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

How to Teach About the Effects of Agriculture on Biodiversity

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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

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How to Increase Your Metabolism 12-24

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How to Increase Your Metabolism

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If you're trying to lose weight, increasing your metabolic rate can enable you to lose more weight without cutting more calories. The commercialism surrounding "metabolism-enhancing products" has made it difficult to separate fact from fiction (or advertising), but you can find a few research-based suggestions here.

Steps

1. Understand what metabolism is. In the simplest terms, metabolic rate is the rate at which your body burns calories . Very few people have a fast metabolism. Surprisingly, overweight individuals have relatively fast metabolism because they weigh more, but if their weight is staying constant then their metabolism is not fast enough to offset their caloric intake.[1] The bottom line is that increasing your metabolism will enable you to level your diet and weight. 
2. Determine what is influencing your metabolism. There are some factors that you can control and change, and some factors that you can't.
   • Age - Metabolic rate decreases 5% each decade, after the age of 40 [2], partly because of decreased muscle mass.
   • Gender - Men generally burn calories more quickly than women because they have more muscle tissue.[2]
   • Heredity - You can inherit your metabolic rate from previous generations.[2]
   • Thyroid disorder - Hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid gland) and hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid gland) can slow down or speed up metabolism, but only 3% and .3% of the population have hypo- and hyperthyroidism respectively.
   • Weight - different tissues of your body contribute different amounts to resting metabolism. Muscle contributes more than fat per unit mass and, because it is denser than fat, muscle contributes much more per unit volume [2], but this may not be practically significant [3]. See "Weight training" below.
3. Estimate your resting metabolic rate (RMR). RMR is often used interchangeably with basal metabolic rate (BMR). Although they are slightly different, estimating either is sufficient for the purpose of losing weight. What these equations will show you is, that if you weigh more, your RMR will be higher! To calculate your RMR, use the Mifflin-St Jeor equation (which is more reliable than the Harris-Benedict equation[4]).  here are also calculators online that can do this for you:
   • RMR = 9.99w + 6.25s - 4.92a + 166g-161
     • w = weight in kilograms; if you know your weight in pounds, divide by 2.2 to get your weight in kilograms
     • s = height in centimeters; if you know your height in inches, multiply by 2.54 to get your height in centimeters
     • a = age in years
     • g = gender = 1 for males, 0 for females
4. Adjust your diet accordingly. Your RMR will tell you how many calories you need to maintain your body at rest. Your daily consumption to maintain your weight should be:[5]
   • RMR x 1.15
     • E.g. RMR = 2000, so the maintenance intake is 2000 x 1.15 = 2300
   • To lose weight safely, do not exceed your maintenance intake or have a caloric intake lower than your calculated RMR.
   • Count calories by recording what you eat and looking up how many calories each food item contains (either on the food packaging or in tables provided in books or online).
5. Eat small, frequent meals. People generally eat less overall when they eat small yet frequently. Consider eating fruits , oats or anything with a "high volume to calorie content" , eating healthy snacks will also increase metabolism.[2] A common myth is that fasting or restricting your consumption of food will send your body into starvation mode. While there is little or no evidence that supports this it is true that malnutrition is never the solution to losing weight and may pose a serious risk to your health and have adverse effects in the long run. [6]
6. Drink iced water. As with food, depriving your body of water can encourage it to "hoard" rather than "burn". When you drink ice cold water, your body burns calories warming it to body temperature. More than ninety percent of the chemical reactions in your body occur in water, so make sure you drink an appropriate amount of water.
7. Boost metabolism temporarily with aerobic exercise. Different activities burn different quantities of calories, but the important thing is to raise your heart rate and sustain the activity for approximately thirty minutes.
8. Boost metabolism in the long run with weight training. Muscle burns more calories than fat does (73 more calories per kilogram per day, to be exact)[2] so the more muscle you build, the higher your resting metabolic rate (RMR) will be. Every muscle cell that you gain is like a little factory that constantly burns calories for you, even while you sleep, and revs up when you exercise. This is the only way to increase RMR, which accounts for 60 to 70 percent of the calories you burn daily.[7] From a recent conservative estimate [8] one can extrapolate that in one year a person with 2.2 kg more muscle will burn calories corresponding to 1 kg of fat due to this muscle mass. Young healthy men typically have 35 to 50 kg of muscle mass [9] so the most muscular men in the range burn extra calories relative to the least muscular corresponding to 6.8 kg (15 pounds) of fat per year.

