parasitism 45. Tick-Borne Diseases 46. Spider Bites 47. Scorpion Envenomation 48. Bites by Venomous Reptiles in the Americas 49. Bites by Venomous Snakes outside the Americas 50. Antivenoms and Immunobiologicals: Immunotherapeutics of Envenomation 51. Bites and Injuries Inflicted by Wild and Domestic Animals 52. Bear Behavior and Attacks 53. Wilderness-Acquired Zoonoses 54. Rabies 55. Emergency Veterinary Medicine
PLANTS
56. Seasonal and Acute Allergic Reactions 57. Plant-Induced Dermatitis 58. Toxic Plant Ingestions 59. Toxic Mushroom Ingestions 60. Ethnobotany: Plant-Derived Medical Therapy
FOOD AND WATER
61. Field Water Disinfection 62. Infectious Diarrhea from Wilderness and Foreign Travel 63. Nutrition, Malnutrition, and Starvation 64. Dehydration, Rehydration, and Hyperhydration 65. Living off the Land 66. Seafood Toxidromes 67. Seafood Allergies
MARINE MEDICINE
68. Submersion Incidents 69. Emergency Oxygen Administration 70. Diving Medicine 71. Hyperbaric Medicine 72. Injuries from Nonvenomous Aquatic Animals 73. Envenomation by Aquatic Invertebrates 74. Envenomation by Aquatic Vertebrates 75. Aquatic Skin Disorders 76. Safety and Survival at Sea
TRAVEL, ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS, AND DISASTERS
77. Travel Medicine 78. Non-North American Travel and Exotic Diseases 79. Natural Disaster Management 80. Natural and Human-Made Hazards: Disaster Risk Management Issues
EQUIPMENT AND SPECIAL KNOWLEDGE
81. Wilderness Preparation, Equipment and Medical Supplies 82. Outdoor Clothing for Wilderness Professionals 83. Nonmedical Backcountry Equipment for Wilderness Professionals 84. Ropes and Knot Tying 85. Wilderness Navigation Techniques
SPECIAL POPULATIONS AND CONSIDERATIONS
86. Exercise, Conditioning, and Performance 87. Children in the Wilderness 88. Women in the Wilderness 89. Elders in the Wilderness 90. Persons with Special Needs and Disabilities 91. Wilderness and Endurance Events 92. Wilderness Medicine Education 93. Medical Liability and Wilderness Emergencies 94. The Ethics of Wilderness Medicine
THE WILDERNESS
95. The Changing Environment 96. Wilderness Management and Preservation 97. Aerospace Medicine Appendix: Drug Storage and Stability Index
Bibliographic details
Hardbound, 2336 pages, publication date: MAR-2007
ISBN-13: 978-0-323-03228-5
ISBN-10: 0-323-03228-1
Imprint: MOSBY
You can grab a torrent from the list HERE 418MB
Monday, 16 March 2009
Aldi tools
Aldi seem to have a steady influx of home tools at the moment some of which i have bought. These tools are aimed at the home DIY enthusiast. Here's the list of my new toys all of which may still be in your local Aldi (descriptions from aldi web site). I'm very happy with them btw.
Update, they may look toyish but they do the job, i also added a few stickers over the power craft logos, they look a lot better already.
500W Bench Drill £41
Whizzing through wood and metal with pinpoint precision, this brilliant bench drill will make light work of all sorts of workshop tasks.
9 adjustable speeds (from 280-2350rpm)
16mm keyed chuck with safety guard
Drilling capacity: metal 16mm, wood 35mm
Fully-adjustable table with 0-45° left or right tilt
54mm clamp width
Sturdy cast-iron construction
Depth stop for precision drilling
Magnetic safety switch
240W Bench Grinder/Belt Sander £19.99
Dual-purpose system that will flatten/smooth out all sorts of imperfections in metal or woodwork pieces for a cleaner finish.
