A Brassica juncea cover crop nourishes pollinators for two to four weeks before it is turned into soils to help mitigate soil-borne crop pathogens. These multifunctional cover crops also excel at catching soluble nutrients, improving soil infiltration, and returning organic matter to soils.
Newswise — June 17, 2019 – You may have noticed that some vegetables, like cabbages and mustards, have distinct smells. Some of that scent comes from sulfur compounds produced by the plants when growing. The Soil Science Society of America’s (SSSA) June 15th Soils Matter blog looks at how plants can share some of these smelly products with the soil – and in the process offer antimicrobial assistance!
According to blogger Justin O’Dea, Brassica plants – cabbages and mustards – can be used to control some out-of-control soil microbes. The process is called biofumigation.
“Using mustard plants for their ability to release chemical compounds is called biofumigation,” says O’Dea, who works with Washington State University. “On the surface, the process seems straightforward:
Mustard is planted and grown as a cover crop.
The mature mustard plants are chopped finely, and turned into the soil.
The soil is then packed and moistened.
The soil is often covered with a mulch to keep it warm and moist, as well as to hold the biofumigation gases in the soil.”
In practice, applying these techniques in a farm setting is a bit tougher. “There is a lot of chemistry involved during and after this process,” says O’Dea. “Let’s simplify it to say that the moisture and warmth of the soil start a series of reactions that make compounds that are natural fungicides.”
So O’Dea and others proposed using biofumigation to rid northeast soils of a fungal disease when a blight was hurting the pumpkins and peppers ready to be harvested in the fall of 2012. Conditions were set for this infection the previous year – after 2011’s hurricane and tropical storm season left soils wet.
LONDON/DUBAI/SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Iran has been racing to step up exports of petrochemicals and tap new markets to compensate for sliding oil sales, Iranian and international industry sources said, but now risks losing that crucial revenue as Washington tightens the screw on sanctions.
FILE PHOTO: A man counts Iranian rials at a currency exchange shop, before the start of the U.S. sanctions on Tehran, in Basra, Iraq November 3, 2018. REUTERS/Essam al-Sudani/File Photo
Tehran has been selling increased volumes of petrochemical products at below market rates, in countries including Brazil, China and India, since the United States reimposed sanctions on Iranian oil exports in November, according to the six sources who include two senior Iranian government officials.
Available ship-tracking data also points to a rise in monthly shipments since then.
The scramble to bolster petrochemical sales could be an indication of how successful the U.S. administration of Donald Trump has been in choking off Iran’s oil revenues, which have fallen further than under previous sanctions in 2012.
While the November sanctions applied to petrochemicals as well, the four industry sources said there was a degree of ambiguity given the multiple types of products - including urea, ammonia and methanol - which allowed Iran to keep selling.
However on Friday the U.S. Treasury moved to tighten the restrictions by prohibiting companies from doing any business with Iran’s largest petrochemical group, Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company, citing its ties to Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards. The measures also apply to 39 subsidiary companies and foreign-based sales agents.
The Treasury said it intended to “vigorously enforce” the new petrochemical sanctions, which could deal another hammer blow to the Iranian economy.
It is difficult to put a comprehensive figure on Iran’s income from petrochemicals, Iran’s second-largest export industry after oil and gas, but officials said in February that non-oil revenues had surpassed the amount earned by oil exports.
This week Iranian media quoted Ahmad Sarami, a member of the Iranian Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Products Exporters’ Union, as saying Tehran received $11 billion from petrochemical exports in the year ending in March.
The petrochemicals push comes as Iran’s oil exports fell to around 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) in May, less than half of April’s level and down from at least 2.5 million bpd in April last year, according to tanker data and industry sources.
Iran’s annual oil revenue has averaged around $50 billion in recent years. However a senior U.S. official said in March that Tehran had lost $10 billion in revenue since sanctions were reimposed in November.
In a sign of the shifting industry landscape, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in Tehran in April that Iran should move toward the sale of oil products such as petrochemicals instead of crude.
Iranian authorities, who do not recognize U.S. sanctions, dismissed the latest restrictions announced on Friday and vowed to press on with petrochemical exports. Sarami of the exporters’ union described the American measures as “psychological warfare”.
A spokesman for Iran’s National Petroleum Company confirmed the ramp-up of petrochemical exports since November, but declined to comment on the destinations.
BOUND FOR BRAZIL
In recent weeks Iran has been sending test cargoes to Brazil, a new market for Iranian petrochemicals exports, said two separate international trading sources, who like the other sources declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter.
Carlos Millnetz, a director at chemical company Eleva Química Ltda, based in Brazil’s southern Santa Catarina state, told Reuters they had been importing urea from Iran.
