How to Detox Your Lungs Naturally 05-03

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How to Detox Your Lungs Naturally

Two Methods:Using Verified MethodsUsing Unverified Methods

Keeping yourself detoxified is one of the best things you can do to stay healthy. Your lungs are some of your most important organs, and most human beings can live for mere minutes without air. Therefore, it is important to keep your lungs healthy to ensure that they can perform at their best throughout your life. Although you have little control over the air you breathe, you can take steps to detox your lungs using verified methods that are backed up by science, and unverified methods rooted in naturopathic healing and folk medicine.

Method 1 of 2: Using Verified Methods





1. Cook with oregano to reduce inflammation and congestion. Oregano's primary benefits are due to its carvacrol and rosmarinic acid content. Both compounds are natural decongestants and histamine reducers that have direct, positive benefits on the respiratory tract and nasal passage airflow.[1]

The volatile oils in oregano, thymol and carvacol, have shown to inhibit growth of bacteria like staphylococcus aureus and pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Oregano can be used in cooking in its dried or fresh forms.

A few drops of oregano oil in milk or juice can be taken once a day for as long as you want to receive health benefits.

2. Inhale lobelia to relax your lungs and break up congestion. Lobelia contains an alkaloid known as lobeline, which thins mucus and breaks up congestion.[2]

Additionally, lobelia stimulates the adrenal glands to release epinephrine, relaxing the airways and allowing for easier breathing.

Also, because lobelia helps to relax smooth muscles, it is included in many cough and cold remedies.

Extracts of lobelia inflata contain lobeline, which showed positive effects in the treatment of multidrug-resistant tumor cells.

You may add 5-10 leaves of lobelia and vaporize them for inhalation. Inhale the vapors for 10 minutes each day, morning and evening.




3. Steam treat yourself with eucalyptus to take advantage of its expectorant properties. Eucalyptus is a common ingredient in cough lozenges and syrups and its effectiveness is due to an expectorant compound called cineole, which can ease a cough, fight congestion, and soothe irritated sinus passages.




As an added bonus, because eucalyptus contains antioxidants, it supports the immune system during a cold or other illness.

You may add a few drops of eucalyptus oil into hot water and do a steam inhalation for 15 minutes each day to cleanse the lungs.[3]

4. Take mullein to clear mucus and cleanse the bronchial tubes. Both the flowers and the leaves of the mullein plant are used to make an herbal extract that helps strengthen the lungs.

Mullein is used by herbal practitioners to clear excess mucus from the lungs, cleanse the bronchial tubes, and reduce inflammation present in the respiratory tract.

You can make a tea can from one teaspoon of the dried herb and one cup of boiled water.
4].Alternatively, you can take a tincture form of this herb.



5.Use peppermint to soothe your respiratory muscles. Peppermint and peppermint oil contain menthol, a soothing ingredient known to relax the smooth muscles of the respiratory tract and promote free breathing.

Paired with the antihistamine effect of peppermint, menthol is a fantastic decongestant.[5]
Many people use therapeutic chest balms and other inhalants that contain menthol to help break up congestion.

Additionally, peppermint is an antioxidant and fights harmful organisms.

You may chew on 3-5 peppermint leaves each day to enjoy its anti-histaminic benefits.




6. Drink an infusion of elecampane to reap its soothing and expectorant benefits. The root of the elecampane plant helps kill harmful bacteria, lessens coughs, and expels excess mucus.[6]

Elecampane contains inulin, a phytochemical that coats and soothes the lining of the bronchial passages and acts as an expectorant in the body.

In the respiratory system, it gradually relieves any fever that might be present while battling infection and maximizing the excretion of toxins through perspiration.

If you have a tickling cough or bronchitis, elecampane may be able to help.
Because of its action on excess mucus and toxins in the respiratory tract, it is often helpful with emphysema, asthma, bronchial asthma, and tuberculosis.

You can use one teaspoon of herb per cup of water in an infusion, or one-half to one teaspoon of tincture, three times a day for about 3 months.




7. Take hot showers to clear your lungs. Taking a shower with hot water for twenty minutes can be really helpful in clearing out your lungs.

If you can sit in a sauna, the hot air will be even more effective in clearing your lungs.
It is very important to allow your body to get rid of toxins through sweating.

