• Environment
• Climate Change
• BioDiversity

Indigenous Ghee/ clarified: When we offer clarified butter/ghee in the fire as part of ritualistic sacrifices (Yagna), it has great power to remove Atomic Radiation from the atmosphere. It strengthens the ozone layer and shields the earth from harmful radiations from Sun. If you will add 1 Tola (11.66 gm) of Cow’s Ghee into the sacrificial pit of Alter, it can produce 1 ton of fresh Oxygen in the atmosphere. That’s why in the temples Hindus lighten up Lamps with Cow’s Ghee. October 4, 2012: The untold damage to biodiversity may have affected the fragile habitat of the bovine population, but Indian scientists have found that cow ghee/clarified butter protects the liver from the harmful impact of cancer-causing agents or carcinogens. Cow ghee/ clarified butter is both a detoxifying agent (removes carcinogens built up in the body) as well as preventive in nature as far as liver cancer is concerned, reveals a research study by scientists from the division of animal biochemistry at the National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, India.

Rediscovering the bovine gifts, established in "Dwapara Yuga"

Panchgavya is a term used in Ayurveda to describe the five important bovine products – milk, curd, ghee, urine, and dung. These components are used either alone or in combination with other herbs for treatment of several diseases. Their properties are believed to strengthen our immune system. The Indian cows are economical vis-a-vis the cross breeds if we take into account the costs of their feed and upkeep as also the number of lactation's which they produce during their lifetime. Calculating the value of cow dung and urine for bio-fertilizers and bullock power for agriculture and transportation it may appear that cross-breeds are of little use. From the economic angle, the indigenous cows are undoubtedly much more beneficial than the crossbreeds.

Soil fertility has declined because of excessive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, exploitation of ground water and the costly high-yielding varieties of seeds. The current food grain production levels have been obtained at a higher cost. The only remedy to restore the balance is to go back to natural farming. The cow and its progeny, as well as other animals, could provide the solution. Hence the use of cow dung, cow urine and bio-fertilizers and bio-pesticides needs to be encouraged to get the best results from agriculture on a permanent basis. Also, this is the least expensive way. The cow dung is an important source of producing non-conventional energy. It is a substitute for firewood and electricity. As a result, the forests can be conserved and their faunal wealth enriched. Cow’s urine and dung have been found to be very good bio-pesticides for the crops, for using cow dung and urine as a pesticide has the potential of raising agricultural production without the side effects of chemical fertilizers. The indigenous cow is a distinct species. It's milk, curd and ghee have distinctive medicinal values. The cow milk is a healthy food because of its low calorie, low cholesterol, high micro-nutrients, and vitamins. The cow is central to our life and bio-diversity. The livestock sector has a great potential in poverty alleviation and employment generation. It deserves full support at all levels.

The Indigenous cow’s urine, dung, and milk have all the qualities required to rejuvenate the soil. Only one indigenous cow is needed to cultivate 30 acres of land as one indigenous cow gives about 11 kilograms of dung per day and as only ten kilograms of indigenous cow dung are required per month to cultivate one acre of land, a natural “catalytic agent” known as Jivamrit to promote the formation of humus in the soil by encouraging the multiplication of micro-organisms that decompose the dried biomass of the soil and make it available as nutrients for the plants. The components of jivamrit are entirely natural: water, indigenous cow dung, indigenous cow urine, and jaggery. The nutrients (Nitrogen, Phosphate, Potash, Iron, Sulphur, and Calcium) which are present in the soil are not in an available form for the plants.

They first need to be transformed through the action of micro-organisms (bacteria, microbes, and local earthworms) that are normally present in the soil as well. But the excessive uses of chemicals have destroyed these micro-organisms. It is thus necessary to reintroduce them through natural methods like application of cow dung which contains 3,000 to 5,000 millions of useful microorganisms against 5-6 million microorganisms in one gram of an Exotic cow's dung, those are useful in providing macro and micronutrients to the plants and crops, local cow dung (zebu) is the most effective compared to exotic cows (Jersey, Holstein) and local cow dung would also reduce the burden of purchasing expensive chemicals and fertilizers by the farmer. The contribution of bovine animals in Indian economy and agricultural works has a special importance. Since ancient times, bovine animals have proved their utility in agriculture, transport, energy, and food sector. It was truly established in Dwapara Yuga, the Dwapara Yuga lasts 864,000 years that betterment of Indian economy is meaningless without cows. India’s agriculture-based economy cannot run without a cow. A cow is the centre of reverence and faith of cultured citizens of India. Now, the citizens will have to take a pledge for discharging their responsibilities toward Holy Cow. Stressing the need for laying down standards for cow products, time has come to restore glory of Holy Cow.

