Harvesting Rainwater: The Art and Practice

Harvesting Rainwater: The Art and Practice 

Water rationing has started in Metro Manila.  Angat Dam which supplies more than 80 percent of Metro Manila is appropriating its supply to last through summer next year. Limited supply is exacerbated by the ongoing El Nino phenomenon. Let us save rainwater, it's a valuable resource which should not go to waste.
    Dr Abe V Rotor 
 Living with Nature School on Blog

 
A bountiful harvest of rainwater cuts down water bill; it is environment-friendly and 
a source of enjoyment.  At home, Lagro QC.

1. Join downspouts together to maximize harvest of rainwater in one place.
2. Keep roof, gutter and downspout regularly cleaned and declogged of any debris.   
3. Avoid using red lead paint, use epoxy paint instead, to avoid lead contaminant.  
4. Filter rainwater with fine screen or cloth before transferring to container.
5. Plastic containers are convenient but they serve only as temporary storage.
6. Wide mouth containers may cause accident. They are not designed as bath tubs.
7. Use water within five days, otherwise it breeds mosquitoes and other vermin. 
8. Clean and expose containers under the sun for an hour or two to disinfect. 
9. Invert and be ready for the next rain to come. Store only clean rainwater.      
10. Final storage is ideally a garden pond. It is multipurpose: fish culture, water for cleaning, watering and for use in case of fire. 


A garden pond adds aesthetic beauty to the place, adds coolness and tranquility, cum a gentle sound of a fountain and running stream. Garden Pond at home in Lagro, QC.  Take Nature Home mural painting by the author.

Catfish and pako fish raised in a garden pond.

*Lesson on former Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio 738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday

What is the ultimate test of civilization?

  Dr Abe V Rotor 
 Living with Nature School on Blog
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class Monday to Friday (www.pbs.gov.ph)

“The ultimate test of any civilization Is

"Earth in the hands of man."

 not in its inventions and deeds;

But the endurance of Mother Nature
In keeping up with man’s unending needs.”

AV Rotor, “Light in the Woods”, 1995
Reflection on “Environment and Peace”

We live in a different world, and a fast changing one at that. It is fiction today and reality tomorrow. Jules Verne’s works – “Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea”, “Around the World in Eighty Days” are not fiction after all, and Flash Gordon, yesterday’s fiction hero for kids is virtual reality today. They surround us, they are part of us.

We are in an age of bionics, an organic union of living and non-living things. And while we enrich our intelligence, we are also creating and transferring intelligence to robots. Time shall come when it will be difficult to differentiate human and artificial intelligence.

Natural science will feed commerce with new commodities. We have entered into a new field of economics – bio-economics. Already we talk of cloning, test tube babies, surrogate mothers, menopausal childbirth. We have welcomed the patenting of plants and animals and microbes - and the DNA and proteins that make them. We are claiming property rights to life itself! Which endorses review of human and spiritual values. Revise ethico-morals? “Re-create God,” proposes an atheist.

This paper does not intend to provide answers to these disturbing questions, but rather help us in our search for meaning in today’s highly scientific and technological world. How fast and far we are going to keep up with the pace of change, or how simple a life do we wish to lead?

Here are scenarios to examine and reflect on:

Re-Creating Nature

Have you heard of instant countryside inside cities?

“Gubat sa Siyudad” is more of a symptom than fancy. More and more people who are tired of city life are yearning to live in less congested areas where they are closer to Nature.

A few years ago French farmers staged a dramatic protest against the European Union by hauling sections of wheat fields, and herding cattle and sheep to the instant farm landscape at the Champs Elysees, creating a countryside amid tall buildings and busy pedestrian and traffic .

