tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-107200732023-06-20T05:55:43.145-07:00Dhillonz eSpaceAnantDhillon Weblog | everyone is entitled to a opinionAgriWizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286532512476150874noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10720073.post-42000706045223057292016-02-03T16:01:00.008-08:002022-05-02T11:40:57.435-07:00Live Life. Pass it On<div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">
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<h1 style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span face=""Trebuchet MS",sans-serif">Live Life. Pass it On</span></span></h1>
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<span face=""Trebuchet MS",sans-serif"> Register to be an organ donor online in British Columbia Canada at BC Transplant <br /><a href="http://transplant.bc.ca">http://transplant.bc.ca</a></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.transplant.bc.ca/PublishingImages/GSD-Group.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="234" src="http://www.transplant.bc.ca/PublishingImages/GSD-Group.jpg" width="312" /></a></div><br /><a href="https://kidney.ca/Get-Involved/Be-an-Organ-Donor/Register-to-be-an-Organ-Donor/Organ-Donor-Registries" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #f99d25; cursor: pointer; font-family: Cabin; font-size: 18px; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; outline: none !important; text-align: start; text-decoration-line: none;">Register to be an organ donor</a></div>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span face=""Trebuchet MS",sans-serif">1 organ donor can save up to 8 lives</span></span></h1>
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</span><span face=""Trebuchet MS",sans-serif">British Columbia Organ Donor Registry is the official registry of your wishes
regarding organ donation. You may register a “yes” or a “no” decision.
You only need to register your decision once.</span><br />
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<span face=""Trebuchet MS",sans-serif">To register your decision you need:</span></div>
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<li><span face=""Trebuchet MS",sans-serif">your BC Personal Health Number </span></li>
<li><span face=""Trebuchet MS",sans-serif">your name, birth date and address</span></li>
<li><span face=""Trebuchet MS",sans-serif">to be at least 19 years old - or have a parent/guardian sign on the minor’s behalf</span></li>
<li><span face=""Trebuchet MS",sans-serif">If you are a member of the military and you do not have a BC PHN, please complete a <a href="https://register.transplant.bc.ca/bctransplant-donor-form.pdf">paper form</a> and mail it to BC Transplant – we will complete the registration process once we receive your form.</span></li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://kidney.ca/KFOC/media/images/PDFs/Facing-the-Facts-2021_Organ-Donation_EN.pdf" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="388" data-original-width="300" height="388" src="https://kidney.ca/getattachment/Get-Involved/Be-an-Organ-Donor/Register-to-be-an-Organ-Donor/Screenshot-2021-04-16-144417.png?width=300&height=388" width="300" /></a></div><br /><h3 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="http://www.transplant.bc.ca/organ-donation/register-as-an-organ-donor/verify-your-registration" target="_blank">Verify your Registration in Donor Registry</a></span></h3>
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AgriWizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286532512476150874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10720073.post-57055250851519690112016-02-03T15:47:00.001-08:002016-02-03T15:47:47.600-08:00ACT!2015 Enhancing Youth Participation in the SDGs<div style="text-align: center;">
<u><span style="color: #274e13;"><b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Sustainable Development Goals</span></b></span></u></div>
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AgriWizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286532512476150874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10720073.post-79237548207971216882015-11-25T03:48:00.002-08:002016-02-03T15:49:02.400-08:00Connecting Youth Enhancing Skills<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">The race to build
a world of better education, few places compare with India for the
scale
of the challenge and the ambition. The PM of India has recently highlighted the
problem of
India’s “acute skills shortage”, and how this is hampering the pace of
economic growth and undermining international competitiveness.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">There
are a number of reasons for this. Traditional rote-learning, for
centuries the teaching style of choice, where students regurgitate
knowledge,
is increasingly out of sync with workplaces that value emotional
intelligence and interpersonal skills. Team-building, conflict
resolution, empathy, leadership, and resilience – this is the stuff of
the successful 21st century worker; but it is not the stuff
that schools are sufficiently good at teaching.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">The Pearson India reported in annual Voice of the Teacher survey <i>that 57% of Indian teachers consider their students insufficiently prepared for employment on completing school</i>.
Three quarters of teachers want greater industry input into course content – a theme that has to be heard loud and clear. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Yet
the infrastructure is there to make big improvements. Technology lets
us learn what we want, when we want, at the pace we want. It can give us
instant feedback and tell us where an individual – I – am going wrong
and what I need to do to progress.
And most importantly of all, it can do this for billions more people
than the traditional classroom can. Not just access to learning - but
also progress.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">This
skills challenge is not one of those great, intractable global issues.
Solutions shouldn’t be hard to come by. It will require closer
collaboration
between educators, and employers. Nobody knows better than employers
what sort of skills are needed for the workforce, and nobody knows
better than teachers how to impart these skills onto young people. Governments need to put in place structures and
incentives which encourage this collaboration. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">The Free
market forces and government policies may determine unemployment
levels, but with the right education, nobody ever need be unemployable.
India needs to continue to think outside the box when it comes to skill<span style="font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif;"> enhancing the </span>population.
