The majority of eco-friendly houses share similar engineering characteristics such as; smaller living spaces and recycled building materials incorporated into the design. Some houses incorporate solar panels, wood-burning stoves or other energy-saving heating and cooling appliances. The potential costs saving on utility bills, property taxes, home maintenance, and furniture would more than make this kind of living ideal for single or duel family housing.

Ewok-Style Tree House

 Photo Source

Imagine you merging with nature in the treetops and living in a custom deluxe eco-friendly tree house high above the ground, may be this is not the sort of lifestyle that is suited for every one of us, but it does make a statement.

Photo Source

This Ewok-style tree house designed by Canadian carpenter Tom Chudleigh saw the future and built it. The wood and fiberglass waterproof exterior protects an interior that comes equip with a working kitchen including a refrigerator, sink and microwave and built-in beds. However, when nature calls, then the residents must learn to make doo in the great outdoors.

For $45,000 you get the sphere alone and the extra accessories included will set your wallet back some $152,000, which oddly enough makes this the least affordable housing alternative on this entire list.

Portable Martin House-To-Go

Photo Source

Honestly, this has to be the most practical house on the planet that is eco-friendly to the extremes. Live anywhere and change your scenery when the mood strikes in your own portable house. The Martin portable house-to-go is built to the highest building standards and is weatherproofed with NASA-approved insulation to endure in extreme weather conditions.

Photo Source

Although, the living quarters are exceedingly small it diffidently isn't cramped. The floor plan uses the space wisely to pack as much into a small space as possible and give its residents room enough to breath. It comes complete with a kitchen with sink, refrigerator and stove, a bathroom with shower, sink and toilet, and a roomy loft bedroom. It also has bamboo floors, high ceilings and large windows to create a more open feel. The $33,900 price tag makes the Martin House-to-Go 2008 model a real affordable housing alternative for anyone desiring to break free from the high housing costs of traditional housing options.

Dome House

Photo Source

The Japanese are amazing engineers in both housing and technology, so it shouldn't be too surprising that a prefab home manufacturer in Japan called “Japan Dome Housing Co., Ltd., developed an amazingly energy-efficient, extreme weather durable, Styrofoam expandable modular igloo-shaped kit house. Oh, yes, it's true. The house of the future that can be purchased and assembled by you and two or three of your friends in just a matter of 3-days if you work around the clock or about a week if you take your time.

One of the advantages of using 100% expanded polystyrene foam instead of wood or metal, is that it is rot-proof, waterproof and termite-proof, which will automatically save the residents potentially thousands of dollars in future home maintenance costs. Using this material along with the expert engineering and modular construction provides a structure that is extremely resistant to earthquakes, hurricanes and/or typhoons, which providing a sense of relatively peace-of-mind that the house has a better chance to survive the extreme forces of nature.

Photo Source

The Dome House measures in at 145.86 square feet of floor space that can continue to be expanded on to increase the building size, just by adding additional modular building pieces to the existing structure. The outside measurement is a reasonable 25 feet wide and 13 feet tall, but the draw back is the color, which additional color options may be available from the manufacturer.

The Dome House is amazingly affordable for the basic kit coming in at an estimated $30,000 (USD) or 3,000,000 (yen) and additions can be added when more room is needed for a growing family at an extra cost. The manufacturer also claims that their product can be used to build hotel rooms, restaurants, freezer rooms, steam rooms, bars, or poultry farms, which probably means that this product could be used for practically any building purpose.

Have you wonder where our garbage will end up? Where does the item we put in the toilette, and flush down go? The answer is obvious; they often end up in the ocean and on beaches.

Plastic Items

Image Source

These include all kind of plastic items such as shopping bags, plastic bottles, condoms, and plastic food wrappers. Below is closer look at how long it would take for each of these items to biodegrade.

• The average life span of plastic demijohn is from 400 to 600 hundred years.
• The average life span of plastic bottle is from 300 to 500 hundred years.
• The plastic bags have a life span of 30 to 60 years.
• The plastic rings, which hold pop cans together, have a life span of 450 years.
• The food wrappers have a life span from 20 to 30 years.
• Condoms have the life span of 30 years.

Pieces of plastic, such as the rings around pop bottles, and milk bottles, have the life span of hundreds of years, depending on the quality.

