Author: Andrea Dean Title: Bees Get a Healthy Start with Organic Beeswax Foundation Article: Unless you are a beekeeper you are probably asking yourself right now, “What is Wax Foundation?” and “Why Do I Care?”

Wax foundation is a thin sheet of beeswax that is embossed with the hexagonal shape that the bees naturally form for their honeycomb. The wax foundation is placed in a rectangular wooden frame with two wires across the horizontal center that holds the wax foundation in place.

The bees “draw out the comb” by adding wax on top of the foundation to create hexagonal cells, which is where they store honey and pollen as well as where the queen lays her eggs (in separate cells!)

Organic foundation is important because most beeswax foundation is contaminated from the use of toxic chemicals used by beekeepers in the hives to treat disease. The chemicals remain in the wax, which is processed into wax foundation.

Most beekeepers purchase this commercial foundation for use in their hives. Organic standards allow plastic foundation dipped in organic beeswax, but some organic beekeepers feel strongly that plastic should not be used in bee hives.

Some beekeepers who produce organic honey believe that organic wax foundation creates healthier, stronger bee hives, thereby increasing honey and queen production.

Strong, healthy bees mean that trees and plants are pollinated which increases the agricultural productivity of orchard crops and maintains the health of non-native and native forest.

Making beeswax foundation in a small-scale farm setting is a lost art, there are not many people who know how to do it as the process has been industrialized in developed countries.

The fact that it is not possible to purchase organic foundation means that making your own is a necessity for apiaries who do not want to use plastic foundation.

The process of making foundation is not complicated, but it does require time and patience. The only piece of specialized equipment required is an embossing mill. The embossing rollers come in both 4.9 mm and 5.1 mm sizes.

This is a summary of a low-tech way to make your own wax foundation:

1. Clean wax is melted in a water-jacketed wax melter.
2. Wood boards, which are cut and marked to the desired wax foundation dimension, are dipped in the melted wax.
3. The waxed boards are then cooled in water and the wax sheets peeled away from both sides of the board.
4. The wax sheets are then run through a table top embossing mill, which imprints the sheets with the hexagonal shape that the bees naturally form for their honeycomb.
5. Trim the wax sheets with scissors as necessary.

Then you are ready to use the organic beeswax foundation in your hives! Andrea Dean is the Sustainability Manager at Volcano Island Honey, producer of the raw honey and organic honey known as Rare Hawaiian Organic White Honey. To maintain a high quality raw organic honey, they are making organic beeswax foundation. Syndication Source: ThoughtSearch.com

Author: James Nash Title: Venus – A Runaway Greenhouse Effect? Article: The Earth and Venus are near each other in the Solar System, and are similar in size, density, and composition. Based on our understanding of the origin of the Solar System, we would expect that their initial atmospheres would have been rather similar. Yet the present atmospheres of the two planets could hardly be much more different than they are. How did this come to be? The reason is thought to lie in what is termed the “Runaway Greenhouse Effect”.

Sunlight falling on the surface of a planet is primarily in the visible part of the spectrum. However, the reflection of light from the surface tends to produce light of longer wavelength called infrared (IR) radiation (also known as radiant heat; IR radiation is the heat that we sense being radiated from a hot surface like a hot piece of metal).

Now, because of their molecular structures, certain gases like carbon dioxide and water vapor (and many others) have the property that they are essentially transparent to visible light but absorb IR radiation very strongly. Such compounds are sometimes termed greenhouse gases because, if they are present in a planetary atmosphere, they absorb the scattered IR radiation and tend to raise the temperature of the atmosphere by trapping solar energy. (The analogy with a real greenhouse is imperfect because the mechanism by which a greenhouse stays warm is different, but it is sufficiently good that the name “(Planetary) Greenhouse Effect” is now the common one for this phenomenon.)

The greenhouse effect occurs for all planetary atmospheres containing greenhouse gases, and is responsible for their being warmer than would be the case otherwise. The greenhouse effect by itself could not account for the conditions that we find on Venus. However, under certain conditions we believe the greenhouse effect can “run away”. For example, consider the case of a planet like the Earth. The Earth has enormous amounts of two greenhouse gases: water vapor and carbon dioxide. However, for the Earth most of the water and carbon dioxide are not in the atmosphere. The water is mostly in the oceans, and the carbon dioxide is mostly bound chemically in rocks made from compounds that chemists call carbonates (for example, limestone).

Now suppose we increased the effectiveness of greenhouse heating of the Earth’s atmosphere, for example by increasing the amount of solar radiation falling on it, or by increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (for example, by burning fossil fuels, which produce water vapor and carbon dioxide as byproducts of burning). We would then expect the temperature to rise in the atmosphere (assuming no other effects intervened—a big “if” in the realistic case since the atmosphere is complicated). This would be a greenhouse effect.