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<span style="font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Get
it right, and we all win: the school leaver gets the job, businesses
get their talent, and a nation continues to lift itself up.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">This blog post incorporates </span><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">excerpts from </span><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/skilling-india-world-john-fallon" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">skilling-india-world-<wbr></wbr>john-fallon</span></a><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"></span></div>
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AgriWizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286532512476150874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10720073.post-15435413780428840562012-06-24T14:01:00.004-07:002016-02-03T15:49:43.568-08:00Global warming- The vanishing north<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Global warming- The vanishing north</div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">There are benefits in the melting of the Arctic, but the risks are much greater. <br />
<a href="http://www.economist.com/node/21556921" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Read more >>>>>></a></span></div>
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AgriWizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286532512476150874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10720073.post-2409213216697978432012-06-24T13:59:00.001-07:002016-02-03T15:49:32.425-08:00Relief in Every Window, but Global Worry Too<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Relief in Every Window, but Global Worry Too (from NY Times)</div>
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<i>Coolant Quandary</i></div>
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<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/21/world/asia/global-demand-for-air-conditioning-forces-tough-environmental-choices.html?_r=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The article describe the impact of the rising demand for coolant gases, a growing contributor to global warming.</a></div>
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AgriWizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286532512476150874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10720073.post-91961326797011025762011-08-13T18:26:00.000-07:002011-08-13T18:26:40.317-07:00Not your grandma’s strawberries<a href="http://www.grist.org/food/2011-08-02-not-your-grandmas-strawberries">Not your grandma’s strawberries</a>AgriWizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286532512476150874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10720073.post-51356496753030630272011-08-08T21:18:00.002-07:002011-08-08T21:18:39.505-07:00Changing Education Paradigms<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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AgriWizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286532512476150874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10720073.post-34949938361289412042011-08-08T21:17:00.000-07:002011-08-08T21:17:37.916-07:00300 Years of FOSSIL FUELS in 300 Seconds<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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AgriWizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286532512476150874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10720073.post-73544183403975634272011-04-06T14:48:00.005-07:002011-08-08T21:25:29.492-07:00Time<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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AgriWizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286532512476150874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10720073.post-49370084401441716492011-04-06T14:41:00.004-07:002011-04-06T14:48:08.091-07:00Give the Gift of Life Walk<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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</div>AgriWizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286532512476150874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10720073.post-82815700070676231312011-01-27T02:50:00.001-08:002011-01-27T02:50:58.714-08:007 ecological tipping points<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: small;">South Asian monsoons, the Amazon rain forest and polar sea ice -- all significant environmental systems that control and regulate the climate of the entire planet -- could each serve as the site of an environmental tipping point as global temperatures rise, according to this article. Scientists are unable to predict the consequences of tipping-element changes to the Bodélé Depression in Chad or the Gulf Stream in the Atlantic Ocean, though changes to these systems have already been recorded. <a href="http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/tOhQmBisnBoXzPCibGlfBVjJnZ?format=standard" target="_blank">Wired.com/Wired Science blog</a></span> </div>
</div>AgriWizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286532512476150874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10720073.post-89730621781729533942011-01-27T02:50:00.000-08:002011-01-27T02:50:12.071-08:00United Nations Major Group on Children & Youth- UNCSD Youth Caucus<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: small;">UN-CSD</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>The United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD)</b> was established by the UN General Assembly in December 1992 to ensure effective follow-up of United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the Earth Summit.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">The Commission is responsible for reviewing progress in the implementation of Agenda 21 and the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development; as well as providing policy guidance to follow up the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPOI) at the local, national, regional and international levels. The JPOI reaffirmed that the CSD is the high-level forum for sustainable development within the United Nations system.<br />The CSD meets annually in New York, in two-year cycles, with each cycle focusing on clusters of specific thematic and cross-sectoral issues, outlined in its new multi-year programme of work (2003-2017) . The cycles alternate a review year to a policy year.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">The CSD has opened its sessions to broad participation from both governmental and non-governmental actors, and it supports a number of innovative activities, such as the Partnerships Fair, the Learning Centre and a series of panels, roundtables and side events. The High-level segment features dialogue among Ministers, and Ministers also hold a special dialogue session with Major Groups. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">As a functional commission of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), CSD has 53 member States (about one third of the members are elected on a yearly basis). Each session of the CSD elects a Bureau, comprised of a Chair and four vice-Chairs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Who can participate?