“Iran wanted to diversify the destinations, they were looking for a Brazilian partner, and we thought it was a good opportunity,” he said.
Millnetz said the company had checked with the Brazilian government before starting the business and established there were no restrictions.
“What they told me was that U.S. sanctions applied to oil-based produces, crudes and fuels, etc. Ammonia by-products such as urea are not included, they can be traded,” he added. “I had all the paperwork, all the permits from the government, I would never do something that had any restrictions.”
He said the latest sanctions announcement did not affect the purchases.
Two Iranian vessels, Bavand and Termeh, made deliveries to Imbituba port in southern Brazil between March and April bound for Eleva Química, publicly available ship-tracking data shows.
At least 230,000 tonnes of urea had already been booked for Brazil in recent weeks, which included the two shipments for Eleva Química, the trading sources said.
Ship-tracking data showed at least 10 vessels carrying petrochemicals each made at least two voyages from Iran in November, whereas in October four vessels each made one trip. However, the data may not give the full picture because ships can turn off their tracking transponders and there can be limited port reception, including in Iran.
Two industry sources, who are based in the Middle East and Asia and are familiar with Iran’s petrochemicals activity, said the country had been selling cargoes into China and India, which are established markets, and had made some overland deliveries to neighboring Pakistan.
Iran has been offering discounts in the region of $40 per tonne cheaper than market rates of about $260 to $280 a tonne, saving buyers millions of dollars in equivalent currency, the sources added.
Ship-tracking data showed at least 10 cargoes of methanol had been shipped to China from Iran since the start of the year. It was not clear who bought the cargoes.
There were separately multiple shipments to India this year to unknown buyers. One vessel made at least six voyages to India from Iran and transported cargoes of ammonia, according to ship-tracking data and sources with knowledge of the matter.
Slideshow (2 Images)
The country of origin of petrochemicals is much easier to conceal than that of grades of oil.
UNDERCUTTING MARKET
The U.S. sanctions imposed in November banned purchases of Iranian petrochemical products which include “any aromatic, olefin, and synthesis gas, and any of their derivatives, including ethylene, propylene, butadiene, benzene, toluene, xylene, ammonia, methanol, and urea”.
However a separate document by the Treasury’s enforcement division OFAC says “in keeping with the EIA’s (U.S. Energy Information Administration) standard definition, petroleum products do not include natural gas, liquefied natural gas, biofuels, methanol, and other non-petroleum fuels”.
This could suggest a discrepancy in the types of petrochemical products that were banned, such as methanol and fertilisers, the industry sources said.
Behzad Mohammadi, Iran’s deputy petroleum minister for petrochemical affairs, said in May that the wide diversity of petrochemical products and high international demand for them made the industry unsanctionable.
However, Aaron Hutman, Washington-based counsel with law firm Pillsbury, which advises companies globally on sanctions compliance, said firms could still be leaving themselves open to potential penalties by dealing in Iranian petrochemicals.
“Companies should not perceive discrepancies or loopholes in U.S. energy-related secondary sanctions,” he added. “The goal of U.S. officials appears to have been a comprehensive warning, and non-U.S. companies or banks would be taking a risk in any attempt to parse words within the petrochemical universe.”
Given the uncertainties over sanctions enforcement, Iranian traders said they had been cautious in conducting business.
Two Iranian traders said they had struck petrochemicals deals using front companies in Turkey, in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and also other neighboring countries, declining to disclose further details.
One of the traders said cargoes were concluded either in cash using non-U.S. dollar currencies or by barter, to avoid falling foul of separate U.S. financial sanctions that bar Iranian companies from the global dollar system.
The traders said they used euros and UAE dirhams in transactions and that buyers in Turkey and the UAE were more likely to be middle men who then redistributed cargoes.
A senior Iranian government official, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, said shipments through Turkey had been stepped up since November, with the port of Izmir a favored gateway.
A second senior official, who has been involved in meetings with buyers, said there was huge interest in Iranian petrochemical products because of their quality and price.
“Pressure by any country cannot stop Iran’s exports,” he added.
There are millions and millions of websites out there, and there are certain sites that we probably visit every single day.
However, there are so many amazingly useful sites that exist to save time, save money, help us search more effectively, drill down into reference materials, and so much more. In this article, we're going to take a look at a list of incredibly useful sites that's you'll want to check out yourself.
Search and Reference
Wikibooks: A giant collection of textbooks that anyone can edit. Over 26K modules at the time of this writing.
HyperHistory: A visual timeline of history; click on a link and you're taken to a whole new panorama of information.
oSkope: A visual search engine that lets you search and organize items from different web services.
Digital History: For anyone who wants more information on U.S. history, this site is the place to look. It has essays, primary sources, and even space where you can ask a question of a professional historian.