A sauna or hot water increases the secretion of sweat, and helps the lungs rid themselves of toxic substances.

8. Stop smoking to protect your lungs from toxins. Smoking tobacco is a great way to introduce a variety of toxins directly into your lungs.

Tobacco smoke, nicotine, and the variety of other unhealthy substances found in cigarettes wreak havoc on your respiratory tract.

In addition to lowering your lung capacity, smoking puts you at risk for cancer and other long-term health complications.




9. Stay away from common toxic products. Eliminate household toxins that are part of detergents, cleansers, bleaches, and chemically scented air fresheners that have strong fragrances and might harm the lungs.

Pesticides must go as well, and there are alternatives that aren't toxic for humans.
All toxic commercial pesticides emit caustic gases or vapors that irritate the lungs.
Simply get some nice indoor plants that add life to your dwelling while removing toxins.

Method 2 of 2: Using Unverified Methods



1. Drink sage tea to dispel lung disorders. Sage’s textured leaves give off a heady aroma, which arises from sage’s essential oils. These oils are the source of the many benefits of sage tea for lung problems and common respiratory ailments.

Sage tea is a traditional treatment for sore throats and coughs.

The rich aromatic properties arising from sage’s volatile oils of thujone, camphor, terpene and salvene can be put to use by inhaling sage tea’s vapors to dispel lung disorders and sinusitis.

Alternatively, brew a strong pot of sage tea and place it into a bowl or a vaporizer.
Inhale the vapors for about 5-10 minutes 2-3 times a day, or for as long as you wish, since it is healthy and perfectly safe.





2. Eat boiled plantain leaf to soothe irritated mucous membranes. With fruit that is similar in appearance to a banana, plantain leaf has been used for hundreds of years to ease coughs and soothe irritated mucous membranes.

Many of its active ingredients show antibacterial and antimicrobial properties, as well as being anti-inflammatory and antitoxic.

Plantain leaf has an added bonus in that it may help relieve a dry cough by spawning mucus production in the lungs.

One may eat a boiled plantain fruit or sip on a decoction of 1-2 brewed plantain leaves.
You may continue this each day for about 2-3 months to take advantage of its healing benefits on the lungs.




3. Drink licorice root tea to clear out mucous in the lungs. Licorice is one of the most widely consumed herbs in the world to eliminate toxins from the lungs. Licorice is very soothing, and softens your mucous membranes in the throat, lungs, and stomach.

It reduces the irritation in the throat and has an expectorant action (loosening phlegm to be expelled).

It loosens the phlegm in the respiratory tract, so that the lungs can expel the mucus.
It also has antibacterial and antiviral effects which help fight off viral and bacterial strains in your body that can cause lung infections.

You can use one teaspoon of licorice root per cup of water in an infusion, or one teaspoon of tincture, 3 times a day.




4. Vaporize cannabis to open up your airways and sinuses. If it's legal in your area, use vaporized cannabis for about 5 minutes each day to open up your airways and sinuses.

Vaporizing cannabis mitigates the irritation to the oral cavity that comes from smoking.
Cannabis is perhaps one of the most effective anti-cancer plants in the world.

It also stimulates your body’s natural immune response and significantly reduces the ability of infections to spread.

Cannabis has even been shown to treat and reverse asthma.




5. Drink watercress (Nasturtium Officinale) tea to eliminate toxins. Watercress has the ability to eliminate the toxins from tobacco and decrease the chance of these toxins resulting in lung cancer.

This ability is due to an active ingredient that acts on a series of enzymes, preventing the development of cancer cells.

Watercress is used to make a simple and delicious soup, which efficiently cleanses the lungs of toxins.

It is recommended that you consume this soup twice a month, especially if you are an active or a passive smoker.

Watercress soup:

1 kg of watercress (flowers and stems)
2 cups of dates
4 cups of water

Put all ingredients in a pot over a low flame. When it boils, reduce the heat and allow it to simmer for a minimum of four hours. If the foam starts forming at the surface of the soup, remove it with a spoon. Once the soup is ready, season it according to your taste.

Note: It is very important to use the correct ratio of ingredients and cook the soup for a minimum of four hours. After such a long cooking time the soup becomes tasty, nutritious, and effective in detoxifying the lungs.