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">• <b>Members States</b><br />Members of the Commission on Sustainable Development (the 53 members elected for terms of office of three years). For CSD-16 these include Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Canada, China, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, France, Gambia, Germany, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Israel, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, South Africa, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Thailand, Tunisia, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United Republic of Tanzania, United States of America Zambia, Zimbabwe</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">• <b>Non-CSD members</b>, participating as observers (no voting right nor possibility to serve on CSD Bureau) United Nations specialized agencies or related organisations;</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">• <b>UN Funds and Programmes</b> (ILO, FAO, UNESCO, ICAO, WHO, World Bank, IMF, UPU, ITU, WMO IMO, WIPO, IFAD, UNIDO, WTO (World Tourism Organization), IAEA, and WTO (World Trade Organization)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">• <b>Regional Commissions</b> (ECA, ECE, ECLAC, ESCAP and ESCWA)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">• <b>Other accredited intergovernmental organisations</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">• <b>Accredited Non-governmental organizations</b> (NGOs):<br />NGOs and other major group organizations (as defined by Agenda 21, these are women, children and youth, indigenous people, non-governmental organizations, local authorities, workers and trade unions, business and industry, scientific and technological communities, and farmers), wishing to participate in official meetings of the CSD must be accredited to the UN (either by being in consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC, or listed in the CSD Roster). </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">The United Nations Major Group on Children & Youth (aka Youth Caucus) depends on the input, action, and voice of every youth who is passionate on improving our world.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">India has 16 per cent of the world's populations and produces less than 5 per cent of the word's greenhouse gases, China has 17 per cent of the world's population and produces 23 per cent of the world's greenhouse gases, and the United States has 5 per cent of the world's population, but produces 22 per cent of the world's greenhouse gases. </span></div>
</div>AgriWizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286532512476150874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10720073.post-51665086919421377832011-01-27T02:49:00.000-08:002011-01-27T02:49:10.811-08:00Norman Borlaug : ‘Father of the Green Revolution’<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Few people have quietly changed the world for the better more than this rural lad from the mid-western state of Iowa in the United States. The man in focus is Norman Borlaug, the Father of the ‘Green Revolution’, who died on Saturday, (September 12, 2009) at age 95. Norman Borlaug spent most of his 60 working years in the farmlands of Mexico, South Asia and later in Africa, fighting world hunger, and saving by some estimates up to a billion lives in the process. An achievement, fit for a Nobel Peace Prize. </div>
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“I am a product of the great depression” is how Borlaug described himself. A great-grandson of Norwegian immigrants to the United States, Borlaug, was born in 1914 and grew up on a small farm in the northeastern corner of Iowa in a town called Cresco. His family had a 40 hectare farm on which they grew corn, oats, maize and hay and raised pigs and cattle. Norman spent most of his time from age 7–17 on the farm, even as he attended a one room, one teacher school at New Oregon in Howard country. </div>
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Borlaug didn’t have money to go to college. But through a Great Depression era <span class="SpellE">programme</span>, known as the National Youth Administration, Borlaug was able to enroll in the University of Minnesota at Minneapolis to study forestry. He excelled in studies and received his <span class="SpellE">Ph.D</span> in plant pathology and genetics in 1942. </div>
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From 1942 to 1944, Borlaug was employed as a microbiologist at DuPont in Wilmington. However, following the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, Borlaug tried to enlist in the military, but was rejected under wartime <span class="SpellE">labour</span> regulations. </div>
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In 1944, many experts warned of mass starvation in developing nations where populations were expanding faster than crop production. Borlaug began work at a Rockefeller Foundation-funded project in Mexico to increase wheat production by developing higher-yielding varieties of the crop. It involved research in genetics, plant breeding, plant pathology, entomology, agronomy, soil science, and cereal technology. The goal of the project was to boost wheat production in Mexico, which at the time was importing a large portion of its grain.</div>
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Borlaug said that his first couple of years <span class="GramE">in Mexico</span> were difficult. He lacked trained scientists and equipment. Native farmers were hostile towards the wheat <span class="SpellE">programme</span> because of serious crop losses from 1939 to 1941 due to stem rust.</div>
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Wheat varieties that Borlaug worked with had tall, thin stalks. While taller wheat competed better for sunlight, they had a tendency to collapse under the weight of extra grain–a trait called lodging. To overcome this, Borlaug worked on breeding wheat with shorter and stronger <span class="GramE">stalks, that</span> could hold on larger seed heads. Borlaug’s new semi-dwarf, disease-resistant varieties, called <span class="SpellE">Pitic</span> 62 and <span class="SpellE">Penjamo</span> 62, changed the potential yield of Mexican wheat dramatically. By 1963 wheat production in Mexico stood six times more than that of 1944. </div>
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During 1960s, South Asia experienced severe drought condition and India had been importing wheat on a large scale from the United States. Borlaug came to India in 1963 along with <span class="SpellE">Dr.Robert</span> Glenn Anderson to replicate his Mexican success in the sub-continent. The experiments began with planting of few of the high yielding variety strains in the fields of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute at <span class="SpellE">Pusa</span> in New Delhi, under the stewardship of Dr. M S <span class="SpellE">Swaminathan</span>. These strains were subsequently planted in test plots at Ludhiana, <span class="SpellE">Pantnagar</span>, Kanpur, <span class="SpellE">Pune</span> and Indore. The results were promising, but large scale success, however was not instant. Cultural opposition to new agricultural techniques initially prevented Borlaug from going ahead with planting of new wheat strains in India. By 1965, when the drought situation turned alarming, the Government took the lead and allowed wheat revolution to move forward. By employing agricultural techniques he developed in Mexico, Borlaug was able to nearly double South Asian wheat harvests between 1965 and 1970. </div>
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India subsequently made a huge commitment to Mexican wheat, importing some 18,000 <span class="SpellE">tonnes</span> of seed. By 1968, it was clear that the Indian wheat harvest was nothing short of revolutionary. It was so prolific that there was a shortage of <span class="SpellE">labour</span> to harvest it, of bullock carts to haul it to the threshing floor, of jute bags, to store it. Local governments in some areas were forced to shut down schools temporarily to use them as store houses. </div>
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United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) observed that in 40 years between 1961 and 2001, “India more than doubled its population, from 452 million to more than 1 billion. At the same time, it nearly tripled its grain production from 87 million <span class="SpellE">tonnes</span> to 231 million <span class="SpellE">tonnes</span>. It accomplished this feat while increasing cultivated grain acreage a scant 8 percent.” It was in India that Norman Borlaug’s work was described as the ‘Green Revolution.’</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I<i>n Africa</i> </span></h1>