It would become a runaway greenhouse effect if the rising temperature approached the boiling point of water, because then the oceans would begin to convert to water vapor, the water vapor would increase the effectiveness of heat trapping and accelerate the greenhouse effect, this would cause the temperature to rise further, thus causing the oceans to evaporate faster, etc., etc. (This type of runaway is also called a “positive feedback loop”.) When the oceans were gone the atmosphere would finally stabilize at a much higher temperature and at much higher density, because all the water would now be in the atmosphere.

We can envision even a further runaway stage in this scenario. Suppose the preceding runaway raised the temperature so high that chemical reactions begin to occur that drive the carbon dioxide from the rocks into the atmosphere (the process is called sublimation; a few hundred degrees Celsius would be sufficient). Then another runaway would occur as the carbon dioxide feeding into the atmosphere would accelerate the heating, which would in turn accelerate the transfer of carbon dioxide from the rocks to the atmosphere.

The atmosphere would finally stablilize at a still higher temperature and pressure after all the carbon dioxide had been driven from the rocks. In fact, we believe that if this sequence were to take place on the Earth, the resulting temperature and pressure of the atmosphere left behind would not be very different from that for present-day Venus: the atmospheric termperature would be hundreds of degrees Celsius and the pressure would be maybe 100 times greater than it is today.

Thus, we believe that in the case of Venus the initial solar heating kept oceans from forming, or kept them from staying around if they did form, and the subsequent lack of rainfall and failure of plant life to evolve kept the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere rather than binding it in the rocks as is the case for the Earth; thus, Venus has an environmental disaster for an atmosphere.

The sobering warning for us is obvious: we have to be extremely concerned about processes such as burning of fossil fuels in large volumes that might (we don’t know for sure because the scientific questions are complex) have the potential to trigger a runaway greenhouse effect and produce on the Earth atmospheric conditions such as those found on Venus. James Nash is a climate scientist with Greatest Planet (www.greatestplanet.org). Greatest Planet is a non-profit environmental organization specialising in carbon offset investments.

James Nash is solely responsible for the contents of this article. Syndication Source: ThoughtSearch.com

Author: Ki Gray Title: Cool Parks in Austin Article: There is no shortage of beautiful scenery and greenbelts in the Austin area, where there seems to be a walking trail around every corner, and a park around every bend. One of the more unusual of these is Champion Park in Round Rock. It has a little of everything, from a kid-approved playground to a scenic trail by the creek. It’s a great place to spend a Saturday or a weekday afternoon. Just make sure you bring plenty of sunscreen, snacks and drinks because you’ll want to stay all day. Of course, a few extras like towels, sand shovels and buckets will come in handy, too.

The park is an immense 33 acres. With plenty of open space, it’s the perfect place to play a game of catch or tag, and then, if the weather is hot enough, to meander over to the play area where sprinklers shaped like whales spout cool water into the sky. When you cool down enough, you can head over to the rock climbing area for an invigorating romp on specially designed boulders, or the sandpit where concrete casts of massive dinosaur bones lay waiting for discovery. You can dig, build and bury in this huge covered sandpit for hours and never get enough. There’s plenty of shade, and don’t forget the nearby sprinklers, so a summer day will never get too hot.

The Brushy Creek Regional Trail passes right by the park, and the creek itself is only a few feet away, bringing with it a glimpse of nature right up close, and making this area both relaxing and scenic. A bridge across Brushy Creek connects to a fishing area for those who want to try their hand at catching lunch. For everyone else, there are many great places to have picnics and the park sports two pavilions with grills that can be rented separately or together.

After a nature hike down the beautiful Brushy Creek Trail, a hard day of digging and excavating in the sand, and hours of refreshing fun in the sprinklers, what more could you want? Restroom facilities a very important factor when considering an outdoor outing and free, available parking. With these final elements, the park is complete and a perfect place for your family to spend the day. Champion Park is located at 3900 Brushy Creek Road in Round Rock and is open from 7:30 a.m.-10:00 p.m. Admission is free, so come early and stay long. Ki helps buyers interested in Austin real estate. His site provides information about mortgage interest rates along with updated market stats on his Austin real estate blog. Syndication Source: ThoughtSearch.com

Author: Chris Marshall Title: Recycling Ideas For Different Materials Article: Below is some advice for recycling different types of materials. Recycling can help the environment in many ways and it is essential that you don’t underestimate what you can do.

Carrier bags and twist ties. Carrier bags can be reused in the shops or as bin bags around the house. Paper bags make useful wrapping paper and twist ties can be used to secure loose items together, such as computer wires.

