In Bible versus Quran: What is under the feet of the Lord God?
The Wind in Bible versus Quran (1)
This is the first article of the series:” The Wind in Bible versus Quran”.
The Bible says that the Lord God has mouth, nostrils, feet and He was seen flying on the wings of the wind. The Noble Quran says that Naught is as Allah’s likeness in attributes. Any form, picture, thoughts that you put the Almighty Creator in it is absolutely wrong.
===============================
The Wind in the Bible (1)
In 2 Samuel 22:7-17, Kind David says:
In my distress I called to the LORD; I called out to my God. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came to his ears. “The earth trembled and quaked, the foundations of the heavens shook; they trembled because he was angry. Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it. He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet. He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind. He made darkness his canopy around him— the dark rain clouds of the sky. Out of the brightness of his presence bolts of lightning blazed forth. The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded. He shot arrows and scattered the enemies, bolts of lightning and routed them. The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at the rebuke of the LORD, at the blast of breath from his nostrils. “He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.
—————————-
Herein, there are some very important points:
1) The Bible describes the lord God, the Almighty Creator as He has mouth, nostrils, feet and He was seen flying on the wings of the wind.
2) The Bible describes the lord God, the Almighty Creator as a body which descends
3) The thunder is the voice of the lord God, the Almighty Creator.
4) The Lord God did and performed many movements and acts to save David.
5) The speed of the Lord God was that of the wind
6) The wind has wings!
—————————-
All of these points are ABSOLUTELY denied in the Noble Quran because:
1) The Noble Quran says that Naught is as Allah’s likeness in attributes. Any form, picture, thoughts that you put the Almighty Creator in it is absolutely wrong.
2) The Almighty Creator is not a body
3) The thunder is not the voice of the Almighty Creator.
4) When the Almighty Creator decides upon a matter, when He wants to do anything, He only says to it ‘Be!’ and it is. Hence, He could save David in fraction of a second if He willed.
5) The speed of the Lord God was that of the wind; for instance, does not He know the speed of the light? However, Naught is as Allah’s likeness in attributes.
6) The wind has no wings!
7) The Great Prophet King David can not say that about the Almighty Creator simply because he knows better who Allah is.
—————————-
2 Samuel 22:7-17 in three different versions of the Bible:
King James Version
7In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears.
8Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and shook, because he was wroth.
9There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.
10He bowed the heavens also, and came down; and darkness was under his feet.
11And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: and he was seen upon the wings of the wind.
12And he made darkness pavilions round about him, dark waters, and thick clouds of the skies.
13Through the brightness before him were coals of fire kindled.
14The LORD thundered from heaven, and the most High uttered his voice.
15And he sent out arrows, and scattered them; lightning, and discomfited them.
16And the channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world were discovered, at the rebuking of the LORD, at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.
17He sent from above, he took me; he drew me out of many waters;
Young’s Literal Translation
7In mine adversity I call Jehovah, And unto my God I call, And He heareth from His temple my voice, And my cry [is] in His ears,
8And shake and tremble doth the earth, Foundations of the heavens are troubled, And are shaken, for He hath wrath!
9Gone up hath smoke by His nostrils. And fire from His mouth devoureth, Brands have been kindled by it.
10And He inclineth heaven, and cometh down, And thick darkness [is] under His feet.
11And He rideth on a cherub, and doth fly, And is seen on the wings of the wind.
12And He setteth darkness Round about Him — tabernacles, Darkness of waters — thick clouds of the skies.
13From the brightness before Him Were brands of fire kindled!
14Thunder from the heavens doth Jehovah, And the Most High giveth forth His voice.
15And He sendeth forth arrows, And scattereth them; Lightning, and troubleth them;
16And seen are the streams of the sea, Revealed are foundations of the world, By the rebuke of Jehovah, From the breath of the spirit of His anger.
17He sendeth from above — He taketh me, He draweth me out of many waters.
New International Version
7 In my distress I called to the LORD; I called out to my God. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came to his ears.
8 “The earth trembled and quaked, the foundations of the heavens shook; they trembled because he was angry.
9 Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it.
10 He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet.
11 He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind.
12 He made darkness his canopy around him— the dark rain clouds of the sky.
13 Out of the brightness of his presence bolts of lightning blazed forth.
14 The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.
15 He shot arrows and scattered the enemies, bolts of lightning and routed them.
16 The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at the rebuke of the LORD, at the blast of breath from his nostrils.
17 “He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.
===============================
The Wind in the Noble Quran (1)
In this article, the following four points will be discussed:
1) The Wind and the similitude of the righteous works of the disbelievers
2) The Wind and the likeness of the disbelievers who are Anti-Islam
3) What if Allah wants to do anything?
4) The Golden verse (faith-wise) of the Quran that describes the Almighty Creator
—————————-
1) The Wind and the similitude of the righteous works of the disbelievers
Verse 14: 18 says:
QARIB: as for the likeness of those who disbelieve in their lord, their works are like ashes which a strong wind scatters on a stormy day; they are powerless over that they have earned; that is the far error.
SHAKIR: the parable of those who disbelieve in their lord: their actions are like ashes on which the wind blows hard on a stormy day; they shall not have power over any thing out of what they have earned; this is the great error
PICKTHAL: a similitude of those who disbelieve in their lord: their works are as ashes which the wind bloweth hard upon a stormy day. they have no control of aught that they have earned. that is the extreme failure.
YUSUFALI: the parable of those who reject their lord is that their works are as ashes, on which the wind blows furiously on a tempestuous day: no power have they over aught that they have earned: that is the straying far, far (from the goal).
The meanings of the verse:
In this verse, the Quran gives a similitude, the likeness, the description, of the righteous works of those who disbelieve in their Lord such as kindness [to kin] or an act of charity in the way that no benefit can be derived from them.
Allah says: the works of those who disbelieve in their Lord are as ashes which the wind blows hard upon a stormy day, one in which the winds blow violently, making them as scattered dust, over which none can have power. They have no control of aught that they have earned.
Allah says: they will not find the reward of their good works which were performed in their state of disbelief, just as one will not find ashes when the wind blows hard on it. The disbelievers, have no power over anything that they have earned, [anything] that they had done in [their] life on earth, in other words, they shall find no reward for it, since this was never a precondition. That is extreme error, [extreme] perdition!
That is the extreme failure; the error which is far remote from the Truth or guidance.
—————————-
2) The Wind and the likeness of the disbelievers who are Anti-Islam
Verse 3: 117 says:
QARIB: the wealth they spend in this worldly life is like a freezing wind that smites the harvest of a people who have wronged themselves and destroys it. Allah has not wronged them, but they wronged themselves.
SHAKIR: the likeness of what they spend in the life of this world is as the likeness of wind in which is intense cold (that) smites the seed produce of a people who haw done injustice to their souls and destroys it; and Allah is not unjust to them, but they are unjust to themselves
PICKTHAL: the likeness of that which they spend in this life of the world is as the likeness of a biting, icy wind which smiteth the harvest of a people who have wronged themselves, and devastateth it. Allah wronged them not, but they do wrong themselves.
YUSUFALI: what they spend in the life of this (material) world may be likened to a wind which brings a nipping frost: it strikes and destroys the harvest of men who have wronged their own souls: it is not Allah that hath wronged them, but they wrong themselves.
The meanings of the verse:
The likeness, the description, of what they, the disbelievers, expend in the life of this world, in the way of enmity towards the Prophet Muhammad or in the way of voluntary almsgiving or the like, is as the likeness of a wind wherein is a blast, of extreme hot or cold, that smote the tillage, the crops, of a people who have wronged themselves, through unbelief and disobedience, and destroyed it, so that they could not profit from it; so it is with what they expend, it perishes and they profit nothing from it. Also, they have wronged themselves by not giving what is due to Allah from it, (and devastated it) ruined it; likewise, idolatry destroys one’s spending just as wind destroys the harvest.
Allah did not wrong them, when they lost what they expended, but they wronged themselves, through unbelief, which necessitated this loss.
In other words, Allah did not wrong them by thwarting the benefit of their harvest and spending, but they did wrong themselves through disbelief and withholding what is due to Allah from the harvest.
—————————-
3) What if Allah wants to do anything?
Verse 36: 82 says:
QARIB: when he wills a thing, his command is to say to it ‘be’, and it is!
SHAKIR: his command, when he intends anything, is only to say to it: be, so it is
PICKTHAL: but his command, when he intendeth a thing, is only that he saith unto it: be! and it is.
YUSUFALI: verily, when he intends a thing, his command is, “be”, and it is!
The meanings of the verse:
His command, His affair, when He wills a thing, that is, [when He will] to create something, or to do anything is just to say to it ‘Be’, and it is.
Also, Verse 40: 68 says
QARIB: it is he who gives life and makes to die, and when he decrees a thing, he says to it: ‘be and it is!
SHAKIR: he it is who gives life and brings death, so when he decrees an affair, he only says to it: be, and it is
PICKTHAL: he it is who quickeneth and giveth death. when he ordaineth a thing, he saith unto it only: be! and it is.
YUSUFALI: it is he who gives life and death; and when he decides upon an affair, he says to it, “be”, and it is.
The meanings of the verse:
Allah is He Who gives life and brings death; No one else can do that. So when He decides upon a matter, [when] He wants to bring something into existence, He only says to it ‘Be!’ and it is. In other words, it comes into existence after He has willed it, that which is signified by the said words.
—————————-
4) The Golden verse (faith-wise) of the Quran that describes the Almighty Creator
Verse42: 11 says
QARIB: the originator of the heavens and the earth, he has given you from yourselves, pairs, and also pairs of cattle, thereby multiplying you. there is nothing like him. he is the hearer, the seer.
SHAKIR: the originator of the heavens and the earth; he made mates for you from among yourselves, and mates of the cattle too, multiplying you thereby; nothing like a likeness of him; and he is the hearing, the seeing
PICKTHAL: the creator of the heavens and the earth. he hath made for you pairs of yourselves, and of the cattle also pairs, whereby he multiplieth you. naught is as his likeness; and he is the hearer, the seer.
YUSUFALI: (he is) the creator of the heavens and the earth: he has made for you pairs from among yourselves, and pairs among cattle: by this means does he multiply you: there is nothing whatever like unto him, and he is the one that hears and sees (all things).
The meanings of the verse:
He (Allah) is the Originator of the heavens and the earth, the One Who created them [without precedent]. He has made for you, from your own selves, pairs, when He created Eve from Adam’s rib, and [also] pairs, males and females, of the cattle and whereby He multiplies you through marriage. There is nothing like Him; there is no likeness of Him, exalted be He). He is the Hearer, of what you say, the Seer, of your works. Naught is as His likeness in attributes, knowledge, power and providence etc.
The basic point of faith is that Naught is as your Almighty creator.
Since man is a creature which has Spirit that gives him like; and since Naught is as the likeness of your Creator, then the Almighty Creator has NO SPIRIT.
Hence, the Almighty Creator is not a body or material like us. Any form, picture or thoughts that you put the Almighty Creator in it is absolutely wrong.
According to the Islamic Rule of Faith, if any one put the Almighty Creator in any form, picture or thoughts, he or she is Disbeliever and has No faith; and he will end up in the Hereafter as a dweller of the Eternal Fire.
This is in spite of what name(s) you are giving to your Almighty Creator e.g. Allah, Lord, God, Jehovah etc.
On the other hand, the vice versa is absolutely True!
========================
Back to my question to the smart and interested reader:
Is the Quran quoted from the Bible?
In the Quran: What Allah does when He wants to bring something into existence?
The Wind in Bible versus Quran (1)
This is the first article of the series:” The Wind in Bible versus Quran”.
The Bible says that the Lord God has mouth, nostrils, feet and He was seen flying on the wings of the wind. The Noble Quran says that Naught is as Allah’s likeness in attributes. Any form, picture, thoughts that you put the Almighty Creator in it is absolutely wrong.
===============================
The Wind in the Bible (1)
In 2 Samuel 22:7-17, Kind David says:
In my distress I called to the LORD; I called out to my God. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came to his ears. “The earth trembled and quaked, the foundations of the heavens shook; they trembled because he was angry. Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it. He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet. He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind. He made darkness his canopy around him— the dark rain clouds of the sky. Out of the brightness of his presence bolts of lightning blazed forth. The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded. He shot arrows and scattered the enemies, bolts of lightning and routed them. The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at the rebuke of the LORD, at the blast of breath from his nostrils. “He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.
—————————-
Herein, there are some very important points:
1) The Bible describes the lord God, the Almighty Creator as He has mouth, nostrils, feet and He was seen flying on the wings of the wind.
2) The Bible describes the lord God, the Almighty Creator as a body which descends
3) The thunder is the voice of the lord God, the Almighty Creator.
4) The Lord God did and performed many movements and acts to save David.
5) The speed of the Lord God was that of the wind
6) The wind has wings!
—————————-
All of these points are ABSOLUTELY denied in the Noble Quran because:
1) The Noble Quran says that Naught is as Allah’s likeness in attributes. Any form, picture, thoughts that you put the Almighty Creator in it is absolutely wrong.
2) The Almighty Creator is not a body
3) The thunder is not the voice of the Almighty Creator.
4) When the Almighty Creator decides upon a matter, when He wants to do anything, He only says to it ‘Be!’ and it is. Hence, He could save David in fraction of a second if He willed.
5) The speed of the Lord God was that of the wind; for instance, does not He know the speed of the light? However, Naught is as Allah’s likeness in attributes.
6) The wind has no wings!
7) The Great Prophet King David can not say that about the Almighty Creator simply because he knows better who Allah is.
—————————-
2 Samuel 22:7-17 in three different versions of the Bible:
King James Version
7In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears.
8Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and shook, because he was wroth.
9There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.
10He bowed the heavens also, and came down; and darkness was under his feet.
11And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: and he was seen upon the wings of the wind.
12And he made darkness pavilions round about him, dark waters, and thick clouds of the skies.
13Through the brightness before him were coals of fire kindled.
14The LORD thundered from heaven, and the most High uttered his voice.
15And he sent out arrows, and scattered them; lightning, and discomfited them.
16And the channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world were discovered, at the rebuking of the LORD, at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.
17He sent from above, he took me; he drew me out of many waters;
Young’s Literal Translation
7In mine adversity I call Jehovah, And unto my God I call, And He heareth from His temple my voice, And my cry [is] in His ears,
8And shake and tremble doth the earth, Foundations of the heavens are troubled, And are shaken, for He hath wrath!
9Gone up hath smoke by His nostrils. And fire from His mouth devoureth, Brands have been kindled by it.
10And He inclineth heaven, and cometh down, And thick darkness [is] under His feet.
11And He rideth on a cherub, and doth fly, And is seen on the wings of the wind.
12And He setteth darkness Round about Him — tabernacles, Darkness of waters — thick clouds of the skies.
13From the brightness before Him Were brands of fire kindled!
14Thunder from the heavens doth Jehovah, And the Most High giveth forth His voice.
15And He sendeth forth arrows, And scattereth them; Lightning, and troubleth them;
16And seen are the streams of the sea, Revealed are foundations of the world, By the rebuke of Jehovah, From the breath of the spirit of His anger.
17He sendeth from above — He taketh me, He draweth me out of many waters.
New International Version
7 In my distress I called to the LORD; I called out to my God. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came to his ears.
8 “The earth trembled and quaked, the foundations of the heavens shook; they trembled because he was angry.
9 Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it.
10 He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet.
11 He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind.
12 He made darkness his canopy around him— the dark rain clouds of the sky.
13 Out of the brightness of his presence bolts of lightning blazed forth.
14 The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.
15 He shot arrows and scattered the enemies, bolts of lightning and routed them.
16 The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at the rebuke of the LORD, at the blast of breath from his nostrils.
17 “He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.
===============================
The Wind in the Noble Quran (1)
In this article, the following four points will be discussed:
1) The Wind and the similitude of the righteous works of the disbelievers
2) The Wind and the likeness of the disbelievers who are Anti-Islam
3) What if Allah wants to do anything?
4) The Golden verse (faith-wise) of the Quran that describes the Almighty Creator
—————————-
1) The Wind and the similitude of the righteous works of the disbelievers
Verse 14: 18 says:
QARIB: as for the likeness of those who disbelieve in their lord, their works are like ashes which a strong wind scatters on a stormy day; they are powerless over that they have earned; that is the far error.
SHAKIR: the parable of those who disbelieve in their lord: their actions are like ashes on which the wind blows hard on a stormy day; they shall not have power over any thing out of what they have earned; this is the great error
PICKTHAL: a similitude of those who disbelieve in their lord: their works are as ashes which the wind bloweth hard upon a stormy day. they have no control of aught that they have earned. that is the extreme failure.
YUSUFALI: the parable of those who reject their lord is that their works are as ashes, on which the wind blows furiously on a tempestuous day: no power have they over aught that they have earned: that is the straying far, far (from the goal).
The meanings of the verse:
In this verse, the Quran gives a similitude, the likeness, the description, of the righteous works of those who disbelieve in their Lord such as kindness [to kin] or an act of charity in the way that no benefit can be derived from them.
Allah says: the works of those who disbelieve in their Lord are as ashes which the wind blows hard upon a stormy day, one in which the winds blow violently, making them as scattered dust, over which none can have power. They have no control of aught that they have earned.
Allah says: they will not find the reward of their good works which were performed in their state of disbelief, just as one will not find ashes when the wind blows hard on it. The disbelievers, have no power over anything that they have earned, [anything] that they had done in [their] life on earth, in other words, they shall find no reward for it, since this was never a precondition. That is extreme error, [extreme] perdition!
That is the extreme failure; the error which is far remote from the Truth or guidance.
—————————-
2) The Wind and the likeness of the disbelievers who are Anti-Islam
Verse 3: 117 says:
QARIB: the wealth they spend in this worldly life is like a freezing wind that smites the harvest of a people who have wronged themselves and destroys it. Allah has not wronged them, but they wronged themselves.
SHAKIR: the likeness of what they spend in the life of this world is as the likeness of wind in which is intense cold (that) smites the seed produce of a people who haw done injustice to their souls and destroys it; and Allah is not unjust to them, but they are unjust to themselves
PICKTHAL: the likeness of that which they spend in this life of the world is as the likeness of a biting, icy wind which smiteth the harvest of a people who have wronged themselves, and devastateth it. Allah wronged them not, but they do wrong themselves.
YUSUFALI: what they spend in the life of this (material) world may be likened to a wind which brings a nipping frost: it strikes and destroys the harvest of men who have wronged their own souls: it is not Allah that hath wronged them, but they wrong themselves.
The meanings of the verse:
The likeness, the description, of what they, the disbelievers, expend in the life of this world, in the way of enmity towards the Prophet Muhammad or in the way of voluntary almsgiving or the like, is as the likeness of a wind wherein is a blast, of extreme hot or cold, that smote the tillage, the crops, of a people who have wronged themselves, through unbelief and disobedience, and destroyed it, so that they could not profit from it; so it is with what they expend, it perishes and they profit nothing from it. Also, they have wronged themselves by not giving what is due to Allah from it, (and devastated it) ruined it; likewise, idolatry destroys one’s spending just as wind destroys the harvest.
Allah did not wrong them, when they lost what they expended, but they wronged themselves, through unbelief, which necessitated this loss.
In other words, Allah did not wrong them by thwarting the benefit of their harvest and spending, but they did wrong themselves through disbelief and withholding what is due to Allah from the harvest.
—————————-
3) What if Allah wants to do anything?
Verse 36: 82 says:
QARIB: when he wills a thing, his command is to say to it ‘be’, and it is!
SHAKIR: his command, when he intends anything, is only to say to it: be, so it is
PICKTHAL: but his command, when he intendeth a thing, is only that he saith unto it: be! and it is.
YUSUFALI: verily, when he intends a thing, his command is, “be”, and it is!
The meanings of the verse:
His command, His affair, when He wills a thing, that is, [when He will] to create something, or to do anything is just to say to it ‘Be’, and it is.
Also, Verse 40: 68 says
QARIB: it is he who gives life and makes to die, and when he decrees a thing, he says to it: ‘be and it is!
SHAKIR: he it is who gives life and brings death, so when he decrees an affair, he only says to it: be, and it is
PICKTHAL: he it is who quickeneth and giveth death. when he ordaineth a thing, he saith unto it only: be! and it is.
