minotaur

Saw this article in The Australian online today about Jatropha being a good prospect for biofuels. Link is here Jatropha article - The Australian THE jatropha bush seems an unlikely prize in the hunt for alternative energy, being an ugly, fast-growing, poisonous weed. Hitherto, its use has principally been as a constipation remedy. Very soon, however, it may be powering your car. Almost overnight, the unloved Jatropha curcus has become an agricultural and economic celebrity with the discovery that it may just be the ideal biofuel crop, an alternative to fossil fuels for a world dangerously dependent on oil supplies and deeply alarmed by the effects of global warming. The hardy jatropha, resilient to pests and resistant to drought, produces seeds with up to 40 per cent oil content. When the seeds are crushed, the resulting jatropha oil can be burnt in a standard diesel car, while the residue can be processed into biomass to power electricity plants. As the search for alternative energy sources gathers pace, the jatropha has provoked something like a gold rush. BP announced last week that it was investing almost pound stg. 32 million ($76million) in a jatropha joint venture with British biofuels company D1 Oils. Even Bob Geldof has entered the fray, becoming a special adviser to Helius Energy, a British company developing jatropha as an alternative to fossil fuels. Lex Worrall, its chief executive, says: "Every hectare can produce 2.7 tonnes of oil and about four tonnes of biomass. Every 8000 hectares of the plant can run a 1.5 megawatt station, enough to power 2500 homes." The jatropha grows in tropical and subtropical climates. Whereas other biofuel feedstocks, such as palm oil or corn for ethanol, require reasonable soils on which other crops might be grown, jatropha is prepared to put down roots almost anywhere. Scientists say that it can grow in the poorest wasteland, generating topsoil and helping to stall erosion, but also absorbing carbon dioxide as it grows, thus making it carbon neutral even when burnt. A jatropha bush can live for up to 50 years, producing oil in its second year of growth, and survive up to three consecutive years of drought. In India, about 11 million ha have been identified as potential land on which to grow jatropha. The first jatropha-fuelled power station is expected to begin supplying electricity in Swaziland in three years. And companies from Europe and India have begun buying land in Africa as potential plantations. The jatropha, a native of Central America, was brought to Europe by Portuguese explorers in the 16th century and has since spread worldwide, even though, until recently, it had few uses: malaria treatment, a windbreak for animals, live fencing and candle-making. An ingredient in folk remedies around the world, it earned the nickname "physic nut", but its sap is a skin irritant, and ingesting three untreated seeds can kill a person.Although some places have embraced it, others are more cautious. Western Australia banned the plant last year as invasive and highly toxic to people and animals. Yet a combination of economic, climatic and political factors have made the search for a more effective biofuel a priority among energy companies. Britain now requires that biofuels comprise 5 per cent of the transport fuel mix by 2010, and the European Union has mandated that all cars must run on 20per cent biodiesel by 2020. Biodiesel reduces carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 80 per cent compared with petroleum diesel. China is planning an 80,000-acre plantation in Sichuan, and the BP-D1 team hopes to have one million ha under cultivation in four years. The Times The article came from The Times in the UK. Scientific American reported on it a bit earlier back in June - June 2007 Scientific American article

I hadn't heard much about Jamaica Dogwood before - especially in relation to Sinicuichi, and there's been quite a few forum discussions about that. Lachnanthes tinctoria ( syn = Lachnanthes caroliana ) was mentioned in Pharmacotheon as being potentially active - given its use by Native Americans. It was once used for Dyeing & according to 'A Modern Herbal' - may be poisonous to albino pigs !! http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/l/lachna03.html Cardamine Concatenata ( syn = Dentaria concatenata ) as also mentioned in Pharmacotheon as being used by Native American tribes for visionary purposes. The roots are supposed to have a pleasant peppery taste. Both Lachnanthes tinctoria & Cardamine concatenata seem to be fairly well known plants in Nth America, but I have never seen anyone selling seeds or plants. Jamaica Dogwood seems to be available in Australia as a dry herb, but I haven't ever seen plants or seeds for sale.

