aboutQ6. The advantage of using biofuels is it emits co2 less than gasoline. However, for Japan, biofuels should be shipped from other countries . It means that we emit a lot of co2 to use biofuels....
about Q7 give any good ideas such as using nuclear energy instead of fossil fuel, wind power, etc....
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Friday, July 27, 2007
Biofuels make us hungry? Questions!!
Q1. How did the price of corn which imports from the United States change?
Q2. What did the new president in Mexico do?
Q3. What kinds of oil's prices are increasing? Give three examples.
Q4. What will it result in that cassava-based ethanol production become popular?
Q5. What did World Food Summit in the 1996 set out?
Q6. For Japan, biofuels should be shipped from other countries. Some people says that it is meaningless for Japan to begin using biofuels instead of fossil fuel, because a large amount of gasoline is used when biofuels are shipped to Japan. Do you think using biofuels in Japan is an effective way to reduce CO2 in the air?
Q7. Do you have any good idea to reduce CO2 in the air?
Q2. What did the new president in Mexico do?
Q3. What kinds of oil's prices are increasing? Give three examples.
Q4. What will it result in that cassava-based ethanol production become popular?
Q5. What did World Food Summit in the 1996 set out?
Q6. For Japan, biofuels should be shipped from other countries. Some people says that it is meaningless for Japan to begin using biofuels instead of fossil fuel, because a large amount of gasoline is used when biofuels are shipped to Japan. Do you think using biofuels in Japan is an effective way to reduce CO2 in the air?
Q7. Do you have any good idea to reduce CO2 in the air?
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Biofuels make us hungry?
BIOFUELS MAY have even more devastating effects in the rest of the world, especially on the prices of basic foods. If oil prices remain high--which is likely--the people most vulnerable to the price hikes brought on by the biofuel boom will be those in countries that both suffer food deficits and import petroleum. The risk extends to a large part of the developing world: in 2005, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, most of the 82 low-income countries with food deficits were also net oil importers.
Even major oil exporters that use their petrodollars to purchase food imports, such as Mexico, cannot escape the consequences of the hikes in food prices. In late 2006, the price of tortilla flour in Mexico, which gets 80 percent of its corn imports from the United States, doubled thanks partly to a rise in U.S. corn prices from $2.80 to $4.20 a bushel over the previous several months. (Prices rose even though tortillas are made mainly from Mexican-grown white corn because industrial users of the imported yellow corn, which is used for animal feed and processed foods, started buying the cheaper white variety.) The price surge was exacerbated by speculation and hoarding. With about half of Mexico's 107 million people living in poverty and relying on tortillas as a main source of calories, the public outcry was fierce. In January 2007, Mexico's new president, Felipe Calderón, was forced to cap the prices of corn products.
The International Food Policy Research Institute, in Washington, D.C., has produced sobering estimates of the potential global impact of the rising demand for biofuels. Mark Rosegrant, an IFPRI division director, and his colleagues project that given continued high oil prices, the rapid increase in global biofuel production will push global corn prices up by 20 percent by 2010 and 41 percent by 2020. The prices of oilseeds, including soybeans, rapeseeds, and sunflower seeds, are projected to rise by 26 percent by 2010 and 76 percent by 2020, and wheat prices by 11 percent by 2010 and 30 percent by 2020. In the poorest parts of sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Latin America, where cassava is a staple, its price is expected to increase by 33 percent by 2010 and 135 percent by 2020. The projected price increases may be mitigated if crop yields increase substantially or ethanol production based on other raw materials (such as trees and grasses) becomes commercially viable. But unless biofuel policies change significantly, neither development is likely.
The production of cassava-based ethanol may pose an especially grave threat to the food security of the world's poor. Cassava, a tropical potato-like tuber also known as manioc, provides one-third of the caloric needs of the population in sub-Saharan Africa and is the primary staple for over 200 million of Africa's poorest people. In many tropical countries, it is the food people turn to when they cannot afford anything else. It also serves as an important reserve when other crops fail because it can grow in poor soils and dry conditions and can be left in the ground to be harvested as needed.
Thanks to its high-starch content, cassava is also an excellent source of ethanol. As the technology for converting it to fuel improves, many countries--including China, Nigeria, and Thailand--are considering using more of the crop to that end. If peasant farmers in developing countries could become suppliers for the emerging industry, they would benefit from the increased income. But the history of industrial demand for agricultural crops in these countries suggests that large producers will be the main beneficiaries. The likely result of a boom in cassava-based ethanol production is that an increasing number of poor people will struggle even more to feed themselves.