Other Dangerous Items Found in the Ocean

Image Source

• Aluminum foil lids have a life span of 10 years
• Aluminum has a life span of 5 years
• Sanitary pad items have an average life span of 25 years
• Tin cans have a life span of 200 to 500 hundred years
• Bottle caps have an average of 300 years.
• Diesel and engine oil depends on the amount spilled
• Glass bottles have a life span of thousands of years
• The carton has a life span of 25 to 60 years
• Paper bags have about 4 weeks, but have serious us effect on sea creatures' digestion
• Cigarette stubs have an average life span of 10 years
• Batteries have a life span of thousands of years

In "An Ocean of Rubbish", the Pacific Ocean is called The Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Since 20% of the garbage was attributed to large shipping vessels dumping overboard and the other 80% is from land base.

Let's just take a peek at what the ocean looks like through these photos from this article:

If looking at these pictures makes you sick in your stomach, perhaps, we should start to care about our environment now, why wait? Go to the following websites and see what you can do to help.

Green Peace
The Great Garbage Patch
Trash Vortex
North Pacific Gyre

Flickr

For the last 20 years the bee population has been in the decline. Initially perhaps because of the gradual decrease in bee keeping and the encroachment of towns into the countryside.A hundred years ago there were a million beehives in England, but now there are only around 240,000.

In the last couple of years the disappearance of Honey Bees has become noticeable to anyone who spends time out of doors whether in the garden or countryside. Last year one third of the hives did not survive the cold months of Winter and Spring. So extreme is the situation that it seems unlikely that there will be any British honey on sale at the end of this year.

If that does not seem disturbing then we should consider that Honey Bees pollinate 90% of our orchards, no bees means no pollination, which means no apples. But of course it does not stop there either. The effect on agriculture would be catastrophic. No less a person than Albert Einstein noted that without bees mankind could not survive for more than 4 years!

In the USA Honey Bees pollinate one third of the food grown. It is estimated that 30% - 90% of the Honey Bees have disappeared in some areas of America. Honeybees are not native to America (they arrived with the early settlers) but the native Bumble Bees are also disappearing. Once a common insect, and responsible for pollinating 15% of the crops in the United States, they are now rarely seen.

So what is happening? The bees appear to just fly away, leaving the Queen and her eggs behind, it is called "colony collapse". But where are the bees and why do they do this? There are no reports of masses of dead insects. Investigations are ongoing but the mystery has not been solved so far.

The varroa mite which feeds on bees is believed to be partly responsible. They are just visible to the human eye and many bees are infested with them now and they infect the bee with viruses. This can be blamed partly on warmer weather which favours the increase in the varroa mite population. Also bad weather deters the bees from flying out of the hive to clean themselves in the fresh air.

Some suggest that the radiation from cell phones interferes with the bees' navigation systems and they cannot find their way home. Others blame pesticides and genetically modified crops.

Perhaps all of these suggestions play some part but the worrying thing is that no-one really has an answer and meantime the hives remain empty. Regrettably little attention has been paid to the process of insect fertilisation. We have just left nature to take its course. Unfortunately it now appears that nature is not managing very well and we may only have ourselves to blame for that.

Flickr

This fish is from the Engraulidae family of salt water fish normally grows to no more than about 9 inches in length (around 20 cm). It has sharp teeth and resembles a mini version of the humble herring. It's diet consists mainly of plankton and fry from other species of fish.

The anchovy can be found throughout the world but primarily they are found in higher densities in temperate conditions rather than cold or hot. They are most abundant in the Mediterranean (notably the coasts of Italy, France and Spain) but can be found as far afield as North Africa and along the Atlantic coast of Europe as far north as Southern Norway.

The anchovy usually spawns round about October through to March and at least 60 miles (around 100 km) from the shore, close to the surface of the ocean.

Our love of the anchovy in Europe goes way back to the Roman days. It is believed it was a primary ingredient in garum, a fish paste which was used as a condiment, much enjoyed by Romans of all classes. It's one of the ingredients in Worcestershire sauce and Gentlemen's Relish and plays a part on the Asian menu in the dipping sauces of nuoc mam and nam pla, but it's mostly recognised throughout the world as a topping for the common all garden pizza and in pasta!

But anchovies are not only popular here in Europe. They're eaten in India, normally dried but sometimes fresh. If eaten fresh they're usually fried or put into spicy curries and are a good source of protein in the Indian diet. In fact throughout the whole of Asia the humble little anchovy is used in fish stocks, sauces and soups.

