Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Medicinal Plants and Indigenous Tribes

 Uncontacted Amazon Tribe




A Brazilian photographer managed to capture photos of an uncontacted indigenous in Jorado. While, flying in a helicopter over the scenic rain forest, he snapped aerial footage of the tribe. Hilariously, they fired arrows at the low flying vehicle. Unfortunately, the tribe is at risk due to deforestation of the amazon. According to WWF, 58,000 square miles of land are deforested per year for farming and logging. In addition, drug gangs and frontier villages have had conflicts with the indigenous tribes.

The importance of these tribes is underestimated. The indigenous people have a library of knowledge of the plants and animals living there. This is because over thousands of years of collected and experimenting, as well as this knowledge being passed down from generation to generation. Their knowledge can help treat disease and advance medicine. 


For example





  • The value of medicines derived from tropical plants in the U.S, that is the amount U.S consumers spend on them is more than $6 billion per year and the local amazonian tribes get nothing.
  • Many Drugs are derives from medicinal plant compounds. Here is a list.





One may ask why we cannot simply study medicinal plants from U.S and other countries rather than the amazon. This is because the amazon is the most bio diverse place in the world second to coral reefs. For example:

  • In just one Amazonian National Park, there are more birds species to be found than in the entire United States.
  • The amazon is full of biodiversity. For example, there is a unique symbiotic relationship between the ants and the fire-ant tree. It turns out that the tree has went so far that it produces nutrient rich solutions on which the ants feed on and in return, the ants viciously attack insects and intruders that might damage the tree. Some ants even clear away all vegetation within a 7 foot radius. (and also the trees cannot survive without each other).

Simply put; the Amazon is special and there is no place like it. And the higher the biodiversity, the higher the medicinal plant amount and potency. 

One may ask why we need these tribes. Couldn't we just send in a bunch of biologists and bring all the plants to a lab ? 

No, this is because their are hundreds of thousands of species in the amazon. The task would take a thousands years. Also, testing each plant against hundreds of medical illnesses for an effective drug. This would take another 1000 years. The indigenous tribes have been living their for tens of thousands of years. They have done all the hard work for us. If we do not protect them from westernization and deforestation, the libraries will be lost.




Phillips, D. (2016, December 22). Photographer captures images of uncontacted Amazon tribe. Retrieved February 22, 2017, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/22/photographer-shows-first-images-of-uncontacted-amazon-tribe

Medicines Derived from Rainforest Plants. (n.d.). Retrieved February 22, 2017, from http://rainforests.mongabay.com/10drugs.htm

Cherry, L., & Plotkin, M. J. (1998). The shaman's apprentice: a tale of the Amazon rain forest. San Diego: Harcourt Brace & Co.

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Cooling Towers: Why all thermal power plants are 30% efficient ?

Did you know that a Nuclear Plant is just as efficient as a coal, gas, geothermal, and concentrated solar ? And that is around 30%.

We will be addressing how cooling towers are a necessary evil and how we can increase power plant efficiency. Coming Soon

misc

I had to remove, republicans selling off land from the blog. The images downgraded the https security. It will be reposted soon.