CFL - A More Efficient Alternative

The old adage "you can pay now or will pay later" is true when it comes to lighting. Incandescent lamps have dominated the residential lighting market for years and still do today. Why? Because they are cheaper to purchase and up until a few years ago provided an unmatched quality of light.

A new and advanced lighting technology called the compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) is more efficient alternative to incandescent lamp. It offers the potential for sinificant economic and environmental savings. A versatile range of different lamp-ballast configurations is available that can provide a comfortable, productive, and well-illuminated space if properly used.

They also have a much longer life -- usually 6000-10,000 hours compared to 750 to 1000 hours for a standard incandescent bulb.

A compact fluorescent lamp will initially cost more than an incandescent bulb, but because it lasts longer and costs so much less to run, it will prove to be a better bargain over time. Just keep in mind that light bulbs cost much more to run than to buy in the first place.

When should you not use a CFL? The relatively high purchase price is least justified where energy savings are small - in fixtures that are rarely used. Focus your investments on the heavily used fixtures instead, such as where the lamp will be on for an average of at least 3 hours each day. CFLs are not intended to be used with vertical base-up position and not with electronic timers or photocell sensors, and using them with such devices can significantly reduce their life span and cause other problems.

Taken from The Philippine Star

Radiocarbon Dating

a method of dating ORGANIC material up to 8000 years old. There is a small amount of radioactive carbon 14 in the atmosphere which is taken up naturally by plants and animals during life. When the organism dies there is no more uptake of ¹⁴C and it starts to decay, with a HALF-LIFE of 5730 years. A date for the sample is arrived at by comparing the amount of ¹⁴C left with known standards.

Taken from Dictionary of Science

«««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««««

Radiocarbon dating, or carbon dating, is a radiometric dating method that uses the naturally occurring radioisotope carbon-14 (¹⁴C) to determine the age of carbonaceous materials up to about 58,000 to 62,000 years. Raw, i.e. uncalibrated, radiocarbon ages are usually reported in radiocarbon years "Before Present" (BP), "Present" being defined as AD 1950. Such raw ages can be calibrated to give calendar dates.

One of the most frequent uses of radiocarbon dating is to estimate the age of organic remains from archaeological sites. When plants fix atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) into organic material during photosynthesis they incorporate a quantity of ¹⁴C that approximately matches the level of this isotope in the atmosphere (a small difference occurs because of isotope fractionation, but this is corrected after laboratory analysis). After plants die or they are consumed by other organisms (for example, by humans or other animals) the ¹⁴C fraction of this organic material declines at a fixed exponential rate due to the radioactive decay of ¹⁴C. Comparing the remaining ¹⁴C fraction of a sample to that expected from atmospheric ¹⁴C allows the age of the sample to be estimated.

The technique of radiocarbon dating was developed by Willard Libby and his colleagues at the University of Chicago in 1949. Emilio Segrè asserted in his autobiography that Enrico Fermi suggested the concept to Libby in a seminar at Chicago that year. Libby estimated that the steady state radioactivity concentration of exchangeable carbon-14 would be about 14 disintegrations per minute (dpm) per gram. In 1960, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry for this work. He first demonstrated the accuracy of radiocarbon dating by accurately estimating the age of wood from an ancient Egyptian royal barge for which the age was known from historical documents.

Taken from Wikipedia

I am a 9-year-old girl who has everything I want. I have loving parents and grandparents and would like to know how to show my appreciation.

A. We appreciate your taking the time to tell us how happy you are. Go ahead and tell your parents and grandparents what you told us. Next to "I love you," the words "thank you" are some of the most pleasant to hear.

Also show your appreciation by your actions. Being helpful, obedient and kind will not go unnoticed. Even though they will love to hear words of thanks, they will be absolutely sure of your sincerity by your actions. Thanks for your letter!

- Answer prepared by Victor Kubik, a minister of the Worldwide Church of God

Taken from Youth 90 magazine

Trading Rain Forests for Deserts

Fourteen-year old Jacinto Garcia and his family are settlers in the Amazon jungle town of Jaru, in Western Brazil.

Typical of many who can't afford to live in the city, the Garcias moved to the jungle to try to make a living. Clearing away the rain forests is their hope for the future. It means fuel for cooking and land for crops and livestock.

The rain forests around the world are being cleared at a rate of 27 million acres (11 million hectares) a year.

At this pace, most of the rain forests could be gone in 20 years. Without them, many scientists claim, the whole world could be affected.

Trees and plants in the rain forest soak up poisonous gases (such as carbon dioxide) that add to global warming or what is often called the Greenhouse Effect. The less plants, the less carbon dioxide is soaked up and the hotter the earth.

Scientists are also worried about the deserts created in the forests' place. Shortly after the land is cleared, it becomes nearly useless. Most of the soil is too poor to support agriculture and it bakes as hard as brick under the hot sun of the Equator.

The loss of thousands of species of plants and animals also has scientists concerned. The tropical forests are home to more than half of all life forms on our planet. As the forests are destroyed, so are the plants and animals dependent on them.

Who has final say on what happens to the tropical rain forests? This question has become a big controversy.

Some Brazilians claim other countries want to prevent them from tapping the jungle's wealth, perhaps so they can obtain the riches foe themselves. American scientists say it is not a local issue, but a global one. What happens to the Amazon forest may affect the whole world.

No simple solution is in sight. One thing's for sure, until a solution is found, the threat to the rain forests will continue.

-By Becky Sweat

Taken from Youth 90 magazine