No load speed: 2950rpm
Grinding disc (for metal): 150 × 20 × 12.7mm
Abrasive grinding belt (fitted): 50 × 686mm (Grade: 150)
2 spare belts included – 50 × 686mm (Grade: 150)
204 Piece Drill Bit Set £19.99
40W Model Building and Engraving Set £10.69
Super-light, super-versatile tool for the dedicated model maker/arts and crafts enthusiast. It contains all you need to achieve a professional looking finish on a variety of creative projects. Includes 40 accessories for drilling, cutting, grinding, sanding, engraving and polishing.
Variable speed: 0-20,000rpm
Adaptor AC 230V, DC 18V
Transparent storage/carry case
1020W Angle Grinder £17.99
Metalwork, bricks, paving slabs, ceramic tiles, rusty rivets – slice through them all with ease.
1020 watts, 230V, 50Hz
2 diamond blades included
Safety goggles included
24V Cordless Hammer Drill £39.99
Versatile drill, including an all-purpose bit set, to tackle a range of jobs from masonry to metalwork.
24V/1.5Ah NiCad battery
2 mechanical speeds
Quick charger with LED load indication
Adjustable side handle
9 bits (plus bit holder)
Peacock keyless chuck (1.5-3mm)
Also bought extra grinding/cutting disks and other odd and ends, i have quite a few projects lined up which i will be posting here hopefully with video.
Update, they may look toyish but they do the job, i also added a few stickers over the power craft logos, they look a lot better already.
500W Bench Drill £41
Whizzing through wood and metal with pinpoint precision, this brilliant bench drill will make light work of all sorts of workshop tasks.
9 adjustable speeds (from 280-2350rpm)
16mm keyed chuck with safety guard
Drilling capacity: metal 16mm, wood 35mm
Fully-adjustable table with 0-45° left or right tilt
54mm clamp width
Sturdy cast-iron construction
Depth stop for precision drilling
Magnetic safety switch
240W Bench Grinder/Belt Sander £19.99
Dual-purpose system that will flatten/smooth out all sorts of imperfections in metal or woodwork pieces for a cleaner finish.
No load speed: 2950rpm
Grinding disc (for metal): 150 × 20 × 12.7mm
Abrasive grinding belt (fitted): 50 × 686mm (Grade: 150)
2 spare belts included – 50 × 686mm (Grade: 150)
204 Piece Drill Bit Set £19.99
40W Model Building and Engraving Set £10.69
Super-light, super-versatile tool for the dedicated model maker/arts and crafts enthusiast. It contains all you need to achieve a professional looking finish on a variety of creative projects. Includes 40 accessories for drilling, cutting, grinding, sanding, engraving and polishing.
Variable speed: 0-20,000rpm
Adaptor AC 230V, DC 18V
Transparent storage/carry case
1020W Angle Grinder £17.99
Metalwork, bricks, paving slabs, ceramic tiles, rusty rivets – slice through them all with ease.
1020 watts, 230V, 50Hz
2 diamond blades included
Safety goggles included
24V Cordless Hammer Drill £39.99
Versatile drill, including an all-purpose bit set, to tackle a range of jobs from masonry to metalwork.
24V/1.5Ah NiCad battery
2 mechanical speeds
Quick charger with LED load indication
Adjustable side handle
9 bits (plus bit holder)
Peacock keyless chuck (1.5-3mm)
Also bought extra grinding/cutting disks and other odd and ends, i have quite a few projects lined up which i will be posting here hopefully with video.
A greenpete success story
If your a fan of blades then watch this video, this guy has been making knifes for about a year (at time of making of video). He got started by watching the fantastic video from greenpete
and a year later he's making stunning blades like this.
I recommend you watch greenpetes video just to see how easy it is to make your very own knife, i recently bought all the tools he used but still need to get to the scrap yard. If i can make a knife half as good as this one then i'd be a very happy chappy.
The youtube page is HERE
DevilDwarfBladesmith
and a year later he's making stunning blades like this.
I recommend you watch greenpetes video just to see how easy it is to make your very own knife, i recently bought all the tools he used but still need to get to the scrap yard. If i can make a knife half as good as this one then i'd be a very happy chappy.
The youtube page is HERE
DevilDwarfBladesmith
Wednesday, 4 March 2009
Palmyra woman finds roses made from birch shavings 'so real'
PALMYRA, Mo. — Joyce Wagner knew about good, unique crafts -- she'd been buying them for years.