6.Try ginger to prevent lung cancer. Ginger is a powerful tool for detoxification of the lungs and prevention of lung cancer.

You can use it in many ways including ginger root tea mixed with lemon, which facilitates breathing and promotes the elimination of toxins from the respiratory tract.

You can also create a warm bath with powdered ginger. The bath should last at least twenty minutes.

The ginger bath opens pores and stimulates sweating, which helps eliminate toxins.
The steam you inhale goes directly into the airways and eases the process of purifying the lungs.

With every meal, you may eat a tiny piece of ginger.

This will improve your digestion and will contribute to the process of cleansing the body.

7. Use castor oil packs to draw toxins out of the body. Castor oil packs are easy to make at home and are great for drawing toxins out of the body. Castor oil has long been appreciated as a general health tonic and is believed to stimulate circulation and waste elimination.

Castor oil packs can be placed on your chest, perhaps similar to a vapor rub, and can break up congestion and toxins.

While the packs are not expensive to make, it is essential to use only organic, cold-pressed castor oil.

By using cold-pressed oil, you can be reasonably certain it will contain the vital compounds such as phytonutrients, undecylenic acid, and especially ricinoleic acid that are beneficial to the body.

Carefully warm about 8 oz. of castor oil in a pot on the stove to a comfortable temperature and then soak 12″x6″ strips of cloth in the oil.

Being careful not to spill the oil, take the pot with you to where you plan to lie down. Use a small piece of plastic like a “glove” to handle the packs.

Lie down on a plastic sheet, and then lay 3-4 strips over your chest and sides covering the lung areas. Do this on the right and left sides.

Then, cover the packs with a larger section of plastic and lay your heating pad over the plastic covered castor oil packs. Keep it there for 1-2 hours.

Alternate the heating pad from right to left sides.

It is believed that this helps by break up and draw out stored toxins and congestion from the lungs.

8. Take an osha root extract to increase circulation to the lungs. Osha roots contain camphor and other compounds that make it one of the best lung-supporting herbs. One of the main benefits of osha root is that it helps increase circulation to the lungs, which makes it easier to take deep breaths.

Also, when seasonal allergies inflame your sinuses, osha root can produce a similar effect to antihistamines and may help calm respiratory irritation.

An infusion prepared with the roots of osha can be taken orally to cure a number of medical conditions.

In addition, fresh liquid extract of the herb's roots can also be used internally.
The standard dose of the infusion prepared with osha root is one or two teaspoonful of cut and crushed, freshly obtained root infused for approximately 25 minutes.

If you are taking the root in a liquid extract, ensure that its strength is at a ratio of 1:1:8.
Take 20 to 60 drops of this root liquid extract once to four times every day.

9. Drink a lungwort tea to relieve various lung conditions. Lungwort is a tree-growing lichen that actually resembles lung tissue in appearance, and hence is used for various lung conditions.

Lungwort clears tar from the upper respiratory tract, nose, throat, and upper bronchial tubes, while helping the body soothe the mucous membranes in these regions.

It also has an anti-inflammatory action and is good for bronchitis.

As an infusion, mix one to two teaspoons of dried herb per cup and drink one cup three times a day.

10. Maintain a healthy diet to detox your whole body. Like all other types of detoxification, lung cleansing necessitates dietary changes.

A healthy diet is important because it stimulates the natural cleansing mechanisms of the body and strengthens the immune system.

During cleansing, it is recommended that you consume more water, fruits and vegetables.
Drink a cup of lemon juice before breakfast; lemon helps the lungs renew themselves with its high vitamin C content and is easy to digest.

Drink a glass of grapefruit juice because it contains natural anti-antioxidants and enhances the detoxing of your circulatory system.

Have a cup of carrot juice in the period between breakfast and lunch. Carrots contain vitamins A and C, which help to clean the respiratory system and boost immunity.

11. Consume a good amount of potassium. Potassium is one of the most detoxifying nutrients, especially when taken in liquid form.

To prepare a cup of juice rich in potassium, place some carrots, celery, spinach, parsley, and green algae in a blender.

12. Eat spicy foods to break down excess mucus. Chilies help break down excess mucus in the lungs and the body in general.

That is why when you eat spicy foods, you can immediately feel your nose beginning to run.

