‘Energy’ indicates (in general terms) a given amount of energy, with no reference to time, and it is measured in joules. In energy analysis it can refer to a given amount of a primary energy source, or to a given amount of an energy carrier. ‘Power’, on the other hand, indicates the given pace of [...]
Archive for the 'Environment' Category
According to the First Law of Thermodynamics, neither matter nor energy can be created or destroyed. Therefore, it is impossible to have an output/input energy ratio greater than 1 when considering a closed set of energy transformations. To make things more difficult, according to the Second Law of Thermodynamics, any conversion of an energy input [...]
Organic produce is grown with the old-fashioned methods used prior to the Industrial Revolution in an effort to stop or reverse damage done to the environment. Over the years, these methods have been improved. Sir Howard Albert is known as the father of the organic movement, which is based on the use of compost. He [...]
Conventional produce is grown using methods based on technology from the industrial revolution and the development of agricultural chemistry. Nineteenth-century scientists such as Jean Baptiste Boussingault and Justus von Liebig demonstrated that plants obtain nutrients from minerals dissolved in water. Conventional methods use chemical fertilizers in place of humus plus large quantities of pesticides to [...]
Horticulture is the scientific term for the act of gardening. It first came into use around the eighteenth century, though gardening itself has been practiced for many thousands of years. A gardener must prepare and maintain the soil, select plants based on the climate and purpose for the garden, protect plants from adverse weather conditions [...]