Kerala LDF in internal disarray?

Did you know that the "Pinarayi" buldozer rolled over nearly on the CPI to appropriate the Ponnani seat for upcoming LS elections. The current storm is veryb much like  a storm in a tea cup? The CPI will cling on to the LDF, while LDF is trying to woo in all the sma;ller communal fronts and parties, so that bargaining clout of parties like CPI are blunted?

THE INDO-US CLUB OF RAMAYANA

READERS AND RESEARCHERS

(PROJECT R4: PUBLICATION OF PICTORIAL

MULTI-LINGUAL-VALMIKI RAMAYANA)

.S.,Krishnaswamy                           K.C.C.Raju                                                G.Lakshmanan

Principal Co-ordinator                        Dy.Coordinator                                         Dy.Cordinator

White Plains, NY., USA                      Hyderabad, India                                        Randolph, NJ, USA

 

No.R4/BR/10/08

March 12, 2009

 

Dear Sir:

 Sub:-  Gift of a copy of the Multi-lingual Pictorial Valmiki Ramayana -  regarding

 

The R4 project undertaken by the Indo-Us Club of Ramayana Readers and Researchers, was released to the public by HH the Maharaja, Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma on Dec.22, 08, in the Bhjanapura Palace Courtyard. The First copy was presented to Dr. Sambasivan, a renowned neurologist of the town.

 Now we are in the second phase of R4 project wherein we will make a gift of a copy of the Pictorial Ramayana to select schools in the state. Your school happened to be one among them. On your part, if you decide to accept this offer, you may have to comply with a two part stipulation.  

 That is you will favor us with a signed and sealed receipt of acceptance of the book along with the school library accession number of the book, Certainly we will appreciate your reply with in a week of receipt of this mail.

 

We look forward to hearing from you,

Thanking you

Sincerely yours

  

S.Rajagopalan Nair

Dr. Thrivikramji.K.P.

(For R4 Project)  

P.S. Just in case you are unwilling to process this offer, kindly inform us.

 

Simmered Black Beans

Recipes for Health

This series offers recipes with an eye towards empowering you to cook healthy meals every day. Produce, seasonal and locally grown when possible, and a well-stocked pantry are the linchpins of a good diet, and accordingly, each week’s recipes will revolve around a particular type of produce or a pantry item. This is food that is vibrant and light, full of nutrients but by no means ascetic, fun to cook and a pleasure to eat.

Beans are nature’s health food. They have an exceptionally high fiber content, and they’re a fine source of protein, as well as calcium, iron, folic acid and potassium. Black beans stand out because in that shiny black coating, there are at least eight different flavonoids, which are antioxidants. Called anthocyanins, they’re found in red grapes and red wine, red cabbage and other dark red fruits and vegetables. Black beans also contain small amounts of omega-3 fats, three times as much as other legumes provide.

Any successful dish made with black beans begins with a great pot of beans, sufficiently seasoned and slowly simmered with lots of onion and garlic until the beans are soft pillows suspended in a thick, inky, savory broth. There’s no comparison between that pot of black beans and the black beans that come in a can. Canned beans lack both flavor and nutrients.

Simmered Black Beans

The key to a great pot of black beans is using enough onion, garlic and salt for seasoning, and then cooking the beans for a long time at a slow simmer. In Mexico, a sprig ofepazote or a few dried avocado leaves are usually added to the pot. Those ingredients aren’t as easy to find as cilantro, which is what I routinely use to season the beans.

1 pound black beans, washed and picked over for stones

2 quarts water

1 tablespoon canola oil or extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

4 large garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup chopped cilantro, plus additional for garnish if desired

Salt, preferably kosher salt, to taste

1. Soak the beans in the water for at least six hours. If they will be soaking for a long time in warm weather, put them in the refrigerator.

2. Heat the oil over medium heat in a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven, and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until it begins to soften, about three minutes. Add half the garlic. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about one minute. Add the beans and soaking water. The beans should be covered by at least an inch of water. Add more as necessary, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, and skim off any foam that rises. Cover and simmer one hour.

3. Add the salt, remaining garlic and cilantro. Continue to simmer another hour, until the beans are quite soft and the broth is thick and fragrant. Taste. Is there enough salt? Does it need more garlic? Add if necessary. Let sit overnight in the refrigerator for the best flavor.

Note: If you can get hold of a sprig of fresh epazote, add it to the beans in step 3.

Yield: Serves six

Advance preparation: The cooked beans will keep for three to four days in the refrigerator and will freeze well.

Courtesy NY Times of March 13, 09)

THE Earth may be two-thirds water, but only about 1 percent of that water is actually usable for human consumption and agriculture. What’s more, as the planet warms and the population shifts, even that 1 percent is at risk.

That is why demand for hydrologists has been predicted to grow 24 percent from 2006 to 2016, much faster than the average for all occupations, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Hydrologists study the distribution, circulation and physical properties of water, with hydrogeologists focusing specifically on groundwater. (According to the United States Geological Survey, there is 100 times more water beneath the ground than there is in all the world’s lakes and rivers.)

“Hydrologist is a fairly broad term, but generally, any research or problems having to do with water, there’s a hydrologist working on it,” said Matthew C. Larsen, a hydrologist and associate director for water at the Geological Survey.

Most hydrologists did not earn degrees in hydrology; in fact, only a handful of undergraduate and graduate hydrology programs exist across the country. It is far more common for hydrologists to come from a hard-science or engineering background. Though it is possible to enter the field with a bachelor’s degree — most often as a lab technician — moving up in the career requires an advanced degree, Mr. Larsen said.