In the same way, spicy foods affect the excess mucus and tar in the lungs, helping your body eliminate them more easily.

13.Drink water to stay hydrated. Plain water is the best thing to drink while you are detoxing. Good hydration is key to good health and speeds up the process of detoxification.

Try to avoid sodas, coffee, and alcohol.

14. Do breathing exercises to facilitate clear lungs. Breathing exercises are one of the best ways to cleanse your lungs. There are many types of exercises for detoxifying your lungs. 

Try this one:

Take a standing position. Be relaxed. Keep your arms at your sides and your feet slightly apart. Take a few deep breaths and exhale through the nose.

Now, breathe in through your nose and exhale slowly through your mouth deeply until you cannot exhale anymore.

But don't stop here, because there is still air left in your lungs. Some air always remains in the lungs and is not replaced with fresh air as we breathe.

Now, force your diaphragm to exhale all the air from your lungs with a wheezing sound.
Do this several times, exhaling through your mouth with a deep puff until you feel there is no more air in the lungs. At this point you will notice that you have pulled in your belly toward the spine.

Through your nose, slowly inhale fresh, clean air into your empty lungs.

Fill your lungs with fresh air, and then hold your breath for five seconds, counting them slowly.

Repeat the process to expel the remaining air out of the lungs. Repeat as many times as you like but at least 50 times each day.

Besides purifying the lungs, this exercise has another benefit: your stomach muscles will eventually become strong and taut.

Please read the original wikiHow article Here

How to Formulate Strategy for a Start Up Organization 01-15

 How to Formulate Strategy for a Start Up Organization

There are excellent articles on business promotion, marketing, and sales strategies. However when it comes to strategic planning for running an enterprise especially in the small and medium scale sector.

The entrepreneurs are often found groping in the dark. The purpose of this article is to uncomplicate this complicated process and present it in an easy to understand “How to” format. This article is positioned for an entrepreneur with some management education or background running an enterprise or managing a startup.

The best practice is not often the best strategy.

Strategy is a way of thinking, not a procedural exercise or a set of frameworks. To stimulate that thinking and the dialog that goes along with it, it is essential to design metrics based on sound and practical parameters, and follow a set of action oriented steps aimed at helping executives assess the strength of their strategies. It is imperative to design steps focused on testing the strategy itself (in other words, the output of the strategy-development process), rather than the frameworks, tools, and approaches that generate strategies, for two reasons. First, companies develop strategy in many different ways, often idiosyncratic to their organizations, people, and markets. Second, many strategies emerge over time rather than from a process of deliberate formulation.

How to go about it?