Use cow manure for green energy - President Barack Obama

April 9, 2012, President Barack Obama’s Department of Agriculture (USDA) committed US$5 million to the construction of a "biogas anaerobic digester" that will use cow manure to heat an ethanol plant and create 15 permanent jobs. Western Plains Energy, LLC, a Kansas company, will use the money to "utilize waste energy resources from a local cattle feedlot to replace almost 90 percent of the fossil fuels currently used" at the plant.

Using cow dung to Mend Mine - Damaged Soils - USDA

ARS research has found that amending damaged post-mining soil with very high levels of cow manure compost can reduce a number of heavy metals such as lead and zinc available to run off and pollute waterways as well as improve the potential for growing vegetation.

Put More Nitrogen into Milk, Not Manure – USDA

Only about 20 to 35 percent of the nitrogen fed to dairy cows is converted to milk, so if farmer’s manage the amount of nitrogen they feed to cows, the less nitrogen will be wasted in manure and urine.

Grazing of Cattle Pastures Can Improve Soil Quality - USDA

Growing tall fescue and allow moderate grazing by cattle can help restore quality to soil degraded by degraded of plowing, according to ARS research.

Effect of heat loads on Ongole cattle

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Radiation:

Solar radiation received from the sun is through solar-terrestrial. The amount of radiation emitted for a particular location depends on global positioning, latitude, and longitude. Infrared radiation is intense in tropics, having the sterilizing effect, stimulates tissues, increases metabolic processes. Non-pigmented skin has a definite hazard. 85% of solar radiated heat is sent back to the environment by the Ongole animal through its white, reflective coat. Diurnal variations such as seasons, humidity, latitude, altitude, influences variation in radiant heat loads. The rest 15% of heat immediately absorbed by the underlying black skin. When the animal has nine blacks, total body skin will be black these cattle reduces heat load through behavioral means, and postural adjustments, also an orientation towards sun make it protect its own parts through shade and thus reducing heat loads. Long legs of this breed help in minimizing absorption of solar radiated heat. Light carriage also helps are exposed to sun.

Conductive and convective heat loads on these cattle transfer between surroundings and direct contact through soil and bedding, drinking water, feeds and fodders. Avoiding lying down stretching its body parts also helps.

Light is the most constant factor having vigor. Light influences on the pituitary, shedding of hair on seasons, increase in metabolism, vision. High light intensity decreases cell wall content and increases water-soluble carbohydrates in vegetation and thus influences livestock.

Relative Humidity:

% of moisture in the air is humidity. Air moisture content influences animals’ heat balance particularly in warm climates where evaporative cooling is crucial to homeothermy. High humidity associated with high temperature favors the less nutritive value of feeds and fodders, often the stock is light colored, with pigmented skins, and shade lovers. These influence humidity aerial movement, transpiration, rainfall, and temperature.

Characters associated with hardiness and thriftiness:

• Has the ability to reverse down metabolism during extremes of scarcity.
• Efficient forager and does not force the calf for foraging.
• Fruitful in milk with exact fat percentage to keep the calves at rapid growth.
• Tight sheath and small teats to avoid injuries of grazing animals.
• Sloppy rumps are suitable for quick and hard work, having 4 sacral vertebrae.
• Have more number of bigger, functional, sweat glands per unit area of the skin.
• Having white or light colored, short, sleek, densely, reflecting and glistering coat, which will not attract vectors and dislodge them with insulting character.
• Skin, pigmented, black, mellow, loose, thick and presence of subcutaneous panniculus carnosis muscle, which repels vectors by twitching.
• Highest heat tolerant coefficient.
• Basal metabolic rate low.
• Nutritional uniqueness, ability to convert low protein, high fiber roughage materials into high-grade foodstuffs with the aid of Omasal symbionts, such as thrives and performs well on inferior fodders.
• Crude protein utilization is highest.
• Perform well where even pastures are seasonal, scanty, and sparse.
• Spent much time in grazing even during daytime, seek shade only 3% of their total grazing time.
• Slow to cycle, when under nutritional stress or lactation stress, but response to cycle is immediate when nutrients are plenty.

