#like 95 percent of the rooftops

[nevertheless-moving]

Hesina Willshaper AU

Step one canon divergence: Amaram's army doesn't do the kind thing. Kaladin's listed next of kin are sent a letter stiffly informing them that their son is a deserter and, thanks to the highmarshall's mercy, has been sold into slavery.

Step two canon divergence: a light spren has started following Hesina around.

The letter reaches hearthstone.

Hesina cries the bones of the first ideal through labor pangs. Their wretched diamond lamp grows slightly dimmer during childbirth.

Hesina and Lirin discuss if there's anyway they could possibly find their son and pay his slave debt. They're not optimistic.

Hesina talks with her lightspren.

Lirin and Hesina talk again about trying to find their son, now that Oroden is starting to be weaned.

Hesina appears to have grown taller. No one but the two of them seem to be aware but they're worried other future changes might be more noticeable.

Hesina and Lirin realize that she can mold rock as if it was clay with stormlight. A spark of hope for freeing their son emerges.

The two leave town.

They find a slave market in the nearest city. They see other parent's sons, but not their own.

Hesina swears to free those in bondage. Stormlight starts coming easier.

They make a tunnel. Rebellion follows. Lirin is horrified by the violence (the violence is not actually that bad all things considered. a couple guards dead. some bystanders frightened. Fair amount of property damage as they rob the military barracks food supply, steal every sphere that's not nailed down. and also steal the spheres that are nailed down. (Lirin won't admit it but the stealing from lamps part is kindof fun.)).

Many of those they freed flee. Some return to slavery willingly, scared of retribution. Many decide to follow the Radiant woman who has vowed to see others like them freed.

The group proceed to the next town. They find another slave market. They make a tunnel. There is more resistance than last time, clearly they were warned something might happened. Hesina kills a man.

Lirin is terrified by what his wife is becoming.

Hesina swears to shelter those without homes. The lightspren forms an unbreakable hammer, perfect for knocking crem free from buildings. And for knocking down men.

A now larger motley group seeks shelter in a mountain town razed in one of Alethkar's many skirmishes over the last decades. Hesina builds homes. Lirin begs her to stay here, to stop fighting before she goes to far down this path, not to go to war. The slaves they've freed are split, many wanting to stay, hide, some wanting to fight and free more, with a radiant at their head, there's a real chance to change things. Hesina lingers, practicing, spends some time falling in and out of shadesmar.

Lirin and Hesina separate.

Lirin stays with Oroden and the noncombatants. Hesina leads those who want to fight to another city, still trying to find their son, still trying to free everyone's children.

The town settles into a routine. Hesina and Lirin miss one another. This is the first time they've gone longer than two days without seeing each other in the last 25 years, and the two days was only when Lirin had to travel to where someone had overturned a cart on the road nearby and Hesina had to stay and watch the children, too young to travel. besides that, it had been every day. they keep turning to talk to each other.

While the army is gone, the free town is attacked by those trying to reclaim her property.

Hesina swims deliberately through shadesmar for the first time. reaches lirin just in time.

Lirin accepts that not fighting won't stop the violence. (It breaks him just a little bit)

Hesina shouts that one person's freedom ends where another's begins. She vows to fight against powers which would rather see their people in cages then homes. A thousand light spren rise up to grant her strength.

(yes I know she's moving fast through the oaths. but she's always been a thoughtful woman and she raised two children who asked difficult questions and now shes mother to another several hundred. honestly she had already worked through some of these concepts before they became actionable on such a grand scale.)

Lirin vows to support his wife through whatever trials the Almighty seems inclined to put her through.

The lightspren, who has started to get some memories back, remembers Oathgate Spren not terribly far from here by physical realm measurements, guarding a hidden human city

the stone remembers the way the radiants once traveled.

The path to a kingdom in the sky is slow — there are many cages to break on the way.

Kaladin doesn't know it right away, because people weren't exactly telling slaves about the freedom riots, but slave wagons start having harder and harder times reaching the shattered planes after him.

Someone mocks Lirin for having a wife so determined to pursue the masculine art of war. Lirin gets pissy and decides to show them by learning to read and write to help support the administrative side of his wife's kingdom wide asskicking.

The highprinces lead a fairly successful misinformation campaign about the slave riots, lots of accusations of rampant violence, the dregs of society lashing out, you can probably imagine

The ongoing rebellion is large enough that word trickles to the bridge crews, encouraging bridge four's hope for escaping, while also making it substantially more daunting, as the crews are even better guarded than canon.

Rumors of a female radiant swirl around. Most people assume it's a woman in shardplate with some sort of tunneling fabrial, which is still pretty crazy, but several major players Take Note

A very large and tired huddled mass of people reach Urithiru. there's just enough squires, and two new willshapers with their own oaths, to make tunnels through the shattered planes and reach the oathgate without being seen by the alethi armies

the parshendi army is another story, but some are willing to take a chance listening to the neshua kadal, and come with them.

The political implications of Dalinar freeing 1000 slaves is slightly more complex, especially considering the rebellions have been impacting Sadeas the hardest

About a week after being freed, Kaladin hires a spanreed intermediary to write home and find out if his hometown is alright (again, a lot of misinformation and rumors about the violence of the riots)

Is informed by Laral that his family left town looking for him shortly before the riots started, were presumed dead

Kaladin is under the impression that 1) his parents are dead because of him 2) the Rebellion is not the righteous fallback plan that he and the men were hoping it was.

Hesina has many reasons to go to the shattered planes. Nearest part of the trade network for food and necessary goods. Many slaves to be freed from there, and a part of her still hopes to find her son, even thought its been so long. Home of Alethkar's political leaders, the source of Alethkar's slavery.

I have spent. A LOT of time imagining many possible reunions between kaladin and his mom in my highly specific high oath hesenia au. She has a couple faces she could wear when visiting the planes. Brightlady. Radiant. Cagebreaker. Queen of Urithiru (not her real title, they're tentatively trying the Listener council model, but they know what the Alethi will understand). Even darkeyed mother, if she and Lirin approach slowly from a different direction. Honestly, pleased as I am with all of the above, a lot is flexible, the key here is kaladin going "MOM??" In some fashion

Thank you @sorchasolas for conversation and the urithiru ideas and for leading me to actually write all this down <3

#stormlight archive #my au #stormlight au no 2 #hesina cagebreaker #the stormlight archive #stormlight au #Hesina willshaper au #ok for the growing taller thing: hear me out! #like she's a tall woman #she can reach the crem on most rooftops with her crempick #like 95 percent of the rooftops #and that 5 percent of rooftops that she can't quite reach she always forgets to bring a stepstool #so she's a tall woman. but her Identity is that of an even taller woman. #do you see my vision #Lirin leaves to bring her the little stepstool because she always forgets when she's hired to clear the baker's building. #but she doesn't need it #he had noticed...but he had honestly just assumed he had gotten shorter. musculoskeletal atrophy happens to men of a certain age. #he's on the younger side but the heralds know it's been a difficult few years. he didn't bring it up but neither did his wife #now he's looking at his wife and is: #Lirin: I am certain you needed a ladder to reach this roof before #Hesina: I did? Are you sure? #Lirin: yes I'm sure you always—Hesina! #Hesina: what? #Lirin: i am. CONFIDENT. that for the last 20 years my eyes have been level with your chin. #Lirin: not your... #Hesina: not my...? #Lirin: #Hesina: #and then they go bone #ok i'm done thank you for listening <3

[probablyasocialecologist]

Israel Military Orders 58, 92, 158, and 291, issued between 1967 and 1968, give absolute control over all issues concerning water issues in the West Bank and Gaza to the Israeli army, prevent the construction of any new water installations without a permit at risk of confiscation, allow arbitrary rejection of applications for said permits, and nullify any previous arrangements concerning water resources. In 2017, fifty years after the first of these proclamations, Amnesty International reported some 90-95 percent of Gaza’s water was “unfit for human consumption.”  Freshwater transfers from the West Bank, along which the Jordan River runs, could ameliorate this situation, but they are prohibited. Instead, Mekorot, a state-owned Israeli water company, has been allowed to cultivate its own expansive water system that redirects the vast majority of these resources to Israel and its illegal settlements in the West Bank. Additionally, the Israeli army uses military training and exercises as a pretense to displace Palestinians in the West Bank and take control of water sources, leaving many rural communities with no access to water. A May 2023 report reveals Israelis enjoy 247 liters of water a day per person while Palestinians use 82.4 liters per person, but in rural communities that number plummets to 26 liters (“much like the average in disaster zones”). In 2020, the report finds, Israelis consumed ten times the water Palestinians in the West Bank did despite having a population that is only three times larger. Ninety-two percent of Palestinians store water in rooftop containers in the event of shortages.

#israel #palestine #apartheid #zionism #water

[visit-new-york]

One World Trade Center

285 Fulton St, New York, NY One World Trade Center also known as One World Trade, One WTC, and formerly Freedom Tower is the main building of the rebuilt World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan, New York City.

Location 285 Fulton Street, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. 10007 It is bounded by West Street to the west, Vesey Street to the north, Fulton Street to the south, and Washington Street to the east.

One World Trade Center is a masterfully designed building and a symbol of resilience and resolve.

MARCH 29, 2022 One World Trade Center 95 Percent Leased With Latest Deal: Durst

As of September 2016, One WTC became the tallest building in the western hemisphere to be awarded a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold certification. LEED is an internationally recognized green building certification system, which recognizes structures that have been built and designed using strategies that address energy savings, water efficiency, and CO2 emissions reduction.

Constructed using more than 40% post-industrial recycled content and with more than 87% of construction waste diverted from the landfill, One WTC is a sustainable force to be reckoned with.

Where in New York is the World Trade Center? The complex—located at the southwestern tip of Manhattan, near the shore of the Hudson River and a few blocks northwest of Wall Street—was built by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey as a central facility for businesses and government agencies involved in international trade.

Can you see the Statue of Liberty from One World Observatory? The observation deck at One World Observatory (the 'Freedom Tower') offers breathtaking views of New York Harbor, including the Statue of Liberty.

One World Trade Center The One World Trade Center (1WTC) is the most important building of the new World Trade Center, established to substitute the complex wrecked in the September 11 attacks.

Construction The construction of the building began on 27 April 2006, nearly 5 years after the Twin Towers were destroyed. Nevertheless, the first cornerstone was laid on 4 July 2004 - two years earlier, in a symbolic ceremony. During the first years, the skyscraper was known as Freedom Tower. The skyscraper was inaugurated on the 3 November 2014.

The architect David Childs and Skidmore Owings & Merrill company were commissioned the design of this new skyscraper. The designer had previously created the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the Willis Tower in Chicago and Jin Mao Tower in China.

Standing 1,776 ft (541 m)-tall, it is currently the sixth highest building in the world. The tallest is in Asia. The rooftop stands 417 meters high, the same measurements as the first tower in the original World Trade Center.

One World Observatory Inaugurated the 29 May 2015, 13 months after the skyscraper was opened to the public, the One World Trade Center observation deck, known as the One World Observatory, has become one of the most popular tourist attractions in New York. It offers unimaginable panoramic views of New York.

The One World Observatory occupies the last three floors of the skyscraper (floors 100 – 102) and reaches a height of 386.5 meters. It is the tallest observatory in New York. The 360° views give visitors a vision of up to 80 km in all directions.

Sadly, unlike the observations decks of the Empire State and Rockefeller Center, the One World Observatory does not have an outdoor terrace, it is all interior with large glass windows. This makes it is harder to get a good photograph and visitors won’t feel the pulse of the city like on the other viewpoints.

Worthwhile, But… If you enjoy modern architecture and want to observe New York City from its new iconic skyscraper, we recommend the One World Observatory. The whole experience, from as soon as you walk inside the building, take the elevator covered by led panels that recreate the growth of the city from it once founded.

This said, the city’s best viewpoints are without a doubt: The Empire State Building Observatory followed by the Top of the Rock, since both offer different sensations. The One World Observatory would be our third favorite.

Skip the Line Tickets The number of tickets is limited by scheduled turns, which means, that visitors must buy their tickets in advance. If not, the waiting line can be several hours long.

To avoid wasting time in tiresome lines, we recommend visitors pre-book tickets. These can be printed out or on downloaded on the smartphone.

Location 285 Fulton Street.

Schedule Open every day of the year: 9am -10pm. On certain dates the landmark closes at 8pm.

Price Adults: US$ 40.28 (€ 37.80) Over 65s: US$ 38.11 (€ 35.70) Children 6-12: US$ 33.75 (€ 31.60) Children under 6: Free.

One World Observatory Tickets US$ 46.82 (€ 43.90)

#one world trade center #one world trade #world trade center #freedom tower #one wtc #fulton street #New York City #new york #city #urban #new-york #manhattan #nofollow #one world observatory

[earaercircular]

To Help Cool a Hot Planet, the Whitest of White Coats Scientists at Purdue have created a white paint that, when applied, can reduce the surface temperature on a roof and cool the building beneath it.

Superwhite paint can cool buildings even in hot sunlight

Xiulin Ruan, a professor of mechanical engineering at Purdue University, didn’t set out to make it into the Guinness World Records when he began trying to make a new type of paint. He had a loftier goal: to cool down buildings without torching the Earth.

In 2020, Dr. Ruan and his team unveiled their creation: a type of white paint that can act as a reflector, bouncing 95 percent of the sun’s rays away from the Earth’s surface, up through the atmosphere and into deep space. A few months later, they announced an even more potent formulation that increased sunlight reflection to 98 percent.

The paint’s properties are almost superheroic. It can make surfaces as much as eight degrees Fahrenheit cooler than ambient air temperatures at midday, and up to 19 degrees cooler at night, reducing temperatures inside buildings and decreasing air-conditioning needs by as much as 40 percent. It is cool to the touch, even under a blazing sun, Dr. Ruan said. Unlike air-conditioners, the paint doesn’t need any energy to work, and it doesn’t warm the outside air.

In 2021, Guinness declared it the whitest paint ever, and it’s since collected several awards. While the paint was originally envisioned for rooftops, manufacturers of clothes, shoes, cars, trucks and even spacecraft have come clamoring. Last year, Dr. Ruan and his team announced that they’d come up with a more lightweight version that could reflect heat from vehicles.