Picture this landscape in the middle of Paris, near the historical Arch d’ Triumph. Traffic was stopped, business was disrupted. Police cordoned the area. Instead of reacting angrily, the Parisians of all walks of life including lawyers, students, businessmen, lovers, farmers, cops, ran toward the mini countryside and dreamily enjoyed the rustic scene. For a few hours before they remembered who and where they were, all were happily back in the country. The incident would fit the conditions of New York’s City’ Madison Garden or Beijing’s Tiananmen Square as well. In the middle of cities rises an imagery of a nostalgic rural world, a world now disconnected with urban life.

“Disconnection” Syndrome
As a country becomes more progressive, technologically that is, more and more of its citizens become disconnected from the countryside. And what is paradoxical is that cities grow at the expense of the countryside, eating out agriculturally productive space, draining precious manpower and resources, supplanting tradition and values with “modern culture”.

What is the implication of this? Disconnection buries deeper that intrinsic attachment in us to the natural life which is systemic in our genes and culture, the key to our successful evolution as rational and social beings. The memory of that attachment surfaces now and then in our language, music, paintings, legends, even in our thoughts over a sunset or a flowering weed.

But this is not meaningful enough unless we re-establish that attachment to make us aware that everything in this world is interconnected. It is this interconnection that is the key to unity and understanding, respect and reverence, compassion and humility. Such interconnection links the parts of the living and the non-living world as well, the abstract and concrete, the past and the present, the macro with the microbial world, diverse cultures and races.

The restoration of attachment between man and nature is crucial at a time when we have caused our environment a kind of degradation never before experienced in the hands of man. Preservation of the natural world is the key to such restoration – and it is not outside the power of man.
Our lives are being outrun by Science and Technology

In so short a time – virtually just within a life span of many of us in the elder generation - we witnessed three important unprecedented discoveries which have changed human life and our society forever. There is no turning back now. Science and technology marked the milestone of no return, a point of irreversibility as we race for industrialization, and plunge into the “third wave” of progress.

The three scientific breakthroughs are the following:

1. Splitting of the atom (nuclear power, atomic bomb);
2. Wiring the microchip (electronics, computers); and
3. Cracking the DNA code (Human Genome Project,
genetic engineering).
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The latest scientific breakthrough ? An expanding universe fueled by dark energy

Even 25 years after Stephen Hawking considered this concept of a rapidly expanding universe in A Brief History of Time, this is still a mind-blowing idea — it implies that, even after 12 to 14 billion years, whatever caused the creation of the universe — the Big Bang — was so powerful and unlocked so much energy that it’s still going on today. And not just going on — but actually accelerating and becoming faster.

The next question, of course, is what is causing this accelerating expansion. The general consensus among physicists is that “dark energy” is somehow accountable, stretching and pulling galaxies apart. According to scientists, approximately 68 percent of the universe is “dark energy” and 27 percent is “dark matter.” As NASA points out, that means that 95 percent of the universe is still a deep mystery: “The rest — everything on Earth, everything ever observed with all of our instruments, all normal matter — adds up to less than 5 percent of the universe.” That could give research around this “mysterious cosmic force” a new boost

----------------------------------------------.

The applications of these breakthroughs can not be overemphasized as we witness today or in the near future the following:

1. Man’s landing on the moon;
2. Information highway via satellites and the Internet;
3. Cloning and genetically modified organisms (GMO);
4. Universities without walls (distance education);
5. Robotics and nanobotics (microscopic robots);
6. Frankenfoods, (modified foods);
7. Test tube babies, menopausal childbirth;
8. Gene therapy and immunotherapy;
9. Extended life span (now 78 years on the average to 140 by 2500); and
10. Cryonics or human hibernation, which prepares man for space travel.

Part 2 Concerns on Biology and Ecology - Open Questions

Dr Abe V Rotor 
Part 2: Concerns on Biology and Ecology - Open Questions
Modified True or False. Give reason for false answers


Mungbean (Phaseolus radiatus), the most popular legume in the tropics is highly nutritious in calories and protein.

1. When you introduce a new plant in your garden – a plant that has not been tried before – you are sure it is virtually free of pests, firstly because it did not bring with it the pests from its origin, and second, the local pests would take time to develop the taste for it.