But the Palmyra resident never really made any of her own until last year when she spotted wooden roses at a fair in Fulton.
"People were walking by, and I thought 'Why aren't those wilting?' " Wagner said.
She tracked down the booth selling the long-stemmed roses and discovered that they were wooden, made from birch shavings.
Wagner bought eight dozen and gave them away, then decided to track down the supplier herself. Once she found the maker in Colorado, she ordered 3,200 the first time. She has placed similar orders three more times since June.
Wagner's venture with the roses, along with her other business of selling streak-free cleaning cloths, has proven so successful she's quit her full-time work. Every weekend, she heads somewhere for an event where she sells the roses.
Story from HERE
Saving Chile's southern wilderness
Charles Darwin wrote about the region during the voyage of the Beagle
It is not every day that a Wall Street bank finds itself in possession of a chunk of land 50 times the size of Manhattan, covered in pristine forest, windswept grassland and snow-capped mountains.
But that's the position Goldman Sachs found itself in, in 2002 when it bought a package of distressed debt and assets from a US company called Trillium.
The resulting conservation project in the very south of Chile has been hailed by the bank and its partners, a US-based NGO, as an example of how the public and private sectors can work together to safeguard the world's last remaining wildernesses.
Chilean environmentalists are more sceptical but, even so, have largely applauded the project.
The story of what is now known as the Karukinka nature reserve dates back to the 1990s when Trillium bought land on Tierra del Fuego - a cluster of inhospitable islands between Chile and Argentina - clinging to the southernmost tip of South America.
The company planned to use the land for logging and wanted to cut down the lenga - a type of beech tree found only in this part of the world.
Environmental groups opposed the project and it eventually failed.
That was when Goldman Sachs stepped in, buying up Trillium's assets, including the land.
"It's not often that you're in a position where you buy a security and learn that you have 680,000 acres of land in Tierra del Fuego," says Tracy Wolstencroft, head of Goldman Sachs' Environmental Markets group.
"The more we realised what we had the more we realised how unique this property was."
The bank considered selling the land but realised it would face the same opposition as Trillium had.
So it took what some environmentalists now regard as a radical and enlightened step - it gave the land away to a New York-based environmental group, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).
Full story HERE
Nature defies the Big Freeze and heralds spring
Published Date:
02 March 2009
By Richard Morris
Ignore the cold snaps and big freezes - spring is on its way.
According to a recent nature survey bumble bees have been spotted here in 1066 County. Wildlife recorders have also logged birds building nests, snowdrops and frogspawn - all signs that spring is sprung.
However, according to one wildlife expert, it is not necessarily good news - especially with more cold weather predicted.
Shaun Nixon, manager for the Nature's Calendar, said: "The timing of natural events is one of the most responsive aspects of the natural world to warming, so it is an important indicator of change."
"There will be variations year on year, however, if we look back over the past 30 years we can see a marked advancement of spring, up to two weeks for insects and a week for plants.
"The fundamental concerns thrown up by spring's gradual advance are that food chains also come under pressure or even break down and species fooled by warmer weather into activity, blossoming or breeding can very vulnerable and can get caught out by the sort of freeze not uncommon in March."
As always this story was stolen from HERE
Maple syrup producers wait on Mother Nature
MONCTON - As David Briggs trudges into his forest of sugar maples, he thinks out loud about the coming syrup season.
"We can only hope it's not like last year," he said. "Not that there's much we can do about it - other than hope."
His boots break fresh holes in the snow around hundreds of trees, signalling the beginning of a new season.
New Brunswick ranks third in the world in maple syrup production and is home to the country's largest organic and conventional syrup producers.
Some of the province's 112 maple syrup makers already have spent months tapping their trees and setting up lines of plastic tubing in preparation for just a few weeks of production that may begin any day now.
They are praying that this year the weather will co-operate.
Two straight seasons of foundering production has cost the industry millions, spiking prices and decimating any reserve of syrup around the world.
"I mean 2007 was bad, but 2008 was miserable," Yvon Poitras, general manager of the New Brunswick Maple Syrup Association, said.