“We weren’t really trying to develop the world’s whitest paint,” Dr. Ruan said in an interview. “We wanted to help with climate change, and now it’s more of a crisis, and getting worse. We wanted to see if it was possible to help save energy while cooling down the Earth.”

While the paint is officially the world’s whitest, it isn’t blindingly so because it scatters light, Dr. Ruan said. It doesn’t look all that different from white paint from the hardware store.

The paint is at least a year from being ready for commercial use, and work is underway to increase its durability and dirt resistance. Dr. Ruan said the Purdue[1] team has partnered with a company, but can’t yet name it. The team is also developing colored paints that use the ultrawhite as a base. “They will work less ideally than the white, but better than some of the other commercial colours,” he said.

As the climate crisis worsens, scientists have been urgently working to develop reflective materials, including different types of coatings and films, that could passively cool the Earth. The materials rely on principles of physics that allow thermal energy to travel from Earth along specific wavelengths through what’s known as the transparency or sky window in the atmosphere, and out into deep space.

Jeremy Munday, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of California[2], Davis[3], who researches clean technology, said this redirection would barely affect space. The sun already emits more than a billion times more heat than the Earth, he said, and this method merely reflects heat already generated by the sun. “It’d be like pouring a cup of regular water into the ocean,” Dr. Munday said.

He calculated that if materials such as Purdue’s ultra-white paint were to coat between 1 percent and 2 percent of the Earth’s surface, slightly more than half the size of the Sahara, the planet would no longer absorb more heat than it was emitting, and global temperatures would stop rising.

Dr. Munday noted that covering half the Sahara, or any contiguous surface, with that much radiative material shouldn’t happen for a number of reasons, among them practicality, wildlife concerns and weather disruptions caused by one region suddenly becoming much cooler.

But spreading radiative cooling spots around the world could have global and local benefits, such as offsetting the urban heat island effect, which occurs because most buildings absorb and trap much more heat than natural surfaces like woodlands, water and plants.

While humans in such hot and picturesque places as Santorini[4] and the aptly named Casablanca[5] have long used white paint to cool dwellings, and municipalities are increasingly looking to paint rooftops white, Dr. Ruan said commercial white paints generally reflect 80 percent to 90 percent of sunlight. This means they still absorb 10 percent to 20 percent of the heat, which in turn warms surfaces and the ambient air. The Purdue paint, by comparison, absorbs so much less solar heat and radiates so much more heat into deep space that it cools surfaces to below-ambient temperatures.

Still, there are concerns. The standard version of Purdue’s ultrawhite paint uses barium sulfate[6], which has to be mined, driving up its carbon footprint, though Dr. Ruan noted that titanium dioxide[7], which is used in the vast majority of commercial paints, also has to be mined.

Geoengineering — manipulating different processes to control the Earth’s climate — has also been criticised for distracting from the root problem: Humans must stop burning fossil fuels to avoid more catastrophic effects of climate change. But even if all fossil fuel use stopped immediately, climate disasters would continue to unfold because of the amount of greenhouse gases that are trapped in the atmosphere. Large-scale radiative cooling, Dr. Munday said, would be akin to a life raft.

“This is definitely not a long-term solution to the climate problem,” Dr. Munday said. “This is something you can do short term to mitigate worse problems while trying to get everything under control.”

The Far-Reaching Effects of Extreme Heat

China’s Addiction to Coal: While pledging to reduce carbon emissions, China is greatly increasing its use of coal to generate electricity for air-conditioning during heat waves.

Traveling to Europe: The top tourist destinations of Italy, Spain and Greece are sweltering this summer. Travelers can take precautionary measures to protect themselves.

Historic Heat: Phoenix[8] is trying to adapt to a new reality of chronic extreme heat. Its chief heat officer told The Daily how the city is adjusting to it.

A Vulnerable Population: The dangerous heat sweeping across the United States and Europe has posed particular perils for older adults. Here is how they can stay safe.

Source

Cara Buckley, To Help Cool a Hot Planet, the Whitest of White Coats Scientists at Purdue have created a white paint that, when applied, can reduce the surface temperature on a roof and cool the building beneath it, in: New York Times, 12-07-2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/12/climate/white-paint-climate-cooling.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

[1] Purdue University (or simply Purdue) is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money to establish a college of science, technology, and agriculture in his name. The first classes were held on September 16, 1874, with six instructors and 39 students. It has been ranked as among the best public universities in the United States by major institutional rankings, and is known for its engineering program.

[2] The University of California opened its doors in 1869 with just 10 faculty members and 40 students. Today, the UC system has more than 280,000 students and 227,000 faculty and staff, with 2.0 million alumni living and working around the world. From UC Davis to UC San Diego, nine of our campuses house undergraduate and graduate education. UC San Francisco focuses on health education and it only offers graduate degrees. https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/

[3] Davis is the ultimate college town. It’s green, laid back and friendly. You can walk or bike from the main campus to the main street in a few blocks. College students fill up the tables at nearby restaurants and coffee shops with their laptops, homework and friends. The town of Davis helps our students thrive. https://www.ucdavis.edu/

[4] Santorini (Greek: Σαντορίνη) is an island in the southern Aegean Sea, about 200 km southeast from the Greek mainland. It is the largest island of a small circular archipelago, which bears the same name and is the remnant of a caldera. It forms the southernmost member of the Cyclades group of islands, with an area of approximately 73 km2 and a 2011 census population of 15,550. The municipality of Santorini includes the inhabited islands of Santorini and Therasia, as well as the uninhabited islands of Nea Kameni, Palaia Kameni, Aspronisi and Christiana. The total land area is 90.623 km2. Santorini is part of the Thira regional unit.

[5] Casablanca, (Arabic: Dar al-Bayda;  الدار البيضاء) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic coast of the Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a population of about 3.71 million in the urban area, and over 4.27 million in the Greater Casablanca, making it the most populous city in the Maghreb region, and the eighth-largest in the Arab world.

[6] Barium sulfate (or sulphate) is the inorganic compound with the chemical formula BaSO4. It is a white crystalline solid that is odourless and insoluble in water. It occurs as the mineral barite, which is the main commercial source of barium and materials prepared from it. The white opaque appearance and its high density are exploited in its main applications.

[7] Titanium dioxide, also known as titanium(IV) oxide or titania, is the inorganic compound with the chemical formula TiO. When used as a pigment, it is called titanium white, Pigment White 6 (PW6), or CI 77891. It is a white solid that is insoluble in water, although mineral forms can appear black. As a pigment, it has a wide range of applications, including paint, sunscreen, and food colouring.

[8] Phoenix is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States and the most populous state capital in the country.

#climate change #earth heating

[nickgerlich]

Generation XX

There’s a revolution going on, and the way we watch TV will never be the same. The change has been going on for decades, although the pace of change has accelerated greatly in the last decade.

I suppose you could say I was lucky to grow up in the Chicago area, where we had about ten over-the-air stations that our rooftop aerial could pick up. That’s a lot better than some areas limited to only the Big Three networks. I can’t even.

Through the last 50-60 years, we have gone from only over-the-air to cable TV, followed by satellite TV, and now, primarily this century, a variety of streaming services. These include AVOD (Advertising Video On Demand) to SVOD (Subscription Video On Demand), PPV (Pay Per View), and now FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming). All of these fall under the umbrella of OOT (Over The Top), meaning they are available only via the internet.



Feel free to ponder the alphabet soup if you need to, not to mention how we could ever watch all of that content on top of what was already available.

Given the inflation of the last two years, it is understandable that people have to cut corners, not to mention the cable that binds them. Although the practice of cutting that cord was already firmly entrenched before COVID, it is picking up steam. Cable and Satellite providers have lost 25 million customers since 2012, and it is expected to increase to 50 million by 2025.

And yet the content keeps coming, this time in the rapidly growing FAST-TV platform commonly found on Roku, Tubi, and dedicated proprietary channels on some smart TVs. The latest offering is WomenSports Network which launched last November, and Michelob Ultra has jumped on board as its first major sponsor.



FAST-TV is actually little different from linear television on cable, satellite, or over-the-air. You must tune in synchronously, or you miss it, and advertising keeps it free. Technically, it is OTT, because you can only get it on a handful of internet-based platforms. And, by virtue of all of this, FAST-TV is a true hybrid combining elements of both old and new schools of home entertainment.

You only thought that broadcasting had morphed into narrowcasting by the 90s. That pie can still be sliced into smaller and smaller pieces.

As for Mich Ultra, it’s a darling right now in AB-InBev’s portfolio. It is an extremely light beer, clocking in at only 4.2% ABV. It is particularly popular among female beer drinkers, most likely because it is not bitter like the hearty IPAs their male counterparts slam down. There are only 95 calories in one 12-ounce serving, compared to 150-200 calories in one of those IPAs. Can you say beer belly, Dad?

The question that must be asked is how many eyeballs will each station or service generate? Women’s sports has long been a non-contender in the ratings game, although it is showing signs now of erasing that history. Still, it only receives about five-percent of media coverage. And never mind all that negative publicity over a female basketball player stuck recently in a Russian prison, charged with drug possession. I’m pretty sure that didn’t help.

A big part of the disparity is culture. While we in the political west enjoy a much more fair array of opportunities for women compared to some Middle Eastern nations, it’s still far from perfect. Thanks to Title IX, though, universities offer equal numbers of sports to men and women. Oddly enough, “athletics” was not even mentioned in this act that addressed discrimination, although it has been interpreted as such.



Out here in West Texas, there are some women’s sports that pack in the fans, notably basketball and volleyball. That’s great, and I have had numerous undergrads through the years who were part of national championship teams from WT.

A related issue is would-be viewers not knowing about the network, as well as where to find it. My Vizio TV in the Man Cave has the proprietary OTT streaming service, so I could find it there. The only problem is that I seldom if ever go there to watch anything. I also have Roku on several TVs, but once again, that is an under-utilized platform in my household. It’s great to be available as well as free, but if your audience is just crickets, this won’t end well.

Still, hats off to Mich Ultra for hitching their wagon to women’s sports. I hope they can get the eyeballs necessary to make this pay off for everyone, especially the female athletes. Because guys aren’t the only ones who should be running, shooting, passing, throwing, or kicking.

That alone is a revolution, and I’m glad to see it.

Dr “You Go, Girls“ Gerlich

Audio Blog

#marketing #WomenSports #Michelob Ultra #streaming

[tinprison40]

Jamison Basement Waterproofing Things To Know Before You Buy

Securing the Investment in your Building Prevent water and dampness concerns along with a comprehensive concrete waterproofing deal. Along with a assortment of finishes to enhance venting and enhance ventilation. Water-proofing aids protect water pipes, drainpipe, sewers, and plumbing installations and provides outstanding protection versus deterioration. Injectible Polymer (PPG-15) Accessible in 8 different colors, PPG-15 is the least absorbent of the eight types.

Significant investments are made in properties today, and those investments are worthy of the very best defense accessible. We anticipate our investments to go in to the long running and we assume that we might make an improvement upcoming year.". The brand new policies need companies to establish five years of minimal yearly income that doesn't exceed the max for a full-time worker and can be spent when their wages don't surpass 35 percent and more. For that defense, look to the only business that has continually helped proprietors protect their structures against the admission of wetness for over 95 years: W. R. MEADOWS. When it comes to its own security, this firm is a top dealer. Nonetheless, one point that doesn't matter is the high quality of the development work and quality of the things it offers. R-MEADS (Rolling Company of Texas) constructed up something of an structure through mending its personal rooftop. Realized as the innovator in building and making high quality products for the construction market, W. R. MEADOWS’ products may take to your venture a desirable online reputation made along with architects, designers and service providers. In doing therefore, they deliver you a large selection of customer-centric design remedies that include value to your task. Item Design Services The most thorough item design services for a specialist job are accessible to aid you develop a productive task. What helps make up the total wetness control bundle? The total humidity control package has an sky sensing unit, sky converter, sky pressure administration unit, air flow unit (i.e., air heat level control, sky circulation control, and air conditioning, one of others) consisting of a single thermostat (or "cloak"), sky filter (likewise understood as a filter), a electric battery (additionally understood as a electric battery wall charger), and an sky conditioning unit (likewise known as a air conditioning body). Moisture is located in some kind or another on every building web site. One instance is the "high-rise flat", this is where the cooking area was built. Most buildings, featuring sizable ones, are specified on a rectangular area along a flat-floor incline that leads to the basement. Some properties, particularly in London, have even rounded walls and huge roofs to give a even more appreciated setting without losing comfort. But these exact same architectural concepts have their constraints to some level as properly. The variation between a delighted proprietor and a “problem” venture is how you deal with that dampness. It's like how you handle along with heat reduction after getting rid of a fire or burning your tires. When we contrast tasks, a lot of of them need even more sky than we need to have. This suggests we possess to deal along with additional pressure in addition to merely putting down additional tough components. You might placed the stress all the technique in the tires. It's additionally, of program, a huge difference. Important to cement waterproofing are all the products utilized in mix to produce a body. Such devices are normally designed to keep a number of various products in a limited area. Nevertheless, one can easily also create them all within a body. If one utilizes an light weight aluminum or nickel container, it can easily conveniently take a lot much longer to hold everything than it would take along with other container. The usual reason of an aluminum or nickel device is to hold the product in area while securing it coming from the extreme factors outside. It’s this unit that ensures that you have complete control of humidity movement in a facility. For an setup that takes opportunity to finish (and it can take many weeks to accomplish, featuring on a conventional unit), these treatments should be executed a lot much more frequently and in larger locations. It’s essential that the humidity control unit for your unit be fully and wisely made. When utilizing this unit, look at the following actions. Along with Read This . R. MEADOWS’ comprehensive collection of water-proofing and dampness management products, you’ll possess all the products needed to develop and set up the correct defensive body for your body. Your product shelf will hold your leak-proof, water-proofing products so you obtain the water storing them in location. When you need to have to receive your brand new water-proofing best out in the kitchen area, right here are some useful recommendations on how to utilize your brand-new watertighting leading along with your home kitchen spray.