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Africa suffered wide spread hunger and starvation through 70s and 80s. Food and aid poured in from most developed countries into the continent, but thanks to the absence of efficient distribution system, the hungry remained empty stomach. The then Chairman of the Nippon Foundation, Ryoichi <span class="SpellE">Sasakawa</span> wondered why the methods used in Mexico and India were not extended to Africa. He called up Norman Borlaug, now leading a semi-retired life for help. He managed to convince Borlaug to help with his new effort and subsequently founded the <span class="SpellE">Sasakawa</span> Africa Association. Borlaug later recalled, “<span class="GramE">but</span> after I saw the terrible circumstances there, I said, ‘Let’s just start <span class="SpellE">growin</span>`”</div>
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The success in Africa was not as spectacular as it was in India or Mexico. Those elements that allowed Borlaug’s projects to succeed, such as well-organized economies and transportation and irrigation systems, were severely lacking throughout Africa. Because of this, Borlaug’s initial projects were restricted to developed regions of the continent. Nevertheless, yields of maize, sorghum and wheat doubled between 1983 and 1985.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: small;">Nobel Prize</span></b></h2>
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For his contributions to the world food supply, Borlaug was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970. Norwegian officials notified his wife in Mexico City at 4:00 a.m., but Borlaug had already left for the test fields in the Toluca valley, about 65 <span class="SpellE">kms</span> west of Mexico City. A chauffeur took her to the fields to inform her husband. In his acceptance speech, Borlaug said “the first essential component of social justice is adequate food for all mankind. Food is the moral right of all who are born into this world. Yet, 50 per cent of the world population goes hungry.”</div>
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Borlaug’s advocacy of <span class="GramE">intensive high</span>-yield agriculture came under severe criticism from environmentalists in recent years. His work faced environmental and socio-economic criticisms, including charges that his methods have created dependence on monoculture crops, unsustainable farming practices, heavy indebtedness among subsistence farmers, and high levels of cancer among those who work with agriculture chemicals. There are also concerns about the long-term sustainability of farming practices encouraged by the Green Revolution in both the developed and the developing world</div>
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In India, the Green Revolution is blamed for the destruction of Indian crop diversity, drought vulnerability, dependence on agro-chemicals that poison soils but reap large-scale benefits mostly to the American multi-national corporations. What these critics overwhelmingly advocate is a global movement towards “organic” or “sustainable” farming practices that eschew chemicals and high technology in <span class="SpellE">favour</span> of natural fertilizers, cultivation and pest-control programmes. </div>
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But Borlaug and those who followed his lead argue that older methods of sustainable farming or for that matter, organic farming, cannot produce enough food to prevent hunger in poorer regions of the world. </div>
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Of environmental lobbyists Borlaug once <span class="GramE">said “</span>Most of the environmental lobbyists of the Western nations are elitists. They’ve never experienced the physical sensation of hunger. They do their lobbying from comfortable office suites in Washington or Brussels.”</div>
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On the sustainability of organic farming, Borlaug argues that the world consumes some 82 million metric tons of chemical fertilizer per annum to supply the nitrogen crucial to plant development. Replacing these nitrogen inputs would require some 3 billion tons of cattle manure. This means to produce the required amount of organic manure, the cattle population needs to increase six times to 800-900 crore heads from the current 134 crore cattle heads. Now imagine the destruction of vast swaths of wilderness to make room for grazing land.” </div>
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Borlaug was also an enthusiastic proponent of biotechnology. He believed biotech will be <span class="GramE">key</span> in meeting the enormous demands that will strain the globe in the next 30 years. He says global food production will have to nearly double to keep pace with the projected population of 10 billion people by 2050. While biotech has yet to improve yields by any appreciable level, it shows promise in alleviating global malnourishment through the engineering of vitamin-and mineral-enhancing characteristics into cereal crops.</div>
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Despite his yeomen service to the humanity, Borlaug largely remained an un-appreciated American. The reasons for this are not difficult to understand. The beneficiaries of his innovations and energies are primarily the people from Third World countries. Desperate hunger is an alien affliction in the United States, where malnourishment is more likely to result in obesity than flattened bellies. India though, did not forget to repay its tribute, by releasing a postage stamp in the <span class="SpellE">honour</span> of the ‘Father of the Green Revolution’, way back in 1968. </div>
</div>AgriWizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286532512476150874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10720073.post-86514412501084268522009-09-19T04:53:00.003-07:002009-09-19T04:54:26.671-07:00Mindset needed for Mass Transit System<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://orangehues.com/blogstuff/60-ppl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="305" src="http://orangehues.com/blogstuff/60-ppl.jpg" width="420" /></a><br />
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</div>AgriWizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286532512476150874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10720073.post-38005463964646187332009-08-09T14:07:00.001-07:002009-08-09T14:10:17.526-07:00“I Prefer To Fight Today’s Battles”An Interview with Nobel laureate Dr. Amartya Sen<br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:78%;" ><a href="http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?261171">More>>>></a></span><br /></div>AgriWizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286532512476150874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10720073.post-51245825377824819652009-08-09T13:12:00.000-07:002009-08-09T13:14:07.956-07:00Growth can’t happen with empty belly: Sen<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >India cannot march to development and economic prosperity with “empty stomach”, especially when 40 per cent of children are born underweight, said Nobel laureate Amartya Sen.<br /><a href="http://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20090809/main2.htm"><span style="font-size:78%;"><br /></span></a></span><div style="text-align: right; font-family: trebuchet ms;"><a href="http://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20090809/main2.htm"><span style="font-size:78%;">More>>>></span></a><br /></div>AgriWizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286532512476150874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10720073.post-15488457581962994062009-07-29T21:25:00.002-07:002009-07-29T21:50:56.678-07:00Agriculture: Unsustainable Resource Depletion Began 10,000 Years AgoAgriculture: Unsustainable Resource Depletion Began 10,000 Years Ago<br /><br />This is a very long, but brilliantly well researched essay by Peter Salonius, taken from The Oil Drum. The basic premise is that we stopped being sustainable thousands of years ago (this is the general feeling of most anti-civ writers working today) and that without phenomenal population reductions in tandem with a complete cultural change [...] Read more »<br /><br /><a href="http://www.endgame.org.uk/2009/06/agriculture-unsustainable-resource-depletion-began-10000-years-ago/">Read Full Post</a> »<br /><br /><div class="post" id="post-751"> <div class="posttitle"> <h2><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://www.endgame.org.uk/2009/06/industrial-farming-endangers-world-food-supply-and-creates-deserts-etc/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Industrial