Unfortunately due to their versatility in our diets we seem to have overlooked the fact that they, just like the tuna and cod, are being exploited and overfished thanks to the wonderful modern invention, the dragnet. Such is their decline here in Europe that The Marine Conservation Society have added this dying breed to the ever increasing list of fish on the endangered list. This has already led to reduced catches off the Atlantic coast in Portugal and the closure of the Biscay Bay fishery. Hopefully this measure isn't too little too late to save it as it would be a great loss to the world if one of our most versatile little fish was to be driven to total extinction.

"So what", I can hear many of you utter with scorn, "I don't like them anyway", but consider that these small fish not only provide a part of our diet, but are also a vital part of the diets of sea mammals and fish including halibut, rock fish and sharks and also birds such as the pelican and the tern.

I've always kept a jar or can of anchovies in brine in my store cupboard but, once my last jar has gone, I shall be knocking that item off my shopping list for a while!

Image Source

The indigenous people of the area are concerned with the many threats the rainforest is facing; more than 50% of all original rainforest, which are spread out around the globe have been destroyed. The forests have fell victim to ranching, mining, agriculture, logging and many other destructive practices. Logging is one of the main destructive forces and according to The Nature Conservancy, (2008). “Nearly 50 million acres are harvested yearly.”

It has taken the rainforests several million years to grow into the amazingly complex ecological systems they are today. The forests environments depict a vast hoard of regenerative intrinsic living resources that for thousands of years by distinction of their lavishness in both plant and animal species, have bestowed a wealth of assets for the continuation and benefits of humanity. These assets include essential food replenishment, clothing, shelter, fossil fuel, spices, industrial crude materials and basic medicines for all those that reside in the exalted rainforest.

However, the inner working of a rainforest is a complexes and delicate system. Everything becomes so co-dependent that disturbing any part of it could lead to unrealized damage and destruction of the entire rainforest. Regrettable as it may seem, it has only taken a hundred years of human involvement to upset and destroy that which Mother Nature has designed to remain forever if left alone and undisturbed (Raintree Nutrition, 1996).

The National Geographic (1996-2008) stated, “Vegetation replenishes the atmosphere, by releasing moisture collected by the canopy trees; this process is called transpiration.” “A canopy tree can release as much as 200 gallons of water each year.” The moisture in turn creates a thick dense cloud cover which hangs over the rainforest. This cloud cover even when not raining keeps the forest very moist and warm.

Image Source

“The average rainfall in the Amazon Rainforest is nine feet of water each year,” Educational Web Adventure (1996). The vegetation sucks up the water and expels moisture back into the atmosphere; then contributing and bringing water to other parts of the world. Without the trees and canopy the water cannot be collected and expelled back into the atmosphere, causing drought and possibly climatic change throughout the world.

Since the temperatures remain in the high '70s Fahrenheit all year round and it rains nearly every day making this an ideal condition for supporting life. Rainforest species can range from a couple of dozen to several million. The many different types of animals and plants rely on the canopy and ground cover to survive; once the magnificent rainforest is gone they will die (Young,).

The Brazil nut tree is one of the endangered species that can only grow in the rainforest. The tree grows 40-50 meters high and lives to be 500-800 years old. The fruit of this tree, which is a nut, is exported to places all over the world. “The United States alone imports nearly 9 metric ton per year” (Rain Tree, 1996).

Image Source

Harvested Brazil nuts.

According to Rain Tree (1996), “The tree does not produce its fruit until it is 30-40 years old. The trees also require a specific species of bee to pollinate the flowers. These combined factors make it highly unsuitable for plantation production.”

The Brazil nut tree is an excellent example of the closely entwined ecosystem of the rainforest. The agouti is the only animal capable of chewing through the fruit pod to release the seeds for new growth. This huge rat like creature can grow very large up to (10 pounds). The tree, agouti and bees are all co-dependent on each other for its survival (Rain Tree, 1996).

Image Source

The Rainforest is home to several thousand groups of indigenous people each having its own culture and language. These indigenous people have never ventured out to the modern world and have resided in the Rainforest for several millenniums. Each culture depends on the plants and animals for food and medicines. The children are schooled by people within their families and taught how to survive within the confines of the rainforest. The children often have such an extensive knowledge of the indigenous species of plants and animals, that they are able to teach the scientist that come to research inside the rainforest (Silber & Velton, 1996 revised 2004).

While doing research into tribal medicine in the heart of the Amazon Rainforest, I the author of this thesis was able to learn many new and exciting ways in which to incorporate the properties of the plants found in the rainforest into modern day medicine. During my two year stay I lived with several tribes and each tribe taught and freely shared with me, his or her way of life. Although I was an outsider, the tribe members accepted me into their fold with open hands and hearts (Amazon Shaman, personal conversation, 2001-2003).