Envelopes By sticking labels over the address you can reuse envelopes. Alternatively, old envelopes can be used as scrap paper to make notes on.

Jars and pots. By cleaning glass jars and small pots, you can use them as small containers to store odds and ends.

Newspaper , cardboard and bubble wrap Make useful packing material when moving house or to store items.

Old clothes – can be made into other textile items such as cushion covers or teapot cosies.

Packaging Such as foil and egg cartons can be donated to schools and nurseries, where they can be use in art and craft projects.

Scrap paper Can be used to make notes and sketches. Don’t forget to recycle it when you no longer need it.

Tyres Old tyres can be given to your local petrol station where they will be recycled. Or you could make a tyre-swing by tying a strong rope around a tyre and attaching it to a tree.

Used wood Can be used in woodcrafts for making objects such as a spice rack or a bird table. Alternatively it could be used as firewood.

Useful Advice

Old Electrical Equipment Donate old electrical equipment to schools or community centers so that others can reuse them.

Donate Old Clothes and Books Other people can reuse your unwanted clothes and books when you donate them to charity shops.

Car-boot Sale Have a car-boot sale and get rid of some unwanted items. Other people may find a use for them, plus it gives you the opportunity to earn some extra cash.

Rechargeable Batteries Rechargeable batteries can be reused many times before they need throwing away, opposed to regular batteries that create unnecessary waste.

Build a Compost Bin You can reuse many waste items, such as eggshells and old tea bags, using a compost bin. This waste then degrades and turns into compost that can be used to help your garden grow.

Grass Cycling After mowing your lawn, instead of throwing the grass cuttings away, leave them in your garden. The nutrients from the cuttings go back into the soil and act as a fertilise. Recycling Website explores the issue of recycling and the environment so that you can find out more information about what you can recycle and the effect it has on your life. For more information please visit http://www.recyclingwebsite.co.uk Syndication Source: ThoughtSearch.com

Author: Christine Harrell Title: Comparing Vinyl, Nylon, and Canvas Tarps Article: In order to find the right tarp for the jobs you have in mind, you need to consider the material being used. There are several options available including vinyl, canvas, and nylon, and each has their own strengths and weaknesses. Neoprene, laminating, and vinyl coating treatments are often added to these materials to make them even more versatile. In order to select the right material, consider the qualities you need the tarp to have.

Canvas Tarps

In comparison to vinyl and nylon, canvas is the most environmentally friendly option because it is made from cotton. An extremely durable material, this material can resist water for years so long as it is retreated. Canvas has the added benefit of being breathable, which makes it ideal for covering machinery and other items that are easily damaged from condensation.

Canvas tarps are great for many different uses, but do have limitations. When used in places where there is a large amount of moisture, the fabric will mildew and mold. Dark colors and the water resistant coating used to treat these covers can rub off onto other items, and they can tear in high winds when they are pulled tight. Therefore, tying them directly across equipment is not recommended.

Vinyl Tarps

Vinyl tarps are considerably stronger than polyethylene and are completely waterproof. Best of all, vinyl tarps are available in a wide range of colors, sizes, and weights making them ideal for a variety of different uses. If you are in need of tarp for outdoor applications, you will have to select the right weight because not all of them protect against the sun.

Laminated vinyl that is 13oz for example, is best for indoor applications such as a gym floor because it isn’t treated with a UV coating. A light 10oz vinyl tarp, on the other hand, is UV resistant and the perfect weight for extremely jobs such as covering a baseball field. They have enough to stay put in the wind while still being light enough to carry and work with. For applications such as truck box covers and roofing that requires added strength and durability, consider heavier weights such as 18oz coated vinyl.

A type of vinyl called ‘temper tent’ vinyl remains pliable in extreme cold and is waterproof as well as fire retardant. It is also considerably more durable than other vinyl tarps. Temper tent tarp is more affordable than other vinyl covers and is flame retardant.

Nylon Tarps

For the ultimate in strength and damage resistance, nylon tarps are at the top of the list. With the added neoprene coating, this 16 oz material is more pliable and supple than any other types available and is extremely resistant to tearing. Neoprene coated nylon has a high level of resistance to UV rays and mildew making them ideal for outdoor applications. They are also impermeable by grease, chemicals, and acids for uses in and around your home and workplace.

Canvas, vinyl, and nylon are all great choices for tarp material, but they each have their own set of benefits and limitations. Consider what you will be using your tarp for and which qualities you need it to have. With all of the different styles and sizes available, you are sure to find the right one. Author is a freelance copywriter. For more information on tarps, visit www.mytarp.com. Syndication Source: ThoughtSearch.com