YUSUFALI: it is he who gives life and death; and when he decides upon an affair, he says to it, “be”, and it is.
The meanings of the verse:
Allah is He Who gives life and brings death; No one else can do that. So when He decides upon a matter, [when] He wants to bring something into existence, He only says to it ‘Be!’ and it is. In other words, it comes into existence after He has willed it, that which is signified by the said words.
—————————-
4) The Golden verse (faith-wise) of the Quran that describes the Almighty Creator
Verse42: 11 says
QARIB: the originator of the heavens and the earth, he has given you from yourselves, pairs, and also pairs of cattle, thereby multiplying you. there is nothing like him. he is the hearer, the seer.
SHAKIR: the originator of the heavens and the earth; he made mates for you from among yourselves, and mates of the cattle too, multiplying you thereby; nothing like a likeness of him; and he is the hearing, the seeing
PICKTHAL: the creator of the heavens and the earth. he hath made for you pairs of yourselves, and of the cattle also pairs, whereby he multiplieth you. naught is as his likeness; and he is the hearer, the seer.
YUSUFALI: (he is) the creator of the heavens and the earth: he has made for you pairs from among yourselves, and pairs among cattle: by this means does he multiply you: there is nothing whatever like unto him, and he is the one that hears and sees (all things).
The meanings of the verse:
He (Allah) is the Originator of the heavens and the earth, the One Who created them [without precedent]. He has made for you, from your own selves, pairs, when He created Eve from Adam’s rib, and [also] pairs, males and females, of the cattle and whereby He multiplies you through marriage. There is nothing like Him; there is no likeness of Him, exalted be He). He is the Hearer, of what you say, the Seer, of your works. Naught is as His likeness in attributes, knowledge, power and providence etc.
The basic point of faith is that Naught is as your Almighty creator.
Since man is a creature which has Spirit that gives him like; and since Naught is as the likeness of your Creator, then the Almighty Creator has NO SPIRIT.
Hence, the Almighty Creator is not a body or material like us. Any form, picture or thoughts that you put the Almighty Creator in it is absolutely wrong.
According to the Islamic Rule of Faith, if any one put the Almighty Creator in any form, picture or thoughts, he or she is Disbeliever and has No faith; and he will end up in the Hereafter as a dweller of the Eternal Fire.
This is in spite of what name(s) you are giving to your Almighty Creator e.g. Allah, Lord, God, Jehovah etc.
On the other hand, the vice versa is absolutely True!
========================
Back to my question to the smart and interested reader:
Is the Quran quoted from the Bible?
In Bible versus Quran: the Lord God ride a cherub and flew
The Wind in Bible versus Quran (1)
This is the first article of the series:” The Wind in Bible versus Quran”.
The Bible says that the Lord God has mouth, nostrils, feet and He was seen flying on the wings of the wind. The Noble Quran says that Naught is as Allah’s likeness in attributes. Any form, picture, thoughts that you put the Almighty Creator in it is absolutely wrong.
===============================
The Wind in the Bible (1)
In 2 Samuel 22:7-17, Kind David says:
In my distress I called to the LORD; I called out to my God. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came to his ears. “The earth trembled and quaked, the foundations of the heavens shook; they trembled because he was angry. Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it. He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet. He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind. He made darkness his canopy around him— the dark rain clouds of the sky. Out of the brightness of his presence bolts of lightning blazed forth. The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded. He shot arrows and scattered the enemies, bolts of lightning and routed them. The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at the rebuke of the LORD, at the blast of breath from his nostrils. “He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.
—————————-
Herein, there are some very important points:
1) The Bible describes the lord God, the Almighty Creator as He has mouth, nostrils, feet and He was seen flying on the wings of the wind.
2) The Bible describes the lord God, the Almighty Creator as a body which descends
3) The thunder is the voice of the lord God, the Almighty Creator.
4) The Lord God did and performed many movements and acts to save David.
5) The speed of the Lord God was that of the wind
6) The wind has wings!
—————————-
All of these points are ABSOLUTELY denied in the Noble Quran because:
1) The Noble Quran says that Naught is as Allah’s likeness in attributes. Any form, picture, thoughts that you put the Almighty Creator in it is absolutely wrong.
2) The Almighty Creator is not a body
3) The thunder is not the voice of the Almighty Creator.
4) When the Almighty Creator decides upon a matter, when He wants to do anything, He only says to it ‘Be!’ and it is. Hence, He could save David in fraction of a second if He willed.
5) The speed of the Lord God was that of the wind; for instance, does not He know the speed of the light? However, Naught is as Allah’s likeness in attributes.
6) The wind has no wings!
7) The Great Prophet King David can not say that about the Almighty Creator simply because he knows better who Allah is.
—————————-
2 Samuel 22:7-17 in three different versions of the Bible:
King James Version
7In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears.
8Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and shook, because he was wroth.
9There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.
10He bowed the heavens also, and came down; and darkness was under his feet.
11And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: and he was seen upon the wings of the wind.
12And he made darkness pavilions round about him, dark waters, and thick clouds of the skies.
13Through the brightness before him were coals of fire kindled.
14The LORD thundered from heaven, and the most High uttered his voice.
15And he sent out arrows, and scattered them; lightning, and discomfited them.
16And the channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world were discovered, at the rebuking of the LORD, at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.
17He sent from above, he took me; he drew me out of many waters;
Young’s Literal Translation
7In mine adversity I call Jehovah, And unto my God I call, And He heareth from His temple my voice, And my cry [is] in His ears,
8And shake and tremble doth the earth, Foundations of the heavens are troubled, And are shaken, for He hath wrath!
9Gone up hath smoke by His nostrils. And fire from His mouth devoureth, Brands have been kindled by it.
10And He inclineth heaven, and cometh down, And thick darkness [is] under His feet.
11And He rideth on a cherub, and doth fly, And is seen on the wings of the wind.
12And He setteth darkness Round about Him — tabernacles, Darkness of waters — thick clouds of the skies.
13From the brightness before Him Were brands of fire kindled!
14Thunder from the heavens doth Jehovah, And the Most High giveth forth His voice.
15And He sendeth forth arrows, And scattereth them; Lightning, and troubleth them;
16And seen are the streams of the sea, Revealed are foundations of the world, By the rebuke of Jehovah, From the breath of the spirit of His anger.
17He sendeth from above — He taketh me, He draweth me out of many waters.
New International Version
7 In my distress I called to the LORD; I called out to my God. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came to his ears.
8 “The earth trembled and quaked, the foundations of the heavens shook; they trembled because he was angry.
9 Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it.
10 He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet.
11 He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind.
12 He made darkness his canopy around him— the dark rain clouds of the sky.
13 Out of the brightness of his presence bolts of lightning blazed forth.
14 The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.
15 He shot arrows and scattered the enemies, bolts of lightning and routed them.
16 The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at the rebuke of the LORD, at the blast of breath from his nostrils.
17 “He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.
===============================
The Wind in the Noble Quran (1)
In this article, the following four points will be discussed:
1) The Wind and the similitude of the righteous works of the disbelievers
2) The Wind and the likeness of the disbelievers who are Anti-Islam
3) What if Allah wants to do anything?
4) The Golden verse (faith-wise) of the Quran that describes the Almighty Creator
—————————-
1) The Wind and the similitude of the righteous works of the disbelievers
Verse 14: 18 says:
QARIB: as for the likeness of those who disbelieve in their lord, their works are like ashes which a strong wind scatters on a stormy day; they are powerless over that they have earned; that is the far error.
SHAKIR: the parable of those who disbelieve in their lord: their actions are like ashes on which the wind blows hard on a stormy day; they shall not have power over any thing out of what they have earned; this is the great error
PICKTHAL: a similitude of those who disbelieve in their lord: their works are as ashes which the wind bloweth hard upon a stormy day. they have no control of aught that they have earned. that is the extreme failure.
YUSUFALI: the parable of those who reject their lord is that their works are as ashes, on which the wind blows furiously on a tempestuous day: no power have they over aught that they have earned: that is the straying far, far (from the goal).
The meanings of the verse:
In this verse, the Quran gives a similitude, the likeness, the description, of the righteous works of those who disbelieve in their Lord such as kindness [to kin] or an act of charity in the way that no benefit can be derived from them.
Allah says: the works of those who disbelieve in their Lord are as ashes which the wind blows hard upon a stormy day, one in which the winds blow violently, making them as scattered dust, over which none can have power. They have no control of aught that they have earned.
Allah says: they will not find the reward of their good works which were performed in their state of disbelief, just as one will not find ashes when the wind blows hard on it. The disbelievers, have no power over anything that they have earned, [anything] that they had done in [their] life on earth, in other words, they shall find no reward for it, since this was never a precondition. That is extreme error, [extreme] perdition!
That is the extreme failure; the error which is far remote from the Truth or guidance.
—————————-
2) The Wind and the likeness of the disbelievers who are Anti-Islam
Verse 3: 117 says:
QARIB: the wealth they spend in this worldly life is like a freezing wind that smites the harvest of a people who have wronged themselves and destroys it. Allah has not wronged them, but they wronged themselves.
SHAKIR: the likeness of what they spend in the life of this world is as the likeness of wind in which is intense cold (that) smites the seed produce of a people who haw done injustice to their souls and destroys it; and Allah is not unjust to them, but they are unjust to themselves
PICKTHAL: the likeness of that which they spend in this life of the world is as the likeness of a biting, icy wind which smiteth the harvest of a people who have wronged themselves, and devastateth it. Allah wronged them not, but they do wrong themselves.
YUSUFALI: what they spend in the life of this (material) world may be likened to a wind which brings a nipping frost: it strikes and destroys the harvest of men who have wronged their own souls: it is not Allah that hath wronged them, but they wrong themselves.
The meanings of the verse:
The likeness, the description, of what they, the disbelievers, expend in the life of this world, in the way of enmity towards the Prophet Muhammad or in the way of voluntary almsgiving or the like, is as the likeness of a wind wherein is a blast, of extreme hot or cold, that smote the tillage, the crops, of a people who have wronged themselves, through unbelief and disobedience, and destroyed it, so that they could not profit from it; so it is with what they expend, it perishes and they profit nothing from it. Also, they have wronged themselves by not giving what is due to Allah from it, (and devastated it) ruined it; likewise, idolatry destroys one’s spending just as wind destroys the harvest.
Allah did not wrong them, when they lost what they expended, but they wronged themselves, through unbelief, which necessitated this loss.
In other words, Allah did not wrong them by thwarting the benefit of their harvest and spending, but they did wrong themselves through disbelief and withholding what is due to Allah from the harvest.
—————————-
3) What if Allah wants to do anything?
Verse 36: 82 says:
QARIB: when he wills a thing, his command is to say to it ‘be’, and it is!
SHAKIR: his command, when he intends anything, is only to say to it: be, so it is
PICKTHAL: but his command, when he intendeth a thing, is only that he saith unto it: be! and it is.
YUSUFALI: verily, when he intends a thing, his command is, “be”, and it is!
The meanings of the verse:
His command, His affair, when He wills a thing, that is, [when He will] to create something, or to do anything is just to say to it ‘Be’, and it is.
Also, Verse 40: 68 says
QARIB: it is he who gives life and makes to die, and when he decrees a thing, he says to it: ‘be and it is!
SHAKIR: he it is who gives life and brings death, so when he decrees an affair, he only says to it: be, and it is
PICKTHAL: he it is who quickeneth and giveth death. when he ordaineth a thing, he saith unto it only: be! and it is.
YUSUFALI: it is he who gives life and death; and when he decides upon an affair, he says to it, “be”, and it is.
The meanings of the verse:
Allah is He Who gives life and brings death; No one else can do that. So when He decides upon a matter, [when] He wants to bring something into existence, He only says to it ‘Be!’ and it is. In other words, it comes into existence after He has willed it, that which is signified by the said words.
—————————-
4) The Golden verse (faith-wise) of the Quran that describes the Almighty Creator
Verse42: 11 says
QARIB: the originator of the heavens and the earth, he has given you from yourselves, pairs, and also pairs of cattle, thereby multiplying you. there is nothing like him. he is the hearer, the seer.
SHAKIR: the originator of the heavens and the earth; he made mates for you from among yourselves, and mates of the cattle too, multiplying you thereby; nothing like a likeness of him; and he is the hearing, the seeing
PICKTHAL: the creator of the heavens and the earth. he hath made for you pairs of yourselves, and of the cattle also pairs, whereby he multiplieth you. naught is as his likeness; and he is the hearer, the seer.
YUSUFALI: (he is) the creator of the heavens and the earth: he has made for you pairs from among yourselves, and pairs among cattle: by this means does he multiply you: there is nothing whatever like unto him, and he is the one that hears and sees (all things).
The meanings of the verse:
He (Allah) is the Originator of the heavens and the earth, the One Who created them [without precedent]. He has made for you, from your own selves, pairs, when He created Eve from Adam’s rib, and [also] pairs, males and females, of the cattle and whereby He multiplies you through marriage. There is nothing like Him; there is no likeness of Him, exalted be He). He is the Hearer, of what you say, the Seer, of your works. Naught is as His likeness in attributes, knowledge, power and providence etc.
The basic point of faith is that Naught is as your Almighty creator.
Since man is a creature which has Spirit that gives him like; and since Naught is as the likeness of your Creator, then the Almighty Creator has NO SPIRIT.
Hence, the Almighty Creator is not a body or material like us. Any form, picture or thoughts that you put the Almighty Creator in it is absolutely wrong.
According to the Islamic Rule of Faith, if any one put the Almighty Creator in any form, picture or thoughts, he or she is Disbeliever and has No faith; and he will end up in the Hereafter as a dweller of the Eternal Fire.
This is in spite of what name(s) you are giving to your Almighty Creator e.g. Allah, Lord, God, Jehovah etc.
On the other hand, the vice versa is absolutely True!
========================
Back to my question to the smart and interested reader:
Is the Quran quoted from the Bible?
In Bible versus Quran: Coals of Fire were flamed forth before the Lord God
The Wind in Bible versus Quran (1)
This is the first article of the series:” The Wind in Bible versus Quran”.
The Bible says that the Lord God has mouth, nostrils, feet and He was seen flying on the wings of the wind. The Noble Quran says that Naught is as Allah’s likeness in attributes. Any form, picture, thoughts that you put the Almighty Creator in it is absolutely wrong.
===============================
The Wind in the Bible (1)
In 2 Samuel 22:7-17, Kind David says:
In my distress I called to the LORD; I called out to my God. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came to his ears. “The earth trembled and quaked, the foundations of the heavens shook; they trembled because he was angry. Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it. He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet. He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind. He made darkness his canopy around him— the dark rain clouds of the sky. Out of the brightness of his presence bolts of lightning blazed forth. The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded. He shot arrows and scattered the enemies, bolts of lightning and routed them. The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at the rebuke of the LORD, at the blast of breath from his nostrils. “He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.
—————————-
Herein, there are some very important points:
1) The Bible describes the lord God, the Almighty Creator as He has mouth, nostrils, feet and He was seen flying on the wings of the wind.
2) The Bible describes the lord God, the Almighty Creator as a body which descends
3) The thunder is the voice of the lord God, the Almighty Creator.
4) The Lord God did and performed many movements and acts to save David.
5) The speed of the Lord God was that of the wind
6) The wind has wings!
—————————-
All of these points are ABSOLUTELY denied in the Noble Quran because:
1) The Noble Quran says that Naught is as Allah’s likeness in attributes. Any form, picture, thoughts that you put the Almighty Creator in it is absolutely wrong.
2) The Almighty Creator is not a body
3) The thunder is not the voice of the Almighty Creator.
4) When the Almighty Creator decides upon a matter, when He wants to do anything, He only says to it ‘Be!’ and it is. Hence, He could save David in fraction of a second if He willed.
5) The speed of the Lord God was that of the wind; for instance, does not He know the speed of the light? However, Naught is as Allah’s likeness in attributes.
6) The wind has no wings!
7) The Great Prophet King David can not say that about the Almighty Creator simply because he knows better who Allah is.
—————————-
2 Samuel 22:7-17 in three different versions of the Bible:
King James Version
7In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears.
8Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and shook, because he was wroth.
9There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.
10He bowed the heavens also, and came down; and darkness was under his feet.
11And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: and he was seen upon the wings of the wind.
12And he made darkness pavilions round about him, dark waters, and thick clouds of the skies.
13Through the brightness before him were coals of fire kindled.
14The LORD thundered from heaven, and the most High uttered his voice.
15And he sent out arrows, and scattered them; lightning, and discomfited them.
16And the channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world were discovered, at the rebuking of the LORD, at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.
17He sent from above, he took me; he drew me out of many waters;
Young’s Literal Translation
7In mine adversity I call Jehovah, And unto my God I call, And He heareth from His temple my voice, And my cry [is] in His ears,
8And shake and tremble doth the earth, Foundations of the heavens are troubled, And are shaken, for He hath wrath!
9Gone up hath smoke by His nostrils. And fire from His mouth devoureth, Brands have been kindled by it.
10And He inclineth heaven, and cometh down, And thick darkness [is] under His feet.
11And He rideth on a cherub, and doth fly, And is seen on the wings of the wind.
12And He setteth darkness Round about Him — tabernacles, Darkness of waters — thick clouds of the skies.
13From the brightness before Him Were brands of fire kindled!
14Thunder from the heavens doth Jehovah, And the Most High giveth forth His voice.
15And He sendeth forth arrows, And scattereth them; Lightning, and troubleth them;
16And seen are the streams of the sea, Revealed are foundations of the world, By the rebuke of Jehovah, From the breath of the spirit of His anger.
17He sendeth from above — He taketh me, He draweth me out of many waters.
New International Version
7 In my distress I called to the LORD; I called out to my God. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came to his ears.
8 “The earth trembled and quaked, the foundations of the heavens shook; they trembled because he was angry.
9 Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it.
10 He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet.
11 He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind.
12 He made darkness his canopy around him— the dark rain clouds of the sky.
13 Out of the brightness of his presence bolts of lightning blazed forth.
14 The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.
15 He shot arrows and scattered the enemies, bolts of lightning and routed them.
16 The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at the rebuke of the LORD, at the blast of breath from his nostrils.
17 “He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.
===============================
The Wind in the Noble Quran (1)
In this article, the following four points will be discussed:
1) The Wind and the similitude of the righteous works of the disbelievers
2) The Wind and the likeness of the disbelievers who are Anti-Islam
3) What if Allah wants to do anything?
4) The Golden verse (faith-wise) of the Quran that describes the Almighty Creator
—————————-
1) The Wind and the similitude of the righteous works of the disbelievers
Verse 14: 18 says:
QARIB: as for the likeness of those who disbelieve in their lord, their works are like ashes which a strong wind scatters on a stormy day; they are powerless over that they have earned; that is the far error.
SHAKIR: the parable of those who disbelieve in their lord: their actions are like ashes on which the wind blows hard on a stormy day; they shall not have power over any thing out of what they have earned; this is the great error
PICKTHAL: a similitude of those who disbelieve in their lord: their works are as ashes which the wind bloweth hard upon a stormy day. they have no control of aught that they have earned. that is the extreme failure.
YUSUFALI: the parable of those who reject their lord is that their works are as ashes, on which the wind blows furiously on a tempestuous day: no power have they over aught that they have earned: that is the straying far, far (from the goal).
The meanings of the verse:
In this verse, the Quran gives a similitude, the likeness, the description, of the righteous works of those who disbelieve in their Lord such as kindness [to kin] or an act of charity in the way that no benefit can be derived from them.
Allah says: the works of those who disbelieve in their Lord are as ashes which the wind blows hard upon a stormy day, one in which the winds blow violently, making them as scattered dust, over which none can have power. They have no control of aught that they have earned.
Allah says: they will not find the reward of their good works which were performed in their state of disbelief, just as one will not find ashes when the wind blows hard on it. The disbelievers, have no power over anything that they have earned, [anything] that they had done in [their] life on earth, in other words, they shall find no reward for it, since this was never a precondition. That is extreme error, [extreme] perdition!
That is the extreme failure; the error which is far remote from the Truth or guidance.