Farming Endangers World Food Supply (and creates deserts etc)">Industrial Farming Endangers World Food Supply (and creates deserts etc)</a></span></h2> </div> <div class="entry"> <p>Two recent treehugger articles, discussing 7 Low-Cost, Low-Emissions Foods and the water footprint of your food reinforce the myth that to simply change the actual items that we buy, without considering where they come from and how they are grown, is enough of a change to slow the human impact on the planet and other [...] <a href="http://www.endgame.org.uk/?p=751" class="more-link">Read more »</a></p> <p><a href="http://www.endgame.org.uk/2009/06/industrial-farming-endangers-world-food-supply-and-creates-deserts-etc/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Industrial Farming Endangers World Food Supply (and creates deserts etc)">Read Full Post »</a></p> </div> </div>AgriWizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286532512476150874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10720073.post-62981163823982591302009-03-31T20:30:00.002-07:002009-06-02T05:44:55.932-07:00Green Revolution with a Capital G is Needed to Feed the WorldCutting Food Losses from Farm to Kitchen and Converting Wastes into Animal Feeds a Key Opportunity<br /><br />Nairobi- A seven point plan to reduce the risk of hunger and rising food insecurity in the 21st century is outlined in new report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).<br /><br />Changing the ways in which food is produced, handled and disposed of across the globe- from farm to store and from fridge to landfill - can both feed the world's rising population and help the environmental services that are the foundation of agricultural productivity in the first place.<br /><br />Unless more intelligent and creative management is brought to the world's agricultural systems, the 2008 food crisis - which plunged millions back into hunger - may foreshadow an even bigger crisis in the years to come, says the rapid assessment study.<br /><br />The report, entitled 'The Environmental Food crises: Environment's role in averting future food crises', has been compiled by a wide group of experts from both within and outside UNEP. It supports UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's task force on the world food crisis.<br /><br />Major findings:<br /><br />- The one hundred year trend of falling food prices may be at an end, and food prices may increase by 30-50 per cent within decades with critical impacts for those living in extreme poverty spending up to 90 per cent of their income on food. These findings are supported by a recent report from the World Bank stating that if agricultural production is depressed further, food prices may rise.<br /><br />- Up to 25 per cent of the worlds food production may become lost due to 'environmental breakdowns' by 2050 unless action is taken. Already, cereal yields have stagnated worldwide and fish landings are declining.<br /><br />- Today, over one third of the world's cereals are being used as animal feed, rising to 50 per cent by 2050. Continuing to feed cereals to growing numbers of livestock will aggravate poverty and environmental degradation.<br /><br />- The report instead suggests that recycling food wastes and deploying new technologies, aimed at producing biofuels, to produce sugars from discards such as straw and even nutshells could be a key environmentally-friendly alternative to increased use of cereals for livestock.<br /><br />- The amount of fish currently discarded at sea - estimated at 30 million tonnes annually - could alone sustain more than a 50 per cent increase in fish farming and aquaculture production, which is needed to maintain per capita fish consumption at current levels by 2050 without increasing pressure on an already stressed marine environment.<br /><br />The report shows that many of the factors blamed for the current food crisis - drought, biofuels, high oil prices, low grain stocks and especially speculation in food stocks may worsen substantially in the coming decades.<br /><br />Climate change emerges as one of the key factors that may undermine the chances of feeding over nine billion people by 2050. Increasing water scarcities and a rise and spread of invasive pests such as insects, diseases and weeds - may substantially depress yields in the future.<br /><br />This underlines yet another reason why governments at the UN climate convention meeting in Copenhagen in some 300 days' time must agreed a deep and decisive new global deal.<br /><br />Other actions under the seven point plan include:<br /><br />- Re-organizing the food market infrastructure to regulate prices and generate food safety nets for those at risk backed by a global, micro-financing fund to boost small-scale farmer productivity in developing countries.<br /><br />- Removal of agricultural subsidies and the promotion of second generation biofuels based on wastes rather than on primary crops - this could reduce pressure on fertile lands and critical ecosystems such as forests.<br /><br />Medium to long term measures include managing and better harvesting extreme rainfall on Continents such as Africa, alongside support to farmers for adopting more diversified and ecologically-friendly farming systems - ones that enhance the 'nature-based' inputs from pollinators such as bees as well as water supplies and genetic diversity.<br /><br />A recent report by UNEP and the UN Conference on Trade and Development surveyed 114 small-scale farms in 24 African countries, publishing our findings in late 2008.<br /><br />- Yields had more than doubled where organic, or near-organic practices had been used, with the in yield jumping to 128 per cent in east Africa.<br /><br />- The study found that organic practices outperformed traditional methods and chemical-intensive conventional farming and also found strong environmental benefits such as improved soil fertility, better retention of water and resistance to drought.<br /><br />The research also highlighted the role that adapting organic practices could have in improving local education and community cooperation.<br /><br />A report launched by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in April 2007 also highlighted the key role of ecosystems in food production. The Rapid Food Assessment also follows the IAASTD report on sustainable agricultural production, which was co-produced by UNEP in 2008.<br /><br />Only last week UNCTAD reported that, despite the economic crisis, organic agriculture would continue to grow, representing an opportunity for developing country farmers including those in Africa.<br /><br />It estimated that sales of certified organic produce could reach close to $70 billion in 2012, up from $23 billion in 2002.<br /><br />"We need a Green revolution in a Green Economy but one with a capital G", says UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner. "We need to deal with not only the way the world produces food but the way it is distributed, sold and consumed, and we need a revolution that can boost yields by working with rather than against nature."<br /><br />He said the report also shone a light on perhaps one of the least discussed areas - food waste, from the farm and the seas to the supermarket and the kitchen.<br /><br />"Over half of the food produced today is either lost, wasted or discarded as a result of inefficiency in the human-managed food chain. There is evidence within the report that the world could feed the entire projected population growth alone by becoming more efficient while also ensuring the survival of wild animals, birds and fish on this planet," he added.<br /><br />- Losses and food waste in the United States could be as high as 40-50 per cent, according to some recent estimates. Up to one quarter of all fresh fruits and vegetables in the US is lost between the field and the table.<br /><br />- In Australia it is estimated that food waste makes up half of that country's landfill. Almost one-third of all food purchased in the United Kingdom every year is not eaten.<br /><br />- Food losses in the developing world are also considerable, mainly due to spoilage and pests. For instance, in Africa, the total amount of fish lost through discards, post-harvest loss and spoilage may be around 30 per cent of landings.