2. We are still nomadic like our primitive ancestors were, in the sense that we still derive much of our food and other needs from the sea, hills and forest. Furthermore, we travel far and wide from our homes and families in search of our basic economic needs – food, clothing, shelter and energy. This neo-nomadic syndrome has been spurred by our modern way of living influenced by overpopulation, industrialization, science and technology.

3. The least sprayed vegetables – that is, vegetables that do not necessarily require the application of pesticides – are those that grow wild. Thus the ruling is, the more native a vegetable is, the more resistant it is to pest.

4. The most nutritious of all vegetables in terms of protein are those belonging to the legume family. In fact a number of legumes have higher protein content than meat.

5. If we rank from highest to lowest in protein content these vegetables should be listed as follows: soybean, segidillas or calamismis (pallang), mungo, tomato, malunggay.

6. It is possible that a one-hectare farm can produce as much as a four-hectare farm does, even without additional amounts of inputs like fertilizer, pesticide and water.

7. The production capacity of genetically modified crops of corn, potato, and soybean – the most common GMO food we are taking every day - has increased even without increasing the supply of nutrients in the soil. GMOs are the world’s ultimate recourse to feed an ever increasing population now approaching the 6.5 billion mark.

8. Our soil and climate are favorable to many crops. Let us plant our rice fields and corn fields after harvest season with the following crops so that we will not import them and spend precious dollars, and that, it is the Filipino farmer and not the foreign farmer whom we patronize and subsidize. Potato (potato fries), Soybean (soybean oil, TVP, tokwa, toyo, taho), White beans (pork and beans), wheat (pandesal, cake, noodles)

9. Converting corn into ethanol requires more energy in the process than the net energy output/ produce.

10. Aeroponics and hyrodoponics are still in their piloting stage; they have not reached commercial levels of production.

Herbal Medicine - Photos: Gotu Kola or Takip Kuhol (Centella asiatica)

R & D (Research and Development) at Home*

Dr Abe V Rotor 

 

                          Liquid Fertilizer  

Install your aquarium outdoor where there is at least indirect sunlight. The water becomes rich in algae and plankton as shown in this photomicrograph. It is also rich in Oxygen so that you may not even need an aerator. Use the "green" water for garden plants, and replace it with tap water every time. Just maintain the level of water. Keep the glass clear for better sunlight penetration. Siphon out the detritus sediment now and then. This liquid compost is also used as natural fertilizer. If you are using a pump, every time you clean the filter, gather the waste water, and use it for the same purpose.

 

Boiled Jackfruit Seeds
Don't thrpw away the seeds of nangka or jackfruit (Artocarpus integra)'

A 100-gram serving, or about 3.5 ounces of jackfruit seeds, provides about 184 calories, 7 grams of protein and 38 grams of carbohydrates, including 1.5 grams of fiber, but has less than 1 gram of fat.This is 6 percent of the daily value for fiber of 25 grams. Fiber helps fill you up, making it easier to lose weight, and may lower your risk for heart disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and constipation. Jackfruit seeds also provide resistant starch, which may help improve blood sugar control and keep your gut healthy. Jackfruit seeds are good sources of thiamine and riboflavin. Both of these B vitamins help turn the food you eat into energy and keep your skin, eyes and hair healthy. Riboflavin also acts as an antioxidant, helping prevent damage to your cells from free radicals. 

These seeds also provide at least small amounts of the minerals zinc, iron, calcium, copper, potassium and manganese. Zinc is important for immune function, iron and copper for forming red blood cells and calcium for forming strong bones. You need potassium for maintaining proper blood pressure levels and manganese for regulating your blood sugar levels.

By Jessica Bruso LIVESTRONG.COM

  Multipurpose Banana Leaves 

Banana leaves have many uses:

1. wrapper of native delicacies, such as suman, bibingka, and puto

2. Wrapper for tamalis (steamed fish, see photo)

3. Banana stalk is keeps fish, like hito and dalag, alive while in transport up to three days. In like manner it keeps highly perishable fruits and vegetables fresh.

