Organic vs Chemical Fertilizer

Chemical Fertilizer vs Organic Fertilizer

A chemical fertilizer is defined as any inorganic material of wholly or partially synthetic origin that is added to the soil to sustain plant growth. Organic fertilizers are substances that are derived from the remains or by products of organisms which contain the essential nutrients for plant growth.


Advantages:
Chemical fertilizers are rich equally in three essential nutrients that are needed for crops and always ready for immediate supply of nutrients to plants if situation demands. Adds natural nutrients to soil, increases soil organic matter, improves soil structure and tilth, improves water holding capacity, reduces soil crusting problems, reduces erosion from wind and water, Slow and consistent release of nutrients,

Disadvantages:
Several chemical fertilizers have high acid content. They have the ability to burn the skin. Changes soil fertility. Have slow release capability; distribution of nutrients in organic fertilizers is not equal.

A chemical fertilizer is defined as any inorganic material of wholly or partially synthetic origin that is added to the soil to sustain plant growth. Chemical fertilizers are produced synthetically from inorganic materials. Since they are prepared from inorganic materials artificially, they may have some harmful acids, which stunt the growth of microorganisms found in the soil helpful for plant growth naturally. They’re rich in the three essential nutrients needed for plant growth. Some examples of chemical fertilizers are ammonium sulphate, ammonium phosphate, ammonium nitrate, urea, ammonium chloride and the like.

Organic fertilizers are substances that are derived from the remains or by products of organisms. Organic fertilizers depend upon the microorganisms found in soil to break them down and release the essential nutrients. Organic nutrients are rich in phosphorous, nitrogen, and potassium, but in unequal proportions. Examples of organic fertilizers are cottonseed meal, blood meal, fish emulsion, and manure and sewage sludge. There are two types of organic fertilizers: first is the synthetic type which is organic compound produced artificially (e.g., Urea, a common organic fertilizer; the other type is natural organic fertilizers because 100% of the ingredients used to create a typical natural organic fertilizer come from nature (e.g., fish extract, seaweed and manure, guano, and compost materials).

Distribution of nutrients:
Fertilizers are used to provide nutrients to the plants for their good growth. Soil nutrients’ deficiency is the prevalent problem among home-garden owners. One of the distinct advantages of chemical fertilizers over organic fertilizers is that chemical fertilizers are rich equally in all three essential nutrients: nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium. On the other hand, organic fertilizers may be rich in one of the three nutrients, or may have low levels of all the three nutrients.

Cost:
Organic fertilizers are much cheaper as compared to chemical fertilizers. One can prepare organic fertilizers on their own by composting or mixing cow, sheep, or poultry manure with other organic matters. On the other hand, one has to buy the chemical fertilizers from nearby gardening shops or horticulturists.

Supply of nutrients:
One aspect of the organic fertilizers is their slow-release capability. Slow-release capability of organic fertilizers has both advantages and disadvantages: Slow-release means there is less risk of over-fertilization but sometimes this slow-release of organic fertilizers is not able to fulfill to needed supply of the nutrients, whenever required. In contrast to organic fertilizer, chemical fertilizers are always there to provide immediate supply of nutrients to plants if situation demands.

Acid content:
One of the main disadvantages of chemical fertilizers is that, in contrast to organic fertilizers, several chemical fertilizers have high acid content like sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid. This high acid content results in the destruction of the nitrogen-fixing bacteria, which is helpful in supplying the nitrogen to a growing plant. In contrast, organic fertilizers support the growth of nitrogen-fixing bacteria.

NPK ratio:
Chemical fertilizers always have a high total NPK (nitrogen:phosphorous:potassium), from 20 to 60 percent or more. The total NPK for organic fertilizer blends will always be low. Fourteen percent is about as high as it gets.
History:
Natural fertilizers like manure have been in use for centuries as these were the only form of nutrition that could be provided to crops before the invention of chemical fertilizers. Chemicals were added to natural fertilizers after the second world war. Post the war, with advancement of technology there was an explosive growth in artificial fertilizers due to improved productivity. But of late, there has been mass awareness of the eco friendliness of the use of organic fertilizers and many are using those methods again.