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[countryinkasaremored]

Wellbeing Meets Luxury with Armored Civilian Vehicles

With regards to car wellbeing, the majority of us consider airbags and electronically monitored slowing mechanisms. Be that as it may, envision kicking it up a couple of indents with a protected non military personnel vehicle.

Envision yourself in a definitive safe vehicle. It can withstand bomb impacts and gunfire. It even produces a helpful distraction to battle off aggressors. Coincidentally, your driver is driving. You're sitting in a delicate Italian calfskin seat in the traveler compartment, tasting champagne from your scaled down bar.

It might seem like a scene from a James Bond film, however extravagance reinforced vehicles are genuine, and their utilization among U.S. regular citizens is developing.

Military work force, law implementation, banks and heads of state have utilized shielded vehicles for quite a long time. However, developing security concerns have extended the market to incorporate corporate initiative, lawmakers, famous people, proficient competitors and other chauffeured VIPs – especially in the U.S.

Five years prior, International Armored Corporation, a protected vehicle maker, sent out around 95 percent of its U.S.- based vehicles to nations confronting common war, psychological oppression, and sorted out wrongdoing. Presently, around 80% go to U.S. customers who favor modified Cadillac Escalades, Range Rovers and Mercedes Sprinter vans.

Who Makes Luxury Armored Civilian Vehicles?

Shielded extravagance vehicles originate from either OEMs or organizations that modify existing models.

Among the extravagance automakers, Jaguar Land Rover creates the Range Rover Sentinel, a steel-plated traveler vehicle equipped with projectile safe glass. The SUV can withstand shield penetrating combustible rounds, TNT blasts, and projectile impacts. BMW's Security Vehicles Division plans its models to withstand expanding levels of assault: road wrongdoing, composed wrongdoing, and blasts. Mercedes offers an exceptionally reinforced Maybach S600 Pullman Guard.

INKAS Armored Vehicle Manufacturing, situated in Toronto, changes over existing extravagance models into a definitive in heavily clad assurance. Its 2019 Armored Cadillac Escalade ESV Chairman Package, valued somewhere in the range of $300,000 and $500,000, holds a leader office in the traveler compartment with Italian cowhide seats, outlandish wood framing, a smaller than expected bar, shrewd TV and significantly more.

While the SUV offers the bustling chief an agreeable, completely working office space, it's intended to secure against assault. The vehicle includes a 360-degree surveillance camera and shield that ensures against 7.62 x 51mm or .308 Winchester full-metal coat ammo. It can likewise withstand the explosion of two hand projectiles all the while.

INKAS sells the Escalade generally in South America, Africa, the Middle East and South Asia where chauffeured heads not just need insurance, they have to complete work as they travel in serious gridlock. The organization likewise alters limousines, estimated at $1 million each, and fabricates shielded bank trucks, law authorization vehicles and cannabis transport vans for states, for example, Michigan and Colorado where maryjane is presently lawful.

Custom Security Options for Armored Civilian Vehicles That Rival Action Films

Shielded vehicle organizations value giving significant level assurance while keeping up the look and execution of the first extravagance vehicle. Also, security highlights can regularly oppose creative mind.

INKAS, for instance, can alter a Mercedes-Benz S600 with an impact verification underside and night vision capacities. Texas Armoring Corporation does likewise and can equip vehicles with glimmering strobe lights and self-fixing fuel tanks. For presidential sorts, Texcalibur Armor will change over a Mercedes SUV into a popemobile.

In case you're yearning for that Mission Impossible experience, International Armoring Company offers an assortment of reasonable choices, including:

Bomb Blankets – ingest the effect and diminish shrapnel from an assortment of touchy gadgets

Electric Shock Handles – a 12-volt battery takes care of a 120-volt flow legitimately to the entryway handles

Oil spill Systems – foil followers with a tricky wreck dispatched from the back of the vehicle

Street Tacks – discharge tire-harming tacks from the back of the vehicle with the flick of a flip switch

Run-Flat Tires – drive the vehicle with punctured tires for 50 miles at 70 mph

Weapons – a rooftop unit or tag compartment can house attack rifles, mine launchers, and so on.

Maybe the ejector seat alternative isn't a long ways behind.

Inkas Armored Russia is one spot where you can find top luxury vehicles.

[barger535x]

What Investors Should Know About Commercial Real Estate Loans

Your business land exchange doesn't close except if the credit is endorsed. You can likewise work on the income on the off chance that the financing cost for the advance is low. So the more you are familiar business loans, the better choice you can make about your business land speculation.

Advance Capability: A large portion of you have applied for a private credit and know about the cycle. You give to the bank:

W2's as well as government forms so it can confirm your pay, Bank as well as financier explanations so it can check your fluid resources and initial investment. Overall the more private pay you make the higher advance sum you qualify. You actually might get 95% of the price tag for 1-unit head home with adequate pay.

For business advance, the advance sum a bank will support depends fundamentally on the net working pay (NOI) of the property, not your own pay. This is the basic contrast among private and business advance capability. In this way, assuming that you purchase an empty business building, you will have troublesome time getting the advance supported since the property has no rental pay. In any case, on the off chance that you

Possess somewhere around 51% of the space for your business; you can apply for SBA credit. Have adequate pay from one more business property utilized as cross insurance; there are moneylenders out there that need your business.

Credit to Esteem: Business banks will quite often be more moderate about the advance to esteem (LTV). Moneylenders will just advance you the sum with the end goal that the proportion of NOI to contract installment for the advance, called Obligation Inclusion Proportion (DCR) or Obligation Administration Proportion (DSR) should be something like 1.25 or higher. This implies the NOI must be something like 25% more than the home loan installment. All in all, the credit sum is with the end goal that you will have positive income equivalent to somewhere around 25% of the home loan installment. Along these lines, assuming you buy a property with low rate of return, you will require a higher up front installment to meet bank's DCR. For instance, properties in California with 5% cap frequently require half or more initial installment. To make the matter more convoluted, a few moneylenders promote 1.25% DCR however guarantee the credit with loan fee 2%-3% higher than the note rate! Since the monetary implosion of 2007, most business banks lean toward keeping the LTV at 70% or less. Higher LTV is feasible for excellent properties with solid public occupants, for example Walgreens or in the region that the loan specialists are exceptionally comfortable and alright with. Nonetheless, you will seldom see higher than 75% LTV. Business land is expected for the world class gathering of financial backers so 100 percent supporting can't exist.

Loan fee: The interest for business is subject to different variables beneath:

Advance term: The rate is lower for the more limited 5 years fixed rate than the 10 years fixed rate. It's extremely difficult to get an advance with fixed rate longer than 10 years except if the property has a drawn out rent with a credit occupant, for example Walgreens. Most moneylenders offer 20-25 years amortization. Some credit associations utilize 30 years amortization. For single-occupant properties, loan specialists might utilize 10-15 years amortization. Inhabitant FICO score: The loan cost for a pharmacy involved by Walgreens is a lot of lower than one with HyVee Pharmacy since Walgreens has a lot more grounded S&P rating.

Property type: The loan cost for a solitary occupant night club building will be higher than multi-inhabitant retail strip in light of the fact that the gamble is higher. Whenever the club building is dispossessed, it's a lot harder to sell or lease it contrasted with the multi-inhabitant retail strip. The rate for loft is lower than shopping strip. To the loan specialists, everybody needs a rooftop over their head regardless of what, so the rate is lower for lofts.

Age of the property: Advance for more up to date property will have lower rate than feeble one. To the bank the gamble factor for more established properties is higher, so the rate is higher.

Region: On the off chance that the property is situated in a developing region like Dallas rural areas, the rate would be lower than a comparable property situated in the rustic declining area of Arkansas. This is another explanation you ought to concentrate on segment information of the area before you purchase the property.

Your record: Comparatively to private advance, assuming you have great financial record, your rate is lower.

Advance sum: In private home loan, assuming that you get less cash, for example an adjusting credit, your loan cost will be the most reduced. Whenever you get more cash, for example a kind sized or very large advance, your rate will be higher. In business contract, the converse is valid! Assuming that you get $200K advance your rate could be 8%. In any case, assuming you get $3M, your rate could be just 4.5%! One might say, it resembles getting a lower cost when you purchase a thing in huge volume at Costco.

The moneylenders you apply the advance with. Every moneylender has its own rates. There could be a massive contrast in the financing costs. Hard cash loan specialists frequently have most elevated financing costs. So you ought to work with somebody specific on business loans to look for the least rates.

Prepayment adaptability: to have the adaptability to prepay the advance then you should pay a higher rate. Assuming you consent to save the advance for the term of the advance, then, at that point, the rate is lower.

Business loans are excluded from different shoppers' regulations expected for private loans. A few moneylenders use "360/365" rule in figuring contract revenue. With this standard, the loan fee depends on 360 days per year. Be that as it may, the interest installment depends on 365 days in a year. All in all, you need to pay an additional a 5 days (6 days on jump year) of interest each year. Accordingly, your real premium installment is higher than the rate expressed in the credit records on the grounds that the successful loan cost is higher.

Prepayment Punishment: In private advance, prepayment punishment is in many cases a choice. On the off chance that you don't need it, you pay higher rate. Most business loans have prepayment punishment. The prepayment punishment sum is decreased or ventured as the year progressed. For instance on a long term fixed rate credit, the prepayment punishment for the main year is 5% of the equilibrium. It's diminished to 4% and afterward 3%, 2%, 1% for second, third, fourth and fifth year individually. For channel loans, the prepayment sum is colossal as you need to pay for the premium between the note rate and the same US Fortune rate for the entire credit balance for the leftover term of the advance. This prepayment punishment is called defeasance or yield support. Click here : Laina Opas

Advance Charges: In private home loan, banks might offer you a "no focuses, no expenses" choice in the event that you pay a higher rate. Such a choice isn't accessible in business contract. You should pay between ½ to 1 point advance charge, examination cost, climate imposition report expense, and handling/guaranteeing charge. A loan specialist typically issues to the borrower a Letter of Revenue (LOI) in the event that it is keen on loaning you the cash. The LOI states the advance sum, financing cost, credit term and expenses. When the borrower pays about $5000 for advance application expenses for outsider reports (evaluation, stage I, overview), the moneylender begins guaranteeing the advance. It arranges its own examination utilizing its own pre-supported MAI (Individual from Evaluation Organization) appraisers. On the off chance that the bank supports the credit and you don't acknowledge it, the moneylender keeps every one of the charges.

Advance Sorts: While there are different business advance sorts, most financial backers frequently experience 3 primary kinds of business loans:

1. Independent company Organization or SBA advance. This is an administration ensured advance planned for proprietor involved properties. At the point when you involve 51% or a greater amount of the space in the structure (corner store or inn is viewed as a proprietor involved property), you are equipped for this program. The key advantage is you can acquire up to 90% of bought cost.

2. Portfolio advance. This is the sort of business loans in which the banks utilize their own cash and keep on its accounting report until development. Banks are in many cases more adaptable on the grounds that it's their cash. For instance East West Bank, US Bank and some disaster protection organizations are portfolio loan specialists. These banks require the borrowers to give an individual certification to the installment of the loans. Furthermore, subsequently these loans are response loans.

3. Conductor advance or CMBS (Business Home loan Supported Protections) advance. This was an extremely famous business credit program preceding the 2007 downturn where its market size was more than $225 Billion out of 2007. It was down to only a couple Billion of every 2009 and is making a rebound with issuance of nearly $100 Billion out of 2015. Numerous singular loans of various sizes, at various areas are pooled together, appraised from Triple-A (Speculation grade) to B (Garbage) and afterward offered to financial backers over the world as bonds. In this way it's impractical to prepay the advance since it's now essential for a bond. These are the qualities of channel loans:

The rate is much of the time lower. It is frequently around 1.2% over the 5 or long term US Depository rates contrasted with 1.85-3% over the 5 or long term US Depository rates for portfolio advance. A few CMBS loans have interest just installments. Since the rate is lower and borrowers are expected to pay revenue just, the LTV can be more than 75%. Low rates and high LTV are the vital benefit of channel advance.

Channel banks just consider huge credit sum, for example somewhere around $2M.

Moneylenders expect borrower to shape a solitary resource element, for example Restricted Responsibility Organization (LLC) to take more time to the property. This is planned to protect the property from other the borrower's liabilities.

The loans are non-response which implies the property is the main insurance for the advance and the borrowers don't need to sign individual assurance. Thus these loans are famous among trading companies, REIT (Land Venture Trust), Spasm (Inhabitants In like manner) organizations that put resources into business land utilizing reserves pooled from different financial backers.

To sell the property before the credit develops, the new purchaser should accept the advance as the merchant can't take care of the advance. This makes I

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[agritecture]

Urban Agriculture: Can It Feed Our Cities?

CONTENT SOURCED FROM FOOD+CITY

New Jersey has been known since the late 19th century as the Garden State. But today its 12th largest city, Camden, is anything but lush and green. It is the country’s poorest city — an astonishing 42 percent of the population lives below the poverty line — and one of the country’s most dangerous. A recent Rolling Stone profile of the city began: “The first thing you notice about Camden, New Jersey, is that pretty much everyone you talk to has just gotten his or her ass kicked.”

And yet.

A small food economy is blossoming in Camden. AeroFarms, an indoor agriculture firm, plans to break ground as early as this year on a 78,000-square-foot vertical farm that would grow 12 stories of red-leaf lettuce, kale, bok choy and more.

Meanwhile, more than 100 of the city’s thousands of vacant lots have been transformed into community gardens. In 2009, at the dawn of enthusiasm for urban farming and during the last available year data were collected, gardeners at 44 sites harvested almost 31,000 pounds of vegetables. Had it not been an unusually wet and cold summer, it might have been more.

It’s all very inspiring: Whizz-bang technology that offers healthier food and much-needed jobs. Communities taking charge of their food destiny in a place that the almighty market has neglected. (Camden, population 77,000, has just one supermarket within its city limits.) But it’s not only struggling cities that see the promise of urban farming.