Steps

1. 
   1
   Understand strategy and its importance: You need a strategy that beats the market realities. There are certain common denominators for all the companies that operate like customers, suppliers, competitors, and potential entrants (competitive products). Now each of these try to demand and command attention in furtherance of their own cause. All these also can work towards reducing the gap between the capitalinvestment and returns (profit/loss). It is prudent to manage these denominators in a way that reverses the trend and makes returns, a healthy multiple of capital investment.
2. 
   2
   Identify the source of advantage and exploit it: There are many sources of advantage for an entrepreneur -- two of the most important being, location and special capability. Now these are scarce commodities and any strategy plan conceived around attributes puts the organization ahead of the rest of the competition and positions you along with the best of the competition, and makes success that much less complicated.
3. 
   3
   Position the organization appropriately: Focus on the markets and the marketing factors that synch with the nature, culture, size and technological advantages and constraints. Determine and discriminate between the markets while allocating funds. The strategy should reflect a clear understanding of markets and should result in intelligent defining of the segments that could result in refined resource allocation. This should of course be preceded by microscopic market research at granular level to see direction of trends in those markets.
4. 
   4
   Do not follow the trends, but set one: Far too often it has been observed, that the strategies are woven around the existing market trends. This is considered a way of playing safe, but how safe it is, is the question. The word “trend” itself denotes a temporary existence and ease of replaceability (imminence of change). The strategy should be to peep into the future and identify what could be tomorrow’s trend. Identify and formulate the strategy accordingly, or better still plan a strategy that could make you a trend setter.
5. 
   5
   Base your team strategy on privileged insights into futures, not on past history: It is a common practice, to collect heaps of information on the history, do some arbitrary interpolation or extrapolation and then base team strategy on this data. This will no doubt allow your team to sustain past commitments without losses -- but if growth is your objective and market leadership the ultimate aim, you'll need to have an insight into the future. A glance into people’s pulse regarding what they have versus new things they would like to have -- gives a fairly accurate insight into the future. It pays to organize frequent market research (controlled advancements are not moved forward randomly). With the availability of so many social media platforms, it is now easier to gauge people’s aspirations by seeing and assessing interests and frustrations in your network.
6. 
   6
   Plan to enable success, but respect the glorious uncertainties of the market.An all weather strategy often keeps you always afloat compared to one planned for normal (current) market behavior. Planning for the event of a failure (such as maintaining liquidity by renting or leasing versus owning capital assets) is always better than failing to plan.
   • Uncertainties of the future can be classified into four levels.
     • Level one gives a fairly clear view of the future, and an inkling of what to expect. Level two is a little more hypothetical about the action and outcomes, but rather concrete expectations. Level three works on the law of probability for likelihood of returns. Level four represents total ambiguity (on a hunch for example) about the outcome and delivers shockers.
     • A formulated strategy can reasonably be expected to provide for the first two levels. Strategy for the third and fourth levels depends upon various factors, and should be best left to the ingenuity of the entrepreneur and enterprise.
7. 
   7
   Stage your strategy to have a correct balance of commitment and flexibility:Commitment (of resources) and flexibility (variations) are inversely proportionate and more often than not, they are malefic to each other (jumping in contravenes edging in, one toe at a time). It is all about trade-off between the two, and success depends on the timing and intuition. If it is a leap in the dark, how you land your market for your new product depends on your expertise and experience in creating a new markets -- or vice-versa.
8. 
   8
   Make your strategy to be understood and "bought into" by your team: Your planning should be done in such a way that it is backed by a strong conviction in the team who must deliver on the plans. This is possible, if you take into confidence the department heads during the planning stage, take their views, and where ever feasible implement them. Ownership at the planning stage naturally ensures ownership and informed support at the implementation stage.
9. 
   9
   Translate your strategy into an implementable action plan. First, define clearly what you are moving from and where you are moving to with respect to your company’s business model, organization, and capabilities. Develop a detailed view of the shifts required to make the move, and ensure that processes and mechanisms, for which individual executives must be accountable, are in place to effect the changes. Quite simply, this is an action plan.
10. 
    10
    Be sure that everyone knows the timetable for what to do and being proactive, not reactive. Be sure that each major “from–to shift” is matched with the energy and assets to make it happen. Since the totality of a major change often represents a corresponding organizational transformation, make sure you and your senior team:
    • Draw on research and experience offering solid advice on successful change management revealed by the large body of information of actual, successful change.
11. 
    11
    Align your strategy to the required resource allocation: That is the final -- but most important point -- Most of the startups have to do heavy bootstrapping in the face of heavy resource constraints. The strategy should be aligned with what is available or what can be made available. to make sure your ongoing resource allocation processes are aligned with your strategy. This will help a seamless resource flow, when you do implement changes, you can take advantage of matching resources to the opportunities, in your new niche, product and market.

Make a draft first and critically evaluate it at every stage, make as many changes as possible every time based on cohort input. Continue to make and edit the draft even after you are satisfied as you must be open and inclusive to get department buy-in to own their project

Earmark specific time for strategy formulation and do not allow any physical or mental activity to interfere in expediting reaching agreement and acting on the strategy going forward.

Hold informal one to one meetings with the domain heads, casually discuss the draft and invite their suggestion. People are more forthcoming with their suggestions during the informal meetings than the official conferences.

Whenever you implement someone’s suggestions, make it a point to tell him that his suggestions have been incorporated. This gives him the satisfaction of being the author, and naturally implies that the person has to take the ownership for successful implementation of the strategy.

In case you are not in a position to implement the suggestion, please explain to him as to why you could not do it. Give a patient listening to his grouse. Allocate as much time as possible and needed to convince hm. Show how much you value him, his contributions, and the occasions you have implemented his suggestions. The other man will understand and appreciate your gesture of spending so much time with him, and explaining in detail your inability. He may be a little sad but he will still take the responsibility and ownership for successful implementation.

Try to keep the strategy within your resources right from the first step and do it for every step. It is easy to align the strategy to the resources bottom up than top down.

