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[W92]Water In A Changing World

by Rachel Yoshida, Rac

Commercials on television for automobiles boast this slogan while claiming their vehicles are the most green in the nation. Common household appliances are now being made more energy efficient, helping to reduce the amount of electricity or water it uses. Household cleaning supply companies are using more natural ingredients to make their cleaning solutions friendlier to the environment.

In the quest to save the world, a wealth of information is being thrown at us at lightning speeds. Amidst the barrage of recycling, eco-friendly household items, and hybrid vehicles information, there is one way we can conserve water that is not popular. That unpopular way is to go vegetarian.

In 1981, Dr. Georg Borgstrom, a renowned scientist, said at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science that approximately 2,500 gallons are used to produce a single pound of beef. He's not the only one who thinks that. 2,500 may seem like an outrageous number, but it's easy to see how that much water can go into producing that little amount of food.

From the time a calf is born until it is killed at the slaughterhouse, it is obviously fed water everyday to keep it alive. A typical cow consumes about 50 gallons of water per day, 18,250 gallons per year. A beef cow is usually slaughtered when it is 3 to 5 years of age. A 7 to 9-year-old dairy cow is sent to slaughter when its milk production drops off. That 2,500-gallon figure does not seem so big anymore.

The underground aquifers that run across the United States are being exhausted by a staggering 13 trillion gallons every year. In addition, more than 70 percent of the grains grown on land in the United States are used to feed farmed animals. It is estimated that the cattle that exist worldwide alone consumes the caloric needs of more than 8 billion people. If grains were grown strictly to supply food for everyone on this planet, there would be no starvation. No one would go hungry.

Modern factory farms are polluting the environment with the incredible amount of waste that is being disposed from them. The pigs, cows, chickens, and other animals raised, grown, and slaughtered on these farms are producing more than 130 times the amount of waste that people do. Very few people are aware that 7,000 square miles of the Gulf of Mexico are a dead zone because of the toxic waste that is being emitted from these farms.

For some, the thought of changing an omnivorous diet to that of a completely vegetarian diet is unthinkable. After all, we've been eating meat our whole life and can't imagine eating a pot pie without chicken or a stew without beef, but there are more important things to consider than the happiness of our taste buds. Even making the transition from eating meat three times per day, which is very common in the American diet, to just twice a day will make a difference. We can adjust to trying new foods, but the planet cannot. It cannot take anymore abuse.

In the early days, identification cards were simple hand written affairs which were manually entered by a receptionist to allow you access. Quickly systems such as magnetic strips and bar codes replaced manual methods, so that you could quickly swipe your own card to gain entry. Recent developments have meant that non-contact RFID technology can be used – your status can be determined from a distance. In fact, RFID technology is now even used in the passports of the United States of America – a grand entry ID card for a huge country!

So, it is clear that ID cards are an essential part of everyday life, and that we would not be able to have the freedom that we currently do without the simplicity of access cards.

Where is it all leading? In science fiction stories, it often seems that some kind of biometric data is necessary to enter top secret locations. The bad-guys will always clone a fingerprint or a retina so that they can pretend to be someone who they are not. The movie makers show us some kind of laser device which scans your eyes, a black pad with a glowing green light which scans your palm and even a voice activated security system. Is this all science fiction?

Biometric data is most definitely being used for identification in modern society. In 1880 fingerprints were first discussed with the Metropolitan Police as a way to determine the identity of law breakers, so this is nothing new. At Disney World, biometric information is taken from the visitors to make sure that they do not swap entry tickets throughout their visit. Some biometric information includes the look of the face, fingerprints, hand shape, the iris, and it can even include DNA, your fingerprint at a biological level.

One of the problems with the use of biometric information as a form of ID or access is the environmental effect on the data received. For example, poor lighting can greatly effect the image received from a facial recognition system. Fingerprints can be distorted by pressure or rotation. Even the iris is not a completely straightforward indicator of identity.

But still, the use and collection of biometric data is growing, with the United States, Japan and Australia at the forefront of collection. In Japan some automatic teller machines (ATMs) now use palm vein detection as part of a wider authentication scheme, and it has been very successful at reducing theft.

Of course, with any technology which is able to identify an individual, there is a security concern. Many activists claim that the use of biometric information is an infringement of rights, and others claim that it opens up a whole new arena for theft of identity, one which it will be difficult to protect against if the criminals can come up with a convincing way to “clone” an identity. None the less, the use of biometric and physical information continues to gain acceptance and will over time become the standard way to get entry.

Widespread use of biometric data as a form of day-to-day identification and for access is still to happen. Until that time, we will all be stuck with carrying around a pocket full of plastic to allow us to shop, get into work and even to pay for our transportation.

Who is to say – before long we will be able to simply walk into a shop, select the items that we want and then walk out with them, legally! RFID technology, combined with biometric information could give us a completely new shopping experience!

Article Source : How To Get Free Food

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Both Rachel Yoshida & Finley Bradfield are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Rachel Yoshida has sinced written about articles on various topics from Home, Finances and Education. Rachel Yoshida is a writer of many topics, visit some of her sites, like and. Rachel Yoshida's top article generates over 550000 views. to your Favourites.

Finley Bradfield has sinced written about articles on various topics from Home Management, Education and Information Technology. F.Bradfield is an author and web designer who represents 'The Cardnetwork' (http://www.thecardnetwork.co.uk), the premier producer of ,. Finley Bradfield's top article generates over 1300 views. to your Favourites.