Urban agriculture — which by definition includes indoor farms, rooftop and backyard gardens, community plots and edible landscapes — is often hailed as a solution to daunting global challenges. It addresses climate change by allowing food to be grown close to home, rather than hauled thousands of miles. It could affect obesity and chronic disease by making healthy options more available. And urban farming could help feed a quickly growing world population, because many of the predicted 9 billion people on the planet (by 2050) are increasingly headed to cities.

SUSTAINABLE SOLUTION?

But can urban farming sustainably feed cities? A close look under the agri-hood suggests that it’s a lot more complicated than advertised.

For starters, let’s examine the history. The Industrial Revolution quickly and dramatically severed ties between consumers and the farmers who grew their food. Efficient train networks transported food more rapidly, from farther away, and more people moved away from rural areas to cities for work in factories. Since then, there have been regular waves of enthusiasm for urban gardening in the West, motivated by social reformers, who made a moral connection between the land and healthy living, or by the innate human desire for self-sufficiency.

To wit: One of the Salvation Army’s first initiatives in late 19th-century London was “farm colonies” designed to help city folks feed themselves. Beginning in the 20th century, Israel’s early Zionists created thousands of small urban farms. But the only examples of urban farming feeding substantial numbers of people occur when there is little other choice.

In Israel, urban farms soon gave way to rural kibbutzim (collectives based around agriculture). The United States saw Americans plant more than 5 million household plots during World War I and 20 million in World War II. Those 1940s victory gardens produced 9 million pounds of produce each year — what amounted to 44 percent of the U.S. harvest. (Read more about how people cope with food shortages during wartime in our story about rations.) But when the war ended, citizens largely abandoned their gardens and returned to the convenience of shopping at the supermarket.

HIGH-TECH FARMING

Proponents of urban farming say this time could be different. Besides the global challenges of climate change and population, there is wide consumer demand for locally grown food. Moreover, technology that makes urban farming more productive and more sustainable could tip the balance. The technologies include lightweight beds that can be stacked, efficient LED lights and hydroponics and aeroponics, by which plants grow without soil and fed a calculated diet of nutrients by water circulating beneath them.

“By some estimates, we will need 50 percent more food by 2050,” says David Rosenberg, CEO of AeroFarms. “We need transformational changes. Vertical farming does more with less.”

A decade ago, not even one of these so-called vertical farms existed. Today, there are dozens of them — one in Singapore, one in a former bomb shelter in London and one in Japan, built by researchers to provide safe food after the devastating Fukushima earthquake in 2011. That farm, formerly a semiconductor factory, now produces 10,000 heads of lettuce per day.

AeroFarms operates nine vertical farms. Its largest, in Newark, 90 miles northeast of Camden, produces 2 million pounds of leafy greens each year. The 70,000-square-foot complex is a poster child for futuristic farming. Inside, so-called grow tables are stacked 12 levels high and enveloped by a glow of pink LED light. (Plants, it turns out, require little from the yellow part of the light spectrum, which requires greater amounts of power to produce.)

Rosenberg sees AeroFarms less as an agricultural producer than as a data-science company, delving into the intersection of plant biology and engineering with the goal of controlling every aspect of growing and maximizing efficiency.

“We take data on plants and understand what makes them grow,” he explains. “You can’t do it this way in the field. There are too many unknowns.”

AeroFarms’ vertical gardens grow under energy-efficient LED lights and use up to 70 percent less water, compared with more traditional soil-based or horizontal farming. Its largest facility, in Newark, New Jersey, produces 2 million pounds of leafy greens each year, which don’t have to travel far to reach urban markets. Despite these efficiencies, critics of vertical farming say using electricity rather than renewable sunlight doesn’t add up for high-volume production. (Photo courtesy Aerofarms) 

RESOURCE CONSERVATION: PROS AND CONS

The biggest boon of vertical growing may be water conservation. Drive through California’s Salinas Valley, where the vast majority of America’s salad greens are grown, and you’ll see hundreds of sprinklers shooting great arcs of water across the fields. Some of that is used by the plants, but much is lost to evaporation and runoff.

In contrast, hydroponic and aeroponic systems give the plants only the water they need, and it is recirculated through the system. On average, indoor farms and greenhouses use at least 70 percent less water than traditionally farmed lettuce in California.

There are other benefits, too. The produce doesn’t have to travel — unlike the lettuces that journey as far as 2,800 miles if they are shipped from coast to coast. This all but eliminates the greenhouse-gas emissions associated with transport, though those are only a fraction of the total associated with producing food. (Read more about greenhouse gases tied to food waste in our feature on page 18.) And because they are fresher, the greens last longer in consumers’ refrigerators, which means less lettuce thrown away because it’s gone bad before it could be eaten.

No wonder vertical farms are catnip to technology investors looking for the next big disruptor. According to AgFunder, in 2016 funders poured $126 million into indoor agriculture- related startups (including things like lighting and software). But critics say that the environmental benefits of indoor farms don’t add up.

For one, to grow even a fraction of the fruits and vegetables needed to feed cities would take vast amounts of space. According to one analysis, it would require a 150-foot-by-150-foot, 37-story building to provide the vegetables for a city of just 15,000. This would cost $250 million to build and $7 million in electricity to run annually.

Indoor farms also fail to take advantage of a free and renewable source of energy: the sun. “If you’re not taking advantage of the sunlight, then the process will inherently involve excess energy consumption and carbon emissions,” says Stan Cox, a researcher at the Land Institute in Salinas, Kansas.

Substituting electricity for sunlight is costly. Using current technology, the equation just about works out for leafy greens, which are 90 to 95 percent water and don’t require as much light to grow. But do the math on denser fruits and vegetables or other crops — carrots, potatoes or wheat — and the amount of power required to grow them soars. According to Cox, it takes about 1,200 kilowatt-hours of electricity for each kilogram of edible matter (excluding the water stored inside). Or to put it another way: You need the same amount of electricity to grow one kilogram of tomatoes as you do to run your home refrigerator for an entire year.

“The claim of indoor farming is that we can spare the land by getting rid of industrial farming,” Cox says. “But of course, this vision uses more industrial inputs than anything done on the landscape.”

AeroFarms’ Rosenberg counters that lighting technology is getting ever more efficient. And though he concedes that indoor farming may look industrial, it addresses major challenges including the depletion of arable land, water pollution and conservation: “We don’t use soil. We don’t use pesticides. We use a fraction of the water that field farms do. We have a much softer footprint.”

In sunlit greenhouses on the outskirts of urban areas where land is more plentiful, BrightFarms raises greens and tomatoes using hydroponics — a system in which plants grow directly atop pools of fortified water. These and other crops like strawberries, cucumbers and peppers benefit from growing near where they’ll be consumed, a selling point for cities that have an urban-adjacent BrightFarms facility nearby. But hydroponic agriculture isn’t the right fit for all crops; apples, for instance, store well and travel more easily than delicate tomatoes, making traditional orchards a better option, for now. (Photo by Chelsea Clough) 

GREENHOUSE GROWING

An even softer footprint comes from other types of commercial urban and peri-urban farms that use greenhouses. Take BrightFarms, which operates three commercial greenhouses and sells directly to grocery stores in seven states and the District of Columbia.

BrightFarms uses hydroponics, which means that trays of greens grow atop vast ponds. But rather than place its farms in cities, where land is generally more limited (and much more expensive), it locates its greenhouses just outside of urban areas. With more space, it is not necessary to stack plants to turn a profit. The use of hydroponics also means that the farms can be, well, horizontal — and take advantage of (free) sunlight.

Today, the crops that make commercial sense for hydroponic farming are greens and tomatoes, says BrightFarms CEO Paul Lightfoot. Both crops travel long distances, unless you live on the West Coast. Both too are highly perishable and sell for a premium price. And, as anyone who has eaten a winter tomato knows, these crops benefit from being grown closer to home.

One day, Lightfoot hopes that BrightFarms will expand to other crops that meet the same criteria: strawberries, peppers and cucumbers. But there are limits to what he can produce. BrightFarms, he says, will never be able to compete on a crop like apples, which grow in many geographic areas, store well and travels easily. They will always be cheaper and more sustainably grown in the field.

In a hydroponic set-up, plants get the nutrients they need through irrigation water. The process eliminates soil and increases yield. For this process to be successful, ventilation and temperature modulation are key. Solar panels provide renewable energy to power irrigation pumps and ventilation systems, and rainwater is captured in roof tanks for use as irrigation in dry periods. Water is constantly recirculated in a hydroponic system, wasting none. Illustration by Ellaphant in the Room.

CLOSING THE GAP

Commercial farms, of course, do not have to produce everything. Could community, rooftop and backyard gardens make up the difference? According to a 2016 report from the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, the answer is no. While a significant proportion of fresh produce needs could theoretically be met in some places, it would only work in those locations if urban farms are widely implemented and focus on intensive forms of production such as rooftop gardens.

To feed Cleveland, for example, 80 percent of every vacant lot (of which there are many), 62 percent of industrial and commercial rooftops, and 9 percent of every occupied residential lot would have to be put into food production. Those are daunting numbers before you even consider practical constraints such as property values, infrastructure limitations and zoning regulations.

Urban agriculture’s limits do not make it a failure. Community, rooftop and backyard gardens make significant impacts in the lives of the people who tend them, and give poor communities like Camden access to fresh, free food.

Dominic Vitiello, a professor of city planning and urban studies at the University of Pennsylvania who has studied urban farming in cities including Camden, concludes that in the United States, perhaps urban farming’s greatest potential is to effect “inside-out” community revitalization. Urban farming offers opportunities for social enterprise and supplemental income for low-income families. It also helps to build and sustain vital social networks that go unmeasured by traditional economic-development research.

In other words, urban farming may not feed a city like Camden. But its gardens can help rejuvenate the city and make it a worthy representative of the Garden State.

#urban agriculture #urban farming #vertical farm #hydroponic #sustainable #food systems #economy #cities #tech

[best-denver-co]

Denver CBD Tinctures

Cannabis plant materials are steeped in alcohol or a solvent mixture containing water and alcohol to make CBD tinctures. It is extracted from hemp plants and then mixed with a carrier oil to improve taste, flavor, and bioavailability. CBD tinctures, according to the National Institute of Health, can help with anxiety, sleeplessness, nausea, inflammation, and even epilepsy. Look for Colorado Cannabinoids' online site if you want  Denver CBD tinctures prepared from all-natural ingredients. In its Denver-based facility, the company uses cutting-edge extraction processes to obtain the best oil from clean hemp flowers and leaves. To assure the finest quality, the oils are packed in a light defensive school-designed tincture bottle.

Overview

Denver, popularly known as The Mile High City, is a metropolitan area that combines urban refinement with outdoor adventure. It's an active metropolis recognized for its world-class cultural attractions, growing craft breweries, chef-driven dining, and burgeoning music scene. Beautiful architecture, award-winning food, and unrivaled views can be found in this young, bustling city at the base of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. It's also a hotspot for chef-owned eateries. Take your pick of culinary skills as you stroll through Larimer Square's Victorian buildings and boutique shops, then enjoy the diverse offerings made with locally sourced ingredients. Denver's different neighborhoods are a must-see for visitors who wish to learn more about the city.

Climate-Driven Water Woes Spark Colorado Rush To Conserve 'Liquid Gold'

March 16 (Reuters) - In a rooftop greenhouse near downtown Denver, cash crops are thriving on hydroponic life support. Arugula. Chard. Escarole. Cabbage. “And basil,” said Altius Farms CEO Sally Herbert, plucking a bright leaf. “Which you really should taste. Because it’s magnificent.”  Read more here...

Vertical farming is a type of agriculture in which crops are cultivated in layers that are stacked upright. It is carried out in a controlled environment utilizing soil-free techniques like aquaponics, hydroponics, and aeroponics. With a growing population and limited operating acreage, vertical farming may be employed to meet the world's expanding food demands. This type of growing plant has the advantage of using 95 percent less water than traditional farming. This may also be the reason why it has become a popular alternative, especially during dry seasons. Other advantages include lower transportation costs because produce is grown closer to consumers' homes.

Denver Art Museum in Denver, CO

The Denver Art Museum, which was founded in 1893 as the Denver Artists' Club, is now one of the major art museums between Chicago and the West Coast. The gallery has over 70,000 masterpieces in 12 collections, including African, Asian, Latin American, and European art, architecture and design, artworks of the ancient Americas, Oceanic art, modern and contemporary paintings, photojournalism, fabric art, fashion, and Indigenous arts of North America. The museum's global artwork collections represent cultures from all over the globe. Its international collections include works by artists from Denver and the Rocky Mountain region, and they give invaluable opportunities for community members to learn more about the world.

Link to maps

Denver Art Museum

100 W 14th Ave Pkwy, Denver, CO 80204, United States

Get on I-25 N from Speer Blvd

8 min (2.4 mi)

Continue on I-25 N. Take I-70 W to W 48th Ave. Take exit 271B from I-70 W

5 min (4.6 mi)

Continue on W 48th Ave. Drive to Raleigh St

2 min (0.5 mi)

Colorado Cannabinoids

4884 Raleigh St, Denver, CO 80212, United States

[architectnews]

Architects are "at the very centre of what we need to do to get to net-zero" says Bulb CEO

Millions of homes could generate small amounts of solar energy to help eliminate carbon emissions from the UK power grid, according to Hayden Wood, CEO of renewable energy supplier Bulb.

The country is at the "starting point" of a transition towards a decentralised, emissions-free energy network, he claimed.

Architects are central to this process as they can help persuade planners "to allow you to have solar panels or solar tiles on the roofs of buildings."

The UK's grid is already well on its way to ending its reliance on fossil fuels. In 2020, renewable generation grew 11 percent and provided a record 42.9 per cent of all power, outstripping fossil sources for the first time.

Meanwhile, the number of UK households using renewable energy has risen from just one per cent in 2015 to around 30 per cent today, Wood said.

"It's really, really encouraging to see such a large number of people change their behaviour over the last five years," said Wood, who co-founded Bulb in 2015 and heads up the Tech Zero initiative to help technology companies eliminate their emissions.

Above: Bulb CEO Hayden Wood. Top: Bulb sources a fifth of its renewable energy from solar farms

Bulb is the UK's biggest renewable-energy provider, supplying around 6 per cent of homes.

