Bamboo is without doubt the material and food of the future. With an average investment return of three to five years as far as plantation is concerned, this compares extremely well with the ten years required to achieve the same return on other types of wood.

Not only does bamboo have a great material and food importance it also has mammoth ecological potential too. In today's world of fuel wars and the ever deteriorating ozone layer, the natural product of bamboo has taken the driving seat as far as international energy is concerned.

The successful utilization of bamboo in the manufacturing process of renewable ethanol and diesel is apparent and on an ecological note bamboo is likely to contribute to the saving of our environment due to the huge amounts of carbon dioxide which is sequestered during the time the bamboo is growing.

Carbon dioxide is taken in by bamboo at a much higher rate than other trees and as the bamboo is of the evergreen variety this happens all year round. Any amount of fuel made from bamboo would create a like for like impact as it would only release the same amount of carbon dioxide as was consumed by the bamboo in its growing stages.

As well as the considerable fuel possibilities bamboo boasts the quickest reforestation potential period of any plant which provides the burnt landscapes with new life within only a few months.

Bamboo is not only safe for the environment in this age of all manner of ecological problems which have arisen from extensive use of fossil fuels but it is also a renewable supply of fuel and materials for building, creating a positive effect on the environment.

With a little time and dedicated research the prospect is sure to be brighter as bamboo is used more and more and it could prove to be the jewel in the crown when a plantation pops up in a field near to your home at some time in the near future.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chantel_Danis

Granites are widely occurring felsic, intrusive and igneous type of rocks. The texture of granite is medium to coarse, rarely with some crystals bigger than the groundmass forming rock which is called as porphyry. Granites are found in different colors like pink, dark gray, green, yellow, red or sometimes even in black and gold depending upon its mineralogy and chemistry. Sometimes Granites occur in circular depressions encircled by a series of hills that are formed by the metamorphic hornfels. Granites are often massive lacking internal structures. They are tough, hard and it has gained widespread use for constructive purposes. 2.75g/cm3 is the average density of granite. If you look at the word 'granite', it comes from the Latin word 'granum' which is a grain, in reference to its coarse grained constitution.

According to a scientific diagram, Granites are classified for coarse grained plutonic rocks - granitoids and it is named based upon the percentage of quartz, alkali feldspar - sanidine, orthoclase or microcline. Granite like rocks which are silica under saturated might have a feldspathoid such as nepheline. According to modern petrologic, true granite contains both alkali feldspars and plagioclase. When a granitoid lacks or almost lacks plagioclase the rock is said to be alkali granite. If the granitoid carries <10% of orthoclase, then it is called tonalite. Amphibole and Pyroxene are common in tonalite. Granites that have both biotite micas and muscovite are called two-mica or binary granite. Typically two-mica granites are low in plagioclase and higher in potassium; A-type or S-type granites. Rhyolite is a volcanic equivalent of plutonic granite.

Presently Earth is the only place Granites are known to form a main part of continental crust. Often granites occur as relatively small, less than 100 km² of stock masses and also in batholiths which are associated with orogenic mountain ranges. Smaller dikes of granite compositions are known as aplites and are often linked with margins of granite intrusions. In some places along with granites, very coarse grained pegmatite masses occur. Granites have been intruded into Earth's crust during all geologic periods like earthquakes, although most of it has happened in the Precambrian age. Granite rocks are distributed widely throughout the Earth's continental crust and it is the most abundant basement rocks which underlies the relatively thin sedimentary layer of the continents.

In spite of being fairly common across the globe, the places with the most commercial granite quarries are located in Norway, Sweden - Bohuslän, Finland, Northern Portugal in Chaves, Spain mostly in Galicia and Extremadura, India Brazil and several other countries in southern Africa, such as Angola, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Today granites are widely used in making luxury floors, kitchen tables, office tables, bath rooms and tubs.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Brayan_Peter

In spite of incursions by farmers and rebels into the parks, and a few recent poaching events, Virungas mountain gorillas are persisting as well, thanks to sustained conservation efforts by the guards and staff members within that landscape. The current total of mountain gorillas at both locations brings the worldwide tally to approximately 720 individual animals.

Having gone through decades of civil war in East Africa and Central, Mountain gorillas are confronted by the distressing consequences of increased habitat loss, poaching and the spread of dangerous diseases. Although gorillas are frequently depicted as hostile, dangerous, they are really shy and calm. Park managers who have the unenviable task of turning away tourists who they suspect may have colds the gorillas may me susceptible to - no matter how much they have paid to make their once in a lifetime visit.

Three groups of mountain gorillas are closely monitored in National des Volcans: - Beetsme's, Pabro's, and Shinda's groups. Since then, however, lowland gorillas in the wild have been dying at an accelerating rate. Poaching, logging, a dramatic expansion in the trade of bushmeat, and outbreaks of Ebola have reduced their numbers.

The mountain gorillas in Rwanda and Uganda are relatively safe, but those in the Congo are threatened by an ongoing civil war and human encroachment. Primates such as gorillas, colobuses and chimpanzees are prone to over-hunting because they are large and slow-moving, and they are openly sold in African markets. The mandrill, a baboon, is particularly prized and its meat is far more expensive than that of antelopes or rats.

WCS has supported Cross River gorilla conservation related research throughout the gorillas' range since 1996. The CRGP trains researchers to track gorilla groups on a daily basis and collect data on their ranging and feeding behavior. If the illegal killing does not cease then bonobos, mountain gorillas and chimpanzees may become totally extinct in the wild within the next two decades. If the authorities wish to save the beautiful mountain gorilla, they must not be afraid to punish severely those that defy the law and kill an endangered species, especially if those killed are slaughtered to serve the extortion purpose of charcoal traders.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sean_Cravenplan