<br /><br />- Food losses in the field between planting and harvesting could be as high as 20-40 per cent of the potential harvest in developing countries due to factors such as pests and pathogens.<br /><br />This underlines the need for greater agricultural research and development which in Africa amounts to just 13 per cent of global investment, versus over 33 per cent in Latin America and over 40 per cent in Asia.<br /><br />Innovative solutions are also required. A case in point is Niger where an estimated 60 per cent of the national onion crop, or some 3,000 tonnes a year, can be lost. The losses also lead to emissions of the greenhouse gas methane as the vegetables rot. Experts are looking at using solar dryers and other systems to preserve the onions so they do not rot in storage or on the way to market.<br /><br />Environmental degradation poses a major risk to food production. For instance:<br /><br />- The melting and disappearing glaciers of the mighty Himalayas, linked to climate change, supply water for irrigation for near half of Asia's cereal production or a quarter of the world production.<br /><br />- Globally, water scarcity may reduce crop yields by up to 12 per cent. Climate change may also accelerate invasive pests of insects, diseases and weeds, reducing yields by an additional 2-6 per cent worldwide.<br /><br />- Continuing land degradation, particularly in Africa, may reduce yields by another 1-8 per cent. Croplands may be swallowed up by urban sprawl, biofuels, cotton and land degradation by 8-20 per cent by 2050, and yields may become depressed by 5-25 per cent due to pests, water scarcity and land degradation.<br /><br />- In Sub-Saharan Africa, population growth is projected to increase from the current 770 million to over 1.7 billion in less than 40 years, while also being the Continent on the front-line in terms of climate change, land degradation, water scarcity - and conflicts. Unless a major economic, agricultural and investment boom takes place, the situation may become very serious indeed.<br /><br />- Increased use of artificial fertilizers, pesticides, increased water use and cutting down of forests will result in massive decline in biodiversity.<br /><br />Already, nearly 80 per cent of all endangered species are threatened due to agricultural expansion, and Europe has lost over 50 per cent of its farmland birds during the last 25 years of intensification of European farmlands.<br /><br />"Simply ratcheting up the fertilizer and pesticide-led production methods of the 20th Century is unlikely to address the challenge", says Achim Steiner. "It will increasingly undermine the critical natural inputs and nature-based services for agriculture such as healthy and productive soils, the water and nutrient recycling of forests, and pollinators such as bees and bats."<br /><br />-------<br />The report 'The environmental food crisis: Environments role in averting future food crises' can be accessed at at www.unep.org or at www.grida.no including high and low resolution graphics for free use in publications.<br /><br />The report is released during the 25th session of the UNEP Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum taking place in Nairobi, Kenya from 16-20 February. The meeting's main focus is on finding solutions to the current environmental, financial, food and energy crisis through the emerging concept of Green Economy.<br />More information can be found online at: www.unep.org/gc/gc25AgriWizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286532512476150874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10720073.post-56284099199184357292009-01-20T16:29:00.005-08:002009-01-20T16:44:00.715-08:00The Change in America<script src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/js/2.0/video/evp/module.js?loc=dom&vid=/video/politics/2009/01/20/obama.inauguration.speech.cnn" type="text/javascript"></script><noscript>Embedded video from <a href="http://www.cnn.com/video">CNN Video</a></noscript><br /><p> </p><p>Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States and the nation's first African-American president Tuesday. This is a transcript of his prepared speech.</p><p align="justify">My fellow citizens:<br />I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.<br />Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often, the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebearers, and true to our founding documents.<br />So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.<br />That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.</p><p>These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land -- a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.</p><p>Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America: They will be met.<br />On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.<br />On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.<br />We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.<br />In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the fainthearted -- for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things -- some celebrated, but more often men and women obscure in their labor -- who have carried us up the long, rugged path toward prosperity and freedom.<br />For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.<br />For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.</p><p>For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.<br />Time and again, these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.<br />This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions -- that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.<br />For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act -- not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.<br />Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions -- who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.<br />What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them -- that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works -- whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account -- to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day -- because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.<br />Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control -- and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart -- not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.<br />As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: Know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.<br />Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.<br />We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort -- even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.<br />For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.<br />To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West: Know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.<br />To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.<br />As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment -- a moment that will define a generation -- it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.<br />For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.<br />Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends -- hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism -- these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility -- a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world; duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.<br />This is the price and the promise of citizenship.<br />This is the source of our confidence -- the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.<br />This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed -- why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent Mall, and why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.<br />So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:</p><p>"Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive... that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."<br />America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested, we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back, nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.