—————————-
2) The Wind and the likeness of the disbelievers who are Anti-Islam
Verse 3: 117 says:
QARIB: the wealth they spend in this worldly life is like a freezing wind that smites the harvest of a people who have wronged themselves and destroys it. Allah has not wronged them, but they wronged themselves.
SHAKIR: the likeness of what they spend in the life of this world is as the likeness of wind in which is intense cold (that) smites the seed produce of a people who haw done injustice to their souls and destroys it; and Allah is not unjust to them, but they are unjust to themselves
PICKTHAL: the likeness of that which they spend in this life of the world is as the likeness of a biting, icy wind which smiteth the harvest of a people who have wronged themselves, and devastateth it. Allah wronged them not, but they do wrong themselves.
YUSUFALI: what they spend in the life of this (material) world may be likened to a wind which brings a nipping frost: it strikes and destroys the harvest of men who have wronged their own souls: it is not Allah that hath wronged them, but they wrong themselves.
The meanings of the verse:
The likeness, the description, of what they, the disbelievers, expend in the life of this world, in the way of enmity towards the Prophet Muhammad or in the way of voluntary almsgiving or the like, is as the likeness of a wind wherein is a blast, of extreme hot or cold, that smote the tillage, the crops, of a people who have wronged themselves, through unbelief and disobedience, and destroyed it, so that they could not profit from it; so it is with what they expend, it perishes and they profit nothing from it. Also, they have wronged themselves by not giving what is due to Allah from it, (and devastated it) ruined it; likewise, idolatry destroys one’s spending just as wind destroys the harvest.
Allah did not wrong them, when they lost what they expended, but they wronged themselves, through unbelief, which necessitated this loss.
In other words, Allah did not wrong them by thwarting the benefit of their harvest and spending, but they did wrong themselves through disbelief and withholding what is due to Allah from the harvest.
—————————-
3) What if Allah wants to do anything?
Verse 36: 82 says:
QARIB: when he wills a thing, his command is to say to it ‘be’, and it is!
SHAKIR: his command, when he intends anything, is only to say to it: be, so it is
PICKTHAL: but his command, when he intendeth a thing, is only that he saith unto it: be! and it is.
YUSUFALI: verily, when he intends a thing, his command is, “be”, and it is!
The meanings of the verse:
His command, His affair, when He wills a thing, that is, [when He will] to create something, or to do anything is just to say to it ‘Be’, and it is.
Also, Verse 40: 68 says
QARIB: it is he who gives life and makes to die, and when he decrees a thing, he says to it: ‘be and it is!
SHAKIR: he it is who gives life and brings death, so when he decrees an affair, he only says to it: be, and it is
PICKTHAL: he it is who quickeneth and giveth death. when he ordaineth a thing, he saith unto it only: be! and it is.
YUSUFALI: it is he who gives life and death; and when he decides upon an affair, he says to it, “be”, and it is.
The meanings of the verse:
Allah is He Who gives life and brings death; No one else can do that. So when He decides upon a matter, [when] He wants to bring something into existence, He only says to it ‘Be!’ and it is. In other words, it comes into existence after He has willed it, that which is signified by the said words.
—————————-
4) The Golden verse (faith-wise) of the Quran that describes the Almighty Creator
Verse42: 11 says
QARIB: the originator of the heavens and the earth, he has given you from yourselves, pairs, and also pairs of cattle, thereby multiplying you. there is nothing like him. he is the hearer, the seer.
SHAKIR: the originator of the heavens and the earth; he made mates for you from among yourselves, and mates of the cattle too, multiplying you thereby; nothing like a likeness of him; and he is the hearing, the seeing
PICKTHAL: the creator of the heavens and the earth. he hath made for you pairs of yourselves, and of the cattle also pairs, whereby he multiplieth you. naught is as his likeness; and he is the hearer, the seer.
YUSUFALI: (he is) the creator of the heavens and the earth: he has made for you pairs from among yourselves, and pairs among cattle: by this means does he multiply you: there is nothing whatever like unto him, and he is the one that hears and sees (all things).
The meanings of the verse:
He (Allah) is the Originator of the heavens and the earth, the One Who created them [without precedent]. He has made for you, from your own selves, pairs, when He created Eve from Adam’s rib, and [also] pairs, males and females, of the cattle and whereby He multiplies you through marriage. There is nothing like Him; there is no likeness of Him, exalted be He). He is the Hearer, of what you say, the Seer, of your works. Naught is as His likeness in attributes, knowledge, power and providence etc.
The basic point of faith is that Naught is as your Almighty creator.
Since man is a creature which has Spirit that gives him like; and since Naught is as the likeness of your Creator, then the Almighty Creator has NO SPIRIT.
Hence, the Almighty Creator is not a body or material like us. Any form, picture or thoughts that you put the Almighty Creator in it is absolutely wrong.
According to the Islamic Rule of Faith, if any one put the Almighty Creator in any form, picture or thoughts, he or she is Disbeliever and has No faith; and he will end up in the Hereafter as a dweller of the Eternal Fire.
This is in spite of what name(s) you are giving to your Almighty Creator e.g. Allah, Lord, God, Jehovah etc.
On the other hand, the vice versa is absolutely True!
========================
Back to my question to the smart and interested reader:
Is the Quran quoted from the Bible?
In Bible versus Quran the Thunder is the Voice of the Lord God
The Wind in Bible versus Quran (1)
This is the first article of the series:” The Wind in Bible versus Quran”.
The Bible says that the Lord God has mouth, nostrils, feet and He was seen flying on the wings of the wind. The Noble Quran says that Naught is as Allah’s likeness in attributes. Any form, picture, thoughts that you put the Almighty Creator in it is absolutely wrong.
===============================
The Wind in the Bible (1)
In 2 Samuel 22:7-17, Kind David says:
In my distress I called to the LORD; I called out to my God. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came to his ears. “The earth trembled and quaked, the foundations of the heavens shook; they trembled because he was angry. Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it. He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet. He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind. He made darkness his canopy around him— the dark rain clouds of the sky. Out of the brightness of his presence bolts of lightning blazed forth. The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded. He shot arrows and scattered the enemies, bolts of lightning and routed them. The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at the rebuke of the LORD, at the blast of breath from his nostrils. “He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.
—————————-
Herein, there are some very important points:
1) The Bible describes the lord God, the Almighty Creator as He has mouth, nostrils, feet and He was seen flying on the wings of the wind.
2) The Bible describes the lord God, the Almighty Creator as a body which descends
3) The thunder is the voice of the lord God, the Almighty Creator.
4) The Lord God did and performed many movements and acts to save David.
5) The speed of the Lord God was that of the wind
6) The wind has wings!
—————————-
All of these points are ABSOLUTELY denied in the Noble Quran because:
1) The Noble Quran says that Naught is as Allah’s likeness in attributes. Any form, picture, thoughts that you put the Almighty Creator in it is absolutely wrong.
2) The Almighty Creator is not a body
3) The thunder is not the voice of the Almighty Creator.
4) When the Almighty Creator decides upon a matter, when He wants to do anything, He only says to it ‘Be!’ and it is. Hence, He could save David in fraction of a second if He willed.
5) The speed of the Lord God was that of the wind; for instance, does not He know the speed of the light? However, Naught is as Allah’s likeness in attributes.
6) The wind has no wings!
7) The Great Prophet King David can not say that about the Almighty Creator simply because he knows better who Allah is.
—————————-
2 Samuel 22:7-17 in three different versions of the Bible:
King James Version
7In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears.
8Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and shook, because he was wroth.
9There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.
10He bowed the heavens also, and came down; and darkness was under his feet.
11And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: and he was seen upon the wings of the wind.
12And he made darkness pavilions round about him, dark waters, and thick clouds of the skies.
13Through the brightness before him were coals of fire kindled.
14The LORD thundered from heaven, and the most High uttered his voice.
15And he sent out arrows, and scattered them; lightning, and discomfited them.
16And the channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world were discovered, at the rebuking of the LORD, at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.
17He sent from above, he took me; he drew me out of many waters;
Young’s Literal Translation
7In mine adversity I call Jehovah, And unto my God I call, And He heareth from His temple my voice, And my cry [is] in His ears,
8And shake and tremble doth the earth, Foundations of the heavens are troubled, And are shaken, for He hath wrath!
9Gone up hath smoke by His nostrils. And fire from His mouth devoureth, Brands have been kindled by it.
10And He inclineth heaven, and cometh down, And thick darkness [is] under His feet.
11And He rideth on a cherub, and doth fly, And is seen on the wings of the wind.
12And He setteth darkness Round about Him — tabernacles, Darkness of waters — thick clouds of the skies.
13From the brightness before Him Were brands of fire kindled!
14Thunder from the heavens doth Jehovah, And the Most High giveth forth His voice.
15And He sendeth forth arrows, And scattereth them; Lightning, and troubleth them;
16And seen are the streams of the sea, Revealed are foundations of the world, By the rebuke of Jehovah, From the breath of the spirit of His anger.
17He sendeth from above — He taketh me, He draweth me out of many waters.
New International Version
7 In my distress I called to the LORD; I called out to my God. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came to his ears.
8 “The earth trembled and quaked, the foundations of the heavens shook; they trembled because he was angry.
9 Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it.
10 He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet.
11 He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind.
12 He made darkness his canopy around him— the dark rain clouds of the sky.
13 Out of the brightness of his presence bolts of lightning blazed forth.
14 The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.
15 He shot arrows and scattered the enemies, bolts of lightning and routed them.
16 The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at the rebuke of the LORD, at the blast of breath from his nostrils.
17 “He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.
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The Wind in the Noble Quran (1)
In this article, the following four points will be discussed:
1) The Wind and the similitude of the righteous works of the disbelievers
2) The Wind and the likeness of the disbelievers who are Anti-Islam
3) What if Allah wants to do anything?
4) The Golden verse (faith-wise) of the Quran that describes the Almighty Creator
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1) The Wind and the similitude of the righteous works of the disbelievers
Verse 14: 18 says:
QARIB: as for the likeness of those who disbelieve in their lord, their works are like ashes which a strong wind scatters on a stormy day; they are powerless over that they have earned; that is the far error.
SHAKIR: the parable of those who disbelieve in their lord: their actions are like ashes on which the wind blows hard on a stormy day; they shall not have power over any thing out of what they have earned; this is the great error
PICKTHAL: a similitude of those who disbelieve in their lord: their works are as ashes which the wind bloweth hard upon a stormy day. they have no control of aught that they have earned. that is the extreme failure.
YUSUFALI: the parable of those who reject their lord is that their works are as ashes, on which the wind blows furiously on a tempestuous day: no power have they over aught that they have earned: that is the straying far, far (from the goal).
The meanings of the verse:
In this verse, the Quran gives a similitude, the likeness, the description, of the righteous works of those who disbelieve in their Lord such as kindness [to kin] or an act of charity in the way that no benefit can be derived from them.
Allah says: the works of those who disbelieve in their Lord are as ashes which the wind blows hard upon a stormy day, one in which the winds blow violently, making them as scattered dust, over which none can have power. They have no control of aught that they have earned.
Allah says: they will not find the reward of their good works which were performed in their state of disbelief, just as one will not find ashes when the wind blows hard on it. The disbelievers, have no power over anything that they have earned, [anything] that they had done in [their] life on earth, in other words, they shall find no reward for it, since this was never a precondition. That is extreme error, [extreme] perdition!
That is the extreme failure; the error which is far remote from the Truth or guidance.
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2) The Wind and the likeness of the disbelievers who are Anti-Islam
Verse 3: 117 says:
QARIB: the wealth they spend in this worldly life is like a freezing wind that smites the harvest of a people who have wronged themselves and destroys it. Allah has not wronged them, but they wronged themselves.
SHAKIR: the likeness of what they spend in the life of this world is as the likeness of wind in which is intense cold (that) smites the seed produce of a people who haw done injustice to their souls and destroys it; and Allah is not unjust to them, but they are unjust to themselves
PICKTHAL: the likeness of that which they spend in this life of the world is as the likeness of a biting, icy wind which smiteth the harvest of a people who have wronged themselves, and devastateth it. Allah wronged them not, but they do wrong themselves.
YUSUFALI: what they spend in the life of this (material) world may be likened to a wind which brings a nipping frost: it strikes and destroys the harvest of men who have wronged their own souls: it is not Allah that hath wronged them, but they wrong themselves.
The meanings of the verse:
The likeness, the description, of what they, the disbelievers, expend in the life of this world, in the way of enmity towards the Prophet Muhammad or in the way of voluntary almsgiving or the like, is as the likeness of a wind wherein is a blast, of extreme hot or cold, that smote the tillage, the crops, of a people who have wronged themselves, through unbelief and disobedience, and destroyed it, so that they could not profit from it; so it is with what they expend, it perishes and they profit nothing from it. Also, they have wronged themselves by not giving what is due to Allah from it, (and devastated it) ruined it; likewise, idolatry destroys one’s spending just as wind destroys the harvest.
Allah did not wrong them, when they lost what they expended, but they wronged themselves, through unbelief, which necessitated this loss.
In other words, Allah did not wrong them by thwarting the benefit of their harvest and spending, but they did wrong themselves through disbelief and withholding what is due to Allah from the harvest.
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3) What if Allah wants to do anything?
Verse 36: 82 says:
QARIB: when he wills a thing, his command is to say to it ‘be’, and it is!
SHAKIR: his command, when he intends anything, is only to say to it: be, so it is
PICKTHAL: but his command, when he intendeth a thing, is only that he saith unto it: be! and it is.
YUSUFALI: verily, when he intends a thing, his command is, “be”, and it is!
The meanings of the verse:
His command, His affair, when He wills a thing, that is, [when He will] to create something, or to do anything is just to say to it ‘Be’, and it is.
Also, Verse 40: 68 says
QARIB: it is he who gives life and makes to die, and when he decrees a thing, he says to it: ‘be and it is!
SHAKIR: he it is who gives life and brings death, so when he decrees an affair, he only says to it: be, and it is
PICKTHAL: he it is who quickeneth and giveth death. when he ordaineth a thing, he saith unto it only: be! and it is.
YUSUFALI: it is he who gives life and death; and when he decides upon an affair, he says to it, “be”, and it is.
The meanings of the verse:
Allah is He Who gives life and brings death; No one else can do that. So when He decides upon a matter, [when] He wants to bring something into existence, He only says to it ‘Be!’ and it is. In other words, it comes into existence after He has willed it, that which is signified by the said words.
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4) The Golden verse (faith-wise) of the Quran that describes the Almighty Creator
Verse42: 11 says
QARIB: the originator of the heavens and the earth, he has given you from yourselves, pairs, and also pairs of cattle, thereby multiplying you. there is nothing like him. he is the hearer, the seer.
SHAKIR: the originator of the heavens and the earth; he made mates for you from among yourselves, and mates of the cattle too, multiplying you thereby; nothing like a likeness of him; and he is the hearing, the seeing
PICKTHAL: the creator of the heavens and the earth. he hath made for you pairs of yourselves, and of the cattle also pairs, whereby he multiplieth you. naught is as his likeness; and he is the hearer, the seer.
YUSUFALI: (he is) the creator of the heavens and the earth: he has made for you pairs from among yourselves, and pairs among cattle: by this means does he multiply you: there is nothing whatever like unto him, and he is the one that hears and sees (all things).
The meanings of the verse:
He (Allah) is the Originator of the heavens and the earth, the One Who created them [without precedent]. He has made for you, from your own selves, pairs, when He created Eve from Adam’s rib, and [also] pairs, males and females, of the cattle and whereby He multiplies you through marriage. There is nothing like Him; there is no likeness of Him, exalted be He). He is the Hearer, of what you say, the Seer, of your works. Naught is as His likeness in attributes, knowledge, power and providence etc.
The basic point of faith is that Naught is as your Almighty creator.
Since man is a creature which has Spirit that gives him like; and since Naught is as the likeness of your Creator, then the Almighty Creator has NO SPIRIT.
Hence, the Almighty Creator is not a body or material like us. Any form, picture or thoughts that you put the Almighty Creator in it is absolutely wrong.
According to the Islamic Rule of Faith, if any one put the Almighty Creator in any form, picture or thoughts, he or she is Disbeliever and has No faith; and he will end up in the Hereafter as a dweller of the Eternal Fire.
This is in spite of what name(s) you are giving to your Almighty Creator e.g. Allah, Lord, God, Jehovah etc.
On the other hand, the vice versa is absolutely True!
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Back to my question to the smart and interested reader:
Is the Quran quoted from the Bible?
Mean Animals I Have Known
Mean Animals I Have Known
By
Thom Cantrall
Once again I find life and Hollywood to be at odds. In all the movies I’ve ever seen wherein animals are actually allowed to appear as themselves, in their real personae and not some Disneyesque scenario where wild animals are portrayed as living in family groups with Papa Bear, Mama Bear and Baby Bear living in harmony with their bunny and squirrel neighbors, the mean ones, if depicted at all are conspicuously obvious. Who could but realize immediately upon seeing him that Shere Kahn is absolutely up to no good and wishes nothing but evil to the “man cub” in “The Jungle Book”?
Even when actual animals are playing the part of animals, often with the help of plastic stand-ins, we are not allowed the honor of determining for ourselves the level of innate goodness embodied therein. “Jaws”, for example could not make an appearance without being introduced with a blood chilling rendition of some soul-tingling mood music. I know that one Great White Shark bears a strikingly close resemblance to any other Great White Shark much the same as one crow bears an exact resemblance to any other crow in the world. But, that not withstanding, did we need to be told that this creature was dangerous? Wouldn’t the simple appearance of a tall fin jutting out of the water tell us his intentions?
As a person who has spent a great percentage of his life among God’s Creatures, I can attest to anyone so inclined that no such warnings as those described above have ever preceded any close encounter of the malevolent kind among Mother Nature’s children. Not once have I ever heard the tum-tum-tum-tum… tum-tum-tum-tum that Jaws engendered when approaching any critter that might wish me ill!
In my single digit and very early double digit years I spent well over seventy-five percent of the daylight and a substantial portion of the not-so-daylight hours when not serving time in that venerable institution that was the bane of my ilk… School… anywhere but under a roof.
Much of this time was invested in exploring every square foot of my uncle’s ranch and the surrounding environs. Fences held no meaning for me at this juncture and location other than a necessary inconvenience meant to keep livestock restricted to a predetermined area… more or less, considering the shape in which most of these backwoods fences were kept.
Many of them had been erected by the Spanish when General Mariano Vallejo had owned this vast Northern California domain and had seen little in the way of maintenance since that time. To say that most were decrepit would have been liberal in description… actually, most were worse than that. As a consequence, this was pretty much open range to both the cattle and sheep that grazed these timber and brushlands as well as to small boys who were, truly, pint sized disciples of Lewis and Clark, Kit Carson and Jedediah Smith. But, I digress…
This ranch was home to about four or five million Western Rattlesnakes. Indeed, it seemed that these rattlesnakes were the only thing that did grow in profusion on this back-woods ranch. Now, perhaps I’ve exaggerated a bit, but suffice it to say that they were common and they grew large. I know that the official records say that this snake does not exceed five feet (1.52 m) in length, but I could have shown those experts several specimens that exceeded that conservative length considerably. Probably the largest I ever saw personally was one my cousin Shirley killed under the clothesline just out the back door of the house. This snake measured over six feet (2 m) in length without its head. This snake had a girth of over eight inches (19.3 cm) and looked particularly menacing. For the most part, the only time we ever killed a rattlesnake is when it was in proximity to the house or could pose a danger to some of us. While I know that television tends to portray the rattlesnake in a coiled position, head poised to strike and rattles singing, I actually saw that in the wild so rarely that I thought for many years that we had demented or, at least, unnatural snakes. Yes, when provoked, our snakes would coil and assume that classic pose, but it was an extremely rare circumstance, for sure, when a snake let forth with his singing buzz. Generally speaking, he had to be provoked heartily to induce that buzz. Normally, as soon as he was no longer being prodded or poked, he just uncoiled and slithered on about his rattlesnake business without so much as a “by your leave” or even a glance back. Though, he would probably have shaken his head and shrugged his shoulders, had he had them, at the ignominy of this treatment he had received.