"It was the worst year in 35 years of production. We didn't even produce 50 per cent of normal production."
Canada accounts for 85 per cent of the world's production of maple syrup, the majority of it coming from Quebec. Each year the industry prefers to have a reserve of at least 30 per cent of its product to meet higher demands, Poitras said.
But there is currently virtually no reserve.
"If we don't get a good season we're going to be in big, big trouble," he said. "There are no reserves left anywhere. There is a lack of product all over the world."
Sap drips from maple trees when temperatures fluctuate from -5"‚C at night to 5"‚C during the day, usually beginning in mid-March.
Last year, snow storms buried tubing and forced producers to spend thousands of dollars clearing obstructions.
When the season finally came, it lasted only four days before temperatures turned drastically warm, ruining the sap season.
"We thought we had it made last year. The old guys were saying it was going to be a great season, and then nothing," he said. "We depend so much on Mother Nature that it's unbelievable.
"Everyone's got their fingers crossed, their legs crossed and everything else crossed to see what Mother Nature is going to dump on us this year."
New Brunswick can produce more than four million pounds of maple syrup each year, originating from more than two million tree taps.
That ranks behind Quebec and Vermont.
Poitras said the industry as a whole lost more than $5 million last year.
Even though syrup producers have had a difficult time of late, the industry could easily grow bigger. Poitras said his association is working with the province to utilize more Crown land that is heavily covered with maples.
New Brunswick is home to the largest single producer with 168,000 taps near Saint-Quentin. It is also home to a producer in Bath with 110,000 taps for organic syrup.
"Those are two things we love to boast about," Poitras said. " But if the weather doesn't co-operate, they may be the biggest, but the biggest of nothing in not much."
Gus Hargrove, owner of Canadian Organic Maple Co. Ltd., of Bath agrees.
His business has tapped into a growing sugar market, as an organic trend steers followers away from the refined substance. Hargrove now has an international market that spans Germany and China.
"The demand actually opened up some of the market for us, but it would be nice to have more to supply it," he said. "They seek you out because of it (a decrease in supply), especially in the last two years.
"But we're optimistic because we have had a couple bad years, so hey, third time lucky."
Briggs, the fifth generation in his family of maple syrup producers from the Moncton area, said there's no way to know what this season will have in store.
Regardless, the industry has served his family well. He plans to expand Rocky Mountain Maples to include a year-round business in Riverview to sell his maple syrup, butter, cream, candy, barbeque sauce and classic taffy.
"There's absolutely nothing we can do other than get ready for it," Briggs said.
"But this is a growing industry. Producers from all over the province are growing their operations."
Story stolen from HERE
Tuesday, 3 March 2009
Viktor Schauberger
An interesting video which is a good introduction to Viktor Schauberger don't be put of by the look of presenter (Tom Brown I think - not THE Tom Brown Jnr).
A farm for the future
This programme seems to be recieving a lot of positive reviews on the net so i'm downloading it at the mo. It caught my eye as it mentioned forest gardening which is a passion of mine at the moment (will be posting links to some great videos on this soon)
The following quote is from HERE
You can still watch this on the BBC site but only for a limited time so here are a couple of torrent links to download it.
DEMONOID 185MB .MOV
MININOVA 571MB .AVI
You can watch a short clip HERE (Trivia- I think the refinary in the background is Milford Haven in Pembrokeshire where the worlds biggest LNG plant operates)
UPDATE since watching
Wildlife film maker Rebecca Hosking investigates how to transform her family's farm in Devon into a low energy farm for the future, and discovers that nature holds the key.
With her father close to retirement, Rebecca returns to her family's wildlife-friendly farm in Devon, to become the next generation to farm the land. But last year's high fuel prices were a wake-up call for Rebecca. Realising that all food production in the UK is completely dependent on abundant cheap fossil fuel, particularly oil, she sets out to discover just how secure this oil supply is.
Alarmed by the answers, she explores ways of farming without using fossil fuel. With the help of pioneering farmers and growers, Rebecca learns that it is actually nature that holds the key to farming in a low-energy future.