</p>AgriWizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286532512476150874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10720073.post-52567535281484034972008-10-03T07:59:00.001-07:002008-11-11T07:30:30.567-08:00Peace-The way Forward<div align="center"><strong>Youth for PEACE-The Peaceniks</strong></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:0;"><strong><i><span style="font-size:100%;">We Choose hope as it is the only way forward...</span></i></strong><br /></span></div><div align="left">#§ Asia holds a unique place on this planet because it is home to many cultures, religions & languages, it is cradle of world's important Civilizations & scientific discovery has coexisted.<br />So let's extend our vision for building PEACE & harmony by-<br />~ Planting one tree or ornamental plant,<br />~ Donating a unit of blood,<br />~ Endeavor to help somebody from other religion or faith.'<br /><div align="center">-----xxxx----------xxx-----</div><a href="http://www.un.org/events/nonviolence/"><span style="font-size:0;"><em><div align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;">International Day of Non-violence</span></em></span></a></div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=24128&Cr=non&Cr1=violence">Gandhi’s message of non-violence needed now more than ever – Ban Ki-moon<br /></a><strong><em><a href="http://www.wcrp.org/news/statements/youthsingapore07"><span style="color:#993300;">Statement of Asian youth leaders for Peace</span></a></em></strong><br /><strong><a href="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/202/474023992_18cb9bfbdb.jpg?v=0"><em><span style="color:#6600cc;">Pictorial Message of PEACE in 21 different languages</span></em></a><br /></strong><span style="color:#666600;"><a href="http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/9356/wordsof.htm"><u>"</u>Expression of PEACE" in different languages :</a><br /></span><i>HOW TO SAY PEACE IN 145 WAYS!!!</i> </div></div><p align="center"><strong>Peace,</strong> <i><span style="font-size:0;"><span style="font-size:100%;">English</span><br /></span></i>Fridden, <i>Luxemburgish</i><br />Der Frieden, <i>German</i><br />La Paix, <i>French</i><br />Achukma, <i>Choctaw</i><br /><strong>Mír</strong> <i>{Bosnian, Bulgarian,<br />Byelorussian, Croatian,<br />Czech, Russian, Serbian,</i><br />Slovene, Ukrainian}<br /><strong>Shalom</strong>, <i>Hebrew</i><br /><strong>Heiwa</strong>,<i> Japanese</i><br /><strong>Salam</strong>, <i>Arabic</i><br />La Paz, Spanish<br />La Pace Italian, Romanian<br /><br />A Paz Galician, Portuguese<br />Alaáfía, Yoruba<br /><strong>Amaithi</strong>, <i>Tamil</i><br /><strong>Aman-Shanti</strong>, Punjabi<br />Amaní, Swahili<br /><strong>Aman Malay</strong>, Urdu<br />Amniat, <i>Pashto</i><br />Ashtee, <i>Farsi</i><br />Asomdwee, Twi-Akan<br />Aylobaha, Gafuleya Chontal<br />Bake, Basque<br /><strong>Barish</strong>, <i>Turkish</i><br />Béke, Hungarian<br />Boóto, Mongo-Nkundu<br />Búdech, Palauan<br />Chibanda, Ila<br />Däilama, Sa'a<br />Damai, Indonesian<br />Diakatra, Maranao<br />Dodolimdag, Papago/Pima<br />eace-pay, Pig Latin<br />Echnahcaton, Munsterian<br />Ets'a'an Olal, Maya<br />'Éyewi Nez, Perce<br />Fandriampahalemana, Malgache<br />Filemu, Samoan<br />Fois Scots, Gaelic<br />Fred Danish, Norwegian, Swedish<br />Friður ,Icelandic<br />Goom-jigi, Buli<br />Gúnnammwey, Carolinian<br />Hasîtî, Kurdish<br />Hau, Tahitian<br />Hedd, Welsh<br />Hmethó, Otomi<br />Hoa Bình, <i>Vietnamese</i><br />Ilifayka, Koasati<br />Innaihtsi'iyi, Blackfoot<br />Iri'ni, Greek<br />Írq, Amharic<br />Ittimokla, Alabama<br />Kagiso, Setswana<br />Kalilíntad, Magindanaon<br />Kapayapaan, Tagalog Filipino<br />K'é, Navajo<br />Kev Thajyeeb Nyab Xeeb Hmong Daw<br />Khanhaghutyun, Armenian<br />Khotso, Sesotho<br /><strong>Kiñuiñak</strong>, <i>Northwest Alaska Inupiat Inuktitut</i><br />Kiba-kiba, Rapanui<br />Kunammwey, Chuuk<br />Kupia Kumi Laka Miskito<br />Kutula, Fanagolo<br />'Kwam, Sa Lao<br />La Paqe, Albanian<br />La Patz, Aranés<br />La Pau, Catalán<br />Lapé Haitian, Creole<br />Layéni, Zapoteco<br />Li-k'ei, Tlingit<br />Linew, Manobo<br />Lùmana, Hausa<br />Mabuhay, Tagalog<br />Maluhia, Hawaiian<br />Meleilei, Ponapean<br />Melino, Tonga<br />Miers, Latvian<br />Mina, Wintu<br />Mtendere Chewa, Nyanja<br />Muka-muka, Ekari<br />Musango, Duala<br />Mutenden, Bemba<br />Nabad -Da, Somali<br />Nanna Ayya Chickasaw<br />Ñerane'i, Guaraní<br />Nimuhóre, Ruanda<br /><strong>Nirudho</strong>, Pali<br />Nye, Ntomba<br />Olakamigenoka, Abenaqui<br />Paçi, Maltese<br />Paco, Esperanto<br />Pax, Latin<br /><strong><em>Pingan</em></strong>, Chinese<br />Pokój , Polish, Slovak<br />Pyong'hwa, Korean<br />Rahu, Estonian<br />Rangima'arie, Maori<br />Rauha, Finnish<br />Rerdamaian, Indonesian<br />Rukun, Javanese<br /><strong><em>Saanti</em></strong>, Nepali<br />Sai Gaai Òh Pìhng Yue<br />Santipap, Thai<br />Saq, Uighur<br />Shîte, Tibetan<br /><strong>Shanti</strong> <i>{Bengali, Gujarati,<br />Hindi, Kannada, Telugu}</i><br />Sholim, <i>Yiddish</i><br />Síocháin, <i>Irish</i><br />Sìth, Gaelic<br />Soksang, Khmer<br />Solh Dari, Persian<br />Sonqo, Tiaykuy Quechua<br />Sulh, Turkish<br />Taika, Lithuainian<br />Tecócatú ,Nhengatu<br />Thayu, Gikuyu<br />Tsumukikatu, Comanche<br />Tuktuquil, Usilal Kékchí<br />Tutkiun, North Alaska Inuktitut<br />Udo, Igbo<br />Ukuthula, Zulu<br />Uvchin, Mapudungun<br />Uxolo, Xhosa<br />Vrede Afrikaans, Dutch<br />Wâki Ijiwebis-I, Algonquin<br />Wetaskiwin, Cree<br />Wolakota, <i>Lakhota</i><br />Wôntôkóde, <i>Micmac</i><br />Wo'okeyeh, <i>Sioux</i></p><p align="center"><span style="font-size:0;"><span style="font-size:0;">*********</span></p></span>AgriWizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286532512476150874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10720073.post-3013351057542401192008-10-03T07:52:00.000-07:002008-10-03T07:55:29.484-07:00Your state of mind creates the state of your results<p>Your attitude determines the state of world you live in. </p><p>Attitude creates the way you feel about goals, performance, people and situations. Your actions are a result of your attitude, which, in turn, creates a reaction from others. So, basically, what you think ... you get. Incorporate a positive, joyful attitude and you'll have positive, joyful results. Put out a bad, negative attitude and you've failed before you begin. </p><p>Where do negative attitude come form in first place ?<br />Negative attitudes come from thinking negative thoughts over and over until they have become a part of your subconscious – they've become habitual, a part of your personality. You may not even realize you have a negative attitude because it's been with you for so long. Once you have a bad attitude, you expect failure and disaster. This expectation turns you into a strong magnet for failure and disaster. Then it becomes a vicious circle. You expect the worst - you get the worst.<br /><br />So how we shift our thoughts and create a positive attitude ?<br />It takes work, but creating anything of value takes work. In order to have a new attitude we have to change our subconscious thinking. How do we do this? By analyzing every thought we have until positive thinking becomes habit. You're merely replacing an old habit with a healthy habit, much like replacing exercise for smoking ? ….It's certainly difficult for those who think it's difficult. Don't allow your bad habits become more stronger than your will power. </p><p>Some people would say, "But negative situations are a reality. They just show up in everyday life." This is absolutely not true. Situations are a reality, yes. They do show up. It is your attitude that makes a situation positive or negative. Understand, that YOU are in control of how you think and feel – no one else on earth has this power unless you give it away. </p><p><strong>Take control of your attitude, and you take control of your results.</strong> </p>AgriWizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286532512476150874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10720073.post-67650489764238063722007-09-30T04:31:00.000-07:002008-01-04T08:29:31.765-08:00Wishes-- the infinite thoughts~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br />Hamari hasti hi kya ae Khalik, hum taun khaak hain is jahan ki.