Tips

• There are no "fat-burning" foods. You might've heard that certain foods (e.g. celery and grapefruit) increase metabolic rate, but it's just a myth.[10] While some foods and drinks such as red peppers and green tea have been studied for their potential metabolic rate increasing properties, there is no conclusive evidence that whatever influence they have on metabolism is significant enough to result in weight loss.[2] However, it has been proven that all foods do have what is called the thermic effect. Foods with protein have a 30% thermic effect, and are the most thermal of all foods. So that means if you eat a 100 calorie portion of meat, 30 calories from the food are required to break down the fibers in the protein and to properly digest it. Foods with higher amounts of fiber also have a high thermic effect. This is why people who eat 40% protein 40% carbohydrate and 20% mainly monounsaturated fat diets do very well, especially if they are carbohydrate sensitive and/or endomorphs.
• Some sugar substitutes may adversely affect metabolism and weight loss.[11]
• Very low-carb diets are said to burn more calories because the body expends energy changing fats and proteins into glucose. Glucose provides the energy for your body via a system of chemical reactions called the "krebs-cycle" or "tricarboxylic acid cycle."
• Unless you are careful to choose whole foods naturally rich in vitamins, the low-carb approach may lead to vitamin deficiency. Some sources claim carbohydrates are necessary for absorption of vitamins. However, it is likely even standard low-carb diets provide enough, as some traditional food cultures like that of the Inuit are low in carbohydrates and do not result in deficiencies. Just to be safe, you may want to invest in supplements, though beware: many formulations are poorly absorbed under the best of conditions. Include omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, by eating at least 2-3 portions of fish a week, or if you dislike fish take fish oil supplements. Drink eight 8-oz. glasses of non-carbonated water (including green tea, tea and coffee) per day.
• Be careful with dairy products if you are following the Atkins diet. Milk and products made with milk contain lactose, a carbohydrate. Yogurt has natural milk sugars in addition to fruit and sweeteners such as sucrose or high-fructose corn syrup. Consider getting your calcium from cheese. Some cheeses may have nearly zero carbohydrates. Avoid low-fat dairy products. Whole milk has 11 carbs[12]; skimmed milk has 12.3 carbs.[13] Whole milk also provides the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA and is the most significant food source of CLA,[14][15] a heart-healthy fat that may help increase your metabolism, lose more fat, and build more muscle. [14] Short- and medium-chain fatty acids (especially those in coconut oil) have long been promoted for weight loss and can easily be burned for energy. In a nine-year study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, whole milk and cheese helped prevent weight gain in women who had one or more servings a day while low-fat milk did not.[16] Low-fat yogurt or low-fat ice cream may have more sugar to compensate for the loss of taste. Soy products can also be an excellent substitute for dairy while you are on the Atkins diet. Plain soy milk has seven net carbs and one gram of fiber.[17]
• Always consult a dietitian or doctor before making a major change in your diet and exercise routine.

Warnings

• Avoid smoking as a weight-loss method. While nicotine is a metabolism booster and appetite suppressant, the health hazards far outweigh any benefits.
• Expect your metabolism to slow down as you lose weight. The more weight your body is carrying, the more calories your body has to burn in order to sustain itself, even at rest. When you begin restricting your calorie intake, you'll lose weight relatively easily because your body's high caloric needs are not being met. But after you begin to shed the weight, the body has less mass to carry and thus needs fewer calories. In order to continue losing weight, you will have to restrict your caloric intake even further in order to maintain a difference between what your body needs and what you are providing.[2] Let's go through a hypothetical example:
  • You are 200 lbs and your body needs 2500 calories a day to sustain itself.You cut down your caloric intake to 2000 calories.
  • You lose 25 lbs. Now your body only needs 2250 calories to sustain itself because it's carrying less weight.
  • If you continue with your 2000 calorie per day diet (the diet that helped you lose the first 25 lbs) you will still be losing, but at half the speed. In order to maintain a steady weight loss you will need to reduce your caloric intake further. However, it is at the utmost importance you do not try to consume fewer calories than your RMR!
  • Another possible problem: If you continue with your 2000 calorie per day diet (the diet that helped you lose the first 25 lbs) you may actually gain weight back because of varying levels of exercise. Let's say you lose 50 lbs. on your 2000 calorie diet. Your sustaining calories might be 1800. You're actually consuming enough calories to gain weight, but how would that happen if you had stayed on your diet? This can happen when your exercise has burned through many calories. If you slowed on exercise at this point you would actually gain weight again. The point here is to recheck your RMR when you lose weight and compare it to your consumption.
• Don't overdo your diet or exercise program. Losing more than a pound a week can be detrimental to your health. As mentioned above, check with a physician or a nutritionist to determine what would be considered appropriate weight loss for your level of fitness before you start a new exercise or diet plan.
• If you are pregnant or nursing, your caloric needs are increased. Speak to your doctor or midwife before restricting your diet or any specific food group.

