There’s more water on the moon

Posted on June 15, 2010 by Rashid Faridi

Recent moon missions have shown frozen water in shadowed craters on the moon’s surface, and ice under the gray dust. It could have been carried there by bits of comets as asteroids hitting the surface, however. A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science shows there is much more water on the moon than that — findings important for future moon missions.

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Afghanistan is a Treasurehouse of Lithium

Posted on June 15, 2010 by Rashid Faridi

Aside from massive lithium stores, iron and copper deposits are also large enough to make Afghanistan one of the world's top producers. Click to enlarge this image.

Afghanistan has nearly $1 trillion in mineral deposits, according to a study, but there are doubts the war-torn and graft-prone country can manage the windfall offered by the untapped riches.President Hamid Karzai said in January that the deposits could help the war-ravaged nation become one of the richest in the world, based on preliminary findings of the United States Geological Survey.The final results, reported in the New York Times, found previously unknown reserves of lithium, iron, gold, niobium, cobalt and other minerals that the paper said could transform Afghanistan into a global mining hub.

There is ever-growing demand for lithium, which is used to make batteries for everything from mobile phones and cameras to iPads and laptops. Future growth in electric and hybrid cars could create still more demand.Afghanistan has so much of the metal that it could become the “Saudi Arabia of lithium,” according to an internal Pentagon memo quoted by the New York Times.

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Improvement in ground water recharge in India: ICAR

Posted on June 14, 2010 by Rashid Faridi

Indian Council of Agricultural Research’s (ICAR) impact evaluation studies reveal that watershed-based interventions have led to increase in groundwater recharge, number of wells and water bodies and enhancement of cropping intensity in India. The study was based on remote sensing techniques. It has also brought about changes in cropping patterns leading to higher yields and reduction in soil losses.

ICAR  has developed technology modules in dryland farming for various agro-climatic zones. Eighteen model watershed projects covering different agro-ecological regions of the country have been assigned to Central Soil and Water Conservation Research and Training Institute (CSWCRTI) and ICRISAT to address the bio-physical and socio-economic dimensions of specific agro-climatic conditions and to develop suitable technologies for maximizing the development process under watershed programmes.

These projects are to serve as model projects for replicating successful technologies for wider dissemination through National Watershed Development Project for Rain-fed Areas (NWDPRA) and other national and state level funded watershed projects.In India, of the total cultivated area of around 140.30 million hectares only 60.86 million is irrigated and remaining 79.44 million hectares is rain-fed.

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A Differently looking Solar-powered car

Posted on June 14, 2010 by Rashid Faridi

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