ManyBooks: Tons of free books for your iPod; anything from classics to science fiction.
Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL): A fantastic array of over 200 free resources for improving your writing. Includes an updated MLA style guide.
LibraryThing: Share what you're reading with other people and connect with others that read similar books.
Entertainment and Video
YouConvertIt: Upload any media format and change it into another media format absolutely for free, without installing any kind of software.
Internet Movie Poster Awards: Get the first look at the very latest movie posters here - archives go back to 1913.
Miro: Free, open-source Internet TV and video player. Play any video file, download YouTube videos, and a whole lot more. Free download.
Animoto: Make your own video using your own images and music with professional looking effects.
Internet Movie Script Database: If you're looking for a movie script, this is the first place to look. A great way to get another point of view on your favorite film.
Web Applications and Tools
Mint: Free and automatic money management. Mint is a great way to be on top of your finances.
Tripit: Organize your travel plans into one master online itinerary with everything you need — a fantastically useful service.
AmCharts: Free customizable JavaScript charts and graphics — really nice looking images here to use for your presentations or projects.
Health and Lifestyle
My Plate: Track what you're eating and how much you're exercising; you can also get free recipes and weight loss tips here.
Fitday: You can start your own free diet journal here, and track your daily food, exercise, weight loss, and fitness goals.
SparkPeople: A completely free personalized diet and healthy lifestyle program, including free menu plans, calorie counters, and much more.
SugarStats: An easy way for diabetics to track and manage their sugar intake.
Shopping and Travel
Woot: One of the best places to find deals on the web; mostly gadgets and technology-related deals here.
RetailMeNot: Find coupons from for online and "real" stores.
FlightAware: A free live flight tracker; you can view and track the activity of any private or commercial flight here, as well as get printable airport information.
HypeMachine: Listen to the music that people are talking about on the Web.
Gnoosic: Discover new music that you didn't even know you liked.
Miro: Free open source internet TV and video player.
Magnatune: All the music you want to listen to for free.
News and Information
Topix: One of the best search engines out there for news and information.
Popurls: One of my favorite sites for getting quick information from a large variety of sources online.
BoingBoing: An exceedingly eclectic array of information gathered from all over the Web.
Techmeme: One of the best places on the Web to get breaking technology news.
Drudge Report: The Drudge Report is a great site to find news that is off the beaten track; he also tends to be the first one to break really big news items.
Productivity and New Media
Twitter: A mini-blogging application that you can use to journal your thoughts and ideas.
Netvibes: A starting page for the web; you can personalize your Netvibes to your unique preferences.
Fun and Games
Orisinal: A beautifully designed gaming site; parents love this one.
PaperToys: Hundreds of free custom-designed paper models that you can print out and fold yourself.
Web Sudoku: Play Sudoku for free with literally thousands of different combinations.
Miniclip: Tons of cute animated games for kids and adults.
Ulrich Thum is the Resident Representative of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung office in Abuja, Nigeria. He has previously worked as a program coordinator for the GIZ Civil Peace Service program in Zimbabwe and as a peace worker for AGEH in South Sudan and Nigeria.
Lena Noumi holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science and is currently studying International Relations and Development Policy at the University of Duisburg-Essen.
Women queue during Nigeria's presidential election at Capital School polling unit, in Yola. Credit: Reuters
ABUJA, Nigeria, May 23 2019 (IPS) - Two months after the general elections in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, things are back to normal. The incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari, a 76-year-old general and former military Head of State, clearly defeated his challengers.
With his All Progressives Congress (APC), he has been propagating the fight against rampant corruption, economic recovery and the restoration of security. Especially the North-Eastern part of the country has been terrorised by the Islamist insurgency group Boko Haram for over 10 years.
While his progress in economic recovery and restoration of security can at best be described as moderate, Buhari’s anti-corruption war is the subject of much contention. Some have trust in his efforts while others criticise his onslaught as one-sided and directed mostly at the opposition.
The main opposition party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), had put forward 72-year-old Atiku Abubakar, former Vice-President from 1999 to 2007, as their candidate. He’s a millionaire entrepreneur and now four-time presidential candidate who faced several allegations of corruption.
Even though the euphoria and hope that accompanied Buhari’s election in 2015 had long vanished, Atiku seemed for most to be no viable alternative to Buhari.
The opposition parties failed to come up with a joint candidate who could challenge the political establishment and bring fresh air into the country’s political scene. The tense security situation along with the postponed elections, which was announced only a few hours before, resulted in the lowest voter turnout since 1999 with only 35 per cent.
This suggests that a large portion of the population see little potential for positive change by casting their votes. Many others just sold their votes to at least reap some benefit.