Use:
There are two ways to measure fertilizer use in a country. One is by nutrient content — how much nitrogen, phosphate and potash are contained in the fertilizer applied. In fiscal year 2004, 23.4 million tons of nutrients were applied in the US. Another way to measure is in total tonnage — the total tons it takes to deliver the nutrient content. In fiscal year 2004, 57.8 million total tons were used in the United States. The world's largest producers and users of fertilizers are the United States, China, India, Russia and Brazil.

Some reports suggest the US Fertilizer market to be around $40 Billion of which organic fertilizers occupy only about $60 Miliion. The rest of it is the share of the various artificial fertilizers.

Is the U.S holding too much Oil in its reserves?

The U.S. has the world's largest emergency stockpile of oil.

Does America have too much oil in its reserves?

Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon fired off a letter this week asking the Department of Energy to study the "size and make-up" of the U.S.' Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

It comes fresh on the heels of a report on Monday from the non-partisan Government Accountability Office that also called for a similar review.

The U.S. has the largest emergency stockpile of oil in the world. And now that the country's oil production is booming, there's questions if America needs to hold so much crude in reserve. The Department of Energy didn't respond to a request for comment.

Congress created the reserve in response to the 1973 oil embargo, which caused a supply shock and a recession.

But the United States is now on track to surpass Saudi Arabia as the world's largest energy producer next year. That's thanks in large part to new technologies such as hydraulic fracking, which has made the extraction of oil and gas from shale rock commercially viable.

"The recent shale boom is having a profound effect on United States energy policy," Wyden wrote to Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz.

The talk of shrinking the oil reserve is a major shift from the political debates of the past years, when Americans were being squeezed by high gas prices.


In 2008, the Congress passed legislation that temporarily halted deposits of oil into the reserves.

Three years later, when the global economy was at risk of an oil supply shock due to the war in Libya, the United States and 28 other nations tapped their strategic reserves.

Fast forward to today, and the situation looks very different. Oil prices in the United States have tumbled to the lowest levels since 2012, and gas prices have fallen below $3 a gallon in many parts of the country.

Currently, there's enough oil in storage to meet the nation's needs for 106 days. In contrast, most oil consuming nations have 90 days of oil supply in storage.

Wyden says energy policies put in place as recently as 2007 are now "at best irrelevant, or at worst detrimental, to national environmental and economic goals."

What Mammals Have the Most Teeth?

What Mammals Have the Most Teeth?

The mammals that have the most teeth are dolphins. An oceanic dolphin may have up to 260 teeth on average. Each tooth is cone-shaped and approximately 0.4 inches (1 cm) in diameter. Dolphins’ teeth are evenly spaced apart and designed to interlock, which allows them to trap prey, a variety of smaller fish, in their mouths and swallow them without the need for chewing. Unlike other large sea creatures such as sharks, that have a lot of teeth, dolphins only have one set of teeth in their lifetimes. If a dolphin loses a tooth, it does not grow back, just like with human teeth.

More about dolphins:

*In the Solomon Islands, dolphin teeth are used as currency. In 2008, the spinner dolphin tooth was worth roughly the equivalent of 0.26 US Dollars (USD).

*An adult dolphin will typically eat nearly 10% of its body weight in fish, which includes mackerel, herring, and squid each day.

*Dolphins never physically fall asleep because they would drown since they don’t automatically breathe like humans. Instead, dolphins shut down half their brains at a time to rest them.


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The Most Expensive Divorce in History. What Cost; Who and Where?

What Did the Most Expensive Divorce in History Cost?

The most expensive divorce in history cost an estimated $4.5 billion US Dollars (USD), as of 2014. Dmitry Rybolovlev, a Russian oligarch, was ordered by a Geneva judge to pay his ex-wife a settlement of half of his approximate total worth of $8.8 billion USD. Business magnate Rybolovlev accumulated the majority of his wealth through his ownership of the largest potassium fertilizer company in Russia, which he sold his stakes in 2010 for a large profit. He also is owner of French soccer team, Monaco Football Club. Since Rybolovlev’s wealth was mainly tied up in trusts and real estate, his wife had not actually collected the full settlement.

More about divorces:

*The most expensive celebrity divorce is thought to be for actor Mel Gibson, who was ordered to pay his wife $425 million USD after their 31 year marriage ended in 2001.