<br />Dua karte hain ki acha karte rahein,<br />aapne erd gird aur logon ke kaam aate rahen,<br />zameen se hamesha judey rahein.<br />Jahan bhi rahen doston aur kaum ka saath rahein<br /><em></em><br /><em>English Translation<strong>:</strong></em><br /><br />Oh the creator I am just a small being in this world<br /><br />& wish you give me strength to do good and help others in life<br /><br />and be humble & simple ever............<br /><br />Wish for PEACE & global harmony..........AgriWizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286532512476150874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10720073.post-77437265454900670102007-09-16T13:47:00.000-07:002008-05-01T06:11:36.449-07:00Agri Buzz<ul><li><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071018/sc_afp/nobelpeacejapanindiaclimate_071018185604"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Climate change threatens world peace: Pachauri </span></a></li><li><a href="http://www.devalt.org/newsletter/sep07/of_3.htm"><strong><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Climate Change: Impact on Indian Agriculture</span></strong></a></li><li><a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2e5b2f36-1608-11dd-880a-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Food crisis is a chance to reform global agriculture</span></a></li><li><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Planet ARK- </span><a href="http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/48148/story.htm"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Poor Children Main Victims Of Climate Change – UN </span></a></li><li><a href="http://www.devalt.org/newsletter/sep07/lead.htm"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Tackling Climate Change: Our Collective Way Forward</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> </span></li><li><a href="http://www.indiatogether.org/2007/apr/agr-stemrust.htm" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Fungus threat to Indian wheat advancing </span></a></li><li><a href="http://www.indiatogether.org/2007/feb/agr-btfailing.htm" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">THE BOLLWORM RETURNS: Is Bt-based resistance collapsing?</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> </span></li><li><a href="http://www.indiatogether.org/2006/aug/agr-btnomics.htm" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">LENS ON BT COTTON Bt: Flaky results, pre-determined consensus</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> </span></li><li><a href="http://www.indiatogether.org/2007/feb/agr-contract.htm" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">CONTRACT FARMING - New terms of harvest</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> </span></li><li><a href="http://www.indiatogether.org/poverty/foodsec.htm" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">HUNGER AND FOOD SECURITY</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> </span></li><li><a href="http://www.indiatogether.org/2007/aug/rvw-freshh20.htm" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Fresh water scarcity demands fresh ideas</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> </span></li><li><a href="http://www.indiatogether.org/2007/jul/agr-btvidarb.htm" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Bt-ing the farmers!</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> </span></li><li><a href="http://www.righttofoodindia.org/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Right to Food Campaign</span></a></li></ul>AgriWizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286532512476150874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10720073.post-12292422789561490002007-09-16T11:26:00.000-07:002007-09-16T15:20:47.367-07:00TravelougeMy journey for PEACE & Goodwill................<br /><br />The travelouge for PEACE began with journey to Hiroshima in Agugust 2005 and still continues and added another feather as I attended the Asian Youth Assembly of the World Conference of Religions for Peace<br /><br />It all began this year with the receipt of formal invitation to the summit in August 2007, required meticulous planning for completing the travel and visa formalities. It was virtually run around to look for the cheapest available airline that will comfortably fly me to Singapore where the assembly was slated to be held from 4th- 7th September 2007.<br /><br />Well all this was completed in-time and I got an oppurtunity to set out of India for the second time in my life. This time the destination was SINGAPORE, the small island nation. The journey was smooth and relatively uneventful except time taken at the immigration counter at the airport due to long queues.<br /><br />As I came out of airport I was joined by other members of the Indian delegation who had travelled by other flights and delegates from Japan, Phillipines, Thailand some of whom were my old friends from the last meeting in Japan. It was nice to meet theme again.<br /><br />The participants were recieved at the Singapore Changi International Airport in a very traditional manner and transported in a special luxary bus to the Royal Copthorne Hotel for the stay. The hospitality was par-excellence and there was enthusiam and exuberence in the air.<br /><br />At the summit the Asian youth leaders forged an alternative to religious extremism and the violent abuse of religion. The event brought together youth representatives of major pan-Asian religious organizations and religious youth leaders from across 18 countries delibrated on the theme "CHOOSING HOPE. TAKING ACTION".<br /><br />I have been unanimously elected to be part of the Asian Youth Committee of the WORLD CONFERENCE OF RELIGIONS FOR PEACE in the recently held Asian Youth Assembly of World Conference of Religions for Peace in Singapore. I represented the SIKH youth and have been assigned the task to take care of commincation web & will be Co-chairman of Communications team. <a href="http://www.wcrp.com.sg"target="_blank">The snapshot of assembly....</a><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/buzzpreeti/Singapore"target="_blank">~ Picture Gallery #</a><br /><br />I had a chance to meet Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports and Second Minister for Information, Communications and Arts, Government of Singapore. Dr. Balakrishnan asked me about the holy city of Amritsar and his wish to visit the city in near future. I apprised him about the direct flight from Singapore to Amritsar. He was also told about the turban issue and I personally requested for his kind support and got positive reply.<a href="https://app.mcys.gov.sg/web/corp_speech_story.asp?szMod=corp&szSubMod=speech&qid=4282"target="_blank"><br />Minister's Address to the gathering at the opening of the summit.</a><br /><br />I am associated with the "<a href="http://www.unitedsikhs.org"target="_blank">UNITED SIKHS</a>" an International Human development NGO, as Youth, Inter-faith & Community Development Associate since 2004. I had earlier attended the Ist Global Youth Assembly of World Conference of Religions for Peace held in Hiroshima (Japan) in August 2006. I had earlier also attended the Earth Charter EC+5 summit held in Amsterdam (Netherlands) in Nov, 2005 and am member of Core Group at the Earth Charter Youth Initiative and Youth Forum at the World Summit for Sustainable Development.<br /><br />Now invited to attend the <a href="http://www.un-gaid.org"target="_blank">Global Forum on Youth and ICT for Development</a> being organised by the United Nations & <a href="http://www.un-gaid.org/gfyouth"target="_blank">Global Alliance for ICT and Development</a> in Geneva 24th - 26th September 2007 on the theme "Youth and ICT as Agents of Change".AgriWizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286532512476150874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10720073.post-40168015991435316822007-08-27T11:35:00.000-07:002007-08-27T11:43:48.692-07:00And in the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter and the sharing of pleasures.<br />For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.<br /><br />:: kahlil gibran ::AgriWizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06286532512476150874noreply@blogger.com