Participants in the 1996 World Food Summit set out to cut the number of chronically hungry people in the world--people who do not eat enough calories regularly to be healthy and active--from 823 million in 1990 to about 400 million by 2015. The Millennium Development Goals established by the United Nations in 2000 vowed to halve the proportion of the world's chronically underfed population from 16 percent in 1990 to eight percent in 2015. Realistically, however, resorting to biofuels is likely to exacerbate world hunger. Several studies by economists at the World Bank and elsewhere suggest that caloric consumption among the world's poor declines by about half of one percent whenever the average prices of all major food staples increase by one percent. When one staple becomes more expensive, people try to replace it with a cheaper one, but if the prices of nearly all staples go up, they are left with no alternative.
In a study of global food security we conducted in 2003, we projected that given the rates of economic and population growth, the number of hungry people throughout the world would decline by 23 percent, to about 625 million, by 2025, so long as agricultural productivity improved enough to keep the relative price of food constant. But if, all other things being equal, the prices of staple foods increased because of demand for biofuels, as the IFPRI projections suggest they will, the number of food-insecure people in the world would rise by over 16 million for every percentage increase in the real prices of staple foods. That means that 1.2 billion people could be chronically hungry by 2025--600 million more than previously predicted.
The world's poorest people already spend 50 to 80 percent of their total household income on food. For the many among them who are landless laborers or rural subsistence farmers, large increases in the prices of staple foods will mean malnutrition and hunger. Some of them will tumble over the edge of subsistence into outright starvation, and many more will die from a multitude of hunger-related diseases.
Even major oil exporters that use their petrodollars to purchase food imports, such as Mexico, cannot escape the consequences of the hikes in food prices. In late 2006, the price of tortilla flour in Mexico, which gets 80 percent of its corn imports from the United States, doubled thanks partly to a rise in U.S. corn prices from $2.80 to $4.20 a bushel over the previous several months. (Prices rose even though tortillas are made mainly from Mexican-grown white corn because industrial users of the imported yellow corn, which is used for animal feed and processed foods, started buying the cheaper white variety.) The price surge was exacerbated by speculation and hoarding. With about half of Mexico's 107 million people living in poverty and relying on tortillas as a main source of calories, the public outcry was fierce. In January 2007, Mexico's new president, Felipe Calderón, was forced to cap the prices of corn products.
The International Food Policy Research Institute, in Washington, D.C., has produced sobering estimates of the potential global impact of the rising demand for biofuels. Mark Rosegrant, an IFPRI division director, and his colleagues project that given continued high oil prices, the rapid increase in global biofuel production will push global corn prices up by 20 percent by 2010 and 41 percent by 2020. The prices of oilseeds, including soybeans, rapeseeds, and sunflower seeds, are projected to rise by 26 percent by 2010 and 76 percent by 2020, and wheat prices by 11 percent by 2010 and 30 percent by 2020. In the poorest parts of sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Latin America, where cassava is a staple, its price is expected to increase by 33 percent by 2010 and 135 percent by 2020. The projected price increases may be mitigated if crop yields increase substantially or ethanol production based on other raw materials (such as trees and grasses) becomes commercially viable. But unless biofuel policies change significantly, neither development is likely.
The production of cassava-based ethanol may pose an especially grave threat to the food security of the world's poor. Cassava, a tropical potato-like tuber also known as manioc, provides one-third of the caloric needs of the population in sub-Saharan Africa and is the primary staple for over 200 million of Africa's poorest people. In many tropical countries, it is the food people turn to when they cannot afford anything else. It also serves as an important reserve when other crops fail because it can grow in poor soils and dry conditions and can be left in the ground to be harvested as needed.
Thanks to its high-starch content, cassava is also an excellent source of ethanol. As the technology for converting it to fuel improves, many countries--including China, Nigeria, and Thailand--are considering using more of the crop to that end. If peasant farmers in developing countries could become suppliers for the emerging industry, they would benefit from the increased income. But the history of industrial demand for agricultural crops in these countries suggests that large producers will be the main beneficiaries. The likely result of a boom in cassava-based ethanol production is that an increasing number of poor people will struggle even more to feed themselves.
Participants in the 1996 World Food Summit set out to cut the number of chronically hungry people in the world--people who do not eat enough calories regularly to be healthy and active--from 823 million in 1990 to about 400 million by 2015. The Millennium Development Goals established by the United Nations in 2000 vowed to halve the proportion of the world's chronically underfed population from 16 percent in 1990 to eight percent in 2015. Realistically, however, resorting to biofuels is likely to exacerbate world hunger. Several studies by economists at the World Bank and elsewhere suggest that caloric consumption among the world's poor declines by about half of one percent whenever the average prices of all major food staples increase by one percent. When one staple becomes more expensive, people try to replace it with a cheaper one, but if the prices of nearly all staples go up, they are left with no alternative.