Almost four-fifths of Bulb's electricity comes from wind farms, with solar providing just under one fifth and hydropower providing the remaining 4 per cent.

It also supplies "100-per-cent carbon-neutral" gas, although around 95 per cent of this is fossil gas that has been offset. The rest is fossil-free methane that has been produced from farm waste.

Switching to renewable energy could cut personal emissions by more than half

Domestic heating makes up the biggest percentage of most people's carbon footprint, contributing 9.7 per cent of the UK's total emissions between 1990 and 2016, according to a World Wildlife Fund report on the country's contribution to climate change.

Bulb claims that switching to renewables will reduce each customer's carbon footprint by 3.2 tonnes of CO2 a year. This represents more than half of their personal emissions, given that the average carbon footprint in the UK is 5.6 tonnes per person.

"It's the single biggest contributor to people's individual carbon emissions and the biggest single-ticket item that people spend money on after their mortgage or their rent," Wood said.

Powering the UK entirely with renewable energy is "feasible but not necessary," Wood said, since 20 per cent of the country's power comes from nuclear plants.

"Even though it's more expensive to generate electricity from nuclear than renewables, those stations are [already] built," he said.

Nuclear power is not considered a renewable source and Bulb does not distribute it but "nuclear is carbon-free," Wood said. "So it does help us fight the climate crisis."

This means that renewables will need to provide the remaining 80 per cent of the UK's power in order to decarbonise the supply.

"The way we're going to do that is through a mix of different forms of generation," Wood explained. Offshore wind is the biggest source and is "growing very rapidly and getting much, much cheaper."

In addition, utility-scale solar farms are being built on "huge swathes of land".

"And we're really hoping to help more and more homes install solar panels and become contributors to the grid because they can sell their excess green energy to other people," he added.

Wind is currently the largest source of renewable energy in the UK

Wood, an economics graduate, founded Bulb in 2015 with Amit Gudka. Their idea was to use technology to make it easier for customers to switch to renewable energy and to reduce the company's overheads so it could charge lower prices.

"We weren't the first but we were the company that made it much more affordable and mainstream," he said. "We got people to realise how easy it is to switch and what an immediate impact it has as you can have no carbon emissions."

Back then, consumers had to pay more for renewable energy, even though it cost less to produce than fossil energy.

"This wasn't widely known," Wood explained. "It was sold as a premium product. We thought that if we're going to fight the climate crisis, it can't be a niche, premium product. It has to be mainstream."

Homes could become energy producers as well as consumers

When Bulb started, fewer than 300,000 UK homes – less than one per cent of the total – were powered by renewables. Now Bulb and a range of other renewables providers supply almost a third of all homes, with Bulb alone serving 1.7 million domestic customers.

The founders also felt that eventually, homes would become energy producers as well as consumers. By installing solar panels, anaerobic digesters, micro-CHP (combined heat and power) plants or any other small-scale clean-power generator, householders could sell surplus energy back to the grid, using home-storage batteries or electric cars to store the power until it's needed.

"It wasn't really happening at the time, but we thought that homes could become a source of energy," Wood explained.

"If people had solar panels on their roof, or if they had a battery in their home or an electric vehicle and those batteries were plugged into the grid, the homes could at times be providing energy into the grid."

"Also, the grid becomes more efficient when the electrons travel a shorter distance," he added. "If you have generation embedded within the grid locally, then the whole system becomes more efficient."

It has taken a while for this "two-way grid" to become a reality but Wood believes it is now poised to take off.

"That's one of the things we're quite excited about now that there are more options available to consumers for solar panels, electric vehicles, heat pumps and batteries."

Electric vehicles could be used to store electricity at home

A recent survey published by the European Union estimated that rooftop solar panels could provide a quarter of the continent's energy needs, most of it at a lower cost than existing supplies.

"We're now at a starting point where we're beginning to see many, many more homes become participants in that two-way grid," Wood said.

"Renewable energy is very scalable because it's produced by manufactured technologies where you're not limited by not the availability of natural resources," he concluded.

There are a few issues to overcome before the world can complete the switch from fossil energy.

The first is intermittency. Wind and sunshine are unpredictable, leading to peaks and troughs in energy production. But this issue can be overcome with batteries, Wood says.

"We believe the way intermittency is going to be resolved is through the mass buildup of lithium-ion batteries positioned both at the site of generation and the site of consumption," he explained.

With electric vehicles expected to make up 20 per cent of all cars on the roads by 2030, many households will already have storage capacity sitting right outside.

"Those electric vehicles have to have a huge battery inside them that the home can use."

Wood says that solar farms are being built on "huge swathes of land" in the UK

The second issue is more problematic. UK households use more power in the winter when it's colder and darker. But solar power generates more electricity in the summer when the days are longer and sunnier.

"Meeting those winter energy demands in the northern hemisphere will be challenging," Wood said. "You can't rely on batteries to store excess power from the summer months so you can use it in the winter months. So we're going to need other forms of storage."

Countries like Norway "are five years ahead of the UK"

Potential solutions include using excess summer electricity to create synthetic methane from water and carbon dioxide. This carbon-neutral gas could then be burned in winter to provide power.

Another solution could be gravity storage schemes. These include using summer electricity to pump water into elevated reservoirs. In winter, the water would be released to power hydroelectric generators.

Both solutions are already in use elsewhere, Wood said. "Countries like Norway are five years ahead of the UK. All these solutions are being used in those markets."

However, the biggest obstacle preventing the switch to green power is the poor quality of British homes, Wood believes.

"The number one thing holding the UK back is the quality of its housing stock," he said. "Our houses are poorly insulated, draughty. The adoption of new practices is quite slow in the UK."

Switching to renewables is the most effective way of reducing carbon emissions, Wood said. "But the next best thing is to drastically improve the energy efficiency of a home," he added.

"The greenest thing to do is to just reduce your need for energy, which comes from more efficient buildings."

Architects are central to solving this issue, he said. "Architects and builders are at the very centre of what we need to do to get to net-zero."

"That means running energy efficiency surveys, speaking to experts and consultants about how you can make homes more energy-efficient and not installing gas boilers and gas ovens and gas fires in homes by default."

"It means really putting pressure on local planning authorities to allow you to have solar panels or solar tiles on the roofs of buildings, even if they haven't been used in the area before."

To qualify as net-zero, a company and its entire value chain must eliminate all greenhouse gas emissions. Any emissions it cannot eliminate must be offset using schemes that sequester carbon from the atmosphere.

Carbon revolution

This article is part of Dezeen's carbon revolution series, which explores how this miracle material could be removed from the atmosphere and put to use on earth. Read all the content at: www.dezeen.com/carbon.

The sky photograph used in the carbon revolution graphic is by Taylor van Riper via Unsplash.

The post Architects are "at the very centre of what we need to do to get to net-zero" says Bulb CEO appeared first on Dezeen.

#Architecture – Dezeen

[jessicasenvironmentalstudies]

How to Keep Water Clean and Limited (Topic #13)

It very rarely occurs to me how much we depend on water. But when you realize it, water keeps us and other species alive. We use water for much more than just for drinking, bathing, and cooking. The vastness of the world's water is for our agriculture, industry, and electricity. Water is one of the earth’s most important forms of natural capital, however, it is also one of our most poorly managed resources. According to the textbook, we are using water unsustainably by extracting it faster than nature can replace it as well as wasting and polluting it. By 2059, 45 percent of the earth’s land surface could experience extreme droughts due to natural cycles and climate change. As a result, the demand for water will increase while the supply decreases causing international conflicts. Scientists claim that the likelihood of water shortages is one of our most serious environmental, health, and economic challenges. There is no substitute for water, that is why it is extremely important that we start protecting it.

The average American uses between 80 to 100 gallons of water every day. Americans have more than enough water to meet their daily needs and wants. I took the water footprint quiz and was shocked by my results. My water footprint is 709.6 m³ per year meaning it’s about 187456.49 gallons per year. I am definitely guilty of using more water than I should without realizing it. Sometimes when washing the dishes I leave the water running or take unnecessary long showers. Now that I know this and after reading these chapters I will be better and more knowledgeable about my water use.

(Image of my water footprint scores) 

Unfortunately, water supplies are not evenly distributed. 1 of every 10 people on the planet does not have access to clean water for necessities. Water pollution can occur from a few different sources. It can come from discharge pollutants through drain pipes, ditches, or sewer lines. It can also come when rainfall or snowmelt washes pollutants off croplands, city streets, construction sites, and parking lots. Lastly, water pollution can occur when people discard plastics. Water pollution can result in the exposure of infectious bacteria, viruses, and parasites. According to the World Health Organization, more than 4,100 people each day and more than 1.6 million people each year die from waterborne infectious diseases due to unsafe drinking water, making it a global health issue. There are many laws in place to prevent the pollution of water like the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972, the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act, and the 1987 Water Quality Act however, pollution is still such a big issue. Environmental scientists call for strengthening the Clean Water Act by shifting the focus to increased monitoring for violations and larger fines, providing stronger incentives of regulations to reduce fertilizers and pesticides, and bringing the production of oil and natural gas by fracking under the Clean Water and Safe Drinking Water Acts. It is also important for us individuals to do our part and remember to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Access to freshwater is also an economic issue. Only 52 percent of the world’s population have water piped to their homes while the rest have to find and carry it from distant sources of wells, which is a daily task for women and children in developing countries such as Africa and India. In addition, water is an environmental issue because the withdrawal of freshwater from rivers and aquifers has resulted in diminishing river flows, shrinking lakes, and disappearing wetlands. reduced fish populations, and the extinction of some aquatic species and ecosystem services. 

(Women and children in developing country obtaining their only source of water from wells and carrying it in buckets)

The major uses of water in the United States are the cooling of electric power plants, irrigation, public water supplies, industry, and livestock production. These all lead to large amounts of water losses due to two main reasons. First, the cost of water to most is low due mostly to government subsidies, which gives little or no financial incentives to invest in water-saving technologies. Second, is a lack of government subsidies for improving the efficiency of water use. Withdrawing the subsidies that encourage inefficient water use and replacing them with subsidies for more efficient water would greatly reduce water losses. Growing crops consumes about 56 percent of water in the U.S. while animal agriculture is responsible for 20 to 33 percent. More efficient irrigation technologies that can reduce water losses are through a crop-per-drop strategy. This center-pivot irrigation strategy uses a low-pressure sprinkler with pumps that spray about 80 percent of the water on the crops. Micro-irrigation is one of the most efficient ways because 90-95 percent of water goes directly to crops. It consists of plastic tubes installed either at or below the ground level and small pinholes in the tubes deliver drops of water close to the roots at a slow and steady rate. There are also many low-cost, traditional irrigation technologies that are far more sustainable than most ones used today. For example, water tables, high human-powered treadle pumps, bring groundwater up to the earth’s surface and into irrigation ditches. Also using pipes from rooftops and channels in the ground so rainwater can be stored underground or aboveground in storage tanks or plastic barrels to use during dry seasons. Due to the low cost of water in most communities, homes and industries tend to use excess water. Higher prices for freshwater would encourage water conservation but would make it extremely difficult for low-income families, farmers, and city dwellers to buy enough to meet their needs. Instead, industries and homes could recapture, purify, and recycle water and invest in things like water-saving toilets, shower heads, and faucets. 

Word Count: (962)

Question: Are there ways Fordham can take part in reducing its water footprint?

[mikeo56]

I wish to respond to the eco-industrialists who, in the attempt to “save the planet,” have gotten into bed with bankers, billionaires, industrialists, and their foundations, in other words, with capitalism itself. Their paradigm, their status quo of losing the battle against planetary ecological collapse, is threatened by the massive success of one little film for free on YouTube — and they have been on a crazy rampage against it. And all they really have to say in their defense — their key attack against our well-researched examination of their failures to save this planet — is that our film has “old data” in it! That, simply, is a lie. “Planet of the Humans” is a story — a nonfiction story. Stories take place over time. Stories reveal higher truths than data alone—like what questions we are even supposed to be asking. That said, if I made a film with nothing but “data” from this week, our “critics” would still be attacking it as “old data” and throwing out the next shiny object of technological progress to distract us. Also, to say a documentary has “old footage” as if that’s taboo, either means this person doesn’t watch many documentaries, or they are trying to create a red herring and get the reader to believe they should be upset about something — anything! It’s like crying foul that a story uses photos from the past in order to illustrate the present. That said, our data is up to date, and everything you see in the film is accurate. The data in “Planet of the Humans,” in charts, graphs and interviews with experts and activists, runs all the way to the present — up to and including 2019 and 2020. The film taking place over time is a strength; for instance, in two scenes that bookend the film, history repeats itself. I visited a solar festival that actually used biodiesel generators to power itself, and another a decade later that is still trying to fool us with the exact same lie, just on a larger stage. Even scenes early in my quest, like the solar array in my home state of Michigan where the tour guide says his solar panels are about “8% efficient,” are not outdated. First, that solar array and others like it, are still in operation at 8% efficiency and will be for years. Secondly, that happens to be a “thin-film” type solar array, which are cheaper, flexible, and easier to install than traditional “glass” solar arrays. Just this year a solar industry analyst came across a shipment of thin-film Tesla rooftop solar panels and calculated their efficiency at between 4% to 10%! Certainly there are more efficient commercially available glass panels averaging 17% – 19%. Even then there are trade-offs as a higher purchase price represents more technology and more impact. What the eco-industrial complex wants to steer you away from is the reality that all of their “ever-improving, better, more advanced” technologies now, in the past, and in the future will depend on a giant, planet-wrecking industrial civilization. They will require mining, smelting, air pollution, water pollution, and the exploitation of humans around the planet. Even recycling, when you can recycle, say aluminum or steel, will still require vast amounts of energy and create greenhouse gases, toxic pollution, and waste. Just search online for “recycling pollution” and up comes stories of humans and the environment suffering. And every round of recycling produces a degradation in the quality of materials. Already, even without building over a million and a half square miles of solar panels and wind turbines in an attempt to run the world on “green” energy, mining accounts for 10% of global greenhouse gas energy emissions, and 10% percent of deforestation in the Amazon. Another early scene in “Planet of the Humans” is the roll-out of the Chevy Volt where the utility company representative tells us that the grid charging the Volt is about “95% coal.” Disturbing. But how have things changed in Michigan since the Volt was introduced? According to the Department of Energy’s most recent figures, in Michigan an electric car is still being charged on a grid with less than 6% solar and wind. Yes, the portion of coal has dropped, but natural gas has increased, just as we reveal in “Planet of the Humans.” But 94% of our Michigan electricity production remains non-wind and solar. About 5% is wind, 4% biomass burning, and solar is barely above zero—and this is in the context of Michigan having the 15th best wind resource in the nation. And if you look at all energy consumption in Michigan, not just electricity, there is three times more biomass and biofuels as “renewable” energy than solar and wind. So what was true in Michigan at the beginning of my journey in “Planet of the Humans” is still true now upon the film’s release in 2020. If I began filming right now in my home state, little would have changed—the Lansing solar array would still be 8% efficient, and a new Tesla in Michigan would be charging off a grid that is 94% non-solar/wind. Are there different options available? Sure. But again that misses the point that solar, wind, and electric technologies are not something separate from a giant fossil-fuel based industrial civilization; they are one and the same. These “green capitalists” who head up a number of environmental organizations — and who have gone apoplectic over the truths we’ve exposed — wax poetic about “new” solar panels and wind turbines in 2020. They hope the rest of us, the members of these groups, the citizen activists and environmentalists like the three of us from Flint who made this movie, will just look the other way and not think about any of this, not have our conscience be encumbered with the knowledge that it’s the slave labor in a far away land that lets us all feel so warm and cozy and “green.” Any movement or organization that does not invite self-reflection and instead tries to choke it to death — like the eco-industrial complex is attempting to do to us — is doomed. Unfortunately the stakes are too high to let them get away with it.