4. It is used as padding in ironing clothes.  It imparts a pleasant smell, and presents iron from becoming sticky.

5. Natural floor wax.  Wilted leaves are used as coconut husk as bunot in polishing the floor.        

Make your own “mineral water” with malunggay seeds.

Drinking water is rendered safe with malunggay seeds. Why spend for mineral water when you can make one right in your home? With all the empty plastic bottles around, you can prepare safe drinking water just by adding crushed seed of malunggay (Moringa oleifera).

This is what you can do. Fill up a liter size bottle (family size softdrink) with water coming from the tap, or if you are in the province, a deep well or spring. Add two malunggay seeds crushed by hand. Allow the setup to settle for two to three hours or until the sediments have settled down. Slowly transfer the filtrate to another bottle for immediate or future use.

Scientists found out that malunggay seeds directly kill bacteria and coagulate suspended particles, slowing down Brownian Movement (constant movement of particulates in liquid medium, colliding with one another and against the walls of the container). Malunggay also impart a refreshing taste to the drinking water. Try it.

You can save as much as P100 per day for the whole family. That's P3000 a month or P36,000 a year. You can earn from this simple technology, too. Get in touch with your nearest DOST office for assistance.

Natural Kitchen Scrub and Sandpaper 
Is-is (Ficus coronata) is natural sandpaper owing to its abrasive surface like sandpaper. Use it in the kitchen, bathroom and general cleaning. Avoid using synthetic scrub made of fiber glass, amuminum and plastic.  Is-is is healthier and environment-friendly.  Plant this small tree on your backyard and you will have a year round supply you can also share with your neighbors. It produces edible ripe fruits  children love to pick.

* R & D at Home is based on heuristic technique often called simply a heuristic.  It is any approach to problem solving, learning, or discovery that employs a practical method not guaranteed to be optimal or perfect, but sufficient for the immediate goals. Where finding an optimal solution is impossible or impractical, heuristic methods can be used to speed up the process of finding a satisfactory solution. Heuristics can be mental shortcuts that ease the cognitive load of making a decision. Examples of this method include using a rule of thumb, an educated guess, an intuitive judgment, stereotyping, profiling, or common sense.

References: Boiled Jackfruit seeds by Jessica Bruso LIVESTRONG.COM; Living with Folk Wisdom by AV Rotor, Wikipedia. Internet.

Light up your life!

Get out of your box.
Dr Abe V Rotor

Get close to Nature, befriend her creatures.  

Birds sing not only for their own kind, 
     but to the world that shares their joy,
in melodies notes may not capture,
     but the heart and spirit they buoy.  

 
Find joy with a baby and bring back the joyful years of life.

Love the word child for it never dies;
     it may sleep as we grow old;
it wakes us up like The Little Prince,
     when we're lost and troubled.

  

When the head seems too heavy to carry...  when life seems to come to a stop ... 

Give yourself a break before your break down.  

Have you walked the sea floor at its lowest ebb,

     on the shoal and coral reef?     

It's Nature's way of cleansing and renewing life

     in a  cycle of joy and grief. 

 Get out of your shadow...

There is a girl afraid of her own shadow, 

     she tried to run away from it in panic. 

She outgrew the trauma and even talked

     to her shadow when lost and sick. 

Catch butterflies and friends...

  
Make happy faces...lean on a strong shoulder

  

Puppet show time - you the actor and subject. 

                                              Get out of your box. Be the real you. 
                                         Author and daughter Anna, Avilon Zoo, Rizal
 

Be a dear or deer ... flower girls the second time around.

"What is generation gap
 but taking too long a nap by the fireplace and missing the songs of birds in springit is not seeing the stars through the leafless trees in winter." AVR

Get out of your box before it,s too late;

     prison disquised in comfort and care;

it's all yours to act and no one else will,

     to open its door or break its walls.