The one notable exception to this general rule occurred one warm spring day when Tony, our trusty and tired saddle horse, and I were returning from a morning’s excursion to the edge of the wilderness, an area of immature Madrone trees about two inches (5 cm) in diameter and twenty feet (7 m) tall that had been killed in a fairly recent wildfire that had passed through the area. This created a nightmarish land of soot-covered stems reminiscent of a black bamboo jungle. Only the foolish ever entered the Wilderness… a second time. On the morning in question we had just made the trek for much the same reason people climb mountains… because they are there. It had been a pleasant foray and had served to clear my mind of the cobwebs engendered during the previous week by Mr. Wilson, my fifth grade teacher in his never-ending quest for dangling participles or split infinitives or something of the sort. The ride had worked wonders on my over-taxed nervous system, serving to remind me that if a noun wanted to dangle its gerund, it was by no means my fault!
I was smiling inwardly and drowsing outwardly in the late morning sun. Tony, for his part, was taking it all pretty much in stride and was nearly as asleep as I was. The road we were on was no proper road, but a cat trail cut out by the massive blade of my uncle’s venerable TD-24 bulldozer in the quest for the huge Coastal Redwood trees (Sequoia Sempervirons) that grew there. These cat roads laced the mountainside, providing the foot-weary a fairly comfortable place to walk. They were, at least, brush free and coated in about six or so inches (9 cm) of loose, flowing dust. The dusty trail was the morning newspaper of the mountainside. In it you could read the travels of the local denizens… deer, lizards, snakes, mice, skunks raccoons and weasels… they all left note of their passing for the alert reader.
On this particular day, however, “alert” was not a word I would use to describe either Tony of myself. I was slumped in the saddle, nearly asleep in the sun, the reins wrapped loosely around the pommel… My feet were dangling on either side of the horse, free of the stirrups. All in all, it was about as pleasant a morning as a lad of my few years could have imagined until we rounded a curve and, directly under Tony’s belly a rather large rattler let out with a very loud and penetrating buzz that immediately served to transform an idyll into a nightmare.
I immediately recognized the sound for what it was and, unfortunately, so did Tony. His immediate reaction, born of an innate, if heretofore unknown, dread of large rattlesnakes, was to launch himself straight vertical for a considerable distance. I’ll have to leave the exact altitude attained to one’s imagination as, at that moment, I was much too busy for quantitative research.
Words my father had uttered only a week or so prior, on the occasion of my arriving back at the barn on Tony and being in the saddle but sound asleep, came to mind… “Thomas (actually, he called me Tommy… a habit I could not break him of his entire life!) one of these days something is going to spook him and he’s going to throw you so high the crows will have time to build a nest in your behind (actually, my dad’s language being as colorful as it was, “behind” was not the exact word he used here) before you hit the ground!” That, along with certain other predictions regarding the effects on my anatomy of some of my antics served to suggest to me that he would have had a fair future as a prophet had he chosen to pursue that end. With maturity, something you could have gotten pretty long odds, in this era, against my ever surviving long enough to reach, has come the realization that, perhaps, “Natural Consequence” may have had more to do with his prognostications than did any sense of the supernatural or ethereal.
It amazes me even today, more than a half century later, how clearly those thoughts came to mind while I was still in the ascent stage and was diligently applying what I knew of , added to what I was learning of the physics of flight, even while contemplating the inevitable… Somewhere below me was a crazed horse and, below him, an angry, vociferous rattlesnake. Even though I was still gaining altitude at the moment of this thought, I knew that, eventually, gravity being what it was, I was going to going to have to effect a landing. Although I was, at present, navigating quite well, I was not at all sure that such benevolent circumstances would long continue, let alone persevere.
While time seemed to hang suspended, I could feel myself losing velocity as I neared the apogee of my short flight. Soon, I felt the rush of air as my direction of flight reversed and my velocity once more began to increase at the rate of, I was to learn many years later, thirty-two feet (11 m) per second for every second of my descent. At this point, my thoughts began to change from the esoteric investigation of non-powered flight to the entirely mundane… Where the HELL (this being about the strongest language at my command at this time) is that snake?
I must say, as earth became larger and larger in my window of vision, much the same image the Apollo Astronauts would have seen about a decade and a half later, that snake began to occupy more and more of my working mind. As the conjectural thoughts were pushed aside in favor of the essential, I began to detect, on the very periphery of my awareness, a loud, eerie screeching that seemed to fill the air with its essence. A small portion of my conscious thought was being hijacked by the weird sound. About this time it dawned on me that, of the three players in this incongruous drama, there was only one capable of generating that kind of output. As in the science of criminology, when the impossible is eliminated, what is left is probably the truth. So it was that in this case, neither horse nor snake was capable of that tone, therefore, that left only me as the author of that sound… a fact that, while it did little to attenuate the volume, it did serve to remove one source of stress from my already tortured psyche.
Now, there was only one prime thought remaining… where the hell is that snake? Very soon, like the pilot said at his Board of Inquiry following the crash of his fighter plane… “I ran out of air speed, altitude and ideas simultaneously”… I found myself measuring my length in the deep dust of the road. As I lay prostrate, still wondering where that snake was, I could hear Tony making tracks as fast as he could down the mountain. He seemed nothing more than intent on putting as much distance as he could between himself and that snake… wherever he was… as possible in the shortest possible time. As I lay there in the dirt sucking the needles and leaves off nearby trees and shrubs in the effort to get air flowing into my lungs once more, I began to take stock of my anatomy. Without the benefit of mirrors or other paraphernalia, I made the assessment that everything seemed to be pretty much as it was prior to the ordeal, all of three seconds before.
The snake was not in evidence, having departed during the debacle just described. Tony was gone, but I had no concern for him. He knew the way back to the barn better than I did and I had no doubt but that I’d next see him when I got to the bottom of the mountain, standing at the gate, probably grumbling because he hadn’t been fed yet.
I spent a few minutes assessing my condition, testing my extremities and, in general, wondering where in hell that snake was. Finally, having decided that little further could be gained from my present position, I tentatively began to rise. It was not the easiest task I’ve ever performed but almost everything seemed to work fairly well so, timidly at first but soon with more strength and purpose, down the road I moved. I was sure that Tony was gone and that I was resigned to the long walk home on shaky and achy legs.
About three curves down the hill, standing to one side of the skid road was Tony, his reins were dangling, effectively ground-hitching him and allowing me to catch up the reins, mount the saddle and ride into the ranch yard in triumph, head held high rather than having to sore-foot it the last two miles in from the site of my encounter.
My even more unkempt than usual condition and my rather labored movements finally clued my parents that all was not pure peaches and cream in my world. The severe interrogation to which I was subjected finally served to get the story of the meanest rattlesnake in all of Northern California out of me… only to incite paroxysms of mirth from the entire family, parents, siblings, aunt and uncle and cousins, at my expense… probably the meanest thing that snake did. And, I never did figure out where he had gotten to… I was just eternally grateful that he was not still there when I arrived, returning from my aborted free-flight.
As is usual with mean animals, there was absolutely no warning before he sang out in that especially loud voice…er… tail in his case. In fact, it is precisely this proclivity in some individuals to remain silent until I am entirely within their snare and am at peace with the world before launching their attack that marks them as particularly mean animals!
One of the past masters of this subterfuge resides in the forested areas of the Pacific Northwest. He is a rather small bird, too small to account for the amount of terror he can author. He seldom is as large as a bantam hen, but his ability to raise his victim’s blood pressure to near explosive levels is unparalleled in nature. The usual scenario generally involves…
The morning had been eventful. Elk were around in good numbers and had provided shot opportunities on a couple of occasions on smaller bulls. It was early in the season though and I was holding out for something better, ignoring my long-standing tenet of “never turn down on the first day what you would take on the last day.” The vagaries of archery hunting for elk being what it was, one was never safe in the assumption that further chances would eventuate that would offer good shots. But, I was adamant. I wanted a nice bull if I could get one, and if one always takes a small one first, he will never have the opportunity to take a large one.
The sun was making brief appearances from time to time and it had not rained in over two hours when I caught wind of elk nearby. It must be noted that elk, though beautiful are not fastidious and they do not bathe. Hence, they smell like a barnyard. And, a large group of them smells like a large barnyard. That is what I was catching now… the aroma of a group, properly called a gang, of elk somewhere very close. The terrain was flat and somewhat swampy. The timber was sparse, but regular in its growth. The main growth was the ubiquitous Salal Brush (Galtheria Shallon). Salal grows everywhere in this country, and is, indeed a major economic commodity in this area as it is harvested and used in floral arrangements in the cities of the west. Entwined in this lush growth of Salal is the scourge of northwest loggers, Pacific Blackberry (Rubus Ursinus). There is just enough of it here to serve as a major tripping hazard, tying the hiker’s legs securely to the ground as his body continues onward on its trek. The result is, often, a loud crash and a burst of profanity. The fact that this simple shrub is the major food source for the Columbian Blacktail deer that live here does little at this moment to redeem it in the eyes of the tripee.
On this morning, I was especially careful of it. I was moving across this area of sparse timber most quietly, easing my way to where I might see the elk I was smelling. On and on I moved, step after silent step. From one tree to the next until, at last, I was seeing elk moving through the timber. There were several animals present and I had seen at least one set of antlers through the trees. I was inching ever so much closer. Already I had passed up a small bull and some cows, the larger bull now in full sight just ahead. I was slowly closing the range on him… Fifty yards… forty yards… nearer and nearer to the twenty-five yards (22.5 m) to which my wooden recurve bow limited me. Just as I was to the point that I felt that I might consider a shot, I took that one more step that is so often fateful. From out of the brush at my feet burst a small ball of feathers in the form of a ruffed grouse. He was mean enough to beat me mercifully with his wings as he made his ascent and his escape! If I could have maintained my composure, I could have caught him in my hat as he passed by, but, alas, such was not to be. One cannot imagine the amount of noise such a tiny creature can make with just his wings in the morning air. Add to that the fact that he was actually multiplying that by the factor of his wings actually beating me physically.
Of course, the elk were long gone, having no more desire to deal with the small tyrant than I had, but they had a clearer field in which to maneuver than did I with my feet tied to the ground by blackberry vines, my heart was now in the proximity of my Adams apple and still on the rise… the air around me still blue from the expletive that managed to slip out while my mind was otherwise engaged with the problems of dealing with killer grouse!
On a scale of one to ten in meanness, that grouse had to rate at least a twelve or thirteen. I did manage to survive that unmitigated attack and even to take more elk in the future, but that didn’t stay me from my newest sport… skewering grouse with my bow and arrow whenever the opportunity presented itself!
Lest one begins to think that it is only the alive and aware animal that is capable of inflicting pain and torture on the unwary or under prepared, please note that there are several species that bear enough malice to continue their retribution even past the curtain that signals the end of mortality. One of the meanest of these was an elk that went beyond the call if duty in creating torment.
It was a rainy morning that opening day of elk season so many years ago. It was the first such season and my first foray into the jungle of huge stumps, ancient timber and young re-growth timber that is the west side of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula.
The Navy, just a few months prior, had seen fit to honor my first choice of duty station on my transfer from the submarine I’d served aboard for the previous five years. POMFPAC, Polaris Missile Facility, Pacific, was to be my home for the next, and last, two years of my service. This facility was located on what is now the Submarine Base at Bangor, WA, home to the Pacific Trident Missile Fleet. Housing shortage in the area at the time of my arrival… “most critical since WW II” the newspaper headlines announced on the day of my arrival… forced me to make an alteration to my original plan and to take a military house on the Naval Ammunition Depot Annex on Indian Island, near Port Townsend, about thirty miles (50 km) north of the base. This proved a most fortuitous circumstance as it landed me among the worst of bad company… a band of hard core elk hunters.
From the time I met Greg and Adam in June until season opened in November, we talked elk. Being the new boy on the block, I listened and listened… and listened some more. Many were the tales of the elk trails followed, the elk seen and of the ruggedness of the country traversed. It was this last that I, in retrospect, didn’t listen to quite closely enough.
Opening morning of elk season 1968 found me on a ridge covered in reprod timber… that is, young growth approximately six to eight years old. It was about fifteen feet (5 m) high and just an inch or two in girth. They can grow quite thickly, blanketing the terrain with a rather tall carpet of green. I was sitting in a position where I could see across the canyon below to the ridge opposite. Adam was to my right, up the ridge about a quarter mile (400 m) away and near where the two ridges united. Greg had taken up his position by going to my left, down the ridge, crossing a drainage and up onto the side of the next ridge, giving him an excellent view of the lower end of the ridge opposite. What had caused us to assume this alignment was our having spotted a gang of elk on the ridge beyond, coming up out of the Mosquito Creek drainage. And, this gang was moving slowly and unconcernedly in our direction. A quick war council produced this deployment with the agreement on the point that when they reached the top of that ridge opposite, chances were that they would either turn to my right, up the ridge or turn to my left, down the ridge. If the former case came about, they would run directly in Adam. If the latter, they would bottom out and be directly in Greg’s sights. I, being the rookie, was in the rocking chair and hoping just to get an opportunity.
The plan worked exactly as designed. The elk hit the crest of the ridge and turned to my right, uphill. I could see them as they fed and moved through the young timber. Never long enough for a shot, but I could see them. Occasionally I could see antlers, usually poking above the trees. Never could I see both antler and animal simultaneously until, finally, at the head of that spur ridge in a small clear spot, there he was. A young bull he was, to be sure, but a nice one for a rookie. Slowly I raised my brand new Remington .30-’06 and took careful aim. I judged the range at a bit under three hundred yards (270 m) and was snuggling into the sling of my rifle… the cross hairs of my scope were just settling in place when a very loud shot rang out and all I could see of the bull in the scope were four elk feet flailing in the air! Adam, obviously, had been in absolutely perfect position.
With the report of the rifle, the gang immediately turned back down the ridge, obviously planning their escape back down the ridge to the bottom and thence slipping into the standing, old-growth timber unseen. Again, I could see them slipping through the brushy timber without giving me opportunity for a shot. Again, I could see antlers above the brush, but then…. Directly across the canyon on the side of the ridge about a hundred feet (30 m) below the crest, the herd was on a trail that brought them into the open for a short distance. By this time, they were in single file and moving at a slow trot. At the particular point in question, each animal in turn had to jump a downed log and was then in full view for about three to four body lengths at which time the animal disappeared back into the jungle of growth. It was like a shooting gallery. The range was good, about two-hundred-twenty-five yards (200 m) and about level. The shot, while it had to be done without wasted time, was doable.
I watched eagerly, my scope locked on each head as it appeared in queue, awaiting a turn at the gallery jump. When a set of small antlers appeared in the lineup, I slipped the safety off and waited as the cows and calves ahead of him cleared the way. Soon, he was there… his head held high as he jumped the fallen obstacle without seeming effort and landed in the open area. He took one more shuffling step to catch his balance and I heard the report of my rifle. I do not recall ever feeling the recoil. The shot was true as I watched the hair jump just behind his left front shoulder and he stopped still in his tracks. Since he was still on his feet, I worked the bolt and jacked a second round into the chamber. Again, the hair jumped right next to the first hit as the one-hundred-sixty-five grain Speer bullet found its mark. But, again, he did not fall. Neither did he move. It was as if time was standing still and all else in the world had disappeared except that bull elk and me. There were no other elk in existence… I had no companions, no family, and no purpose except as concerned that bull. Once more, I worked the bolt.
I knew I had two lethal shots in him and was amazed at his ability to remain upright. That he was shaken and wounded mortally, I knew, but I was determined he not suffer. Always, I had prided myself on the fact that no animal I had ever taken had required more than one shot to dispatch. That a Roosevelt Bull Elk could carry a lot more lead than a deer was a fact that I understood intuitively and was just now learning in real time. For my third shot, I took a bit more time and located where the bone ran through his neck. I was sure he was not moving with two rounds in his boiler room… now I was going to put one into his wheelhouse. I felt that the range was a bit excessive to effect one into his brain, so chose the second-best location. Once more, I could see the hair on his neck jump as the heavy bullet created its effect.
Slowly, after this shot, the bull’s knees began to buckle. Like a punch-drunk fighter viewed in slow-motion, he folded slowly, one leg at a time and he eased to the ground, taking care, I was sure, not to bruise any of his delicious meat. I watched as he crumpled like an empty potato chip bag until he was prostrate on the steep sidehill. Then, like that bag unfolding on its own, a leg jerked spasmodically… A second kick caused him to roll down the hill a bit. Soon, another kick and he tumbled even further down the ridge.
“Aha,” I said to myself, “how wonderful! He’ll be so much easier to dress out at the bottom of the ravine than he would be on that steep sidehill. I’d probably have to drag him down to the bottom anyway…”
Oh, how naïve can a rookie be? I had totally failed to reckon with the fact I had just harvested one of the really mean elk in all of creation. All elk hunters know intuitively that trophy elk do not live above the road as this would make the pack out to be much too easy. Even if one should be caught traversing that “no-elks-land” they will do everything they possibly can to rectify their faux pas and immediately light out for the very bottom of darkest, brushiest hole imaginable, there to die. Thus, in their passing, they can inflict the greatest possible distress on the hapless hunter who was inexperienced enough to have taken his life! I once had a Pastor of a local church swear to me that he had taken a nice bull above the road in such a position that he had but to back his truck up to the bank at the side of the road and slide the animal in whole, thereby retrieving him almost without effort. I was skeptical but not wanting to disbelieve the clergy when I found out he was also a fisherman! Now I was torn terribly trying to believe his most wild story. As he continued, it cleared itself up for me. It seems he was forced to stop for some construction work on the road he was using when the timber cutting crew lost control of a tree they were falling and it dropped right across the bed of his truck… I tell you, those elk will do ANYTHING to get even! I’m now quite sure that animal’s being above the road was just a ploy to lure the unwary into a position where his truck could be squashed like a june bug.
This is a trait common to all elk and subsequent harvests have led me from the depths of “Ohmygawd Canyon” to swamps so mean and foreboding that the fauna has regressed several stages on the evolutionary scale (I mean, have you ever seen a flying lizard?). These outings have served to teach me this fact. However, what this young bull did was way beyond the scale of ordinary meanness. Upon reflection, I cannot recall a single time when an elk just went peaceably and stayed where he fell.
In this land of excessive moisture, the rain creates many strange phenomena. The more than two hundred inches (500 cm) of annual precipitation causes the land to be conformed to the water’s needs. In this case, these pressure ridges, as we were now on, created by a long ago, long gone glacier several thousand years ago were not made of solid rock, but of alluvial materials like sand and gravel. At the bottom of the gully, between the ridges, the excessive water flow had created a trench very much like that created by a backhoe when installing underground utilities. This trench was approximately eight feet (2.5 m) in depth and three feet (1 m) in width. The sides were perfectly vertical and water ran in the bottom. The ditch looked so unstable to me that, if it had been a construction project, no man would have ever been allowed in it without shoring the walls.
As I hiked down the hill from my ambush point, I was being soaked by the gallons and gallons of water that had been suspended on the needles of the young spruce and hemlock trees I was bulling my way through to reach the place where I expected to find my elk. Looking back on that today, my worrying about that water was very much like worrying about spilling a cup of water on oneself just before falling out of the boat. It took me nearly an hour to fight my way through brush as thick as the hair on a shaggy dog’s back to reach the bottom of that gully. I could readily see the path in the more open sidehill the bull had made in his “kick it loose and let it roll” routine he used to expand his meanness to stellar proportions.
The thick brush I had been negotiating ended a few feet from the very bottom of the gully, providing a clear area approximately eight feet in width extending up and down the gully. I could not believe my good fortune in seeing this… Imagine, an area of clear ground on which to work! A five hundred pound (225 kg) plus animal is hard enough to move around for dressing in any place or position. Doing so in brush or on steep ground can be terrible. I was nearly ecstatic, then, at finding this boon. And, that ecstasy lasted the full two minutes or so it took me to break through the last of the heavy cover and see the horrible truth of what this animal had done as his last act of defiance. All that was to be seen where I would have supposed this beast to be was the marks of his last struggle as he managed to heave himself bodily into that trench in the bottom of the gully. With no small amount of trepidation, I inched forward slowly, peering expectantly into that hole even while dreading the confirmation of what I new was true.