In a study of global food security we conducted in 2003, we projected that given the rates of economic and population growth, the number of hungry people throughout the world would decline by 23 percent, to about 625 million, by 2025, so long as agricultural productivity improved enough to keep the relative price of food constant. But if, all other things being equal, the prices of staple foods increased because of demand for biofuels, as the IFPRI projections suggest they will, the number of food-insecure people in the world would rise by over 16 million for every percentage increase in the real prices of staple foods. That means that 1.2 billion people could be chronically hungry by 2025--600 million more than previously predicted.
The world's poorest people already spend 50 to 80 percent of their total household income on food. For the many among them who are landless laborers or rural subsistence farmers, large increases in the prices of staple foods will mean malnutrition and hunger. Some of them will tumble over the edge of subsistence into outright starvation, and many more will die from a multitude of hunger-related diseases.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Seven Wonders
Kiyomizu Temple,Kyoto,Japan
It was constructed as a religious place in 1633.
The temple's name means "clear water". I have visited this place.One of famous places in Kiyomizu Temple is three kinds of water.Three kinds of water are floating and you can drink one of them with your eyes closed. One water is for your good looking ,second is for your affluence,and third is for your success of business or study. The one water which you chose is what you can succeed in. Kiyomizu temple is also famous as a place for commiting suicide.Kiyomizu temple has a strange atmosphere to attract people.
Statues of Easter Island ,Chile
It was discovered in 1772 by Dutch explorer Jakob Roggeveen. It is known as Moai and is believed that a society of Polynesian origin settled there in the 4th century and established a unique tradition of monumental sculpture.I wondered how the ancient people created such a large monumental sculpture without electric machine. These statues are also believed that they brought island good things like rain and fertile ground. I'm also interested in such religious back ground.
The Hagia Sophia,Turkey
It was the greatest Christian cathedral of the Middle Ages,later converted into an imperial mosque in 1453 by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed 2, and into a museum in 1935.It has been rebuilt and repaired so many times.I'm attracted its mosaics.The Christian iconographic mosaics are being gradually uncovered;however, in order to do so, important , historic Islamic art would have to be destroyed. The balance between both Christian and Islamic cultures must be maintained.
The Pyramids at Giza
It was built between 2600 and 2500B.C.
The three Pyramids at Giza made of more than 5million limestone blocks.The largest of three Pyramids is known as Great Pyramid and its size is about 146 meters.This means that the kings of ancient Egypt had great powers to control people.I was impressed by their domination and great hardship of many people.
Sydney Opera House,Sydney, Australia
Opera House is a complex theater. It has five theaters, five rehearsal studios, two main halls, four restaurants etc.It is famous for its unique structure and design. I have visited Opera House before.I hope this mordern architecture would be brought down next generation.
The statue of Liberty, New York City, U.S.A.
The statue of Liberty was presented from French government to the US government to honor the ideals of freedom and independence.I have visited the statue of Liberty. It is famous as symbol of freedom. I think this statue shows the spirit of American people.And, I hope that every people in the world would attain their freedom and hopeful life as this statu shows us.
The Kremlin and Red Square,Moscow,Russia
It was built as a residence for Ivan1.Today, it is used as president's office. I have visited the Kremlin. I had never seen such a structure at that time,and was impressed so much. "Kremlin " means castle in Russian word.There are many beautiful historic architectures in Russia. I would like to know about these beautiful structures everyone in the world. And I hope that these structures would be exist forever.
It was constructed as a religious place in 1633.
The temple's name means "clear water". I have visited this place.One of famous places in Kiyomizu Temple is three kinds of water.Three kinds of water are floating and you can drink one of them with your eyes closed. One water is for your good looking ,second is for your affluence,and third is for your success of business or study. The one water which you chose is what you can succeed in. Kiyomizu temple is also famous as a place for commiting suicide.Kiyomizu temple has a strange atmosphere to attract people.
Statues of Easter Island ,Chile
It was discovered in 1772 by Dutch explorer Jakob Roggeveen. It is known as Moai and is believed that a society of Polynesian origin settled there in the 4th century and established a unique tradition of monumental sculpture.I wondered how the ancient people created such a large monumental sculpture without electric machine. These statues are also believed that they brought island good things like rain and fertile ground. I'm also interested in such religious back ground.