After creation of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970 and passage of the Clean Air Act in 1977 and Superfund legislation in 1980, hydrologists’ work was largely focused on water quality. Today, however, “an increasing percentage of hydrologists are interested in water quantity and supply, which is an emerging issue and where global climate change plays a big role,” said Dork Sahagian, professor of earth and environmental science at Lehigh University and director of its Environmental Initiative in Bethlehem, Pa.

“But concern with water quality — which involves local, site-based issues — still drives the job market,” he said. “Most hydrologists in this part of the world are still hired to cope with the availability of clean water for drinking and municipal supplies.”

Hydrologists use samples of water and soil, which they have traditionally collected themselves by wading out into a river or lake. Computers, however, have changed the nature of that field work. The Geological Survey now uses computerized samplers set up in rivers and streams throughout the nation.

But some field work is still required, especially early in a hydrologist’s career, and is often considered a perk — the ability to work outdoors and in beautiful places. That work could involve inspecting a dam, drilling a well or measuring a river’s flow.

“I used to say the worst day in the field still beat the best day in the office,” said Mark Wigmosta, a hydrologist with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, an Energy Department research center in Richland, Wash. “I don’t spend as much time out in the field, and I miss it. My work now is primarily in front of a computer.”

In fact, computers have revolutionized hydrology in ways beyond sampling. Data collected in the field is now plugged into complex mathematic models that allow hydrologists to make predictions — for example, about the effect of climate change on sea levels. The models also help them develop recommendations for solving problems, like how much water can be diverted from a river to combat a drought.

“People interested in hydrology often don’t understand you need to be very strong in math,” said Michael Boufadel, an engineer and hydrologist and the chairman of the civil and environmental engineering department at Temple University in Philadelphia.

They also need to communicate well, because their research is often written in reports and presented to others — to policy makers, if they work in the public sector, or to clients in the private sector.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 28 percent of hydrologists are employed by the federal government, at the Geological Survey and the Defense Department. An additional 21 percent work for state agencies and state departments of conservation. Others work in architecture, engineering and for management, scientific and technical consulting firms.

SCOTT D. WARNER, principal hydrogeologist and a vice president at the environmental consulting firm Amec Geomatrix in Oakland, Calif., said demand for his firm’s services had been strong since the 1980s. “Our firm is growing, even in this economic downturn,” he said. Much of Amec’s work is with municipal water districts that need to find ways to manage their water and predict their needs.

(Courtesy NY Times, dtd March 12, 09)

Dr. Pachuri to Yale Climate Center

Chief of Climate Panel to Lead Yale Center

By ANDREW C. REVKINTanushree Punwani/ReutersRajendra Pachauri celebrating word that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was a recipient of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.

Rajendra K. Pachauri, the chairman of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change since 2002, will become the head of the new Yale Climate and Energy Institute, the university announced today. [UPDATE, 9:30 p.m.: Yale filled me in on the origins and financing of the climate and energy institute.]

The university said that Dr. Pachauri will work half-time at Yale. He will keep his positions as head of an Indian research group focused on energy and the environment and chairman of the climate panel, which is beginning work on its fifth assessment of climate change since 1988. Dr. Pachauri became chairman of the panel in 2002. He has been credited by many climate scientists with efficiently overseeing the hundreds of scientists and reviewers who in 2007 produced a set of phonebook-size reports distilling the latest research on the causes and consequences of climate change.

In recent years, Dr. Pachauri has been a target of some writers, scientists and research groups who challnge the consensus on global warming or who oppose actions to make big cuts in greenhouse gases.

But in 2002, industry lobbyists were pushing the Bush administration to seek Dr. Pachauri as a replacement for Robert Watson, the previous chairman of the I.P.C.C., who was seen by them as too much of an advocate for emissions cuts.

At the time, there were hints, as in a New York Times story in 2002, that the industry effort to back Dr. Pachauri, an engineer and economist, might backfire:

Some panel scientists said Mr. Bush might end up regretting the choice, noting that Dr. Pachauri has repeatedly criticized the president for not acting more aggressively to cut emissions in the United States, which is the largest source of heat-trapping gases.

A Yale news release has more background on plans for the institute, which the school calls Y.C.E.I.:

YCEI will provide seed grants, support postgraduate study, sponsor conferences and workshops, and foster interdisciplinary research spanning from basic atmospheric science to public policy. Nearly 100 Yale scientists, engineers, physicians, social scientists and policy experts have joined together to launch the enterprise.

Initial projects will focus on a diverse array of topics. Examples include forecasting climate variability and its impacts on water supplies, studying the spread of infectious diseases, searching for microbial-based alternative fuels, and the science and economics of carbon sequestration.

Long term, YCEI will support research and outreach, international collaboration, partnerships with business and industry, and green design efforts that can be implemented and tested within Yale and the surrounding region.

The conference in Copenhagen was organized by the Danish government as a way to prod countries toward an agreement with climate-treaty negotiations convene there in December. At the meeting, according to the Associated Press, scientists summarized some recent findings on rising sea level and other issues that some experts say are exceeding earlier projections.

In the wire story, Dr. Pachauri said scientists can analyze the dangers associated with global warming, but that it’s up to politicians to respond and act. “I am afraid that it is something that involves value judgment on the part of policy makers, and I am afraid that they shied away from it,” he told the conference, according to the story. “It is time to take action.”

(Courtesy NY Times)