What greeted me was a sight indescribable. Lying in the bottom of that hole I could see a foreleg, or maybe two hind legs and one eye. He lay in such a juxtaposed position I am convinced there were forces other than random chance at work here. I doubt sincerely that he could have become so sincerely misaligned by mere chance. In addition, he was now acting as a really nice dam in the stream running at the bottom of the trench and was rapidly creating a rather nice lake on his upstream side.
It was at least six feet (2 m) from the lip of the trench to the animal and he filled another short distance with his body. The walls were perfectly vertical for as far as I could see in either direction, affording me no easy access or egress anywhere within sight. I found a convenient stump left over from the logging of this area and sat down to contemplate my situation.
As I pondered the improbability of this, a shot rang out from Greg’s direction. Vaguely, I recalled another from that area a bit earlier. More than likely, this last shot finished what the prior one had started… which meant, Adam being busy with his own bull from earlier and, now, Greg with his, I was entirely on my own. I was sure that I could expect no help so what was to be was up to me.
The rain was falling, not in drops any longer, but in vast sheets of water. Looking down the draw, I could see wave after wave of water being driven before the wind. In places, where the wind swept up the ridge, the water was hurled up the ridge, a vanguard to the wind. It was actually raining uphill! I have never, before or since, witnessed this exact phenomenon, but there it was this cold, windy and wet November day.
I finally, after much soul-searching, removed my outer garments, coat, vest, raingear, etc. and piled them on the stump that had served as my throne and, keeping only my venerable Buck Knife, my small hand axe and bone saw from my belt sheath, I jumped from the lip of the trench into its bowels.
I have never seen such a sight. I didn’t have an elk lying in a ditch; I had a pile, a lump even, of elk lying in the bottom of that ditch. Looking up, it appeared that I was being buried in the groin of Mother Earth herself. With a sigh, I pushed all thoughts aside and bent to the task at hand.
My first several attempts at moving the animal merely resulted in falling debris and waves of water as I unblocked, momentarily, the river that was being detained by the body lodged in the bottom. I stopped a moment and reassessed my situation. I looked over the situation in minute detail and, believe me, there was no little part of it that was comforting. At last, I thought I had a handle on what needed to be done to untangle this mass of elk and arrange it in line with the flow of the trench. This, at least, would afford me the opportunity of dressing out the animal and, possibly, rendering it into pieces of a manageable size that it might, eventually, be removed from the hole. My years of untangling backlashes from my fishing reels stood me in good stead in getting this job accomplished.
By pulling on one foreleg until I got it free then scrambling across the lump of elk and into the growing lake of ice water on the uphill side, there to extricate a hind leg from its trap, I was able to effect some progress. Back across the carcass again to find the other foreleg only to find the antlers buried in to the bank, holding the head firmly in place… directly on top of the misfolded appendage I was trying to liberate. On and on, back and forth for the better part of an hour I worked to get this mean critter into an orientation that would allow me to begin the arduous task of butchering. By the time I managed to get five hundred pounds of dead elk arranged as I wanted him, I was drenched to the skin, covered in mud and muck and ruing the day I had ever heard of elk. It should be noted at this point that, although I may have described this in words that would make one think it was a pleasant, joyous occasion… it was not! However, in terms of what was yet to come, this interlude might well be taken as high, easy living.
At last I had wrestled him into a position in which I could begin the dressing. As soon as I had vented the animal, I began to encounter problems caused by the proximity of the vertical walls. I could not roll the animal to allow easy extraction of the offal, so I had to remove it by hand, over the aft end, piece by piece. By now, Icy Lake, formed by Elk Dam, had drained sufficiently that I could move the offal out of the water.
When, at last, I determined him to be as clean as I could make him in my present place and circumstance, I began the task of reducing him to carriable proportions. I thought that six would be appropriate. To this end, I removed his head and antlers and placed them in a safe spot. I then removed both front shoulders. This, while not near as easy as it would have been on open ground, was not overly difficult. The hind quarters, however, were a totally different matter. Normally, with the animal on its back, it is a relatively simple matter to make a cut at the joint, allowing the weight of the hind quarter itself to pull it way from the carcass. By simply extending the cut as the quarter falls away, it is soon completely severed, the hip joint being a ball and socket joint that is easily popped loose.
Such is life in a perfect world. My world, at the moment, was far from adequate, let alone perfect. I could not effect the cuts as I normally would because the walls held the legs nearly vertical, not allowing gravity to aid in the process. Add to this the fact that Rigor was, by this time, setting in and one can see the situation was deteriorating rapidly. It was pure gut-busting, mule-hauling work to get those hind quarters separated from the carcass and by the time it was completed, I was nearly in as bad shape as was that elk.
The last step in my butchering process was to split the carcass transversely, across the carcass just above the sixth rib yielding a fairly flat chunk of meat that was the prime of primes in elk. On this was contained the tenderloin and the choicest steaks. The other half contained some fine steaks as well… the T-bones and the rib steaks as well as the chuck steaks were here with a lot of fine elk. It also included the ribs and brisket as well as the neck.
By the time I had completed the butchering, I was exhausted. While deciding my next move, I sank down to rest, using a hind quarter of elk as my seat… a load of round steak supporting a round butt… and began to think how I was going to get out of this predicament. Obviously, I could not get out the way I had come in, gravity being what it was, so that left only two options… up the trench or down the trench. As soon as my heart rate returned to a near normal rate, I arose and, shouldering one forequarter, began my trek down the bottom of the trench, praying for a spot where the sides were low enough to let me get out of the hole.
It seemed like hours had passed and miles walked before the lip of the trench began to do dip to greet me. Slowly and cautiously I crept along, my load gaining weight with each step all the while issuing prayers for the lessening of the depth to continue. Finally, at last, my head was above the ground level and I waited no longer, but lifted that front quarter from my shoulder and onto the ground outside the trench. It really felt like I’d covered at least a mile, but it was, as I learned by pacing the distance on my return trip, only about five hundred feet (350 m). Four more trips I made with the meat from that bull and I had only the chest cavity remaining. I was out of gas and out of ideas on how to move that large, bulky bull down my rapidly deteriorating route when I heard my name being called.
While grinning so widely that I threatened to break my face, I hollered back. When a second call asked if I needed help, I screamed for rope and my packboard, a couple of items I had neglected to bring with me when I dove into this hell-hole. I guess I was more interested in keeping them safe and dry in my truck than I was in actually using either. That was a mistake I never repeated in all the years I hunted elk. From that day onward, I never left my truck without a length of rope wrapped around me.
I put the question of what to do about that last piece of meat on hold until I had help here with me. In the meantime, I recuperated. I knew the job was far from complete as, even if both Adam and Greg came in, it would still mean two trips apiece back up that mountain through that brushy jungle with more than a hundred pounds (45 kg) of elk strapped to the packframes.
In a few minutes, I heard the chatter of men as the brush snapped and an occasional curse rang out, signaling a foot caught up in a root or a vine or such. It dawned on me suddenly that this was the noise of more than just two men. In fact, when the brush finally parted, not only Greg and Adam popped out, so did three good friends from town. I could not believe that they were actually there, having told us not to expect them until late as work commitments would cost them opening day of the season. There were now six of us. Bob, Leon and Larry had found our trucks parked and had heard the shooting so had figured we had animals down and could use some help. This being before the present era when the world was not overrun with thieves, we did not remove the keys from a vehicle when we parked as it may need to be moved to allow access to another. Thus, the three got out packboards and such gear as they felt we would need and started in to find us. I was deep in my long rut when they called out at first, so I did not hear them. Greg and Adam, however, did. In fact, they were within a stone’s throw of Adam and he guided them on to Greg.
I cannot express the joy I felt on seeing their homely mugs, and told them as much! It was the work of but a few moments to tie a rope to that last hunk of carcass and to pull it out of the hole. They had even determined a better route out. Basically, it followed the trail the elk had used in coming down that ridge so long ago and led us directly to the junction of the ridges and to our trucks. I broached the possibility that I might get a ride out on one back or another, but the fact that I soon realized that the only way this was going to happen is if I were willing to go the same way that elk was going… in six pieces did much to cool my ardor at what I had really thought to be a viable idea just moments before… An hour later, after much discussion of the sanity of anyone who’d venture into that hole, we were all at the truck enjoying a cold drink and a warm meal of Chef Boyardee that was whipped up on a Coleman stove. Although it was just simple fare, heated quickly and served directly from the pan, it was possibly one of the finer, most welcome repasts I have ever known.
Adam’s elk was already in his truck and Greg’s was waiting at the edge of a small logging trace, ready to load. I had fired my first shot at 8:05 that morning and the sun, behind thinning clouds, was sliding from the western sky as I sat on the tailgate of my truck, recounting the tale of the meanest elk that ever lived…
Renewable Energy
Renewable energy
Renewable energy sources worldwide at the end of 2006.
Renewable energy is energy generated from natural resources—such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat — which are renewable (naturally replenished). In 2006, about 18% of global final energy consumption came from renewables, with 13% coming from traditional biomass, such as wood-burning.Hydroelectricity was the next largest renewable source, providing 3% (15% of global electricity generaiton), followed by solar hot water /heating, which contributed 1.3%. Modern technologies, such as geothermal energy, wind power, solar power and ocean energy together provided some 0.8% of final energy consumption.
Climate change concerns coupled with high oil prices, peak oil and increasing government support are driving increasing renewable energy legislation, incentives and commercialization.European Union leaders reached an agreement in principle in March 2007 that 20 percent of their nations’ energy should be produced from renewable fuels by 2020, as part of its drive to cut emissions of carbon dioxide, blamed in part for global warming. Investment capital flowing into renewable energy climbed from $80 billion in 2005 to a record $100 billion in 2006.
In responce to the G8’s call on the IEA for “guidance on how to achieve a clean, clever and competitive energy future”, the IEA reported that the replacement of current technology with renewable energy could help reduce CO2 emmisions by 50% by 2050, which they claim is of crucial importance because current policies are not sustainable.
Wind power is growing at the rate of 30 percent annually, with a worldwide installed capacity of over 100 GW, and is widely used in several European countries and the United States. The manufacturing output of the photovoltaics industry reached more than 2,000 MW in 2006, and photovoltaic (PV) power stations are particularly popular in Germany. Solar thermal power stations operate in the USA and Spain, and the largest of these is the 354 MW SEGS power plant in the Mojave Desert. The world’s largest geothermal power installation is The Gevsers in California, with a rated capacity of 750 MW. Brazil has one of the largest renewable energy programs in the world, involving production of ethanol fuel from sugar cane, and ethanol now provides 18 percent of the country’s automotive fuel. Ethanol fuel is also widely available in the USA.
While there are many large-scale renewable energy projects and production, renewable technologies are also suited to small off-grid applications, sometimes in rural and remote areas, where energy is often crucial in human development. Kenya has the world’s highest household solar ownership rate with roughly 30,000 small (20–100 watt) solar power systems sold per year.
Some renewable energy technologies are criticised for being intermittent or unsightly, yet the market is growing for many forms of renewable energy.
Main renewable energy technologies
Three energy sources
The majority of renewable energy technologies are directly or indirectly powered by the sun. The Earth-Atmosphere system is in equilibrium such that heat radiation into space is equal to incoming solar radiation, the resulting level of energy within the Earth-Atmosphere system can roughly be described as the Earth’s “climate.” The hydrosphere (water) absorbs a major fraction of the incoming radiation. Most radiation is absorbed at low latitudes around the equator, but this energy is dissipated around the globe in the form of winds and ocean currents. Wave motion may play a role in the process of transferring mechanical energy between the atmosphere and the ocean through wind stress. Solar energy is also responsible for the distribution of precipitation which is tapped by hydroelectric projects, and for the growth of plants used to create biofuels.
Renewable energy flows involve natural phenomena such as sunlight, wind, tides and geothermal heat, as the International Energy Agency explains:
“Renewable energy is derived from natural processes that are replenished constantly. In its various forms, it derives directly from the sun, or from heat generated deep within the earth. Included in the definition is electricity and heat generated from solar, wind, ocean, hydropower, biomass, geothermal resources, and biofuels and hydrogen derived from renewable resources.”
Each of these sources has unique characteristics which influence how and where they are used.
Wind power
Vestas V80 wind turbines
Airflows can be used to run wind turbines. Modern wind turbines range from around 600 kW to 5 MW of rated power, although turbines with rated output of 1.5–3 MW have become the most common for commercial use; the power output of a turbine is a function of the cube of the wind speed, so as wind speed increases, power output increases dramatically. Areas where winds are stronger and more constant, such as offshore and high altitude sites, are preferred locations for wind farms.
Since wind speed is not constant, a wind farm’s annual energy production is never as much as the sum of the generator nameplate ratings multiplied by the total hours in a year. The ratio of actual productivity in a year to this theoretical maximum is called the capacity factor. Typical capacity factors are 20-40%, with values at the upper end of the range in particularly favourable sites. For example, a 1 megawatt turbine with a capacity factor of 35% will not produce 8,760 megawatt-hours in a year, but only 0.35×24x365 = 3,066 MWh, averaging to 0.35 MW. Online data is available for some locations and the capacity factor can be calculated from the yearly output.
Globally, the long-term technical potential of wind energy is believed to be five times total current global energy production, or 40 times current electricity demand. This could require large amounts of land to be used for wind turbines, particularly in areas of higher wind resources. Offshore resources experience mean wind speeds of ~90% greater than that of land, so offshore resources could contribute substantially more energy. This number could also increase with higher altitude ground-based or airborne wind turbines.
Wind power is renewable and produces no greenhouse gases during operation, such as carbon dioxdie and methane.
Water power
Energy in water (in the form of kinetic energy, temperature differences or salinity gradients) can be harnessed and used. Since water is about 800 times denser than air, even a slow flowing stream of water, or moderate sea swell, can yield considerable amounts of energy.
One of 3 PELAMIS P-750 Ocean Wave Power engines in the harbour of Peniche/ Portugal.
There are many forms of water energy:
· Hydroelectric energy is a term usually reserved for large-scale hydroelectric dams. Examples are the Grand Coulee Dam in Washington State and the Akosombo Dam in Ghana.
· Micro hydro systems are hydroelectric power installations that typically produce up to 100 kW of power. They are often used in water rich areas as a Remote Area Power Supply (RAPS). There are many of these installations around the world, including several delivering around 50 kW in the Solomon Islands.
· Damless hydro systems derive kinetic energy from rivers and oceans without using a dam.
· Ocean energy describes all the technologies to harness energy from the ocean and the sea:
o Marine current power. Similar to tidal stream power, uses the kinetic energy of marine currents
o Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) uses the temperature difference between the warmer surface of the ocean and the colder lower recesses. To this end, it employs a cyclic heat engine. OTEC has not been field-tested on a large scale.
o Tidal power captures energy from the tides. Two different principles for generating energy from the tides are used at the moment:
o Tidal motion in the vertical direction — Tides come in, raise water levels in a basin, and tides roll out. Around low tide, the water in the basin is discharged through a turbine, exploiting the stored potential energy.
o Tidal motion in the horizontal direction — Or tidal stream power. Using tidal stream generators, like wind turbines but then in a tidal stream. Due to the high density of water, about eight-hundred times the density of air, tidal currents can have a lot of kinetic energy. Several commercial prototypes have been build, and more are in development.
· Wave power uses the energy in waves. Wave power machines usually take the form of floating or neutrally buoyant structures which move relative to one another or to a fixed point. Wave power has now reached commercialization.
· Saline gradient power, or osmotic power, is the energy retrieved from the difference in the salt concentration between seawater and river water. Reverse electrodialysis (RED), and Pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) is in research and testing phase.
· Deep lake water cooling, although not technically an energy generation method, can save a lot of energy in summer. It uses submerged pipes as a heat sink for climate control systems. Lake-bottom water is a year-round local constant of about 4 °C.
Solar energy use
Monocrystalline solar cell
In this context, “solar energy” refers to energy that is collected from sunlight. Solar energy can be applied in many ways, including to:
• Generate electricity by heating trapped air which rotates turbines in a Solar updraft tower.
• Generate electricity in geosynchronous orbit using solar power satellites.
• Generate electricity using photovoltaic solar cells.
• Generate electricity using concentrated solar power.
• Generate hydrogen using photoelectrochemical cells.
• Heat and cool air through use of solar chimneys.
• Heat buildings, directly, through passive solar building design.
• Heat foodstuffs, through solar ovens.
• Heat water or air for domestic hot water and space heating needs using solar-thermal panels.
• Solar air conditioning
Biofuel
Plants use photosynthesis to grow and produce biomass. Also known as biomatter, biomass can be used directly as fuel or to produce liquid biofuel. Agriculturally produced biomass fuels, such as biodiesel, ethanol and bagasse (often a by-product of sugar cane cultivation) can be burned in internal combustion engines or boilers. Typically biofuel is burned to release its stored chemical energy. Research into more efficient methods of converting biofuels and other fuels into electricity utilizing fuel cells is an area of very active work.
Liquid biofuel
Information on pump, California.
Liquid biofuel is usually either a bioalcohol such as ethanol fuel or a bio-oil such as biodiesel and straight vegetable oil. Biodiesel can be used in modern diesel vehicles with little or no modification to the engine and can be made from waste and virgin vegetable and animal oil and fats (lipids). Virgin vegetable oils can be used in modified diesel engines. In fact the Diesel engine was originally designed to run on vegetable oil rather than fossil fuel. A major benefit of biodiesel is lower emissions. The use of biodiesel reduces emission of carbon monoxide and other hydrocarbons by 20 to 40%.
In some areas corn, cornstalks, sugarbeets, sugar cane, and switchgrasses are grown specifically to produce ethanol (also known as grain alcohol) a liquid which can be used in internal combustion engines and fuel cells. Ethanol is being phased into the current energy infrastructure. E85 is a fuel composed of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline that is sold to consumers. Biobutanol is being developed as an alternative to bioethanol. There is growing international criticism about biofuels from food crops with respect to issues such as food security, environmental impacts (deforestation) and energy balance.
Solid biomass
Sugar cane residue can be used as a biofuel
Solid biomass is mostly commonly usually used directly as a combustible fuel, producing 10-20 MJ/kg of heat.
Its forms and sources include wood fuel, the biogenic portion of municipal solid waste, or the unused portion of field crops. Field crops may or may not be grown intentionally as an energy crop, and the remaining plant byproduct used as a fuel. Most types of biomass contain energy. Even cow manure still contains two-thirds of the original energy consumed by the cow. Energy harvesting via a bioreactor is a cost-effective solution to the waste disposal issues faced by the dairy farmer, and can produce enough biogas to run a farm.
With current technology, it is not ideally suited for use as a transportation fuel. Most transportation vehicles require power sources with high power density, such as that provided by internal combustion engines. These engines generally require clean burning fuels, which are generally in liquid form, and to a lesser extent, compressed gaseous phase. Liquids are more portable because they have high energy density, and they can be pumped, which makes handling easier. This is why most transportation fuels are liquids.
Non-transportation applications can usually tolerate the low power-density of external combustion engines, that can run directly on less-expensive solid biomass fuel, for combined heat and power. One type of biomass is wood, which has been used for millennia in varying quantities, and more recently is finding increased use. Two billion people currently cook every day, and heat their homes in the winter by burning biomass, which is a major contributor to man-made climate change global warming. The black soot that is being carried from Asia to polar ice caps is causing them to melt faster in the summer. In the 19th century, wood-fired steam engines were common, contributing significantly to industrial revolution unhealthy air pollution. Coal is a form of biomass that has been compressed over millennia to produce a non-renewable, highly-polluting fossil fuel.
Wood and its byproducts can now be converted through process such as gasification into biofuels such as woodgas, biogas, methanol or ethanol fuel; although further development may be required to make these methods affordable and practical. Sugar cane residue, wheat chaff, com cobs and other plant matter can be, and are, burned quite successfully. The net carbon dioxide emissions that are added to the atmosphere by this process are only from the fossil fuel that was consumed to plant, fertilize, harvest and transport the biomass.
Processes to harvest biomass from short-rotation poplars and willows, and perennial grasses such as switchgrass, phalaris, and miscanthus, require less frequent cultivation and less nitrogen than from typical annual crops. Pelletizing miscanthus and burning it to generate electricity is being studied and may be economically viable.