Evaluate obsolete, mechanical equipment and its concomitant processes versus new and emerging markets using electronic, Internet age devices; keep an eye on market movers.

1. Video
2. Business strategy Prof. Carlo Alberto Carnevale Maffe'. A firm's ability to survive and succeed in an increasingly competitive global arena depends on its ability to understand competitive dynamics and to enact strategic responses.

Warnings
High level of secrecy is to be maintained during the formulation of the strategy. You have to ensure that the top managers involved in the exercise also maintain the confidentiality.

Do not be ambiguous about anything. Every piece of strategy has to be based on sound analytics, market realities.

Ensure that your employees get the strategy directly from your team. In case of indirect transmission ensure that there is no dilution at any level. Make senior team executives, to give mock presentations before you and the rest of your team, and ensure that their perceptions of the strategy are in synch with those of your whole team's understandings and intentions.

I I wrote this atilcle for wikiHow Click Here to view this and my other articles on wikiHow

Please also view the videos of the event  at IIM Ahmedabad titled "How Tp Start a Startup" Successful entrepreneurs like the founders of Naukri.Com. Taxi For Sure, OYO Rooms, and others spoke about their efforts, travails, tribulations , successes and failures in setting up and running their startups.  

Please view the videos here

wikiHow Kudos 12-13

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How to Teach About the Effects of Agriculture on Biodiversity 05-24

How to Teach About the Effects of Agriculture on Biodiversity

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

The ways used to grow crops and raise animals can have either good or bad impacts on biodiversity. On one hand, farmers can support biodiversity through careful farming methods. On the other hand, if farmers are not careful, the environment and organisms on and near the farm can be harmed. This article explains how teachers can teach the possible impacts of farming on biodiversity and provides some ideas for what a farmer can do to mitigate negative

consequences to biodiversity. Students can apply this information for projects or for interactions with a local farming community to share knowledge between each other.

Steps

1. Explain the impacts of pesticides use. Using pesticides can have unexpected and unwanted side effects. Often, the same chemicals that farmers apply to get rid of crop pests harm other species living around the farm. Some of these species may actually help to control the real crop pests! For example, DDT (Dichloro-Diphenyl-Trichloroethane) is a powerful pesticide that is poisonous to not only insects, but also animals and humans. DDT is so powerful it was banned in many countries, however, some countries that face malaria problems still use it to kill mosquitoes.

2.Teach about the impacts of overuse of natural resources. If farmers are not careful in their use of natural resources, farming activities can decrease the amount of resources available to grow food. When there are not enough nutrients in the soil, farmers often buy chemical fertilizers. Using fertilizers can help grow more food, but using too much can pollute the water. Polluted water affects organisms that drink the water or that live in it. For example, too many pollutants can kill fish. Water pollutants also affect our health, as it decreases the amount of clean water to drink, wash and grow crops.

3. Explore the impacts of industrial farming. Some industrial farms mass-produce a few select breeds in their quest to produce more meat, milk or eggs. This practice, however, leads to a decline in livestock diversity. The same principle applies to crops. As the number of varieties decreases, existing crops become increasingly at risk to destruction by disease and pests. If crops are all identical, it is much easier for a new disease or pest to wipe out an entire harvest. The less diversity farmers maintain, the greater the risk of diseases and pests. This increase in risk means farmers apply more pesticides to the crop fields or administer antibiotics to the animals.

4. Help students to be aware of the interconnections between farming and negative biodiversity impacts. Farming usually changes the landscape, the water, the air and biodiversity. For example:

• Construction workers build roads so that trucks can pick up farm produce and take it to markets.

• When farmers cut trees to create space for growing crops or raising livestock, they also reduce natural water filtration (cleaning) and available habitats for many species.

• Tractors and other farm machinery emit air pollutants.

• In some areas, farming brings enormous changes to the landscape. In parts of the Amazon, large tracts of forests have been cut down and replaced by monoculture (one crop) farming or pastures for cattle grazing. These changes reduce the number and variety of habitats available for species. Without suitable habitats, hundreds of species, including trees, vines, plants, birds, snakes, frogs and mammals, can no longer live in the area. The end result is a loss of biodiversity.