  Video

  
  
  A video that gives tips on how to increase metabolism.

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 Increase Your Metabolism. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

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WikiHow's Recipe for Success 11-10

WikiHow's Recipe for Success

The so-called 'hybrid' company looks like a nonprofit, makes money like a business, and serves the community like a government.

WikiHow is like Wikipedia, except it's for-profit and focused on offering instructions. Tens of thousands of people around the world write and edit step-by-step articles on how to do just about everything--open a locked car, make a 3D paper snowflake, get rid of fruit flies, and even sneak your cat to work (yes, there are instructions for letting the cat out of the bag). The website gets more than 40 million unique visitors every month, which is more worldwide traffic than Urban Dictionary, The Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post each garner.

WikiHow founder Jack Herrick has taken a decidedly different tack when it comes to building his business. WikiHow's 14 employees work out of a house in downtown Palo Alto, Calif., and the company is intentionally self-funded. On top of that, it's a media company where everyone owns its content.

A Hybrid Approach

WikiHow calls itself a "hybrid organization." The website explains that like a non-profit, it wants to benefit people; like a government, it is creating something for the public good; and like a business, it makes money.

It's an interesting concept and one that seems to work--wikiHow has been profitable for several years, Herrick says.

Wikia is another example. Created by Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, the for-profit collaborative content platform was listed by Nielsen last year as one of the top 10 social networks in the U.S.--it gets more than 50 million unique visitors per month and has more than 250,000 communities and more than 20 million pages.

Both Wikia and wikiHow make their money from ads.

Small and Self-Funded

Why a work in a house? Herrick says people can be more relaxed--and hence, creative--in a home environment as opposed to a cube farm. You'd also think it helps cut costs, considering Silicon Valley office space is some of the most expensive real estate on the planet.

As for funding, wikiHow refused several financing offers between 2005 and 2008, a time when Herrick says content companies were hot targets for VCs (now, not so much).

"In Silicon Valley I am a huge outlier in the fact that we're one of very few companies that has the ability to take venture financing and has refused it," Herrick says. "Bootstrapping... really forces you to invent your way out of problems rather than spend your way out of problems [and ] invent ways to grow rather than spend on ways to grow."

Herrick says a "large public Internet company" even offered to buy wikiHow, but he turned it down.

"Accepting the offer would have made me a lot of money, but money isn't everything. We get a lot of joy in continuously improving our ability to offer free how-to instructions to the world," he says.

Owned by Everyone

Another twist: Because wikiHow content is Creative Commons licensed it is "owned by everyone." Plus, anyone can download the software holding everything together because it's open-source and freely licensed under the General Public License.

The wikiHow site even proclaims:

Jack owns the servers, the domain name, trademarks, and some office supplies and furniture. That said... anyone has the right to "fork" wikiHow and move all the content and software to new servers and domain, so in some sense Jack owns almost nothing. Basically, Jack is the steward of the wikiHow community--as long as the community believes he is the best steward possible and acts in the interest of the community and the wikiHow mission.

Herrick's hope, of course, is that no one does it, and he believes they won't. In a Web 2.0 Expo interview, Herrick explained his philosophy:

People contribute to wikiHow because they are inspired by the mission of making the world's how-to manual. Yet every user knows that the web companies change business models frequently and occasionally trash community projects as a result. Giving users the right to fork creates the trust that all the hard work people put into wikiHow will always be owned in some form by the community.

Of course, user-generated content can be messy. Just look at the problems Amazonand Yelp have had with bogus reviews. Unlike Yahoo Answers, About.com, and eHow (which Herrick sold to Demand Media in 2006), wikiHow lets anybody edit articles, but uses multiple layers of quality assurance to try to make sure the changes are good ones.

So far, the model is working--give or take a few well-documented examples of inaccurate wikiHow pages. While it's bound to happen, Herrick says more often than not the company's transparency leads to high quality work.

Not to mention a solid business.

Please feel free to view & edit my wikiHoe articles & help improve their quality.@

http://www.wikihow.com/User:ShyamsunderP

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