The following quote is from HERE
It offered a powerful combination of looking back and looking forward, underpinned all the time by her clear deep affection she has for the farm itself. and the deep respect she has for both her father and his work. It was surprisingly personal and moving. For me, the proof of this programme was a visit yesterday from my father in law, not usually one to be interested in such things, who had seen the programme, loved it, and told me excitedly that he now knew that hedgerows could be productive, and that fossil fuels are running out. He was very impressed with the agroforestry side of things, and I suspect that many people also watched it and found themselves similarly having Eureka moments as regards some of the insights about soil, ecosystems and the idea that food production need not necessarily involve huge tractors and lashings of diesel. It was also very powerful for people to start to realise that food production and biodiversity are not necessarily, as is often believed, mutually exclusive
You can still watch this on the BBC site but only for a limited time so here are a couple of torrent links to download it.
DEMONOID 185MB .MOV
MININOVA 571MB .AVI
You can watch a short clip HERE (Trivia- I think the refinary in the background is Milford Haven in Pembrokeshire where the worlds biggest LNG plant operates)
UPDATE since watching
Sorry but i watched this and found it to be mostly a pile of crap.
First of it’s presented by some anoying female who as it turns out is the usual London career type who then decides to head out to country (i know she was from there anyway but she still acts like all the others).
She then starts bleating on about oil and how it effects farmers and all the doom and gloom that comes with it, fair enough but i got the impression she was telling herself that more than telling us as if she was just learning this herself and what little knowledge she does tell is hardly unkown anyway (unless you lived in the London bubble for years).
Now to the worst part of all. She sets up a so called live internet conversation with a bloke in the USA (remarkable image clarity and streaming they get down in Devon) which saves us TV licence payers the cost of her flying out there BUT after moaning about the fuel crisis she then jumps into her Land rover (not the most fuel effecient motor) then drives from Devon to SW Wales then onto a ferry (she doesnt say but i’m certain they dont use sails or oars) then drives to some point in Ireland to chat to some bloke for 2 minutes. Then on the ferry on the way back she’s moaning about the resources that went into the sandwich she just bought, it was at this point that i was going to switch off, she is a complete idiot and treating us the same.
But i held out as I have a strong passionate interest in forest gardening and permaculture. It’s only after she returns from Ireland that it finaly gets interesting, it wasnt very indepth but it was good to see her taking it seriously (in her own wishy washy way) but more importantly it was good to see more exposure for this subject.
It did make me wonder if she was going to do something similar herself on her dad’s farm which i hope she does, maybe a follow up episode but without all the nonsense.
England's largest forest takes shape on the edge of St Albans
When and if a plan to create an 850-acre forest on the edge of St Albans gets the go ahead it will create the largest new native woodland the people of England have ever seen. Neil Skinner joined residents on a guided tour on Saturday.
It's a development of immense size and scale; far in advance of anything the area has witnessed before – a project which dwarfs any supermarket or housing estate past or present.
Why, then, has it created such limited local opposition and why is the £8.5 million project necessary at all? Why spend so much money on a project many of us won’t live to witness in its full glory?
The UK, apparently, languishes at the bottom of the European woodland league, with a mere 12 per cent coverage compared to 44 per cent in other parts of the continent. Extricate from this the vast wooded areas in Scotland the comparative poverty of England becomes clear; a poverty not just of aesthetic beauty but of fragile woodland species – 78 of which are thought to on the verge of extinction.
Full story HERE
Plant diseases threaten woodland
They are Phytophthora kernoviae and Phytophthora ramorum.
Rhododendrons, a carrier of both diseases, are likely to be removed in woodland to combat the problem.
The flowering shrubs, popular as an ornamental species in many gardens, also grow wild in wooded areas and an area of the New Forest has already been cordoned off to allow rhododendrons to be cut down and burned.
Phytophthora kernoviae, first found in the south-west of England in 2003, reached Scotland five years later. It attacks and kills many trees and shrubs, including the oak and beech trees which make up so much of Britain's woodlands.
Full story HERE
(The evil Rhododendron, coming to a woodland near you soon)
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