Maybe he'll get a spot on Dancing with the Stars

Adaptation - with Nicholas Cage, Hallucinogenic Orchids, etc Waking Life - trippy rotoscoping animation. Apparently the same director ( Richard Linklater ? ) used this technique with A Scanner Darkly, which I haven't been able to see yet but is top of my list of films to see at the moment. I like the animated movies of Hayao Miyazaki - Spirited away, Howls moving castle,

The latest New Scientist 20 Jan 2007 has an article about treating depression (very successfully) using Ketamine. The text of the article is also available here http://www.ketamine.com/antidepressant-potential.html

The above the line / below the line voting is only for voting on the Senate paper in Federal elections. Queensland State elections work on the Optional preferential system - you nominate a first preference, and number any other preferences in numerical order from 2 onwards - IF you want to. You can just put a 1 in one box only if you do not want to allocate preferences to any other candidates. You can allocate as few as 1 preference, or direct preferences to any other candidates on the ballot paper you wish to vote for. I think this is a good system because you do not have to give any preferences to a candidate that you do not want to vote for in any way. If you don't nominate a clear first preference then your vote will be considered informal and not counted. This is different to the Federal House of Representatives voting paper where you have to number every square in order of preference.

HBWR (Argyreia nervosa) is listed in "Poisonous Plants in Northern Australian Gardens" by Betsy R Jackes, who was/is with the Botany Department at James Cook University Townsville. The book was first published in 1992 and is not big ( 46pages with pictures & reasonably long descriptions ) - mostly describing very common garden plants. It says that " the seeds if chewed initally produce hallucinations, these are followed by nausea, constipation, vertigo, blurred vision and physical inertia. The toxin is related to the ergot alkaloids. Seeds of the morning glory usually produce similar effects." OK - so we know that. It may be likely that it was once a popular ornamental that was widely grown, especially in NQ, and escaped into the wild. It is a hardy & vigorous plant, and the seeds can still germinate after a fairly long time. A friend of mine who was involved in a weed eradication program with Conservation volounteers in the Townsville area told me they cleared 'great thickets of the stuff' and it was one of the species they were targeting. I found a plant growing in Anderson Park ( Townsville ) a couple of years ago, that I took seeds from & germinated. The next time I went back to see the plant it was gone. I have seen the occasional small plant in different parts of town but I think they are often killed by council parks & gardens staff because it is regarded as a weed. It's possible there are plants growing in different parts of NQ, especially near towns, in parks and weedy overgrown areas. It would be hard to say if they would be different strains or not, especially if they may originated from Nursery Stock.

It looks like Australia is going the same way - with Tony Abbott ( Aust Federal Health Minister ) agitating for changes to Abortion laws in Australia. We might see another Private Members bill like the one used to overturn the Northern Territory Voluntary Euthanasia Laws. If that happened, there would be calls for the Members of Parliment to be able to have a conscience vote. If it is an issue that involves the Catholic Church ( Euthanasia, Stem Cell research ) both sides of politics usually cave in and let members vote according to their own personal (and religious) beliefs. Now that the government will have control over the Senate as well, they won't be holding anything back. I think in the next 3 years or so they will push through as many far-reaching changes as they can.

Sadly most of the victims of the latest bombing in Jakarta were innocent bystanders and people who were just doing their job. In the Beslan seige and the latest Jakarta bombing the people responsible have not advanced their cause - their actions only alienate most normal people. In the case of Beslan, all past problems suffered by the Chechens will be quickly forgotten, and the Russian military will now be able to act without any fear of criticism. The kidnappers were obviously connected with the Chechen separatist movement because one of their demands was the release of nominated Chechen fighers - their motivation was obvious. The video tape on the news tonight showed the kidnappers talking on mobile phones during the seige - which lends weight to the theory they were not acting in isolation. I don't think the Jakarta bombing will have a big impact on the Australian election. The leaders of both parties have condemned the bombing, as expected. It would be a huge political risk to use a tragic event where innocent people died as part of an election campaign. I feel sorry for the innocent people who were killed and injured - they did nothing to deserve it.

Saw this article in the latest New Scientist. Some new research suggests higher levels of anandamide in people with schizophrenia may be because the brain releases anandamide as a sort of coping mechanism. Full article here : http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?...p?id=ns99996324

Specialty tobacconist shops sell tabacco snuff - I saw it in a shop not long ago. I don't think it's a big seller so a lot of shops probably don't stock it - but as far as I know it's legal, in Qld at least. The government are usually quite happy for people to buy tobacco as long as they get their tax revenue.

I've sent a PM regarding the salvia.