Climate Change

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Climate is generally defined as the average weather that a location experience, from daily and seasonal temperatures to wind patterns and precipitation. Communities, regions, and countries can experience different climates - differences which can be caused by factors ranging from geography and ocean currents to the direction of prevailing winds.

Science has shown that the earth’s climate has changed naturally over the course of its history. However, the ongoing discussions about climate change are focused much less on natural trends, but on changes that are most likely caused by human activity such as the combustion of fossil fuels and the destruction of forests which release significant volumes of greenhouse gases (GHGs) into the atmosphere. The latest science has found that human activity has caused the concentration of GHGs in the atmosphere to increase dramatically, and this, in turn, is the most likely cause of increased global average temperatures over the last century.

Carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and water vapor are "greenhouse gases" that help insulate the Earth and maintain a temperature that can sustain life. The gases allow radiation from the Sun to pass through the atmosphere and heat the Earth. The gases also prevent this heat from escaping back into space. This "greenhouse effect" is natural but scientists believe that human activities have led to an increase in atmospheric greenhouse gases (GHG), upsetting the natural balance and is impacting the global climate.

Activities such as the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation have led to a 30 percent rise in CO2 levels since the Industrial Revolution. Carbon dioxide, as a product of combustion, is by far the most abundant greenhouse gas released by humans. But other gases, such as N2O, have more heat-trapping potential and a longer lifespan in the atmosphere.

One of the major debates has been determining what would constitute a ‘dangerous’ change in temperature, but until recently there was no international agreement on what that level would be deemed dangerous. However, in July 2009 the Major Economies Forum (17 developed and advanced developing countries, including Canada and the United States, responsible for approximately 75% of global emissions) recognized the need to reduce emissions so that the average increase in global temperature does not exceed 2ºC over “pre-industrial levels”. The Forum said limiting temperature increase to a maximum of 2% over pre-industrial levels would require developed countries to reduce their emissions by 80% below 1990 levels by 2050, with global emissions reduced by 50% below 1990 levels by 2050. This agreement is generally consistent with the latest science which calls for substantive reductions in GHGs by 2050 from current emission levels.

As more heat gets trapped within the atmosphere, changes occur in the global climate by impacting the Earth's water cycle, ocean temperatures, wind patterns and soil moisture levels.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, established in 1988 by the United Nations and the World Meteorological Office, reported in 2007 that global average temperatures rose by 0.74°C between 1906 and 2005, though the warming rate over the past 50 years was approximately twice that for the past 100 years. The IPCC estimated that temperatures will most likely rise between 1.8 and 4 degrees from 1999 levels by the end of the century.

Bio Diversity

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For India, the conservation of its biodiversity is crucial because it provides several goods and services necessary for human survival and is directly linked with providing livelihoods and improving socio-economic conditions of over 300 million people, for those who live on as little as a dollar a day, this needs urgent international attention.

Biodiversity is the short way of saying biological diversity, which includes all the various forms of life on Earth, and the relationships among them. Biodiversity is often divided into three parts: genes, species and ecosystems.

Biodiversity is one the world's most precious resources. All life on Earth provides us with the food we eat, cleans the air we breathe, filters the water we drink, supplies the raw materials we use to construct our houses and buildings, is part of countless medicines and natural remedies, and many other things. It is also important to many cultural traditions and beliefs and to people's livelihoods.

Hyderabad Champions Convention Call for Action on Biodiversity

The government of India and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Executive Secretary made strong calls to parties, partners and other stakeholders to take urgent action towards achieving the Aichi Biodiversity Targets.

The present economic crisis should not deter us, but on the contrary, encourage us to invest more… Let us all be inspired by what Mahatma Gandhi said: 'the difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world's problems.' So let us commit ourselves to what we are capable of doing.

- Smt. Jayanthi Natarajan, Minister for Environment & Forests of India, and president of the CoP-11

If we really want to fully achieve the 20 Aichi Biodiversity Targets, urgent attention needs to be given to at least half of them to ensure their full implementation, or at least significant progress, by 2015. I would like to end with an invitation to each party and partner to this convention to select one or more of the Aichi Targets and become a regional or a global champion for its achievement.

- Mr. Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, CBD Executive Secretary