5. Have the students research the positive interconnections between farming and biodiversity. There are also many positive examples of how farmers find a perfect balance between agriculture and biodiversity. For instance:

• In some areas, the land does not change much. Some farmers use the landscape as it is. For example, grasslands are natural pastures for many farm animals or wild herbivores. Many farmers do not fence in these natural pastures so that wild herbivores can use them too. Leaving the pastures open can be risky – carnivores may prey on farm animals.
• Other farmers design their farms to minimize changes to the natural landscape. They might even try to enhance biodiversity on and around the farm. They can promote biodiversity by using sustainable farming methods such as including both plants and trees in one field, using little or no pesticides and planting a variety of crops.

6. Explore the ways in which agricultural activities that promote and protect biodiversity. There are numerous ways that farming can promote biodiversity conservation. Here are just a few of them:

• Farmers who choose to spray chemicals, can make sure to always follow the instructions carefully to minimize the damage to other harmless species.

• Rotate crops. When farmers are careful and manage resources sustainably, they can help preserve biodiversity and the environment. Many farmers around the world use sustainable farming and organic or ecological farming methods. One method is to grow two or more crops in the same field. This helps the farmer reduce crop pests while using fewer pesticides. Another method is to avoid applying pesticides on rainy or windy days so less pesticide will enter waterways causing pollution or get blown away.

• Use trees as part of regular farming practice. Trees can act as natural water filters. Their roots absorb rainwater, and minimize the amount of runoff entering rivers and lakes. Runoff often carries pesticides from farmers’ fields that can damage aquatic ecosystems.

• Keep the soil filled with beneficial organisms. A handful of farm dirt is rich in biodiversity. Soil biodiversity includes animals, bacteria, fungi and even the roots of plants growing above. Soils form complex ecosystems that make farming possible. There are millions of organisms that live in soil — microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi, and macroorganisms, such as worms, mites, ants and spiders. These organisms can help farmers to reduce the negative effects of farming. When they eat and dig underground, earthworms, termites and other burrowing organisms mix the upper layers, redistribute nutrients and increase the amount of water absorbed by the soil. Some macroorganisms are critical to local farming techniques. Farmers in Burkina Faso and in other areas of West Africa encourage termites to live and burrow in their farm plots because they improve the soil.

Things You'll Need

• Examples of farming practices - use magazines, TV, internet etc. to find examples

View Shyam's contribution to wikiHow

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Teach About the Effects of Agriculture on Biodiversity. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

How to Elope 05-04

                                                                        Please also read "How to Read Body Language" 

How to Elope

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

The word “elopement” once conjured up images of a young man helping his intended sneak down a ladder from her bedroom window for a secret visit to the justice of the peace. With the skyrocketing costs of formal weddings, couples are looking at elopements in a new light. Whether your parents are offering you cash to elope instead of using the family savings for a big wedding, or you're a “seasoned couple” with past marriages and you want a more subdued, private event this time around, elopements can take any shape. Use these steps to plan an elopement in a lot less time than an elaborate wedding ceremony.

Steps

Thinking It Through

1. Be sure that eloping is what you want to do. If you feel pressured by your spouse-to-be or any other person, then the decision you make may not be the one you want. If budgetary concerns are causing problems, it is important to sit down and revise what is affordable for a wedding rather than simply running away from it. However, there are many good reasons for eloping, such as not wanting a big fuss, not wanting to handle difficult family get-togethers or simply not much liking the whole idea of weddings. What really matters is that you are both honest with yourselves and each other and that you agree that this is what both of you truly wants.
   • In some cases, certain family members may claim to be insulted by your decision to elope rather than include them in what they feel is an important family bonding occasion (you'll probably know which ones are likely to this way but you may also be surprised). Don't let their preferences decide yours––it's you who is getting married, not that family member.
2. Set the date. Keep it quiet from family and friends where necessary. Alternatively, clue them in to the news if it isn’t meant as a secret and you know they're fine about missing the "big event".

Meeting Legal Requirements

1. Gather legal documents required by your state, province or country for obtaining your marriage license. Depending on your location, this will include birth certificates, blood test results (if applicable) and previous divorce decree papers.
2. Obtain the marriage license far enough in advance of the elopement date to account for any required waiting period. In some cases, this part won't be necessary if you're eloping to a place already well set up for giving quick marriages, such as Las Vegas (see How to elope in Las Vegas).