Jeff Gibbs is the writer, director, and producer of Planet of the Humans.

#planet of the humans #old data

[juniperpublishers-agriculture]

Factors Influencing Zai Pit Technology Adaptation: The Case of Smallholder Farmers in the Upper East Region of Ghana-Juniper Publishers

To know more about Journal of Agriculture Research- https://juniperpublishers.com/artoaj/index.phpTo know more about open access journal publishers click on Juniper publishers

Low agricultural productivity resulting from low erratic rainfall, high evaporation, and deteriorating soil fertility among farmers in the upper East region has led to a mission for sustainable production practices with greater resource use efficiency. To lessen water stress and reduce runoff rains, water harvesting technologies like the zai pit technology is an alternative option whose influence on agricultural productivity cannot be under estimated. This study therefore seeks to assess the influential factors of zai pit technology adaptation among 296 smallholder farmers in the Upper East region of Ghana. Out of the 296 sampled population 155 respondents were adopters of the technology already while 141 were not. The study used binary logistic regression to analyses the factors influencing the adoption of zai pit adoption among farmer. The results from the studies shows that socio-demographic characteristics of farmers such as, farmer‘s age, years of experience, number of non-formal trainings attended, beneficiaries of NGOs, and membership of associations, were significant and plays an important role in farmers adaptation of zai pits technology. On the contrary variables like, land size, sloppiness of land, household size, holding of formal title to land and used of improved planting materials were not significant variable to farmer’s adaptation of the zai pit technology in the study area. Based on the results it was recommendations that farmers should be encouraged to join farmer groups or association and also attend non- formal training on agricultural practices to improve adoption and utilization of zai pits.

Keywords: Binary logit; Smallholder farmers; Upper east; Zia pit technology

Abbreviations: EPA: Environmental Protection Agency; GDP: Gross Domestic Products; SPSS: Statistical Packages for Social Sciences; ICARDA: International Center for Agricultural Research on Dry Areas; NARS: National Agricultural Research System; SWC: Soil Water Conservation; TAM: Technology Acceptance Model; PU: Perceived Usefulness; PEOU: Perceived Ease-of-Use

    Introduction

Low soil fertility is a major limitation to rain fed agriculture among smallholder farming in Africa [1]. Nutrient depletion and inadequate water in the soil of most African countries for some time now has transformed originally fertile lands that could yielded between 2t ha-1 and 4t ha-1 of cereal grain, into infertile lands where cereal crops yields less than 1t ha-1 [2]. Insufficient water couple with soil infertility is a major drawback to rain fed agriculture among smallholder farming in Africa [1]. To be able to restore soil to sufficient level of fertility, water harvesting techniques and improved soil fertility management technologies should be promoted among the smallholder framers. The soil fertility interventions include use of mineral fertilizer and organics such as animal manure and green manure among others [3]. The use of these technologies enable farmers to deepen their production and thereby increase economic benefits due to increased yields.

Water as identified to be one of the important factors that facilitates plant growth needs to be sustained in the soil to improve plant growth. Soil moisture method farmers can adopt includes, macro and micro catchment technologies and rooftop harvesting technologies. Micro-catchment is a method of collecting runoff rains near the growing plant and replenish the soil moisture which are generally used to grow plants like maize, sorghum, groundnuts and millet. The micro-catchment methods includes zai pit, also known in Niger as Tassa and in Mali as Towalen, which has been identified as one of the successful interventions that improve rainfall capturing and lessen runoff and evaporation, and in a long run improves agricultural productivity [4].

Zai is a term that refer to small planting pits that typically measure 20-30cm in width, are 10-20cm deep and spaced 60-80cm apart. Zai is an ancestral practice to regenerate degraded and crusted soils by breaking up the surface crust to improve water infiltration. It is a traditional land rehabilitation technology to rehabilitate degraded drylands and to restore soil fertility to the benefit of farmers living in drylands. The technique was adopted to reclaim severely degraded farmland that water could not penetrate. This technology is mainly applied in semi-arid areas on sandy/ loamy plains, often covered with hard pans, and with slopes below 5% [5].

The application of the zai technique can increase production by about 500 % if well executed [6]. Sawadogo [7], explained that pits have been used to diversify plants biomass in Burkina Faso and the practice has help improve soil fertility and crop yield in the area. The zai pit is most suitable for cultivated lands characterized by crusted soils, hardpan formation, compaction, inadequate ventilation, reduced penetrability and limited plant root development [8]. With these characteristics pit digging enables more water penetration and runoff water is trapped due to the earthen bund formed downslope of the pits [9]. Zai pits are especially relevant to areas receiving 300-800mm annual rainfall [10]. Higher rainfall amounts could cause water-logging of the pits. Zai allows collecting 25% of a run-off coming from 5 times its area [11].

One of the major constraints to agriculture development in the Upper East Region of Ghana is land degradation due to desertification. Mr. Asher Nkegbe, the Regional Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) due to this problem introduced the zai pit technology as a new sustainable water harvesting technique intervention in the region. This provides a window of opportunity for farmers to improve crop performance in this harsh and changing climate. The future seems brighter for the farmers and their families, says Mr. Nkegbe.

    Materials and Methods

Study area

This study was conducted in the upper east region of Ghana, the studies was narrowed to two districts where the zai pit technology was introduced first in the region. The two districts were the Kassena-Nankana West district and the Talensi district. Kassena- Nankana West District is one of the thirteen districts in the Upper East Region of Ghana. It is located approximately between latitude 10.97° North and longitude 01.10° West. It has a total land area of approximately 1,004sq. km. The District falls within the interior continental climatic zone of the country characterized by dry and wet seasons. The Talensi district was part of the Talensi- Nabdam district in the Upper East region. The separate Talensi district was created in 2012 with Tongo as the capital. The district lies between latitude 10o 15’ and 10o 60’ North of the equator and longitude 0o 31’ and 1o 05’ West of the Greenwich meridian. It has a land area of 838.4km2.

In the rural localities of these two districts, nine (9) out of ten (10) households (93.4%) are agricultural households while in the urban localities, 75.4 percent of households are into agriculture. Most households in the district (98.2%) are involved in crop farming. Crop farming, animal rearing and hunting are the main economic activities in the two districts. Agriculture is mainly rain fed with little irrigation and serves as the main source of employment and account for 90.0 percent of local Gross Domestic Products (GDP). The main agricultural produce are groundnuts, sorghum, millet, rice and maize.

Sampling strategy

This study used primary data collected through questionnaire from smallholder farmers in the Upper East region of Ghana. The purposive stratified sampling was adopted in household interviews to ensure representative adopters and non-adopters of the technology were sampled within the area of study. The study makes use of the [12] sample size determination formula to determine the sample size. That is

Where, n = sample size

t = value of selected alpha level of 0.025 in each tail = 1.96 for 95% (that is the alpha level of 0.05 which indicates the level of risk the researcher is willing to take, the true margin of error may exceed the accepted margin of error).

Z = proportion of population of farmer engaged I the zai technology.

h = proportion of population of farmer who are not engaged in the zai technology.

d = accepted margin of error for proportion begin estimated= 0.05 (error researcher is willing to accept).

The first stage of data handling involved data cleaning. The data was first of all cleaned by examining the questionnaire to ensure they were complete and had been consistently filled. The household survey data was analyzed by the use of Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) software. The study employed analytical techniques like descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression. Descriptive statistics such as frequency tables, percentages mean and standard deviations were used to analyze farmers’ socio-economic characteristics. Chi - square analysis was employed to test the relationship between farmers ‘socioeconomic characteristic and adoption of zai pits technology. To ascertain the differences of means between adopters and non-adopters, the statistically significant paired t- tests was used. Binary logistic regression was used in zai pit adoption model to determine factors influencing adoption of zai pits. That is

Where;

K= is the probability of adopting zai pits

(1-K) = is the probability that a farmer does not adopt zai pit

α = y intercept

β = regression coefficients

e = error term

1 10 x − x = independent variables

The independent variables were the socio – economic characteristics as shown below;

X1 = Household size

X2 = Non – Formal Training

X3 = Member of association.

X4 = Total Farm Size

X5 = Sloppy Land

X6 = Formal Title

X7 = Used Improved Planting Material

X8 = Farmers experience

X9 = Beneficiary of NGO.

X10 = Age of farmer

Review of related literature

Water scarcity impact on agricultural productivity: One of the major impediments to rain fed agricultural in arid and semi-arid areas is scarcity of water. Low productivity in arid and semi-arid areas are credited to marginal and unpredictable rainfall, worsened by high runoff and evaporation loose among other factors [13]. Unpredictable rainfall and droughts are included in the influential factors of agricultural production among smallholder farmers mostly in rural areas [14]. The mainstream of agricultural lands in Africa are arid and semi-arid lands as a result effort to increase productivity of rain-fed system in these areas is a step in the right direction. Several water harvesting techniques alongside irrigation systems should be adopted by farmers to improve water moisture deficit in arid and semi-arid areas, since there is a promising increase in productivity if the soil moisture is maintained. The best way to deal with water scarcity challenge which is a major threat to food security, is to embrace water harvesting techniques to manage water for rain-fed agricultural [15].

A number of case studies by the International Center for Agricultural Research on Dry Areas (ICARDA) affirmed that productivity gaps can be reduced by engaging in improved soil and water management practices by farmers [16]. Improved water management in the long run serves as a catalyst for economic growth among farmers in arid and semi-arid areas since the productivity of farmer will increase. Numerous researchers has come out with ways to address the challenge of water scarcity to enhance productivity, among their suggested water harvesting techniques are the zai pits, negarims, semi-circular bunds and half-moons [17]. This study focuses on the zai pit technique technology as a water harvesting technique in the most sim-arid area in Ghana.

Definition of zai pit technology

The zai pit technology originated from Burkina Faso, although some scholars trace it origin to Dogon in Mali [18]. “Zai” in Burkina Faso, refers to small planting pits typically measuring 20-30cm in width, 10-20cm deep and spaced 60-80cm apart. There are different names ranging from counties to countries, for instance it is known as “tassa”, “towalen” in Niger and Mali respectively. However, the English term used for this pit includes “planting basins”, “micro pit” and “small water harvesting pits”. Zai pits are most relevant in areas that receives 300-800mm rainfall annually [10]. Zai pits technology has caught the attention of many NGOs and for that matter intensive campaign is embarked on it adoption in Zimbabwe and other parts of Africa [19]. Zai pit technology is practiced in Niger [20], South Africa [21], Zambia [22,23], Ethiopia [24] and recently in Ghana. [25] recognized how the central plateau of Burkina Faso experienced major improvement in millet and sorghum productivity from around 400kg ha-1 in 1988 to 650kg ha-1 in 1996-2000. The rise was mainly due to improved soil and water preservation as well as addition aspects of ISFM. In Ghana, the zai pit technology is currently practiced in the upper east region of the country, which was introduce by the Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). During the inception of this technology, about 100 farmers from selected communities like Kazugu, Kayilo, and Kulia Yiduriand Wuug embraced the technology and participated in it. Report from some participant like Thomas Aluah, Apiato Masumdok and Pastor Michael Tamponab just to mention but few testified to it that the technology has help them increase their productivity and were welling to continue it practice.

Factors that influence the farmers adaption of zai pits technology: Adaptation and utilization of water harvesting techniques is one of the important conditions, for agricultural development especially in the arid and semi-arid areas. Despite the technologies developed and tested on farms by the National Agricultural Research System (NARS) to reduce the effects of water scarcity in semiarid areas, farmer’s adaptation remains low rendering continuous low productivity [17]. Factors inducing zai pits adaptation vary from place to place and from household to household due to differences in socio-cultural, economic and biophysical conditions [26]. Slingerland & Stork [27], examined determinants of practice of zai and mulching in north Burkina Faso and they found that farmers applying zai pits had larger households, more means of transport and more livestock, which is consistent with their need for manpower and manure.

Wildemeersch et al. [28] identified that, lack of enough knowledge on erosion and other key resources such as manure, agricultural equipment and transport facilities limit the application of zai pit technology in Tillaberi Niger. In northern Burkina Faso, [29] found that, variables like education and perceptions of soil degradation were bases for the adoption of zai technique. Ndah et al. [30] also found out that, the great potential adoption of zai pits displayed by farmers from Malawi and Zambia case relates to positive institutional factors such as well-structured extension system and integration of the lead farmer approach [31]. The above studies emphasis on farmers ‘characteristics and resource availability to describe adoption problems in different regions. However, in Ghana research on factors influencing farmers ‘adoption of zai pits is scanty, therefore it will not be prudent to infer the results of the above studies in Ghana. Furthermore, zai pits have their own unique characteristics and requirements different from other rain water harvesting technologies hence it is important to establish factors that influence its adoption.