Biogas
Biogas can easily be produced from current waste streams, such as: paper production, sugar production, sewage, animal waste and so forth. These various waste streams have to be slurried together and allowed to naturally ferment, producing methane gas. This can be done by converting current sewage plants into biogas plants. When a biogas plant has extracted all the methane it can, the remains are sometimes better suitable as fertilizer than the original biomass.
Alternatively biogas can be produced via advanced waste processing systems such as mechanical biological treatment. These systems recover the recyclable elements of household waste and process the biodegradable fraction in anaerobic digesters.
Renewable natural gas is a biogas which has been upgraded to a quality similar to natural gas. By upgrading the quality to that of natural gas, it becomes possible to distribute the gas to the mass market via gas grid.
Geothermal energy
Krafla Geothermal Station in northeast Iceland
Geothermal energy is energy obtained by tapping the heat of the earth itself, usually from kilometers deep into the Earth’s crust. It is expensive to build a power station but operating costs are low resulting in low energy costs for suitable sites. Ultimately, this energy derives from heat in the Earth’s core. The government of Iceland states: “It should be stressed that the geothermal resource is not strictly renewable in the same sense as the hydro resource.” It estimates that Iceland’s geothermal energy could provide 1700 MW for over 100 years, compared to the current production of 140 MW. Radioactive elements in the earth’s crust continuously decay, replenishing the heat. The International Energy Agency classifies geothermal power as renewable.
Three types of power plants are used to generate power from geothermal energy: dry steam, flash, and binary. Dry steam plants take steam out of fractures in the ground and use it to directly drive a turbine that spins a generator. Flash plants take hot water, usually at temperatures over 200 °C, out of the ground, and allows it to boil as it rises to the surface then separates the steam phase in steam/water separators and then runs the steam through a turbine. In binary plants, the hot water flows through heat exchangers, boiling an organic fluid that spins the turbine. The condensed steam and remaining geothermal fluid from all three types of plants are injected back into the hot rock to pick up more heat.
The geothermal energy from the core of the Earth is closer to the surface in some areas than in others. Where hot underground steam or water can be tapped and brought to the surface it may be used to generate electricity. Such geothermal power sources exist in certain geologically unstable parts of the world such as Chile, Iceland, New Zealand, United States, the Philippines and Italy. The two most prominent areas for this in the United States are in the Yellowstone basin and in northern California. Iceland produced 170 MW geothermal power and heated 86% of all houses in the year 2000 through geothermal energy. Some 8000 MW of capacity is operational in total.
There is also the potential to generate geothermal energy from hot dry rocks. Holes at least 3 km deep are drilled into the earth. Some of these holes pump water into the earth, while other holes pump hot water out. The heat resource consists of hot underground radiogenic granite rocks, which heat up when there is enough sediment between the rock and the earths surface. Several companies in Australia are exploring this technology.
Renewable energy commercialization
Costs
Source 2001 energy costs Potential future energy cost
Electricity
Wind 4–8 ¢/kWh 3–10 ¢/kWh
Solar photovoltaic 25–160 ¢/kWh 5–25 ¢/kWh
Solar thermal 12–34 ¢/kWh 4–20 ¢/kWh
Large hydropower 2–10 ¢/kWh 2–10 ¢/kWh
Small hydropower 2–12 ¢/kWh 2–10 ¢/kWh
Geothermal 2–10 ¢/kWh 1–8 ¢/kWh
Biomass 3–12 ¢/kWh 4–10 ¢/kWh
Coal (comparison) 4 ¢/kWh
Heat
Geothermal Heat 0.5–5 ¢/kWh 0.5–5 ¢/kWh
Biomass — heat 1–6 ¢/kWh 1–5 ¢/kWh
Low Temp Solar Heat 2–25 ¢/kWh 2–10 ¢/kWh
All costs are in 2001 US$-cent per kilowatt-hour.
New generation of solar thermal plants
The 11 megawatt PS10 solar power tower in Spain produces electricity from the sun using 624 large movable mirrors called heliostats.
Aerial view of one of the SEGS plants.
Since 2004 there has been renewed interest in solar thermal power stations and two plants were completed during 2006/2007: the 64 MW Nevada Solar One and the 11 MW PS10 solar power tower in Spain. Three 50 MW trough plants were under construction in Spain at the end of 2007 with 10 additional 50 MW plants planned. In the United States, utilities in California and Florida have announced plans (or contracted for) at least eight new projects totaling more than 2,000 MW.
In developing countries, three world bank projects for integrated CSP/combined-cycle gas-turbine power plants in Egypt, Mexico, and Morocco were approved during 2006/2007.
There are several solar thermal power plant in the Mojave Desert which supply power to the electricity grid. Solar Energy Generating Systems (SEGS) is the name given to nine solar power plants in the Mojave Desert which were built in the 1980s. These plants have a combined capacity of 354 MW making them the largest solar power installation in the world.
World’s largest photovoltaic power plants
Several large photovoltaic power plants have been completed in Spain in 2008: the Parque Fotovoltaico Olmedilla de Alarcon (60 MW), Parque Solar Merida/Don Alvaro (30 MW), Planta solar Fuente Alamo (26 MW), Planta fotovoltaica de Lucainena de las Torres (23.2 MW), Parque Fotovoltaico Abertura Solar (23.1 MW), Parque Solar Hoya de Los Vincentes (23 MW), the Solarpark Calveron (21 MW), and the Planta Solar La Magascona (20 MW).
First Solar 40 MW PV Array installed by JUWI Group in Waldpolenz, Germany
Waldpolenz Solar Park, which will be the world’s largest thin-flim photovoltaic (PV) power system, is being built at a former military air base to the east of Leipzig in Germany. The power plant will be a 40-megawatt solar power system using state-of-the-art thin film technology, and should be finished by the end of 2009. 550,000 First Solar thin-film modules will be used, which will supply 40,000 MWh of electricity per year.
Topaz Solar Farm is a proposed 550 MW solar photovoltaic power plant which is to be built northwest of California Valley in the USA at a cost of over $1 billion. Built on 9.5 square miles (25 km2) of ranchland, the project would utilize thin-film PV panels designed and manufactured by OptiSolar in Hayward and Sacramento. The project would deliver approximately 1,100 gigawatt-hours (GWh) annually of renewable energy. The project is expected to begin construction in 2010, begin power delivery in 2011, and be fully operational by 2013.
High Plains Ranch is a proposed 250 MW solar photovoltaic power plant which is to be built by Sun Power in the Carrizo Plain, northwest of California Valley.
However, when it comes to renewable energy systems and PV, it is not just large systems that matter. Building-Integrated Photovoltaics or “onsite” PV systems have the advantage of being matched to end use energy needs in terms of scale. So the energy is supplied close to where it is needed.
Environmental and social considerations
While most renewable energy sources do not produce pollution directly, the materials, industrial processes, and construction equipment used to create them may generate waste and pollution. Some renewable energy systems actually create environmental problems. For instance, older wind turbines can be hazardous to flying birds.
Land area required
Another environmental issue, particularly with biomass and biofuels, is the large amount of land required to harvest energy, which otherwise could be used for other purposes or left as undeveloped land. However, it should be pointed out that these fuels may reduce the need for harvesting non-renewable energy sources, such as vast strip-mined areas and slag mountains for coal, safety zones around nuclear plants, and hundreds of square miles being strip-mined for oil sands. These responses, however, do not account for the extremely high biodiversity and endemism of land used for ethanol crops, particularly sugar cane.
In the U.S., crops grown for biofuels are the most land- and water-intensive of the renewable energy sources. In 2005, about 12% of the nation’s corn crop (covering 11 million acres (45,000 km²) of farmland) was used to produce four billion gallons of ethanol—which equates to about 2% of annual U.S. gasoline consumption. For biofuels to make a much larger contribution to the energy economy, the industry will have to accelerate the development of new feedstocks, agricultural practices, and technologies that are more land and water efficient. Already, the efficiency of biofuels production has increased significantly and there are new methods to boost biofuel production.
Hydroelectric dams
The major advantage of hydroelectric systems is the elimination of the cost of fuel. Other advantages include longer life than fuel-fired generation, low operating costs, and the provision of facilities for water sports. Operation of pumped-storage plants improves the daily load factor of the generation system. Overall, hydroelectric power can be far less expensive than electricity generated from fossil fuels or nuclear energy, and areas with abundant hydroelectric power attract industry.
However, there are several major disadvantages of hydroelectric systems. These include: dislocation of people living where the reservoirs are planned, release of significant amounts of carbon dioxide at construction and flooding of the reservoir, disruption of aquatic ecosystems and birdlife, adverse impacts on the river environment, potential risks of sabotage and terrorism, and in rare cases catastrophic failure of the dam wall.
Hydroelectric power is now more difficult to site in developed nations because most major sites within these nations are either already being exploited or may be unavailable for other reasons such as environmental considerations.
Wind farms
Wind power is one of the most environmentally friendly sources of renewable energy
A wind farm, when installed on agricultural land, has one of the lowest environmental impacts of all energy sources:
• It occupies less land area per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity generated than any other energy conversion system, apart from rooftop solar energy, and is compatible with grazing and crops.
• It generates the energy used in its construction in just 3 months of operation, yet its operational lifetime is 20–25 years.
• Greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution produced by its construction are tiny and declining. There are no emissions or pollution produced by its operation.
• In substituting for base-load coal power, wind power produces a net decrease in greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, and a net increase in biodiversity.
• Modern wind turbines are almost silent and rotate so slowly (in terms of revolutions per minute) that they are rarely a hazard to birds.
Studies of birds and offshore wind farms in Europe have found that there are very few bird collisions. Several offshore wind sites in Europe have been in areas heavily used by seabirds. Improvements in wind turbine design, including a much slower rate of rotation of the blades and a smooth tower base instead of perchable lattice towers, have helped reduce bird mortality at wind farms around the world. However older smaller wind turbines may be hazardous to flying birds. Birds are severely impacted by fossil fuel energy; examples include birds dying from exposure to oil spills, habitat loss from acid rain and mountaintop removal coal mining, and mercury poisoning.
Other issues
Sustainability
Renewable energy sources are generally sustainable in the sense that they cannot “run out” as well as in the sense that their environmental and social impacts are generally more benign than those of fossil. However, both biomass and geothermal energy require wise management if they are to be used in a sustainable manner. For all of the other renewables, almost any realistic rate of use would be unlikely to approach their rate of replenishment by nature.
Transmission
If renewable and distribution generation were to become widespread, electric power transmission and electricity distribution systems might no longer be the main distributors of electrical energy but would operate to balance the electricity needs of local communities. Those with surplus energy would sell to areas needing “top ups”. That is, network operation would require a shift from ‘passive management’ — where generators are hooked up and the system is operated to get electricity ‘downstream’ to the consumer — to ‘active management’, wherein generators are spread across a network and inputs and outputs need to be constantly monitored to ensure proper balancing occurs within the system. Some governments and regulators are moving to address this, though much remains to be done. One potential solution is the increased use of active management of electricity transmission and distribution networks. This will require significant changes in the way that such networks are operated.
However, on a smaller scale, use of renewable energy produced on site reduces burdens on electricity distribution systems. Current systems, while rarely economically efficient, have shown that an average household with an appropriately-sized solar panel array and energy storage system needs electricity from outside sources for only a few hours per week. By matching electricity supply to end-use needs, advocates of renewable energy and the soft energy path believe electricity systems will become smaller and easier to manage, rather than the opposite.
Controversy over nuclear power as a renewable energy source
In 1983, physicist Bernard Cohen proposed that uranium is effectively inexhaustible, and could therefore be considered a renewable source of energy. He claims that fast breeder reactors, fueled by uranium extracted from seawater, could supply energy at least as long as the sun’s expected remaining lifespan of five billion years. Nuclear energy has also been referred to as “renewable” by the politicians George W. Bush, Charlie Crist, and David Sainsbury.
Inclusion under the “renewable energy” classification could render nuclear power projects eligible for development aid under various jurisdictions. However, it has not been established that nuclear energy is inexhaustible, and issues such as peak uranium and uranium depletion are ongoing debates. No legislative body has yet included nuclear energy under any legal definition of “renewable energy sources” for provision of development support. Similarly, statutory and scientific definitions of renewable energies usually exclude nuclear energy. Commonly sourced definitions of renewable energy sources often omit or explicitly exclude nuclear energy sources as examples.Nuclear fission is not regarded as renewable by the U.S. DOE on the website “What is Energy?”
There are also environmental concerns over nuclear power, including the dangerous environmental hazards of nuclear waste and concerns that development of new plants cannot happen quickly enough to reduce CO2 emissions, such that nuclear energy is neither efficient nor effective in cutting CO2 emissions.
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF RENEWABLE ENERGY:
There are many energy sources today that are extremely limited in supply. Some of these sources include oil, natural gas, and coal. It is a matter of time before they will be exhausted.
Estimates are that they can only meet our energy demands for another fifty to seventy years. So in an effort to find alternative forms of energy, the world has turned to renewable energy sources as the solution. There are many advantages and disadvantages to this.
Renewable energy sources consist of solar, hydro, wind, geothermal, ocean and biomass. The most common advantage of each is that they are renewable and cannot be depleted. They are a clean energy, as they don’t pollute the air, and they don’t contribute to global warming or greenhouse effects. Since their sources are natural the cost of operations is reduced and they also require less maintenance on their plants. A common disadvantage to all is that it is difficult to produce the large quantities of electricity their counterpart the fossil fuels are able to. Since they are also new technologies, the cost of initiating them is high.
Solar energy makes use of the sun’s energy. It is advantageous because the systems can fit into existing buildings and it does not affect land use. But since the area of the collectors is large, more materials are required. Solar radiation is also controlled by geography. And it is limited to daytime hours and non-cloudy days.
Wind energy uses the power of the wind to produce electricity. Although it is the largest job producer, it is reliant on strong winds. Wind turbines are large and, although you can use the area under them for farming, many consider them unattractive looking. They are also very noisy to operate. In addition, they threaten the wild bird population.
Hydroelectric energy uses water to produce power. This is the most reliable of all the renewable energy sources. On the down side, it affects ecology and causes downstream problems. The decay of vegetation along the riverbed can cause the buildup of methane. Methane is a contributing gas to greenhouse effect. Dams can also alter the natural river flow and affect wildlife. Colder, oxygen poor water can be released into the river, killing fish. And the release of water from the dam can cause flooding.
Geothermal energy uses steam from the Earth’s ground to generate power. It uses smaller land areas than other power plants. They can run 24 hours per day, every day of the year. Disadvantages are that it is very site specific and, along with the heat from the Earth, it can also bring up toxic chemicals when obtaining the steam. Drilling geothermal reservoirs and finding them can be an expensive task.
Biomass electricity is produced through the energies from wood, agricultural and municipal waste. It helps save on landfill waste but transportation can be expensive and ecological diversity of land may be affected. In addition, its process needs to be made simpler.
Ocean energy is a clean and abundant energy form. It does, however, have high costs. Ocean thermal energy also requires close to a forty degree Fahrenheit difference in water temperature year round. In addition, construction and laying pipes can cause damage to the ecosystem.
There are many advantages to the use of renewable energy sources. There are also some disadvantages. The fact is energy demands will continue to increase. Through research and development, as well as, new technologies, the hope is many of the disadvantages of renewable sources of energy can be eliminated and we can successfully incorporate it into our power supplies.
How T Grow Lettuce for Fun and Profit
HOW TO GROW LETTUCE FOR FUN NAD PROFIT
Lettuce is a perennial favorite in the kitchen as a salad dish or as vegetable in lumpia and other dishes.
The versatility of lettuce has captured the imagination of housewives, thus the great demand for it. But the supply of lettuce is limited, and this is how you can grow lettuce to earn you some extra income and supply your kitchen needs of chemical free and fresh vegetables.
Although lettuce grow in cool and high places, it yields to green thumbs and proper management. By following the right cultural practices, lettuce can be grown anytime of the year and anywhere in your backyard or any vacant space in your home.
4 types of lettuce grown locally
Of the four types of lettuce (head, leaf, romaine, and asparagus) only head and leaf types are the ones in demand. The head type forms a head-like cabbage while the leaf develops only loose leaves.
Best soil for lettuce
Lettuce adapts well to any kind of soil, from clay loam to sandy loam types, which can’t be said of any other vegetable. However, it is ideal to plant lettuce on fertile loam soil with plenty of organic mater. If your soil is poor, fertilize it by adding animal manure or compost.
If you want to plant lettuce during the warm months, you must plant them on heavy soil, since heavy soil have better moisture retention and thus are cooler. During the cool season, it is best to grow lettuce on light soils. Clay soil, though hard to work on, produces an excellent crop.
Last reminder, is to plant lettuce on soil that is well-drained and holds just enough water. To be safe from water logging, make a raised beds or plots to have a good drainage.
Best Climate for lettuce
Lettuce thrives best where the soil and air are moderately cool. The head and leaf types differ somewhat in their temperature needs. Ordinarily, the head type is best grown during the cool months (October-February, Philippine condition). But it can be grown during other months with proper care or planted in green house.
When grown in season, the head type lettuce develops a large and heavy head but not always so when grown off-season.
The leaf type, grows more successfully all year round. However, it develops better if grown during the cool months when the rain is moderate and the soil holds just enough water.
Preparing the land for planting
Preparing the land for lettuce can be done either by the plot or by the bed-and-furrow system. If you’re growing lettuce on a small scale and your drainage is poor, you can use the plot system.
Otherwise, use the bed-and-furrow system. Whichever practice you follow, however, you must prepare the soil properly.
Preparing the plot.
When lettuce is to be grown on raised plots, cultivate and pulverize the soil properly. Make each plot 80 cm wide and 10 cm high. Level each plot thoroughly and break all the big clods on the surfaces. It’s difficult to do good seeding on cloddy soil.
Preparing the beds and furrows.
Plow the soil and harrow the land several times until the soil particles become fine. Make the furrows and beds with the plow at an interval of 60 cm between furrows.
You have to make your furrows in an East-West orientation. This is to provide the plants equal distribution of sunlight during its growing stage.
You may choose to make either one or two rows on a bed. If you decide on double rows, provide 45 cm space between rows and plant the seedlings alternately (triangular fashion), not directly opposite each other.
In bed-and-furrow system, it’s easy to irrigate and drain since it’s raised. Also, the space between the rows gives the plants plenty of air and room for you to move about when tending the plants.
Plant Nutrition
Lettuce is a poor food absorber because of its small root system. It can only use the nutrients within the reaches of its roots.
Thus, it’s practical for you to supply the surface soil with adequate food nutrients. Before planting, you have to mix manure or compost combined with commercial fertilizer in the plots.
This method should be followed through up to the growing period.
Application of the basal fertilizer is done at the rate of one handful compost and one tablespoon of complete fertilizer (12-12-12 or 12-24-12) per hill. Cover the fertilizer with soil before planting.
Drench with Urea or Ammonium Sulfate every week during its growing period at the rate of 75 gm/16 L of water- first week, 150 gm/16 L water- 2nd week, and 225 gm/16 L water- 3rd week).
Planting Method
You can plant lettuce in two ways: direct seeding and transplanting methods. Direct seeding is usually practiced when you’re raising lettuce on a large scale production while transplanting method is practical to use in a small scale raising.
Steps in direct methods.
Note: You’ll need about 400 grams of seeds to plant a hectare.
Steps in transplanting method
Plant Management
Water Management
Water the plant as often as necessary especially where it does not rain regularly. Moisture is all important to lettuce for growth. During the dry season, water them twice a week and weekly as the plants grow older. When the plants overcrowd, thin them as suggested earlier.
Mulching
Installing plastic mulch to your plots gives some benefits and reduces additional cost in weeding which eats-up your maintenance in your garden.
Advantages of plastic mulch.
Steps in Plastic Mulch Installation
Pest and Disease Control
Management and control of Insect pests
Some common insect pests of lettuce are: Aphids, flea beetle, cabbage moth and grasshopper. These pests can be controlled by mechanical, cultural, physical methods, and chemical as the last recourse.
Controlling by mechanical, cultural and physical methods
Pest control of these methods can be executed by the following procedures:
Controlling by the use of botanical pesticides
Controlling Diseases of Lettuce
The most destructive diseases that infest lettuce and causes serious damage are the following:
Most of these diseases are hard to control and some can’t be controlled at all. The only remedy to control the attack of these diseases are:
Harvesting and Packing
The time to harvest lettuce depends upon the type and variety and purpose in raising them.
