Archive for September, 2010
Over 45 million tonnes of greenhouse gases are produced every year from the burning of diesel in trucks. Of course we are trying to find new creative ways to save our environment and one way to do this is to use vegetable oil as a renewable source of fuel for transportation and also the use of heating.
There are so many benefits of using this source to replace fossil fuels and some of these include reduced air pollution, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and conservation of limited fossil fuels. There are two different ways that you can use vegetable oil as a fuel in engines.
The first way is that you can use straight vegetable oil either waste frying oil or fresh- pressed oil, however you will need an extra fuel tank and a system for heating and filtering the oil before it reaches the engine. The reason why you will need this is because pure vegetable oil is too thick to work in the engine unless the oil is heated up.
The other way is to simply convert the vegetable oil into biodiesel which can be used in a diesel engine without any modifications. Biodiesel is a fuel source made from vegetable oil when a chemical reaction occurs between methanol and lye. It can be created either from using waste vegetable oil from the food industry, or you have the other option of using it from fresh-pressed vegetable oil.
This is something that is now being made to sell commercially in thousands of countries all around the world, however with the right equipment and enough time it can also be made right at home. Some of the toxic air pollutants that are reduced include soot, particulates, carbon monoxide, and sulphur oxides, however nitrous oxide emissions may increase slightly.
Trying to save energy? Have you paid attention to your electronic devices? The number of televisions, DVD players, stereos, computers, and other electronic appliances in a home has increased steadily over the past few years. While these devices don’t seem like they’d use a lot of power, the fact is that even just a trickle can add up over time. Here are just a few things you can do to keep your electronics from increasing your bill.
Turn off your computer when it’s not in use. Computers draw a relatively small amount of electricity per day, but it adds up over time. Just the monitor, which uses less power than your CPU, will cost you around $20 per month if left on every day.
Turning off your computer doesn’t take much time, and saves power. Many people think that leaving the computer or monitor on will increase its usable life, or that starting the computer up again uses more power than leaving it on. Both of these misconceptions date from the days of room-filling mainframe computers. Modern machines aren’t as fragile, and use much less power on startup.
Don’t leave your cell phone charger plugged in. While this practice might keep the charger ready for your phone, it also uses a trickle of power. This amounts to around a dollar fifty per person, per month, in the United States. It doesn’t seem like much on a personal level, but it costs the country around eight billion dollars a year in total, says the Alliance to Save Energy. This goes for other battery chargers as well. Once the battery is full, unplug the charger.
Avoid phantom loads. Most electronics now require energy, even when off! The little lights on televisions, stereos, and other electronic devices draw power when we’re not using them. To prevent this, unplug those devices when they won’t be in use.
When buying new electronics, look for the Energy Star certification. Computers, printers, televisions and more are available, and will use as much as 70% less power than devices that aren’t certified by Energy Star. This is a great way to reduce the amount of power you use without saying goodbye to electronics you need.
Use rechargable batteries instead of disposables. You won’t be contaminating landfills with heavy metals, and you’ll save money in the long run. Rechargable batteries have thousands of uses in them before you’ll need new ones, and they may have longer life between charges than disposables. This makes them the ideal choices for cameras, MP3 players that take standard batteries, and other devices.
Marine biologists will be assigned to different tasks, but you should first determine the various job descriptions to become competent in the field. There are many common responsibilities that researchers or marine biologists share. Once you complete the course and training, you can then move on to new career paths. Here are some more tips.
The Many Responsibilities
You may be assigned primarily for research purposes. Expect to research different aquatic and marine organisms. You may also be tasked to monitor and observe marine communities and ecosystems. You should study ahead the biochemical processes of freshwater plants and organisms. Study the different marine animals and plants, together with the interactions and behavior.
If you come across new species, record the details. Report how ocean animals depend on the environment and the different provisions of the ecosystem. You may also be given the responsibility to collect and review samples. Start planning and conducting experiments as needed. If you are working at a college or university, you may start working as an educator to let people find out more about results and discoveries.
Career Paths
You can choose a variety of careers once you finish marine biology in a given college or university. Some of the jobs and careers that you can land on after graduating include being a naturalist, marine biologist, marine mammal specialist, marine biology educator, marine biology team manager, aquarium director, ecologist and conservationist.
You can expect to acquire many great skills upon finishing a marine biology degree. Students from a marine biology college can gain specialized skills and advanced knowledge in scientific research methods and application. Students may also join internship programs to further enhance their skills.
The Skills
Some of the skills that you can expect to have after graduating include gathering and reporting various data, scientific method development and application, analysis and experimentation, strong research skills and critical thinking, publishing experimental reports and results, fieldwork experience and networking with other scientist and biologists. The skills acquired may be used for other related work like veterinary medicine, forestry, agricultural science and medical science.
About the Course
Thorough training and studies are expected if you take up marine biology. Some of the topics and classes that you will most likely enter include field investigations, scale and processes in marine biology, biological oceanography, diseases of aquatic animals, conservation genetics, sustainable fisheries, marine ecology, marine resources and conservation management and marine mammalogy.
You can also decide to specialize within the marine biology degree program to venture careers in oceanic history, biological oceanography, molecular studies and aquatic restoration. Advance technology greatly allows students to get direct experience by going to a formal marine biology college. Supervised fieldwork studies and lab training will then help students attain very balanced education in their chosen field.
Majority of marine biology colleges and schools are accredited by the regional association of colleges and secondary schools or the regional Higher Commission on Learning. Independent accreditation may also be offered by every state to schools.