Socio-economic factors and adoption of zai pit technology to enhance food security: The studies of [32], revealed that low uptake of improved technologies and incorrect soil fertility management practices compromise sustainability and food security among smallholder farmers. The driven force of agricultural growth of any nation is high outputs to farmers’ production. To increase the productivity of farmer, a larger number of farmers are expected to adopt improved agricultural technologies that increase productivity and also be more efficient in the use of resources like land and water in an environmental sustainable manner (World Bank Group, FAO and IFAD, 2015).

Adekambi, Diagne, Simtowe, & Biaou [33] is also of the view that different variables such as age and education affect adaptation of agricultural technologies either positively or negatively. He found out in his studies that, higher education influence adoption decision positively since it is associated with ability to synthesis more information on technologies that are on offer and this leads to improvement of the general management of the farm. On the other hand, more education can also lead to individuals having more available occupation option thereby spend less time to attend to this farm activities affecting adoption of agricultural related technologies negatively.

The number of hours involve in digging a zai hole has also been another influential factor to its adaptation. Barro & Lee [34] noted that it takes about 300hour/ha to dig the zai pit, whiles [9] assert that 450hours/ha is involved in digging the zai pit plus another 250hour/ha to apply fertilizer in the holes, hence the zai pit is more suitable when practiced by a group of farmer together instead of individual farmers. This means wealth farmer are more likely to benefit from this technology since they can employ more laborers to work for them.

Murgor, Saina, Cheserek, Owino, & Sciences [35] found that, financial issues like cost of hired labour, transportation cost, construction cost etc. are limitations for farmers to adopt improved agricultural technologies. It is difficult to increase agricultural productivity without credit facilities, with the fact that most farmers are poor in resource. Another expects, higher investment and management in livestock leads to increased readiness of dung. Better-quality livestock keeping brings revival of indigenous foliage and greater accessibility of fodder [36]. Research findings indicates that rainwater in Africa is at 127mm yr-1 contrary to North America’s 258mm yr-1, South America’s 648mm yr-1 and global mean of 249mm yr-1 [37].

Impact of zai pits technology on output of farmers: Research has revealed that, zai technology escalates crop yields and straw (residue) production on highly degraded soils and helps to lessen the opposing effects of dry spells, which are frequent during the cropping period in the dry land areas [9,38]. A study by [9] revealed that, zai pit technology increased sorghum yields by 310kg ha-1 as compared to the non-zai pit situation in the village of Donsin. Zai pits technology (also known as Tumbukiza) produced significantly higher dry matter yields than conventional method in Western Kenya [39]. In semi-arid areas, a drought can lead to total crop failure but experience from Zambia [22] shows that, planting basins can improve the possibility of maintaining some production with very low rainfall. During an impact assessment of Soil Water Conservation (SWC), agroforestry and agricultural intensification in 5 villages on the northern part of the Central Plateau of Zambia, farmers agreed unanimously that soil water conservation (SWC) and in particular zai had a positive impact on household food security [36]. In West Africa, [40] found that, the use of zai alone would not improve much the productivity (only 200kg ha-1 of sorghum grain) but when the zai is associated with manure and fertilizer large crop yield increases can be obtained (1700kg ha-1 of sorghum grain). Again, in Niger manure application with zai showed a 2-69 times better grain yields than zai pit with no nutrient amendment [38].

Theoretical framework

Technology acceptance model (TAM): This is the commonest and most used model of acceptance and use of technology [41]. It was developed by Fred Davis and Richard Bagozzi with its main assumption as, when a person intends to act, they will be free to act unhindered [42]. However, in reality and practical acceptance and adoption is constrained by limited ability (such as cognitive, psychomotor or materials), time environmental or even unconscious habits that hamper the autonomy to act. The model assert that when users are faced with a novel technology, the choice about how and when to apply that technology is influenced to a large extent, the perceived usefulness (PU) which was described by [42] as “the degree to which a person believes that using a particular system would enhance his or her job performance”, and the perceived ease-of-use (PEOU) also been described as “ the degree to which a person believes that using a particular system would be free from effort” [42].

According to [43], both PEOU and PU are subject to external variables mainly social factors, cultural factors and political factors. The social factors are language skills and enabling conditions, whiles political factors are the effects of the technology use on politics and political crisis. Attitude is about the user of the technology evaluation of the attractiveness to employ a certain technology. Behavioral intention is the measure of the probability of an individual to apply the technology. Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) enables understanding of the role of perception on usefulness and ease of use in determining the desire to apply the technology and the level to which the technology will be adopted. Additional, external variable affects the behavioral intention to use and the actual usage of the technology given their indirect effect on PEOU and PU.

To make use of the two models, this study proposes that technology adoption is a multifaceted, inherently social, developmental process, individuals create distinct yet flexible views of the technology that affect their adoption choices. The adoption is influenced by the perception of the inherent features of the technology, social-economic factors like educational level, involvement of males in the process of adoption and post-implementation extension services offered to the farmers to determine the extent of consequent spread.

Roger’s innovation diffusion theory: Rogers’s doctoral dissertation in 1957 which study’s rural and agricultural sociology, focusing on the trends of use of new weed spray by Iowan farmers. Rogers made an appraisal on related findings on the way people embraced a new technology or idea; studies in varied disciplines such as medicine, agricultural and marketing, at the end he realized so many similarities and he used it to formulate an all-embracing, theoretical framework.

According to Rogers innovation can be define as a new object, idea, technology, or practice. Innovation can either be tangible, physical objects like new device or machine or intangible objects like a new design method or educational method. Also, the concept of innovation originality could relate to both place and population. This model is general in nature giving it extensive application.

Diffusion can also be defined as the spatial and temporal movement of the new technology to different economic units. Kaminski [44] put a difference between adoption and diffusion by defining diffusion (aggregate adoption) as the process in which a technology is transferred through various channels over time amongst the members of a community. He identify four elements, firstly, the technology that is the new idea, practice or object being spread, secondly, communication channel which represent how information on the new technology move from change agent (extension, technology suppliers) to the final consumers or adopters example farmers, thirdly, the time period over which a technology is adopted in a social system and lastly, the social system.

On the other hand, Rogers emphasize that adoption is where someone (farmer) is motivated to either using or not to use a novel technology at certain period of time. Feder et al. [45] also differentiated between individual (farm level) and aggregate adoption. They are of the view that, individual adoption is the degree of use of a new technology (innovation) in the long-run where the individual has adequate information on the new technology and it’s potential whereas aggregate adoption is measured by the aggregate level of use of a given technology within a given geographical area. Ruttan [46], also described aggregate adoption as the spread of a new technique within a population. The difference between adoption and diffusion is essential for theoretical and empirical evaluation of the levels of the two economic phenomena. Kaminski [44] and Mahajan & Peterson [47], brought reasons for the process of attaining information and the time intervals created in respects to the rate of adoption by people (farmers) in the society (Figure 1).

Based on the theoretical framework, the study was guided by the above conceptual framework. Erratic rainfall experienced, high temperature which causes evaporation and bad farming practices has rendered almost all the land in the study area infertile with little water sustain in them. These problems leads, to low productivity since the nutrient and water in the soil are not enough to support plant growth. This situation calls for an intervention to eradicate the problem hence the adaption of the Zai pit technology, which helps to sustain water in the soil for a long time and also increases soil fertility when combined with organic or inorganic substances. Zai pit technology is the dependent variable. Adoption of the Zai pit technology is influence by independent factors like the socio-economic factors, perceptions farmers have about the technology and external factors like government policies on water harvesting techniques which the farmer has no or little control over it.

Results and Discussion

Factors influencing zai pit technology adaptation

Out of the 296 farmers interviewed for the studies, 72.6% representing 215 farmers were males and the remaining 27.4% representing 81 farmers were females. The number of farmers who were adopters were slightly higher than the number of farmers who were non-adopters of the technology with percentages of 52.4% and 47.6% (155 and 141) respectively. About 103 farmers representing 66.5% out of the adopter were males with only 52 farmers representing 33.5% were females. In the case of the non-adopter the number of females was 29 respondents representing 20.6% and 112 respondents representing 79.4% were males. Buyu [48], is of the view that gender difference is one of the determinants of choice of soil conservation and water harvesting technique. Gender difference is known to determine the choice of soil conservation and water harvesting technique [48]. Women base their choices in terms of the opportunity cost of realizing better yields while men consider cost related matters such as labor and time requirements [48]. This is probably because female famers are equally committed as male farmers to find mitigation measures to food insecurity and overall improvement of their families ‘wellbeing (Table 1).

Majority of the farmers (174 farmers) with a percentage of about 58.8% had attain primary education out of which 94 respondentss were adopters and 80 respondents were non-adopters. Respondents with tertiary education recorded the least the number with 31 respondents standing for 10.5% of which out of this number, 24 respondents representing were adopters and 7 respondents were non-adopters. Respondents with no formal education recorded 19.9% which represent 59 respondents out of this 15 were adopters whiles 44 were non-adopter. Those with secondary education recorded 10.8% standing for 32 respondents out of these 22 respondents were adopters whiles 10 respondents were non-adopters. These studies are consistent with the work of [49], who found out in his studies that, higher education influence adoption of decision positively since it is associated with ability to synthesis. Education levels of the farmers may influence chances of implementing and/or adopting the water harvesting techniques. Low education levels of the interviewed respondents may have significantly contributed to the low or non-adoption of water harvesting techniques. This is because, education increases one access to information and therefore creates awareness and contributes to adoption of water harvesting systems. Chianu & Tsujii [50], reported that farmers ‘educational achievement can increase the probability of water harvesting technology adoption.

The results revealed that, a higher percentage of young aged farmers (21-40 years) 48.4% respondents had adopted zai pits as compared to older farmers (61 and above years) 6.5%- and middle-aged farmers (21-40 years) 34.2%. In general, the results showed that farmers in their middle ages recorded higher percentages 82.6% (21 – 40 years and 41 -60 years) as compared to very young and older farmers who together also recorded 17.4% (below 20 years and 61 and above years). These results could be associated to the fact that, zai pit technique is labor intensive. According to a study by [51] the age of the farmer is a significant variable that can impact use of soil conservation technologies. Generally, older farmers may be more conservative, less flexible and more uncertain about the benefits of zai pits.

It was shown from the results that, majority of the farmers (82.8%) depends on farming activities for survival and generation of income with very few depending on business and government work for income with percentages of 6.8% and 10.4% respectively. The gap between the farmers who had adopted the technology and the non-adopters was very small. According to [52], agricultural activity is one of the many possible sources of employment and income for farm households across the world. This perhaps may be one of the reasons why adoption of the water harvesting technologies is low (Table 2).

The studies revealed a great number of adopted farmers of zai pit technology joining farmers association with a percentage of 92.3% as again 7.7% who are not part of farmers associations. The number of non-adopter who are part of farmers associations is also greater than those who are not members of associations with percentages of 80.9% and 19.1 respectively. In a nutshell the numbers of farmer both adopters and non-adopter who are members of farmers association is greater than their counterparts who are not members with percentages of 86.85 against 13.2%. The results revealed a positive significant relationship between membership of farmers association adoption ( χ 2 = 31.449 , p=0.005). This could be the reason why a large number of farmers were recorded to be adopters since the information about the technology may be spread to them in the groups.

Considering the gap between farmers who have sloppy land and those who do not have is relatively wide, with majority of farmers who have adopter the technology has sloppy land (71.6%). Adopted farmers without sloppy land recorded the least percentage (28.4%) followed by non-adopter with sloppy land. In general, most farmers in the study area have sloppy land (61.5) as compared to farmers who don’t have sloppy land (38.5%). A positive significant relationship was recorded between landscape (sloppy land) and adoption of zai pit technology ( 2 χ = 8.712 , p=0.003). The majority of adopters of the technology having sloppy land can be attributed to the fact that zai pit technology is a measure of collection of runoff rain [17].

Based on the results, both adopter and non-adopters of the technology who have benefited from NGOs are greater than their counterparts who have not benefited from any NGOs with percentages of 74.0% as against 26.0%. Adopters recorder the highest number of people who have benefited from NGOs (113) followed by non-adopters (106). The external support provided by NGOs to farmers had a significant and positive relationship with zai pit technology adoption ( 2 χ = 23.289 , p=0.001). This suggests that promotion by external organizations plays a significant role in adoption of soil water management technologies as revealed by [31] in his studies. This result is also in agreement with the work of [53] who established a positive and significant relationship of external service and adoption of rain water harvesting technology.

The results suggest majority of the adopters have formal title to their lands (75.5%) with relatively fewer adopters not having formal titles to their lands (24.5%). On the other hand, there was a great number of non-adopter not having formal title to their lands as compared to those having title to their lands with percentages of 55.3% and 24.5% respectively. The result revealed a significant relationship between farmers holding formal titles to their lands and zai pit adoption ( 2 χ = 17.02 , p= 0.002).

Majority of the adopters were identified to be using improved planting materials with very few of the adopters not using improved planting materials with percentages of 71.0% as against 29.0%. In the case of the non-adopters too majority of the farmers were using improved planting materials as compared to their counterparts who were not using improving planting materials having percentages of 69.5% and 30.5% respectively. In general, it was revealed that majority of the farmers were using improved planting materials as compared to those who were to using improved planting materials (Table 3).

From the table above, the t-test result revealed a significant difference between household adopters (6.4) and non-adopter (4.3). Also, there was a significant difference (p= 0.006) that exist between household members who work in the farm among the adopters and the non-adopters. The average household for adopters and non-adopter were 6.4 and 4.3 respectively. The results showed that adopters had more labour sources compared to the non- adopters with confirms the assertion [54] that large household suggests more provision of labour particularly in the preparation and maintenance of water harvesting technologies.