The Hagia Sophia,Turkey
It was the greatest Christian cathedral of the Middle Ages,later converted into an imperial mosque in 1453 by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed 2, and into a museum in 1935.It has been rebuilt and repaired so many times.I'm attracted its mosaics.The Christian iconographic mosaics are being gradually uncovered;however, in order to do so, important , historic Islamic art would have to be destroyed. The balance between both Christian and Islamic cultures must be maintained.
The Pyramids at Giza
It was built between 2600 and 2500B.C.
The three Pyramids at Giza made of more than 5million limestone blocks.The largest of three Pyramids is known as Great Pyramid and its size is about 146 meters.This means that the kings of ancient Egypt had great powers to control people.I was impressed by their domination and great hardship of many people.
Sydney Opera House,Sydney, Australia
Opera House is a complex theater. It has five theaters, five rehearsal studios, two main halls, four restaurants etc.It is famous for its unique structure and design. I have visited Opera House before.I hope this mordern architecture would be brought down next generation.
The statue of Liberty, New York City, U.S.A.
The statue of Liberty was presented from French government to the US government to honor the ideals of freedom and independence.I have visited the statue of Liberty. It is famous as symbol of freedom. I think this statue shows the spirit of American people.And, I hope that every people in the world would attain their freedom and hopeful life as this statu shows us.
The Kremlin and Red Square,Moscow,Russia
It was built as a residence for Ivan1.Today, it is used as president's office. I have visited the Kremlin. I had never seen such a structure at that time,and was impressed so much. "Kremlin " means castle in Russian word.There are many beautiful historic architectures in Russia. I would like to know about these beautiful structures everyone in the world. And I hope that these structures would be exist forever.
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Life in Buffalo
Buffalo is a beautiful city,especially in summer. There are many greens.And also, there are many events.
Shakespeare in Delaware Park is one of events. It has been a summer traditional in Buffalo since 1976. It is the country's second most successful outdoor Shakesoeare festival in terms of audience,attracting an average of 50,000 patrons each summer. This festival takes place in a historic park designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, father of landscape architecture, and the nation's most famous parkmaker. The setting stands behind the park's rose garden. In this beautiful setting under the star, Shakespear's stories are played by actors and actresses.
And you don't forget about July 4th. Fireworks Celebration is to be held. This event takes place on July 3rd at Seneca Events Center, Seneca Niagara Casino and Hotel.It must be a gorgeous event! You can go to the event with nice clothes.
On June 9th, there will be a USA Rugby national collegiate all star championship game at northamton park. College allstars teams representing seven regions in the USA compete for the National Allstar Championship. If you are crazy for rugby, you can't miss it. The kickoff is 10am.
The Allentown Art Festival will take place in the Allentown on Saturday ,June 9th and June 10th,from 11am to 6pm. It is historic preservation district of Buffalo. Ten thousand art patrons visit the festival to enjoy it. There are more than 400 exhibitions which presents art and crafts. This year,the festival will be 50th. A part of proceeds will be donated to Art Scholarships in NY State School.
To tell the truth ,there are not so many places in Buffalo to play-like dancing,night club, and so on.But there are many academic events in Buffalo. If you are an academic person, you will be a good citizen in Buffalo.
Shakespeare in Delaware Park is one of events. It has been a summer traditional in Buffalo since 1976. It is the country's second most successful outdoor Shakesoeare festival in terms of audience,attracting an average of 50,000 patrons each summer. This festival takes place in a historic park designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, father of landscape architecture, and the nation's most famous parkmaker. The setting stands behind the park's rose garden. In this beautiful setting under the star, Shakespear's stories are played by actors and actresses.
And you don't forget about July 4th. Fireworks Celebration is to be held. This event takes place on July 3rd at Seneca Events Center, Seneca Niagara Casino and Hotel.It must be a gorgeous event! You can go to the event with nice clothes.
On June 9th, there will be a USA Rugby national collegiate all star championship game at northamton park. College allstars teams representing seven regions in the USA compete for the National Allstar Championship. If you are crazy for rugby, you can't miss it. The kickoff is 10am.
The Allentown Art Festival will take place in the Allentown on Saturday ,June 9th and June 10th,from 11am to 6pm. It is historic preservation district of Buffalo. Ten thousand art patrons visit the festival to enjoy it. There are more than 400 exhibitions which presents art and crafts. This year,the festival will be 50th. A part of proceeds will be donated to Art Scholarships in NY State School.
To tell the truth ,there are not so many places in Buffalo to play-like dancing,night club, and so on.But there are many academic events in Buffalo. If you are an academic person, you will be a good citizen in Buffalo.
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