Moreover, the two elderly men’s campaign was rather dispassionate and accompanied by frequent political manoeuvring and allegations against each other, rather than programmatic discussions.
In the aftermath of the election, disillusionment and frustration are widespread. The 2019 elections have shown that a real alternative to the established system of the ‘rule of old men’ has yet to emerge. Women and youths in particular, who make up the majority of the Nigerian population, are not adequately represented in the political system.
Nigeria at lowest rate of women representation
Women are gravely underrepresented in Nigerian politics. Currently, Nigeria has the lowest rate of female representation in parliaments across the continent. Globally, it ranks 181 out of 193 countries, according to the International Parliamentary Union.
Provisions to increase the percentage of women in elected and appointed positions to 35 per cent had no success. According to the Global Gender Gap Report, the gap between men and women in areas like economic participation, education and health, is not nearly as wide as in the realm of politics.
Women are deterred from entering politics by the patriarchal system, in which men are believed to be natural leaders of women, and a lack of transparency in the candidate selection process.
According to Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), 47 per cent of registered voters and only 7 of the 71 presidential candidates for the 2019 elections were women. Nonetheless, there has never been a female president or state governor elected in Nigeria.
Women currently make up less than 6 per cent of the national parliament members. And it doesn’t look much better when looking at candidatures: of the candidates for the national and gubernatorial elections, women made up roughly one-in-eight. Why’s that?
Women are deterred from entering politics by the patriarchal system, in which men are believed to be natural leaders of women, and a lack of transparency in the candidate selection process. Cultural believes that women are supposed to be in charge of the family rather than being in politics and money politics support the existing system.
Moreover, the lack of a well organised grassroots women’s movement backing and supporting promising candidates results in poor political participation. Obiageli Ezekwesili, known through the successful #BringBackOurGirls campaign, bowed out to the final run-up for the presidential elections disillusioned.
‘We are waiting for the day the political class will now change and decide to be nice. They are never going to be nice, quote me. There is no incentive on the part of our political class to do things differently’.
Too young to run?
While registered youth voters (up to the age of 35) make up more than half of the voter population of 84 million, the young generation has no say in Nigerian politics. There might have been a sense of hope in 2018 within the circles of youth activists: as a result of the #NotTooYoungToRun campaign initiated by the Youth Initiative for Advocacy, Growth and Advancement (YIAGA), a law was passed that opened up the political space for increased youth participation. It reduced the age for presidential candidates from 40 to 35 and for House of Representatives candidates from 30 to 25 years.
Overall, there’s a positive trend in youth participation, as youth candidacy has increased from 21 per cent in 2015 to 34.2 per cent in the 2019 elections. However, the actual numbers of young women and men under the age of 35 voted into elected positions are more sobering. According to YIAGA, only twelve youth candidates under 35 managed to get elected into the House of Representatives, an increase by nine compared to 2015.
At least however, the discourse has shifted and the lack of representation is discussed publicly. For most Nigerian political parties, young people are at best seen as supporters, mobilisers or political foot soldiers.
They are hired to instigate violence, manipulate the elections and intimidate the opposing parties. Some of the smaller parties actively tried to promote women and youth participation through lowering the horrendous costs for the candidacy forms.
But for the major parties, only a few of the women and youth emerged from the primaries on state and federal political level.
The system remains the same
All in all, the Nigerian political system remains dominated by temporary political alliances of ‘old men’ and sustained by huge flows of money. Politics is a way of getting access to huge spoils of money. Political candidates have to invest heavily or are being invested in by others.
The aim is to get a return on that investment. Politicians, rather than considering themselves as representatives of the people, have obligations or intentions that are more monetary than anything else.
Women and youths do not feature well in this money game. Because their probability to win elections is more unlikely, they are not considered a secure investment.
Unfortunately, in the 2019 elections, political movements advocating for the participation of youth and women were unable to challenge the political structures of patriarchy supporting corruption and making Nigerian politics a dirty business.
Nonetheless, first important steps towards change have been made, even though they did not translate into votes yet to a significant degree.
At least however, the discourse has shifted and the lack of representation is discussed publicly. Nevertheless, it will be crucial to actually increase the representation of women and young people, without letting them become a part of the predominant system of money politics that currently exists.
Instead of seeing their future turn as a chance to get their own piece of the national pie, women and young people need to be ready and willing to be monitored and held accountable.
Accordingly, it’s important to nurture and select a future class of principled politicians, especially women and young people, who are ready to truly represent the Nigerian people.
Credit: Credit: Justin O’Dea.A Brassica juncea cover crop nourishes pollinators for two to four weeks before it is turned into soils to help mitigate soil-borne crop pathogens. These multifunctional cover crops also excel at catching soluble nutrients, improving soil infiltration, and returning organic matter to soils.