It’s best to wait and harvest lettuce of any type grown fro market purposes when they are fully developed. A fully developed head type produces a head-like cabbage while the leaf type develops numerous broad leaves.
Harvest lettuce for market in the afternoon. Cut the plant at the base with a sharp knife. After harvesting, leave the plants in the open at night and pack them early the next morning.
Trim to remove the dirty and diseased leaves before packing to enhance the market value of your product.
If it’s only for home use, you may harvest when the plant is large enough for use. The common practice, however, is to thin the plots at different times, removing the largest ones for use and leaving the small ones to develop. This practice insures your table with a continuous supply for a long time.
For Your Supply of Seeds
If you intend to have your own supply of seeds, you can produce them right in your garden. You need not to buy seed for your next planting if you’ll raise your own stock.
All you have to do is select the plants in your existing plant population and stake the best plants. Take care of them until they mature and develops seed stalks.
It takes from 3 ½ to 4 months from planting for the seeds to mature. Gather the pods when they are almost dry.
Choose only the healthiest seeds from the plots. Spread out the seeds on a winnower or any wide open instrument, and dry them under the sun or in warm place.
Storing the Seeds
Put the seeds and add a small amount of 50% DDT powder in a bottle and shake. Then put the seeds in paper envelops.
Store the seed envelops in covered jar. But first, fill one-fourth of the jar with dry crashed wood charcoal or ashes. Put a cardboard floor just above the charcoal or ashes.
Then lay the seed envelops on top of it. Close the jar tightly, label it and store in the coolest place possible. Seeds stored in this method at room temperature will keep for a year or more.
______________________
Cris Ramasasa, Freelance writer, writes about home gardening and Internet marketing tips. You can get a copy of his latest ebook “How to get started in Flower Gardening” and “Vegetable Gardening Made Easy”, and also get lots of tips, tools, Free articles, and bonuses at: www.crisramasasa.com
anthropological and socioeconomic studies of agricultural pratices of uri,baramullah,kashmir
ANTHROPOLOGICAL AND SOCIOECONOMIC STUDIES ON AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT IN URI TEHSIL OF BARAMULAAH DISTRIC
Prof ghulam mohyuddin wani conceived and developed the concept note which was executed through the following composite team of experts and NGoS
S. No.
Name
Designation
Asstt. Prof.Extension (DEE)
Asstt. Prof.(Agronomy,DEE)
Asstt.Prof.(Agronomy,DEE)
Asstt. Prof.(Soils at DEE)
Asstt.Prof.(Plant Pathology,DEE).
SMS (Home Science,DEE)
Mrs. Beenish Shakeel
SMS (Home Science,DEE)
Photographer(DEE)
Prog,Coordinator KVKBaramulla
Asstt. Prof. FMAP
Asstt. Prof.(Olericulture)
Dr. M. A. Chatoo
Asstt. Prof. (Olericulture)
Dr. Tariq Ahmed Shah
Asstt. Prof. (Plant Pathology)
Dr. Khurshid Ahmad
Assitt. Prof. (Plant Pathology)
SDAO Uri
Mr. Mohd. Qasim
SMS, Uri
AEO Uri
Mr. M. Latief Khan
AEO, Uri
Mrs. Tasneem Kouser
AEO, Chandenwari
Mr. Jatinderjit Singh
Agric. Assitt. Boniyar
Deptt. of Fisheries
F.S.Fisheries
Mr. Manzoor Ahmed Peer
HDO, Uri
Dr. Anwar Hussain
VAS, Uri
Miss. Sudbeer Kaur
LA, Uri
Mr. Assadullah Aziz
APO, Aga Khan Foundation
Mr. Moulvi Manzoor
Farmer, Isham
Mr. Manzoor Ahmad
Teacher, Limber
Mr. Zahid Ahmad
Teacher , Limber
Mr. Gh. Qadir Dar
Master II, Limber
Mr. M. Ramzan Nazar
Farmer, Limber
Mr. Gh. Qadir Lone
Farmer, Limber
Mr. Syed Rafiq Hussain
Sarpanch, Noorkah
36-59.
Isham Farmers Group (24 Rrespondents)
60-80.
Limber Farmers Group (21 Respondents)
81-95.
Noorkhah Farmers Groups (15 Respondents)
96-110.
Chandanwari Women Group (15 Respondents)
I- INTRODUCTION
Uri is one of the Tehsils of district Baramulla spread over an area of 25192 hectares with a population of 104159 persons which comprises of 54989 males and 49170 females. It lies in the North-Western parts of district Baramulla at 73o 59’ 18.26 E and divided in two administrative blocks viz: Uri and Boniyar having 33 Panchayat halquas with a number of 90 villages. The Tehsil is well demarcated in sub tropical and temperate agro-climatic zones, where summer temperature average goes up to 360 C and occasionally falls below 00 C in sub-tropical areas. It is surrounded by lofty mountains with deep ravines, terraced land and is one of the boarder Tehsil near LOC. The river Jehlum is flowing through the area and is the major source of Hydroelectric Power production of the J&K State. The population is mostly settled on mountain terrains and scattered in small Hamlets with low population density and poor road connectivity. Altitude of the area varies from 1100 meters to 2200 meters. Farmers are having small size of land holdings on these terraces.
The farming in the area is dominated by growing of crops like maize, paddy, wheat, oats, pulses (mostly rajmash), both as irrigated and rain fed. Among the vegetables both Rabi and kharief vegetables are grown in the small kitchen gardens for the domestic purposes only. However, growing of field peas and potato in some of the villages for commercial purposes have developed keen interest among some farmers based on their rich experiences. Generally, in higher altitude belts mono cropping and at lower belts double cropping is in practice at many places. High altitude hills are covered with Pine and Deodar trees and at foothills there is a scanty vegetation of trees like pear, walnut, peach, apple, olive, lemon, and wild apricot etc. The fruit trees are scattered and as such hardly any orchard can be seen in the area. Further, they are with out any layout and are mismanaged. The number of fruit trees (local cultivars/ wild) varied from 8-10 trees per house hold. Naturally tall walnut trees and uncared pear trees are seen in good numbers in the area and on interaction people report meager yields.
Livestock population consists of keeping of 1-2 cattle (local/ cross bred cows, bulls, buffaloes). Sheep, goat and poultry are also reared at domestic level with the indigenous breed and methods. The reported sheep and goat population is 81940 and 27390 respectively and mostly does not exceed 3-4 numbers per household. Cross breeding exists up to some extent in sheep only. Indigenous poultry birds few in number for domestic purposes is a common practice with some of the farm families. Traditional method of bee keeping is still in practice in some village hamlets.
Generally, the people are economically backward and the situation becomes further aggravated due to low productivity, unemployment / underemployment, lack of communication and basic facilities such as education and health. Majority of the people suffer from malnutrition and under nutrition and the worst hit group is children and women. Most of the aged women are illiterate and are suffering from orthopedic problem to a large extent. Further, the mothers were not equipped with health related information such as proper timely immunization schedule for their children.
II-METHODOLOGY
The reorganization process of extension system has lead to the establishment of three ATMAs (agricultural technology and management agencies) in three districts and a SAMETI (State agriculture management extension training institute) in Jammu & Kashmir. The Director Extension Education SKAUST-K is also looking after as Director SAMETI. In order to prepare SREP for the agro-climatic zones of the valley, training programmes and conducting of PRA has now been a regular feature of the SAMETI activities. It is in this connection that Director SAMETI instructed to prepare a Strategic Research and Extension Plan (SREP) through PRA techniques by deputing multidisciplinary team of experts /scientists of SKUAST-K to Uri tehsil of district Baramulla from 16th to 21st of July 2007. The team comprised of scientists/ experts from Extension Education, Agronomy, Pomology, Soil Science, Floriculture, Home Science, Plant protection and Olericulture.
The team along with KVK Programme Coordinator, Baramulla proceeded to Uri on 16th July 2007 from Shalimar Campus and on reaching Uri started working on the assignment.
1. Rapport Building
In order to have a brief idea about the climatic conditions, natural resources, ecology, needs of farming community and opportunities etc. prior to make a plan of PRA the team first of all visited to the office of SDAO, Uri of Development Department.
An interaction meeting was arranged with the officers and field functionaries of development departments, NGOs, scientists and farmers of the locality and gathered some important information on the above aspects. This interaction meeting was also helpful in deciding the representative villages for PRA according to the agro-ecological situations. In each representative village group of farmers of different ages were gathered in the schools / central places of the villages and they were taken in to confidence through informal discussions. Some ideas were exchanged and slowly the discussion was diverted towards the farming allied issues. The groups were convinced and readily shared the required information.
2. Conducting of PRA
For the purpose of SREP, the Tehsil was divided in to three agro –ecological situations (AES) mainly on the basis of altitude because tehsil. Uri comprises of prominent high and low altitude belts with entirely different cropping pattern.
The various AESs as identified are given below.
S.No.
Name
Situation
Representative village
Altitude
1
AES-1
Sub-tropical
Isham
1300m amsl
2
AES-2
Temperate
Limber
1800m amsl
3
AES-3
Sub-temperate
Noorkhah
1420m amsl
3. Transect Walk
After the selection of three representative villages the team along with the villagers had a transect walk of each village to acquaint themselves with the village resources and its boundaries.
4. Mapping
Some of the farmers were requested to draw map of the each village using the materials like drawing sheets, pencils, erasers, etc. provided by the resource personnel. While others were encouraged to make correction where ever they felt the need. Through his exercise the team achieved the social and resource mapping of the village.
5. Wealth ranking
Wealth ranking was done by direct and indirect questioning of the farmers on the basis of gross income /month / household without hurting their sentiments and accordingly two income groups i.e. resource rich and resource poor were identified in each village. The number of lower income groups /resource poor with an income up to Rs 2000/month is the basis of consideration.
6. Existing farming system
To know the existing farming systems, different farming enterprises with their contribution and combination being followed were critically analyzed and identified. The farming systems differ according to agro–ecological situations.
7. Gap Analysis
Gap analysis was done on the basis of recommended farming situation based extension. The recommended practice was compared with the existing practice and extent of gap evaluated. The specific reasons for the gap were enquired and the farmers were encouraged to propose strategies for filling the gaps. On the basis of above findings SREP has been formulated for the representative village.
III – GENERAL BACKGROUND OF THE REPRESENTATIVE
VILLAGES AND THEIR SREP
Isham Village
Resource (Income groups)
S.No
Income group (Rupees/Month)
No of Families
Percentage
1
Up to 8000
113
62.78
2
8001-12000
45
25.00
3
More than 12000
22
12.22
Total
180
100 %
Wealth Ranking
S.No
Category
No of Families
Percentage
1
Resource poor
106
58.89
2
Resource Rich
74
41.11
Total
180
100.00
Existing Farming Enterprise
S.No
Enterprise
No. of households
Percentage
1
Agriculture
159
88.5
2
Horticulture
125
69.5
3
Animal Husbandry
122
68.0
4
Sheep Husbandry
54
30.0
5
Poultry Keeping
104
58.0
Existing Farming System
S.No
Existing Farming system
No. of households
Percentage
1.
Agriculture + Horticulture+ Animal Husbandry
94
52.0
2.
Agriculture + Horticulture+ Poultry Keeping
54
30.0
3.
Agriculture + Horticulture+ Sheep Husbandry
32
18.0
Total
180
100.0
Contribution of different enterprises (%)
Enterprise-wise gaps in adoption and proposed extension strategies of the selected villages
AES-1 Village- Isham, Altitude- 1300m amsl, Tehsil- Uri,
A) Agriculture
S. No.
Item of package
Recommended Practices
Existing practices
Gap in adoption
Specific reason for gap
Farmers proposed extension strategies
1
Paddy
i
seed rate
50-60kg/ha
100-120kg/ha
partial
-Risk coverage against availability of seed, water, weed and bird damage etc.
-Training cum demonstration on handling farmers own seeds, their treatment and use of inputs for taking healthy nursery.
ii.
variety
Shalimar rice-1, Jehlum K-39
Chinese variety K-39
Partial
-Non-availability of seed and technology of latest varieties
-Demonstration cum training on latest released rice varieties, laying of OFT’s on successful cultivation of Basmati rice
iii.
transplanting time and method
appropriate time is 25th may-10 June with 3-4 seedlings/ hill
First fortnight of June and planting 8-10 seedlings /hill
Partial
-For coverage of seasonal risks and get more plant population established in the field
-OFT on sowing dates for commencement of exact week/date for transplanting and number of plants
iv
Fertilizer application (Urea,DAP,MOP)
Urea-10kg, DAP6.5kg, MOP1.7kg/ kanal
Urea5kg and DAP5kg/kanal
Partial
-Lack of awareness about the use of balanced dose of fertilizer.
-Not available at the right time
-Training cum demonstration on role and efficient use of fertilizer application.
v
Method of fertilizer application
Basal + Top doses
Using basal dose of the available fertilizers only
-do-
-do-
-do-
vi
Insect/ pest problems
IPM
Nil
Full
-lack of awareness in IPM
-Facing the problem of grasshopper almost every year
Training courses to be organized for insect/ pest control especially with reference to grasshopper
vii
Disease problem
IDM
Nil
Full
-Not aware about seed treatment and control measures about any disease
-However, a good number of farmers reported occurrence of Blast in some fields
-Orientation training programmes with regard to disease complex of the crop
-Importance of seed treatment and method
-Application of chemicals to control disease
viii
Yield
3-4 quintal/ kanal
1.3-1.6quintal/kanal
Partial
Lack of general awareness, training and availability of inputs about recommended rice production technology of the state
Organizing awareness camps and training programmes
2
Maize
i
variety
Mansar, C-6, C-8
Local (Francece)
Full
-Unawareness
-Showing preferences for growing white maize for their food
Introduction and popularization of recommended varieties through training and demonstration programmes
ii
Seed rate
1 kg /kanal for line sowing and 1.5kg/kanal for broadcast
4-5 kg/kanal through broadcast only
Partial
-To ensure good plant population
-More labour intensive
Demonstration on benefit of line sowing cultivation which is also feasible for intercropping practicing in the area
iii
Fertilizer
7 kg urea, 6.5 kg DAP, 2.5 kg MOP and 1 kg ZnSo4/kanal
Applying only urea @ 2 kg /kanal at knee high stage
Partial
Unawareness and non availability of the fertilizers
Training on use of fertilizers for growth and development of
iv
Insect/pest /Diseases
Control of cut-worm ,maize stem-borer and sheath blight
Sowing more seed than the recommended seed rate
Full
Do not know about the type and use of chemicals
Training on management /control of insect /pest/diseases
v
Yield
2.5-3 q/kanal
1-1.2 q/kanal
Partial
Growing of local cultivars only and no pest control
Demonstration cum training on improved maize variety
3.
Wheat
i
variety
HS 240
Local
Full
-Unawareness
Introduction and popularization of recommended varieties through training and demonstration programmes
ii
Seed rate and method
5-6 kg/kanal in line sowing
8-10 kg/kanal through broadcast only
Partial
-To ensure good plant population
- Lack of quality seed
- No manual seed drill
Demonstration on benefit of line sowing cultivation.
iii
Seed treatment
Carboxin @ 2g/kg of seed
Nil
Full
-Unawareness
Training cum demonstration on the Importance of seed treatment
iv
Yield
30-40 q/ha
10-12 q/ha
partial
- Use of local seed
- Not popular crop but growing generally for fodder.
-Popularization of wheat as food crop and its fitness in the rice-wheat system. Demonstration should also be conducted on the system.
- Introduction of fodder crops (Oat, berseem etc.)
B) Horticulture
Pear, apricot, walnut low chill apple, olive and lemon are grown in the area. Pear and apricot, matures a month earlier than valley and fetch higher returns to the growers. Walnuts of the areas are not up to the mark due to higher temperature at maturity. Olive of best quality is grown in the area. Lemons are found growing in lower areas but are of poor quality.
1
Walnut
S. No
Packages
Recommended
Existing
Gap (%)
Reason for gap
Farmers proposed strategy
1.
Variety
Hamdan, Sulaiman or better clonal selections
Seedling origin plants
100
Non availability of planting material and unawareness
To train some local unemployed youth to establish the nursery.
2
Spacing
8 x 8
No systematic planting of orchard
100
unawareness and undulated lands
-
3
Manure
20kg /Tree
Nil
-
unawareness
-
4
Fertilizer
Urea-3915g
DAP-1085g
MOP-2490g
nil
-
unawareness
Needs awareness programme
5
Pest and disease management
Spray of insecticide and fungicides
Nil- but walnut weevil is the major problem.
-
unawareness
Needs awareness programme
6
Irrigation
Required
Nil – though plenty of water is available.
unawareness
Need awareness programme
2.
Pear
1.
Variety
Bartlet, Max red Bartlet, Chinese sand pear,
Bartlet, William Bartlet
50
Lack of new introduction
Introduction of high yielding coloured varieties
2
Spacing
6 x 6
No systematic planting of orchard
100
unawareness and undulated lands
-
3
Manure
20 /Tree
Nil
-
unawareness
-
4
Fertilizer
Urea-1065g
DAP-650g
MOP-1500g
Nil
-
unawareness
Needs awareness programme
5
Pest and disease management
Spray of insecticide and fungicides
Nil
-
unawareness
Needs awareness programme
6
Irrigation
Required
Nil – though plenty of water is available.
unawareness
Need awareness programme
3.
Apricot
1.
Variety
Charmagz , Kaisa, Gilgiti sweet,Amba, Quetta, Sukerpara
Unidentified varieties
50
Lack of new introduction
Introduction of high yielding varieties
2
Spacing
6 x6
No systematic planting of orchard
100
unawareness and undulated lands
-
3
Manure
10 /Tree
Nil
-
unawareness
-
4
Fertilizer
Urea-850g
DAP-325g
MOP-11250g
Nil
-
unawareness
Needs awareness programme
5
Pest and disease management
Spray of insecticide and fungicides
Nil
-
unawareness
Needs awareness programme
6
Irrigation
Required
Nil – though plenty of water is available.
unawareness
Need awareness programme
4.
Olive
1.
Variety
Leccino, Coratina, Pendolino
Frontoio
Ramya, Nikitshaya
Leccino, Coratina, Pendolino
Frontoio
50
Lack of lack of high oil yielding varieties like Ramya, Nikitshaya
Introduction of high oil yielding varieties
2
Spacing
6 x6
No systematic planting of orchard
100
unawareness and undulated lands
-
3
Manure
20 /Tree
Nil
-
unawareness
-
4
Fertilizer
1.2kgN
0.80kgP2O5
0.40 k2O
Applying only N in form of Urea
80
unawareness
Needs awareness programme
5
Pest and disease management
Spray of insecticide and fungicides
Nil
-
unawareness
Needs awareness programme
6
Irrigation
Required
Nil – though plenty of water is available.
unawareness
Need awareness programme
There is a large wild vegetation of Indian olive (Olea cuspidata) which may be rejuvenated through top working of high yielding varieties. Lemons are growing in lower areas are of poor quality and there is a good chance for introduction of kinnow in the area for economic production. Allison and Abbott varieties of kiwifruit and day neutral straw berry can also be introduced for crop diversification.
C) Vegetables
S.No
Packages
Recommended
Existing
Gap
Reason for gap
Farmers proposed strategy
Kharief Vegetables
1.
Kharif vegetables and varieties
Cole crops, cucurbits, Solaneaceous and beans etc.
with different high yielding varieties.
growing only few selected vegetables like kale, cucumber, bottle gourd, chillies brinjal tomato and potatoes using local seeds
Partial
- Unawareness about growing of vegetables using modern technologies
- Lack of improved / high yielding varieties of vegetable seed
Creating awareness by organizing camps and training programmes on Kharif vegetables
2.
Nursery raising of vegetables
Open, Hot bed and polyhouse technologies
Growing nursery in open beds.
Partial
- Unawareness and lack of knowledge about other methods
Organizing of training programmes for vegetable nursery management
3.
Level of Cultivation
Domestic and commercial
Growing only for Domestic purposes in their backyards
Partial
- Unawareness about growing vegetables for regular consumption and commercial value
Popularizing kitchen gardening for regular supply of fresh vegetables at home.
