Energy Efficient Food System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Energy Efficient Food System - Essay Example Form this explanation; it is very clear that any food system is affected not only by environmental factors but by also social, political and economic factors play a major role. (Michael Webber, Scientific American: â€Å"How to Make Food System More Energy Efficient† Jan 2012) expresses this point by looking at: 1. How food-energy relationships are changing. 2. What ways of food production are over utilizing the available energy, how they do it? 3. Ways of improving the food-energy ratio. According to the article, there has been an increase in the demand for energy especially fossil fuels and diverse countries are trying to fight this demand but are overlooking the food system as a major user of energy. There are certain farming methods which eventually lead to more energy being used to utilize food than that which we get from that same food. Evidence shows that there is a 10.1 ratio of energy input to food output and more energy is used to preserve and prepare food due to the use of more machinery like tractors. The author expresses optimism in improving this ratio, for example, he suggests stopping using corn kernels for starch-based ethanol as this seems like a process of interfering with nature. Conversion of agricultural waste like manure into products of power is another way to curb entering into the energy-danger zone. This can also provide vital nutrients to livestock and make more food available to us, for instance feeding of livestock by algal biomass will enable there to be more corn as food for humans thus less energy used for food production. Drip irrigation are among other pilot methods that have been used successfully not to mention improving our behavior like reducing food wastage and dietary options of eating lesser portions of food will go a long way in improving the 10.1 ratio. The high population increase in the world means a greater demand for food and thus higher demand for energy to produce this food. Some areas which were seen as non-agricultural areas for instance great deserts, were improved so as to be agricultural but there is still high energy consumption through transportation and irrigation and this does not solve this problem. Such a situation is described in instances where more energy is used to make food than that given out by the same food. There are instances where plants only convert less than 2% of solar energy into stored energy which is consumed by animals which are then consumed by humans and is again stored as glycogen instead of being given out. After thorough review of past experiments done by experts, the author believes that there is still hope in improving the 10.1 ratio. From studying researches done, it is clear that if the Americans stop using corn kernels for starch-based ethanol, they will be able to produce up to 15 gallons of corn-based feed-stocks which can be used as feed for both livestock and humans. Other ways of doing this are through; Use of cellulose sources for energy instead of food-based sources Conversion of agricultural waste into power using anaerobic digesters Using carbon-dioxide from smokestacks at coal plants to grow algae for food. Implementing agricultural techniques which have been perfected in pilot diagrams will also reduce the 10.1 ratio. For example drip irrigation creates less water wastage than sprinkle irrigation, in states like Iowa, researchers say

Work of Art History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Work of Art History - Essay Example At the same time he was developing his own style, Rodin was joined by Realists and Impressionists who brought new perspectives to painting, and thus public perception of art changed as well. In 1907, Rodin crafted The Hand of God, which he had modeled around 1896. The sculpture shows a single hand as its central subject, and it holds within it a raw stone. This stone also features the smooth figures of man and woman, who are being fashioned into organic forms from the rough material, showing God in the process of creation much as the sculptor goes through such a process. In analyzing this sculpture, it is first necessary to use one's eyes to see what it presents—the content, the subject matter, the forms and shapes. The sculpture, as mentioned, features a large, strong hand, set apart from the body so that the hand itself is the subject. The hand juts forth from a rough base, an uncut and unpolished piece of stone marble. Within the hand, we see a smaller version of the same c ontrast—there are two human bodies, intertwined, one man and one woman, and they are attached to a backdrop of raw marble with no deliberation alterations. Examining the sculpture from different angles reveals different contrasts, as one side shows only the fingers gripping the stone, while another angle would put the focus on the human figures within the stone and the hand. The texture of the human elements is smooth and curved, while the rest of the marble is straight, jagged, and not at all organic. The sculpture can be seen as divided into three parts—the largest part being the hand, the next mot important being the two human figures, and then the backdrop of uncut stone being the supplementary part. As a sculpture, color is not used, but form doubles its centrality by gaining a third dimension that is not quite present in any painting. The artist was able to create a center of a attention with ease by having the hand sit squarely in the center of its base and come upward, with the fingers slightly curled in order to create a cylindrical shape that also suggest motion. The lack of rigidity in the hand gives it a more lifelike appearance, just as the somewhat fetal and relaxed human forms of the man and woman give an impression that they are alive and movable, rather than striking any sort of pose that lacks life and flexibility. The artist also creates a contrast between the live and non live parts of the sculpture by having a deep groove between the body parts and the rough stone. In a way, there is a sort of trench, and this has the effect of making the body parts pop out from the stone, not specifically separated but still having a clear gap and change of depth. This is his way of establishing an aesthetic difference between the two elements, while the scale is used to develop a difference between the bodies and the hand. The texture of the body parts helps to create a beauty that is set apart from the stone as well, so the viewer clearly considers the difference between the two and realizes which is more attractive. The meaning of the sculpture is rather easy to interpret on the surface, but perhaps has deeper parts. Foremost, it shows symbolic process of creation of humanity by the more powerful and larger â€Å"hand of God†. The difference between textures shows that life comes from something raw, and God cleaves life out of what is lifeless. The lack of body for God shows that the hands are the focus, as the hand of God is the doing and creating part of him, the tools that he used to change earth into man. On top of this basic theme of creation by God from rough material into life and beauty, we also get a second meaning of creation—that of the artist or the sculptor. The symbolism about divinity is displayed in