This article was in 'The Australian' newspaper today. Scientists have isolated a chemical in smoke that makes certain types of seeds germinate. text of the article is below. Secret of seed growth all smoke and molecules By Belinda Hickman July 09, 2004 AUSTRALIAN scientists have beaten three overseas research groups to identify one of biology's holy grails - the molecule in smoke that makes plant seeds germinate after bushfires. A team of researchers from Perth's Kings Park botanical gardens, the University of Western Australia and Murdoch University will today announce in the international journal Science they have identified a chemical among the 4000 found in smoke that triggers seed growth. The chemical, from a group of molecules known as butenolide, was not previously known to biological science. The discovery has the potential to provide multi-million dollar benefits in agriculture. It could dramatically improve bushland regeneration and landcare programs and offer a new method of weed control. The science director at Kings Park, Kingsley Dixon, and his colleagues, associate professors Emilio Ghisalberti and Robert Trengove and PhD student Gavin Flematti, have beaten well-funded competitors in California, South Africa and Germany to identify the chemical. "I believe it was having access to unique Australian plants that gave our research a leading edge," Dr Dixon said yesterday. "It's another celebration of our biodiversity." The group has already patented the molecule. The researchers are looking for a company to develop a commercial product, which Dr Dixon predicted could be available to home gardeners within five years and to industry and landcare groups even sooner. The molecule - which they want to call gavinone after Mr Flematti - is so powerful that a concentration equivalent to a third of a teaspoon in a domestic swimming pool is enough to germinate seeds from a range of vegetables, trees, grasses and native species such as kangaroo-paw and flannel flower. Researchers say the potential is enormous. Dr Dixon said the group had been interested in cracking the conundrum ever since South African botanists proved 15 years ago it was bushfire smoke, not heat and ash, that germinated seeds. His group confirmed in 1993 the theory applied to Australian species

In the article you linked to it says Lychees do not reproduce faithfully from seed, and the choicest have abortive, not viable, seed. Furthermore, lychee seeds remain viable only 4 to 5 days, and seedling trees will not bear until they are 5 to 12, or even 25, years old. For these reasons, seeds are planted mostly for selection and breeding purposes or for rootstock. So growing a Lychee plant from seed is difficult at best, and if they don't reproduce faithfully from seed the offspring will not necessarily have the characteristics of the parent plant. Apparently, from the article, most Lychees are propogated by layering - producing cloned copies of the parent plant. Some more cultivation info from the article that you would find relevant. The Chinese claim that the lychee is highly variable under different cultural and soil conditions.....There is much variation in form (round, egg-shaped or heart-shaped), skin color and texture, the fragrance and flavor and even the color, of the flesh; and the amount of "rag" in the seed cavity; and, of prime importance, the size and form of the seed. The more hardy mountainous types of the lychee are very sour and those grown near salt water are said to be likewise. The lychee thrives best on the lower plains where the summer months are hot and wet and the winter months are dry and cool. Heavy frosts will kill young trees but mature trees can withstand light frosts. Cold tolerance of the lychee is intermediate between that of the sweet orange on one hand and mango and avocado on the other. Location, land slope, and proximity to bodies of water can make a great difference in degree of damage by freezing weather Heavy rain or fog during the flowering period is detrimental, as are hot, dry, strong winds which cause shedding of flowers, also splitting of the fruit skin. Splitting occurs, too, during spells of alternating rain and hot, dry periods The lychee grows well on a wide range of soils. In China it is cultivated in sandy or clayey loam, "river mud", moist sandy clay, and even heavy clay. The pH should be between 6 and 7. If the soil is deficient in lime, this must be added. However, in an early experiment in a greenhouse in Washington, D.C., seedlings planted in acid soil showed superior growth and the roots had many nodules filled with mycorrhizal fungi. This caused some to speculate that inoculation might be desirable. Later, in Florida, profuse nodulation was observed on roots of lychee seedlings that had not been inoculated but merely grown in pots of sphagnum moss and given a well-balanced nutrient solution The Chinese often plant the lychee on the banks of ponds and streams. In low, wet land, they dig ditches 10 to 15 ft (3-4.5 m) wide and 30 to 40 ft (9-12 m) apart, using the excavated soil to form raised beds on which they plant lychee trees, so that they have perfect drainage but the soil is always moist. Though the lychee has a high water requirement, it cannot stand water-logging. The water table should be at least 4 to 6 ft (1.2-1.8 m) below the surface and the underground water should be moving inasmuch as stagnant water induces root rot. The lychee can stand occasionally brief flooding better than citrus. It will not thrive under saline conditions. From the article it looks like growing a Lychee plant near the sea is not a good idea - salt water & strong winds. Good growing conditions seem to be important for producing good quality fruit. Most of the varieties mentioned in the article are commonly grown in tropical & sub-tropical regions, so it is hard to say which would be the best for you to grow. The variety 'No Mai' is described as being better adapted to cooler areas.

Apparently you have to bury them in sand for a couple of days to ripen them properly before eating them.