Budgeting

1. Set your budget. Assess your available funds for items like flowers, special clothing, plane tickets and a photographer.
2. Decide on the location of the elopement ceremony. If can be local or a distant honeymoon destination.
   • Gather two witnesses (or as many as required) and a justice of the peace or minister for a brief ceremony in the office of a judge or justice of the peace , at city hall, the courthouse or a small chapel. You can be back at work the next day if having a ceremony that is quiet and unobtrusive to your lives best fits your lifestyle.
   • Choose a location that holds sentimental meaning to both of you, such as the playground where you both played as kids, the produce section of the neighborhood grocery where you met, or on the courtyard of your college campus where you walked to class. Inexpensive, easy-in-easy-out locations provide for a quick but special elopement.
   • The iconic Las Vegas offers many wedding chapels and just about any costume and vehicle to rent for your special day or night.
   • Elope in a grand way, whisking your family and friends away to a secret destination where you allow a planner to handle the details. While official weddings are also done this way, the spontaneity of it all classifies it more as an elopement where you involve many witnesses for an impromptu celebration.

Celebrating Afterwards While not essential, especially if you're keeping the marriage under wraps, a celebration can be a nice way to involve everyone in your joyous act.

1. Celebrate afterwards with family and friends. Still with low-key or no fuss and small budget expenditure in mind, find a suitable way to draw in the people who really matter for a small celebration after the fact. Some examples of what you might do include:
   • Host a backyard barbeque to celebrate the nuptials with those in your lives, surprising them with the announcement on napkins, signs or during a special toast.
   • Plan an intimate dinner party or cocktail gathering to announce your marriage.
   • Have a trusted friend plan a housewarming or money tree “come-and-go” that family and friends can attend to celebrate your new marriage.
   • Go for a game of golf or bowls with your family and friends, and have a picnic or easy lunch included.
2. Delay the celebration if it suits your situation. If you are inviting people who felt very let down by your elopement, there is a benefit in waiting before celebrating. A few possibilities include:
   • Consider waiting until it's time for baby. You can celebrate both your baby's arrival and your wedding, by which time a lot of hurt will have mellowed and people will be more receptive (they can always make the excuse they're there for the baby).
   • If you don't plan on having children, waiting for an anniversary might be another option––time does heal, especially when the two of you are still clearly very much together.

Tips

• Elopement means that there won't be family memories or photos to share. This may impact your decision if you're concerned about not having these memories to share with loved ones down the track. On the other hand, don't overplay this reason––sentimentality isn't a reason for going through with a wedding you'd hate, let alone considering how many divorcees would find any enjoyment in replaying their wedding with family members––few!
• If eloping is a way around "normal" commitment, be very careful. This initial running away might extend to a whole range of avoidance of things you really want, such as companionship (your spouse or you being mentally or physically present), having children and staying together long term. Be sure to have talked things through and trust your instincts, not your fantasies.
• Sometimes it can help to tell people who don't approve of your decision that the size of the wedding does not determine the size of a couple's happiness. Remind them gently that not having to begin your marriage with money worries will set both of you in good stead for a long, happily married life.
• Create a website where you can post pictures, offer an online guest book and other details about your big event.

Warnings

• Expect some family members to be very upset. People have a lot of subjective ideas about weddings and the worth of being a part of them and you'll need to stick to the facts of why a normal style wedding simply wasn't meant for you (but avoid justifying––there is no need). You will also be best off if you accept that their response is their decision, just as eloping is yours.
• Consider the possibility of feeling guilty about anyone who seemed hurt about your decision. Again, this is not a reason to stop your decision but you will need to deal with the feelings constructively and not berate yourself.
• Eloping can seem very exciting. Make sure that the excitement isn't covering up any serious incompatibility between the two of you, as it will unravel when the excitement wears off, sometimes within days.
• Depending on the ages, leaving the kids out of the elopement planning and just surprising them with a new mommy or new daddy could lead to resentment later. Involve them in the planning and the secret will be fun for them and help foster good feelings about the blended family.

View Shyam's Contribution (articles) to wikiHow

Sources and Citations

• http://www.letsrunoff.com/ – research source
• http://www.theplunge.com/ – research source

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