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Organic farming is an alternative agricultural system which originated early in the 20th century in reaction to rapidly changing farming practices. Organic farming continues to be developed by various organic agriculture organizations today. It relies on fertilizers of organic origin such as compost manure, green manure, and bone meal and places emphasis on techniques such as crop rotation and companion planting. Biological pest control, mixed cropping and the fostering of insect predators are encouraged. In general, organic standards are designed to allow the use of naturally occurring substances while prohibiting or strictly limiting synthetic substances. The benefits of organic farming are - Sustainability over the long term : Many changes observed in the environment are long term, occurring slowly over time. Organic agriculture considers the medium- and long-term effect of agricultural interventions on the agro-ecosystem. It aims to produce food while establish...

Most of us are very used to the sounds we hear in everyday life. Loud music, the television, people talking on their phone, the traffic and even pets barking in the middle of the night. All of these have become a part of the urban culture and rarely disturb us. However, when the sound of the television keeps you from sleeping all night or the traffic starts to give you a headache, it stops becoming just noise and start turning into noise pollution. By definition, noise pollution takes place when there is either excessive amount of noise or an unpleasant sound that causes temporary disruption in the natural balance. This definition is usually applicable to sounds or noises that are unnatural in either their volume or their production. The following contribute to noise pollution - Industrialization: Usage of big machines in industries which produce a large amount of noise  Poor urban planning : Congested houses, large families sharing small space, fight over parki...

Recycling is one of the three components of the waste hierarchy “Reduce, Reuse and Recycle”. Archaeologists believe that this practice dates as far as the 4 th  century due to no evidence of much household waste like pottery and ash. In the pre-industrial period, people recycled metals and melted it down for other purposes, while paper recycling was recorded first time in Japan in 1031. The reason for this was merely economic because the raw materials were more expensive or obtaining them was difficult. Then industrialization started and the demand for affordable and cost-effective materials bloomed. Scrap metal became wanted goods for the railroads in the 19 th  century, and that continued in the 20 th  century when automobile industry started buying it too. They also sold their used metal and turned the money around. Schweppes bottles were among first to be recycled in Great Britain and Ireland at the beginning of the 19 th  century for a refundable deposit,...

Solar panels are an excellent way to lower energy costs and reduce your overall carbon footprint, as well as make your home  stand out from the competition  when it’s time to sell. However, they do represent an investment. While that investment will pay for itself over time, you do want to ensure that  your solar panels  are not going to be damaged by weather events. With hurricanes hitting the news regularly and hailstorms a common problem throughout the country, you need to understand how the weather affects your solar panels. Solar Panels and Inclement Weather In general, investing in solar panels is a wise choice, and the majority of the panels on the market today can withstand the inclement weather of their areas. In fact, the  National Renewable Energy Laboratory  studied 50,000 solar panel energy systems and found that only 0.1% of all systems were reported as damaged. That said, there are two types of weather events that do have the pote...

Ever wondered how much of an impact you have on the environment? Well, one of the ways to measure it is by calculating your carbon footprint: it is the total sum of all emissions of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, which were induced by your activities in a given time frame.  The concept name of the carbon footprint originates from  ecological footprint , discussion,  which was developed by Rees and Wackernagel in the 1990s which estimates the number of "earths" that would theoretically be required if everyone on the planet consumed resources at the same level as the person calculating their ecological footprint. However, given that ecological footprints are a measure of failure, Anindita Mitra (CREA, Seattle) chose the more easily calculated "carbon footprint" to easily measure use of carbon, as an indicator of unsustainable energy use. In 2007, carbon footprint was used as a measure of carbon emissions to develop the energy plan for City of Lynnwood, Washin...

Ruling made in effort to halt spike in toxic smog that led to closure of schools, power stations and construction sites last year  Children light fireworks in New Delhi for Diwali. Photograph: Sajjad Hussain/AFP/Getty Images Monday 9 October 2017 14.57 BSTLast modified on Monday 9 October 2017 22.00 BST India’s supreme court has banned the sale of fireworks in Delhi during the upcoming  Diwali  festival, hoping to prevent the usual spike in toxic air pollution levels that accompany the holiday. Last year’s Hindu festival of lights, in which tens of thousands of firecrackers are burst in Delhi over several days,  left the city sheeted in toxic smog  that forced the closure of schools, power stations and construction sites. The increase in airborne pollution to levels up to 29 times higher than World Health Organisation standards led the supreme court in November to ban the sale of fireworks in the Indian capital. Th...