4.
Plant protection
Seed treatment and IPM
Not undertaking any plant protection measure and face problems of cut worms, borers and wilt in chillies.
Full
- Lack of knowledge and method of controlling the vegetable disease and pests
Training cum demonstration on IPM in vegetables
5.
Use of FYM and Fertilizers
Use of sufficient quantity of well decomposed FYM and balanced dose of fertilizers
Using only FYM and a little quantity of urea
partial
- Lack of knowledge and non availability of in puts.
Organizing a training programme on Integrated Nutrient Management in vegetales
Rabi Vegetables
1.
Rabi vegetables and varieties
Root, leafy, bulbs and tuber vegetables
Growing only selected vegetables like Kale, turnip and radish
Partial
- Generally unaware about the Rabi vegetables and root vegetables not growing well
Awareness cum training programme on cultivation of Rabi vegetables
2.
Level of cultivation
Domestic and commercial
Growing only for Domestic purposes in their backyards
Partial
- Unawareness about growing vegetables for regular consumption and commercial value
Popularizing kitchen gardening for regular supply of fresh vegetables at home.
3.
Post Harvest
Various post harvest technologies for vegetables
Following only natural sun drying methods in some vegetables
Partial
- Lack of knowledge about various post harvest technologies
Training programmes related to post harvest technologies may be organized.
D) Livestock (Cattle, sheep, goat and poultry)
S.No
Item
Recommended
Existing
Gap
Reason for gap
Farmers proposed strategy
1.
Breed
1. Cattle
2. Sheep & Goat
cross-bred
cross-bred
Local and cross-bred
Local and cross-bred
Partial
Partial
- Lack of AI facilities and repeated heat in most of the animals
Lack of breeding rams
Intensification of cross-bred programme
Training programme on organizing viable sheep and goat units
2
Feed
Fodder and concentrate ration
Mostly Fodder
Partial
unawareness about the feeding schedule
-Training on feeding schedule of animals
3.
Health
Regular dosing and vaccination
Nil
Full
Lack of knowledge about animal diseases and their control
Training programme on Management of prominent diseases like FMD in cattle, foot rot and skin problems in sheep.
4.
Milk yield
10-15 litres/day/cow
3-5 litres/day/cow
Partial
local breed and management
Awareness camp on Scientific animal rearing for higher yields and returns.
5.
Poultry
1. Breed
2. Feed
3. Health
4. General Management
Broilar (COBB), Vanraja
Recommended balanced concentrate ration as per age and type
Regular dosing and vaccination
Recommended scientific practices
Local
Mostly feeding on household wastes
Nil
Practicing indigenous methods (Backyard poultry)
Full
Full
Full
Partial
Unawareness and Non-availability of germplasm
Lack of knowledge about balanced feeding and their preparation
Lack of knowledge about poultry diseases and their control
Commercial poultry units are costly and risky
Introduction of new breeds like Vanraja etc.
Training programme on Poultry feeds and feeding schedule
Training programme on Management of prominent diseases like ranikhet and cocidiosis etc.
Popularizing poultry through establishment of demonstration units.
E) Home science
The survey data analysis reveals some useful results relating to the sex-wise demographic statistics, socio-economic conditions, source of income, occupational status, educational literacy, health conditions, living standards, agricultural status, horticultural practices, veterinary services, etc.
Health status of women and the facilities available
The women during house-to-house survey expressed that they cannot avail health facilities in the area and have to cover a long distance at the time of emergency, either to Baramulla or to Srinagar. Further, it was observed that the women above 30 years of age were mainly illiterate and only a small no of them were able to write their names. The women were not equipped with any health related information, even they were not aware of he proper immunization schedule for their children. No professional help was available in the area for facilitating deliveries of the pregnant women. They were also unaware of the birth control measures and the importance of balanced diet during pregnancy and lactation. The women above 45 years of age were suffering from bone and joint pain largely. However, anemia and malnutrition was common among the adolescent girls. Besides, some women also complained of the stomach problems. The percentage of commonly found diseases among the different age groups of the women in Isham village is given as.
Health status of women in Isham (percentage of disorders found)
S.No
Health condition
Females(age-group)
5-20 years
20-35 years
Above 35
1
Normal Health
50
35
40
2
Malnutrition and anemia
45
40
24
3
Orthopedic Problem
2
25
65
4
Stomach Problem
-
25
30
Health Status and Medical Facilities Availed by Pregnant women
The survey data reveals that only 15-20 %of pregnant women seek medical checkup from district hospitals, located at a long distance from the area. The 24-hour food recall method was also used to know about the nutritional intake of the women and it was found the food intake of these women was too low than the recommended allowances for the condition., thus leading to various disorders among them. An analysis of the data revealed that the pregnant and lactating women were malnourished, anemic and were suffering from the various diseases due imbalanced diets
Analysis of the main nutrient intake of the lactating mothers
(Adult-moderate worker)
S.No
For lactating mothers
K.cal
Proteins(gms)
Calcium(mg)
1
Recommended allowances/day
2725
70
1000
2
Nutrient intake /day
1945
43
685
3
Gap found/day
-780
-27
-315
The data analysis shows that the diet taken every day by a pregnant woman is less in essential nutrients i.e.780 K.calories from carbohydrates and fats, 27 grams of proteins and 315 mg Calcium. Which in turn has resulted in the occurrence of various deficiencies among them and the incidences of anemia and malnutrition are increasing day by day in the area. These depleted intakes were found to be because of poor selection of foodstuffs on daily routine basis and the improper methods of cooking used.
Schooling Facilities
The area has one Govt. high school constructed by air force-India and has a primary school. All of the 24 families visited, used to send their children irrespective of sex to the school. However, it was found that the girls usually discontinue their studies after the Matric due to unavailability of the higher secondary school in the area and families do not prefer to send their wards to the far off places for the further studies. Besides, a private school was also present in the area. People also complained that they are not getting the private tuition facilities for their children.
Limber Village
The limber village of Boniyar block is one of the representative villages for temperate agro-eco situation of the region at an altitude of 1800 meters. The village is spread over an area of 394 ha of land and 170 ha are under different crops out of which only 86 ha have the irrigation facility. The major source of irrigation is Limber Nala flowing through the village, otherwise the remaining crops and area is rain fed. Due to difficult terrain and lack of irrigation facilities mono-cropping is mostly followed. Mostly Maize is grown as major food crop and paddy is rarely grown. The village comprises of Thirteen Patties (Hamlets) seven upper (choolan, saranwala, bela, babagale, brren/gujjar, budrali, langer) and six (haran, shahkoot, jamia masjid, kharhar, jungri, suchin) in lower parts of the Limber. The number of households is 480 with a total population of 3277 persons comprising of 1830 males and 1447 females. 835 persons have been categorized as schedule tribes. The family size ranges from 4-12 members per household.
Resource (Income groups)
S. No
Income group (Rupees/Month)
No of Families
Percentage
1
Up to 8000
411
85.63
2
8001-12000
23
4.79
3
More than 12000
46
9.58
Total
480
100 .00
Wealth Ranking
S.No
Category
No of Families
Percentage
1
Resource poor
398
82.92
2
Resource Rich
82
17.08
Total
480
100 .00
Existing Farming Enterprise
S. No
Enterprise
No. of households
Percentage
Agriculture
412
85.83
Horticulture
91
18.96
Animal Husbandry
137
28.54
Sheep Husbandry
63
13.13
Goat Rearing
91
18.96
Poultry Keeping
274
57.08
Bee Keeping
46
9.58
Mushroom
48
10.00
Existing Farming System
S. No
Existing Farming system
No. of households
Percentage
1.
Agriculture +Animal Husbandry+
Sheep Husbandry/ Goat Rearing
423
88.1
2.
Agriculture + Horticulture +
Poultry Keeping
57
11.9
Total
480
100%
Contribution of different enterprises (%)
AES-2 Village- Limber, Altitude- 1800m amsl, Tehsil- Uri,
S. No
Item of package
Recommended Practices
Existing practices
Gap in adoption
Specific reason for gap
Farmers proposed extension strategies
A) Agriculture
1
Maize
i
variety
C-15
Local (Double & Tramen)
Full
-Unawareness
-Showing preferences for growing white maize for their food
Introduction and popularization of recommended varieties through training and demonstration programmes
ii
Seed rate
1 kg /kanal for line sowing and 1.5kg/kanal for broadcast
5-6 kg/kanal through broadcast only
Partial
-To ensure good plant population
-More labour intensive
Demonstration on benefit of line sowing cultivation which is also feasible for intercropping practicing in the area
iii
Fertilizer
7 kg urea, 6.5 kg DAP, 2.5 kg MOP and 1 kg ZnSo4/kanal
Applying only urea @ 3 kg /kanal at knee high stage and DAP @ 1kg/kanal as basal
Partial
Unawareness and non availability of the fertilizers
Training on use of fertilizers for growth and development of
iv
Insect/ pest / Diseases
Control of cut-worm ,maize stem-borer and sheath blight
Sowing more seed than the recommended seed rate
Full
Do not know about the type and use of chemicals
Training on management /control of insect /pest/diseases
v
Yield
2.5-3 q/kanal
2-2.2 q/kanal under irrigated and 0.7-1.0 q/kanal under unirrigated
Partial
Growing of local cultivars only and no pest control, Damage by bear and monkeys
Demonstration cum training on improved maize variety
2.
Rajmash
i
variety
Bountiful, Master, Kentucky wonder
Local (lal choti and safed)
Full
-Unawareness
Introduction and popularization of recommended varieties through training and demonstration programmes
ii
Seed rate
Bush type- 4-5kg, pole type- 1.2-1.5 kg/kanal in line sowing
250g/ kanal in intercrop and 1kg/kanal for sole crop through broadcasting
Partial
-More labour intensive
-Unawareness
Demonstration on benefit of line sowing cultivation which is also feasible for intercropping practicing in the area
B) Horticulture
Only walnut is grown in these areas and have good quality due to lower temperature at time of maturity and play major role in the economy of the farmer of these areas. Though apple and pear can grow successfully but there may be the marketing problem due to poor transportation facilities.
S.No
Packages
Recommended
Existing
Gap (%)
Reason for gap
Farmers proposed strategy
1.
Walnut
1.
Variety
Hamdan, Sulaiman or better clonal selections
Seedling origin plants
100
Non availability of planting material and unawareness
To train some local unemployed youth to establish the nursery.
2
Spacing
8 x8
No systematic planting of orchard
100
unawareness and undulated lands
-
3
Manure
20kg /Tree
Nil
-
unawareness
-
4
Fertilizer
Urea-3915g
DAP-1085g
MOP-2490g
Nil
-
unawareness
Needs awareness programme
5
Pest and disease management
Spray of insecticide and fungicides
Nil- but walnut weevil is the major problem.
-
unawareness
Needs awareness programme
6
Irrigation
Required
Nil – though plenty of water is available.
-
unawareness
Need awareness programme
C) Vegetables
S.No
Packages
Recommended
Existing
Gap
Reason for gap
Farmers proposed strategy
Kharief Vegetables
1.
Kharif vegetables and varieties
Cole crops, cucurbits, Solaneaceous and beans etc.
with different high yielding varieties.
growing only few selected vegetables like kale, cucumber, bottle gourd, chillies brinjal tomato and potatoes using local seeds
Partial
- Unawareness about growing of vegetables using modern technologies
- Lack of improved / high yielding varieties of vegetable seed
Creating awareness by organizing camps and training programmes on Kharif vegetables
2.
Nursery raising of vegetables
Open, Hot bed and polyhouse technologies
Growing nursery in open beds.
Partial
- Unawareness and lack of knowledge about other methods
Organizing of training programmes for vegetable nursery management
3.
Level of Cultivation
Domestic and commercial
Growing only for Domestic purposes in their backyards
Partial
- Unawareness about growing vegetables for regular consumption and commercial value
Popularizing kitchen gardening for regular supply of fresh vegetables at home.
4.
Plant protection
Seed treatment and IPM
Not undertaking any plant protection measure and face problems of cut worms, borers and wilt in chillies.
Full
- Lack of knowledge and method of controlling the vegetable disease and pests
Training cum demonstration on IPM in vegetables
5.
Use of FYM and Fertilizers
Use of sufficient quantity of well decomposed FYM and balanced dose of fertilizers
Using only FYM and a little quantity of urea
partial
- Lack of knowledge and non availability of in puts.
Organizing a training programme on Integrated Nutrient Management in vegetales
Rabi Vegetables
1.
Rabi vegetables and varieties
Root, leafy, bulbs and tuber vegetables
Growing only selected vegetables like Kale, turnip and radish
Partial
- Generally unaware about the Rabi vegetables and root vegetables not growing well
Awareness cum training programme on cultivation of Rabi vegetables
2.
Level of cultivation
Domestic and commercial
Growing only for Domestic purposes in their backyards
Partial
- Unawareness about growing vegetables for regular consumption and commercial value
- Seed production of potato can be practiced
Popularizing kitchen gardening for regular supply of fresh vegetables at home.
Diversification through commercial seed production can be demonstrated on potato.
3.
Post Harvest
Various post harvest technologies for vegetables
Following only natural sun drying methods in some vegetables
Partial
- Lack of knowledge about various post harvest technologies
Training programmes related to post harvest technologies may be organized.
D) Home science
Health status of women and facilities available
The health standard of the population as a whole was not satisfactory and the women and children were most affected due to various disorders and deficiencies. The women were not equipped with any health related information, even they were not aware of the proper immunization schedule for their children. There was a primary health center but no professional help was available in the area for facilitating deliveries of the pregnant women and they have to go to the distant places for the emergency medical supervision. Besides, the nutritional awareness among the women was also weak. They had no knowledge regarding the selection of the nutritionally high value foodstuffs in different physiological conditions. Further, the cooking practices used by them were also false which had resulted in the loss of the essential nutrients. The deficiencies commonly found among the women of the Limber are anemia, malnutrition and arthritis. They need complete awareness regarding the importance of balanced diet in both normal and other conditions as the health standard was deteriorating day by day in the area.
Educational status
The area had one high school, one middle school and few primary schools. They also had a facility of mobile schools in the area .The total literacy rate was 60% and no gender bias was observed among the families for providing education to their children. However, again here the same problem of dropout among the girls was found after the middle or the Matric due to non availability of the provisions for the higher studies.
Noorkah Village
The village Noorkah of Boniyar block is one of the representative villages for sub-temperate agro-eco-situation of Uri region and was used for conducting PRA. The village is situated at an altitude of 1420m amsl on the foot hill of mountainous range and is opposite side of village Chandenwari on the Uri-Baramulla National highway. The river Jhelum separates the two villages. The village is spread over an area of 65 hectares and irrigated through Nilossa- Noorkah and Noorkah general koul. Most of the cropped area is irrigated and facilitate double cropping. Major Kharif crops are rice and maize whereas in Rabi season wheat, oats, Sarson and berseem are grown. The area is having a high potential for vegetable cultivation. Pear and walnut are the main fruits of the area. The village comprises of four patties (hamlets) namely Khurmjar, Sadat mohalla, Khan mohalla and Ahnger mohalla. The total numbers of households are 300 with a population of 2450 persons comprising of 1300 males and 1150 females. The family size ranges from 4 – 12 members, however in few of the households the strength of family members exceeded than 12 members.
Growing Mustard, Chiness Cabbage, Cabbage, and Cauliflower
GROWING MUSTARD, CHINESE CABBAGE, CABBAGE, AND CAULIFLOWER
Growing these particular vegetables can be profitable if you knows the proper cultural practices, and knowing the necessary requirements, you can easily produce the desirable quantity and quality of these nutritious and easy-to-grow vegetables.
Strategies Required
Note: this mixture is ideal for a 1X20 linear meters plot. If your plot is not this size you can adjust the mixture by computing the exact amount of mixture.
Steps in Plastic Mulch Installation:
The following spacing should be applied.
Pechay/Mustard 10 – 25 cm bet. row 30 – 60 cm bet. hill
Chinese Cabbage 20 – 40 cm bet. row 40 – 65 cm bet. hill
Cauliflower 40 – 50 cm bet. row 50 – 75 cm bet. hill
Cabbage 30 – 50 cm bet. row 50 – 75 cm bet. hill
Advantages of plastic mulch.
Sowing Techniques.
Transplanting Seedlings.
Fertilizer Requirements
These leafy vegetables does not need too much fertilizer, especially if your soil have been incorporated with organic manure or vermicompost before planting.
You have to apply drenching technique if you want your leafy vegetables to be of good appearance, healthy and vigorous.
You can apply drenching weekly from planting to harvesting following the recommended dosage:
In every 16 liters water, mix urea with the following dosage;
1) First week – 75 grams urea/16 L water
2) Second week – 150 grams urea/16 L water
3) Third week – 225 grams urea/16 L water
4) Fourth week – 300 grams urea/16 L water
Drenching is done by applying the mixture directly into the base of the plant. Care must be observe not to wet the leaves to avoid leaf burning.
Apply drenching solution late in the afternoon at least 150 ml. solution per hill weekly until harvesting time.
Major Insect Pests and their Control
The natural enemies of this insect pest are the following:
To control Diamond back moth, apply Agremek, Vegetok, Selecron,and Actara. Follow the manufacturers recommendation strictly to get a positive result.
Damage is caused by the larvae devouring the leaves and sometimes boring into the heads of cabbage.
The known predators of cabbage worm are the stink bug, Politest wasps, and the most common and effective parasite is the braconid.
Dusting or spraying with insecticides such as; Actara, Selecron, Malathion, cymbush controls the larvae. Start spraying when you sees some larvae attacking the plants. Repeat at 7 – 10 days intervals until the infestation is checked.
Cabbage looper can be controlled easily because it has so many predators that attacks the larvae and the moth freely. Sometimes mortality is high due to some virus attack to the moth.
It can also be controlled with the use of chemicals in serious cases such as; Actara, Selecron, Malathion, and Cymbush. You should always follow the recommendation stated on the labels for accurate handling of the chemicals.
Some species which feed above ground on any part of the plant are called climbing cutworms.
When a high population is develop and the food supply becomes exhausted, they migrate to other plants the same as the army worms, hence they are called army cutworms.
The natural control for cutworms are the application of some insect parasites such as; Ichneumon wasp, bracoid wasp,, species of Apanteles, the egg parasite of Trichogramma minutum (Riley), chalcid wasp, and the tachina fly.
Some predators includes; ground beetles, birds, and vertebrates enemies of all types of caterpillars.
For chemical control you can use Actara, Selecro, Malathion, and cymbush. You should always follow the manufacturer’s recommendation for the safe use of these insecticides.
Infested lower leaves become tinged with yellow, young plants fail to grow and may even wither and die.
Injury results from the maggots feeding on the surface of the roots or tunneling through them.
Recommended control measures are surface applications of heptachlor, aldrin or dieldrin at 0.25 per acre, or chlordane at 1 pound per acre.
You can either used dusts or sprays, and two applications may be necessary, one just as the plants are coming through the ground or immediately after transplanting, and another about 10 days later.
Flea beetles can be controlled by the following insecticides; Azodrin 168 EC, Decis, Seven, and Malathion. Always follow the recommendation set by the manufacturer.
Heavily infested plants appears to be whitish in appearance.
The natural enemies of aphids are, braconids, lady beetles, aphid lions and syrphid fly larvae.
For chemical control, you can used Tamaron, confidor, malathion, and parathion.
Besides rendering edible portions of vegetable crops unsalable, the leaf miner interferes with the normal photosynthesis of the plants.
Chemical control for leaf miner are; Trigard and Lannate. Always follow the manufacturer’s recommendation in using these insecticides for safety disposition.
Harvesting
Depending on your mode of use either for home consumption or for market you can decide when to harvest giving consideration on your capacity to earn more if you intend to sell them.
To give you the exact time to harvest for market purposes, here is the guide to harvest them for your convenience:
O. K. time is up for this topic. Have a happy day for a nice growing vegetables.
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Cris Ramasasa, Freelance writer, writes on home gardening and Internet marketing tips. You can get a copy of his latest ebook “How to get started in Flower Gardening” and “Vegetable Gardening Made Easy”, and also get lots of tips, Free articles, and bonuses at: www.crisramasasa.com