*Couples with no assets are 70% more likely to divorce than couples with at least $10,000 USD in assets, according to a 2009 University of Virginia study.

*Russia is the country with the highest divorce rate, with five divorces for every 1,000 people, according to the 2012 United Nations Demographic Yearbook.


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First Ebola patient in New York City

First Ebola patient in New York City

Craig Spencer is a doctor who recently returned from Guinea and has tested positive for Ebola -- the first case of the deadly virus in New York City.

Spencer came back to the United States last week after treating Ebola patients in Guinea, where he worked for Doctors Without Borders.

When did he return from Guinea?

Spencer came back to the United States last week after treating Ebola patients in Guinea, where he worked for Doctors Without Borders.

He completed his work in Guinea on October 12 and left the country two days later via Brussels.

He arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport on October 17, but he exhibited no symptoms of the virus until Thursday morning, said Dr. Mary Travis Bassett, New York City's health commissioner.

The physician, who works at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, was checking his temperature twice a day. He has not seen any patients since his return.

Did he have any symptoms?

The 33-year-old did not have any symptoms after his return, but developed a fever, nausea, pain and fatigue Thursday morning, authorities said. He began feeling sluggish a couple of days ago, but his fever spiked to 100.3 degrees the day his symptoms appeared.

How many people has he been in contact with?

Spencer was in contact with four people after he started exhibiting symptoms, authorities said. Ebola isn't contagious until someone has symptoms.

Three people -- his fiancée and two friends -- are being placed on quarantine and monitored, health officials said. The fourth person is a car service driver who had no direct contact with him and is not considered at risk.

Spencer also went for a three-mile jog and visited a bowling alley in Brooklyn prior to feeling symptomatic, according to Bassett.

The bowling alley closed Thursday as a precaution, but it said in a statement that health officials have determined there are no risks to customers.

He also traveled on three subway lines. "At the time that the doctor was on the subway he did not have fever ... he was not symptomatic," Bassett said.

Somali Al-Shabab court stones teenager to death

Somali teenager 'stoned to death'
BBC News

Al-Shabab has carried out stonings and amputations in territory under its control

An Islamic court has stoned a teenager to death in southern Somalia after convicting him of raping a woman, a pro-Islamist news site reports.

The judge ordered Hasan Ahmad Ali, 18, to compensate the woman with a calf before he was killed, according to an audio recording of the trial.

Ali denied raping 28-year-old Fadumo Hasan Mohmoud.

Somalia's militant Islamist group al-Shabab implements a strict version of Islamic law in areas it controls.

Last month, a woman was stoned to death in the port town of Barawe after an Islamic court convicted her of having four husbands at the same time.

Ali was found guilty of raping Ms Mohmoud at gunpoint in Dharuro village in Somalia's Lower Shabelle region, reports the pro-al-Shabab al-Furqaan radio station on its website.

He said he had consensual sex with her.

Al-Shabab has recently lost control of several towns, including Barawe, but still controls large swathes of territory in rural areas.

The al-Qaeda linked group, which is estimated to have at least 5,000 fighters, wants to overthrow the UN-backed Somali government.

Microsoft to phase out Nokia name

Microsoft ditching the Nokia name on smartphones

The Nokia Lumia name will soon become Microsoft Lumia

Microsoft is ditching the Nokia brand name from new devices, less than a year after acquiring the Finnish mobile firm.

New Nokia Lumia smartphones will instead by known as Microsoft Lumia, the company said.

Nokia's non-mobile division, which is not owned by Microsoft, will continue to use the name.

The mobile operation was bought by Microsoft in April in a deal worth $7.2bn (£4.6bn).

Since then, Microsoft has quietly shifted away from the Nokia brand.

A post on Nokia France's Facebook page confirmed the branding shift. The renaming will roll out globally in due course, Microsoft has said.

The announcement comes despite Microsoft agreeing to a 10-year deal to use the Nokia name on mobile products.

Microsoft is currently having a big shake-up. In July, chief executive Satya Nadella announced the cutting of 18,000 jobs.

The bulk of the cuts, around 12,500, will be from staff taken on after the Nokia acquisition.