Moreover, the average age of the adopters was 47.9 years whiles that of the non-adopter was 46.1 which suggest the farmers in the study areas are in their youthful ages. Though the difference in farmer’s age was not statistically significant, studies by [55,56] revealed that older farmers are used to short term planning thus are more reluctant to invest in soil conservation technologies which take long before realizing the benefits. Contrary, [57] in his studies reported that older farmers could be more aware of soil infertility in their farms henceforth are more willing to try new technologies that curtail the negative effects.

The total average farm size of adopter was highly than their counterpart non-adopters with mean of 7.0 and 5.7 respectively. There exists a significant difference at less than 5% probability level. This result is in agreement with the studies [58] who find out that farmers who had bigger farm size were likely to adopt rain water harvesting techniques. Averagely, farmers who has adopted the technology has received more non-formal training than the non-adopters (2.5 and 1.6) respectively. This result shows that non formal training plays a crucial role in the adoption of zai pit technology. The result agrees with a similar-studies by [59] which revealed significant and positive association between training and adoption of water harvesting technologies (Table 4). Table 4: A Logistic Regression for the Predictors of Zai Pit Technology Adoption in the Upper East Region of Ghana.

The logistic regression table revealed that, non-formal training attended by farmers had a significant and positive influence on adaptation of zai pit technology with exp ( β ) value of 2.820. Farmer belonging to farmers groups and associations also had a positive impact on adaptation of zai pit technology with exp ( β ) value of 1.63. The value of the exp ( β ) signifies that, for 1 unit increase in the farmers joining or belonging to an association, the probability of farmers adoption would increase by a factor of 1.63. The result also shows that, there was a statistical significant relationship between farmers farming experience and adaptation of zai pit technology with exp ( β ) value of 2.97. Age of farmers also had a positive impact on the adoption the zai pit technology with exp ( β ) value of 4.20 which signifies a unit increase in age of farmers, the probability of adaptation will increase by 4.420. The results shows that beneficiary of NGOs was significant and had a positive relationship with adoption of zai technology with exp ( β ) value of 4.46 which means a unit increase in the beneficiaries of NGOs would render an increase in the probability of adaptation by 4.46.

On the other hand, the logistic model results revealed that, farm size, sloppy land, household size, used of improved planting materials and formal title to farm lands were not significant variables in the adaptation of the zai pit technology. Holding of formal title to farming land had an insignificant negative effect on adoption of the technology, however it was anticipated that farmers who have title deeds are more likely to adopt the technology as compared to those who don’t have the title deeds. Many smallholder farmers who apply these technologies on leased land lose the benefit of their investments because the owners withdraw the land for their own use soon. Tenure insecurity explains farmers ‘unwillingness to invest effort in measures to improve soil conservation and enhance fertility [60,61].

The results obtain from land size, family size sloppy land and use of improved planting material (insignificant) is in contrast to the studies of [62], who find out that the size of the farm was a major a predictor in the adoption of soil water conservation measures in Chile. The result was also in contrast with the studies finding of [61,63] who also identified significant positive relationship between land size and farmers decision to adopt soil conservation and water harvesting techniques.

Conclusion and Recommendation

Out of the 296 farmers interviewed for the studies, 72.6% representing 215 farmers were males and the remaining 27.4% representing 81 farmers were females. The number of farmers who were adopters were slightly higher than the number of farmers who were non-adopters of the technology with percentages of 52.4% and 47.6% (155 and 141) respectively. Majority of the farmers (174 farmers) with a percentage of about 58.8% had attain primary education out of which 94 respondents were adopters and 80 respondents were non-adopters. Respondents with tertiary education recorded the least number with 31 respondents standing for 10.5% of which out of this number, 24 respondents representing were adopters and 7 respondents were non-adopters. In general, the results showed that farmers in their middle ages recorded higher percentages 82.6% (21 – 40 years and 41 -60 years) as compared to very young and older farmers who together also recorded 17.4% (below 20 years and 61 and above years). It was shown from the results that, majority of the farmers (82.8%) depends on farming activities for survival and generation of income with very few depending on business and government work for income with percentages of 6.8% and 10.4% respectively.

The results from the studies shows that socio-demographic characteristics of farmers such as, farmer‘s age, years of experience, number of non-formal trainings, beneficiaries of NGOs, and membership of associations, agents play an important role in farmers adaptation of zai pits. On contrary variables like variables like land size, sloppy land, household size, formal title to land and used of improved planting materials were not significant variable to farmer’s adaptation in the study area. The most common source of information in the adoption of zai pits was non-government extension agents. Majority of the farmers who had adopted zai pits used animal manure as a soil fertility amendment.

Considering the verdicts from this study, the researcher, recommendations that farmers should be encouraged to join farmer groups or association and also attend non- formal training on agricultural practices to improve adoption and utilization of zai pits. Also, it is recommended that zai pit technology should be promoted by the government and NGOs as a water harvesting technique in the study area.

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The Q CELLS Q.HOME home battery complete review

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Q CELLS is a popular solar panel manufacturer based out of Seoul, South Korea. Like many other solar panel companies, Q CELLS recently decided to expand their business into the energy storage space.Their new product, the Q.HOME ESS HYB-G1, is a modular energy storage solution that can help keep your lights on during power outages.

Find out what solar panels cost in your area in 2020

How does the Q CELLS Q.HOME work?

The Q CELLS Q.HOME pairs well with solar panel systems, especially if your utility has reduced or removed net metering, introduced time-of-use rates, or instituted demand charges. Installing a storage solution like the Q.HOME with a solar energy system allows you to maintain a sustained power supply during day or night, as long as you store enough power from your solar panels when the sun is shining.

As with many other home battery products, the Q.HOME is sized for day-to-day use at your home and is primarily designed to be paired with a solar panel system. When your solar panels produce more electricity than you can use in your home, you can store the excess electricity in the battery system instead of sending it back into the grid. Later, when your panels aren’t producing enough electricity to meet your home’s needs, you can use the stored energy in your battery instead of having to buy it from your utility company.

Key things to know about the Q.HOME

Q CELLS advertises their Q.HOME battery model as an “…energy storage solution [that] offers scalable storage capacity…and comes in a modular design for easy and fast installation”. Additionally, a Q.HOME energy storage system can work with both AC-coupled and DC-coupled configurations, meaning it’s a good option for those who want to install it at the same time as a new solar panel system or as a retrofit installation to an existing solar panel system.

Alongside the Q.HOME, Q CELLS offers a Q.HOME web portal and ESS mobile app, which allows you to access Q CELLS’ energy monitoring system online from your laptop or mobile phone.

When evaluating the Q.HOME, there are various important metrics and technical specifications to keep in mind. Among the most important are the size of the battery (power and capacity), its depth of discharge, and roundtrip efficiency. 

Size

The Q.HOME is a modular system that allows you to connect up to three batteries under the same hybrid inverter and battery management system. Because of this, the Q.HOME comes in a variety of sizes.

Two important metrics to keep in mind when comparing the Q.HOME to other home storage options are power and usable capacity. Power (measured in kilowatts, or kW) determines the maximum amount of electricity that can be output at a single time, while usable capacity (measured in kilowatt-hours, or kWh) is a measure of the maximum amount of electricity stored in your battery on a full charge. With a Q.HOME system, you can have anywhere from 6 kW to 8.6 kW of power depending on how many batteries you stack in your system. Usable capacity of the system also depends on how many batteries you include: on the lower end, the Q.HOME offers a usable capacity 4.5 kWh, but you can add more batteries to reach up to 18.9 kWh of usable capacity. 

Think of your battery like water running through a pipe. The usable energy capacity is the amount of water available to push through the pipe, while power is the size of the pipe itself. Larger pipes allow more water to flow through at once, which depletes the water faster. Similarly, a battery with a high power rating can deliver more electricity at one time, but will burn through its available energy capacity faster too.

A battery’s power determines the number of appliances you can run from the battery concurrently, while usable capacity determines how long those appliances can be run. Batteries with a higher power rating are capable of powering more, bigger appliances (i.e., your HVAC system) or many appliances at once, while batteries with a higher usable capacity can store more total energy and thus can run your appliances for longer periods of time without needing to recharge.

Since the Q.HOME is stackable and modular, you can choose how many batteries you’d like to install based on your personal needs. For example, you might want to install multiple Q.HOME batteries for your home if you have higher energy needs and want to keep your home’s most valuable appliances running during a long power outage. However, if your backup power needs are minimal, a single battery may suffice. 

Basic functionality

The functionality of one solar battery next to another can vary; some batteries have excellent off-grid capabilities, while others offer software solutions specific to rate arbitrage. The suite of Q.HOME hardware and software products are designed to provide both of these services.

Q CELLS offers a bi-directional inverter, or hybrid inverter, alongside their Q.HOME. This inverter acts as both a battery inverter and a rooftop solar array inverter. This means that, as long as your contractor installs the correct components and the Q.HOME inverter, your Q CELLS Q.HOME battery system will be able to provide backup power for your home when the grid goes down, and continue interacting with your home solar panel system if you have one.

Their monitoring technology is fully built-in to their Q.HOME inverter. With their built-in monitoring technology, Q CELLS’s Q.HOME batteries and their associated parts can intelligently manage electrical loads throughout your house and appropriately pull energy from the battery when needed.

Performance metrics

Two key ways to evaluate the performance of a solar battery are its depth of discharge and round-trip efficiency. 

Depth of discharge (DoD) indicates the percentage of a battery’s energy that has been discharged relative to the overall capacity of the battery. Because the useful life of a battery decreases each time you charge, discharge, and re-charge–or cycle–your battery, many battery manufacturers specify a maximum DoD level for optimal battery performance. In general, batteries with a higher depth of discharge are considered better quality products. The Q CELLS Q.HOME boasts a solid depth of discharge of 90 percent.

Round-trip efficiency is a measure of electrical losses involved with charging and discharging a battery. The higher the efficiency percentage, the more efficiently the battery is able to convert incoming electricity into stored electricity and then back into usable electricity. The Q CELLS Q.HOME has a high round-trip efficiency of around 95 percent; this means that for every 10 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity you put into the battery, you’ll receive 9.5 kWh of output.

Q CELLS Q.HOME warranty coverage

Q.HOME warranties

Warranty period: 10 years 

Guaranteed end of warranty capacity: 60%

Throughput warranty: 6,000

In most cases, homes with an Q.HOME battery will charge and drain the battery every day. The Q.HOME comes with a 10-year warranty. During this time period, Q CELLS guarantees that the battery will maintain at least 60 percent of its capacity to hold a charge. Q CELLS also offers an energy throughput warranty – the 60 percent retained capacity after 10 years is only valid if the total energy throughput over the 10 year period is less than either 13.5 MWh or 18.9 megawatt-hours (MWh) depending on the battery cell you install (4.5 kWh cells vs. 6.3 kWh cells). Summed up, your Q CELLS Q.HOME battery is warranted to retain at least 60 percent of its capacity by the time you hit a lifetime of 10 years or an energy throughput of up either 13.5 MWh or 18.9 MWh, whichever happens first.

Importantly, Q CELLS’ battery technology is similar to other rechargeable batteries both large and small: as time goes on, the battery loses some of its ability to hold a charge. Think of how the battery life of a brand-new smartphone compares to one that is a few years old. As you continually charge and drain your phone’s battery, it starts to lose some of its ability to hold a charge.

The battery life of your Q.HOME battery will deteriorate in the same way. That isn’t an indicator of a product flaw – all batteries lose some of their ability to hold a charge over time, whether it’s an electric vehicle battery, a home energy battery, or a rechargeable AA battery. This is why Q CELLS offers a warranty that guarantees a certain amount of storage capacity.

Warranty, capacity, and power are three of the most important metrics you should consider when comparing home battery options. If you’re curious to learn more about the best way to perform your own battery comparisons, check out our video explaining how to evaluate your home energy storage options:

If you want to compare individual battery models side-by-side, our battery Buyer’s Guide lets you select products and compare them based on efficiency, capacity, power, and more.

How much does the Q CELLS Q.HOME cost?

The cost of installing a battery isn’t as straightforward as looking up the list price for an individual component–i.e., your battery. In fact, depending on your electrical setup, installation costs can vary widely. Q CELLS hasn’t published pricing information for the Q.HOME yet, but according to EnergySage Marketplace data, most solar battery systems range from $5,000 to $7,000+. However, the price of the storage system is just one part of the equation – the average installed cost of a battery is closer to $11,000 to $18,000.

If you want to install the Q.HOME as part of a solar-plus-storage system, you’ll also have to consider the cost of a solar panel system. A 5 kilowatt (kW) solar energy system costs anywhere from $9,000 to $15,000 depending on where you live and the type of equipment you choose.

That may sound like a lot of money, but installing a solar-plus-storage system can be a worthwhile investment. Whether or not the Q CELLS Q.HOME makes sense for you is determined by the way that your electric utility structures its rates, as well as your reasons for installing a solar battery.

In some cases, depending on where you live, you may have access to financial incentives that can reduce your home energy storage installation costs. For instance, if you live in California, you could get a cash rebate that covers most of your home battery costs through the Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP). Other states (such as Massachusetts) are in the early stages of evaluating battery storage performance incentives as well, and several states already provide cash rebates.

Can you go off-grid with the Q.HOME??

Installing a solar-plus-storage system at your home is a great way to take control of your electricity bill, but it doesn’t mean that you’re completely disconnected from your utility. Going “off the grid” with solar batteries is actually a more expensive and complicated proposition than you might think. Most home batteries, including the Q.HOME, only have enough capacity to store a few hours of electricity. If you want to make sure you can maintain power to your property for days at a time, you’ll need to install several Q.HOME batteries together to increase your storage capabilities.

Where to buy the Q CELLS Q.HOME

Adding energy storage technology to your home is a complicated process that requires electrical expertise, certifications, and knowledge of the best practices required to install a solar-plus-storage system correctly. A qualified EnergySage-approved company can give you the best recommendation about the Q CELLS home battery system and other energy storage options available to homeowners today. If you are interested in receiving competing installation quotes for solar and energy storage options from local installers near you, simply join the EnergySage Solar Marketplace today and indicate what products you’re interested in your profile’s preferences section.

Find out what solar panels cost in your area in 2020

from Solar Energy https://news.energysage.com/the-q-cells-q-home-home-battery-complete-review/