One possible solution that came up while in conversation with a tribal shaman concerning the preservation of the Rainforest, would be to make all Rainforest National Parks. This would insure the protection of many indigenous species and the people within the rainforest (Amazon Shaman, personal conversation, 2001-2003).

Once a proper assessment has been reached weighing both the pros and cons of harvesting the Rainforest, then adequate laws can be enacted to protect and properly manage dwindling Rainforest; preservation of our Rainforest can begin.

Indigenous people are now starting to join forces; fighting for his and her rights and through the means of peaceful organized demonstrations are hoping to bring a resolution to this on-going concern. The people residing inside the rainforest realize the importance of taking such action. If no action is taken by the people their land and culture will soon be destroyed and lost forever. By joining forces with these groups everyone can help the people who depend on the majestic rainforest to preserve and insure their way of live for years to come (Silber and Velton, 1996 revised 2004).

If humankind looks at the benefits then humankind stands to gain by protecting the rainforest of the world such as, environment, community resources and personal enjoyment then compare them with that which humankind stand to lose by not taking action, Everyone will agree that the pros outweigh the cons.

Image Source

This amazing shot is from the ground looking up through the Bamboo trees in the Hawaii Maui Bamboo Jungle. The foliage on the trees nearly blots out the sky above the jungle. The trees grow very tall, as they have to compete for sunlight.

This next picture is very cool. It is a jungle waterfall in Belize.

 

Image Source

They also give jungle tours in the Belize Jungle and I thought it would be cool to share with you the readers some video on this. Hope you enjoy the video.

This is the Blue Nile Falls in Ethiopia. You can see with a glance the power of Mother Nature at work.

Image Source

There are some very big crocodiles here and throughout the Nile River. They can grow to over 200 kg. Take a long hard look at this one and you are the judge.

Image Source

This is an awesome picture of one! If you are thinking about swimming in these waters, you may want to reconsider. Look at the video below and think safety.

I know I would not risk swimming in the water with these huge monsters around. You decide for yourself; I am staying in the boat!

Welcome to Brazil and let me introduce you to the Rain forest. This is one of my greatest loves. I enjoy researching the many plants as I feel they hold medicines that may well cure many diseases.

 

Image Source

Mother Nature is sure beautiful.

The Rain Forest watershed is home to many beautiful creatures such as in the picture below. What will happen to these animals big and small? The Brazil Rainforest if destroyed it will definitely have an effect on the people, wildlife and the world.

 

 

Image Source

The video below gives some kind of idea as to how many kinds of plants and wildlife there is in the rainforest.

The jungle of Costa Rica is also very beautiful and you may find dwellings such as this one below scattered in places throughout it.

 

 

Image Source

Costa Rica get almost 300 inches of rainfall each year and that my friends is a lot of water. One of my favorite pictures is the one below. You can see the volcanoes in the background of the picture as well as the lush green jungle.

 

Image Source

This is an amazing site to see.

The man below is swimming beneath one of the waterfalls deep in the jungle of beautiful Costa Rica.

 

 

Image Source

Costa Rica also has some very beautiful wildlife. Take a long hard look at this beautiful Rufous-tailed Hummingbird captured in the highlands over the central valley Costa Rica. This is just exceptional beauty and my hat is off to the person that caught this with their camera.

 

 

Image Source

 

There is lots of beautiful jungles in Southern India as well so let me show you the reader some of what I have came up with while researching the jungles in this area too.

Image Source

My favorite picks of wildlife are the White Bengal Tiger.

 

Image Source

You can find this great creature located on the Mainland of Southern Asia and in Central and Southern India. They live in the grassy/swampy areas of the forest. They are also a protected species now.

I also love the Royal Bengal Tiger, as it is another very awesome creature in the big cat family that deserves a mention as well.

Image Source

Never underestimate the tiger, as they are very unpredictable, as you will see in the video below.

I hope that you have enjoyed and learned something from this article and that you may keep a little place in your heart for Mother Nature and her jungles from all over the world.

A typical greenhouse serves as houseplants. The greenhouse traps the heat coming from the sun so that the plants could receive heat even through there is not enough sunlight.

In the case of global warming, too much amount of heat emitted by vehicles, machines or engines being run by coal or fuel destroys the ozone layer. The ozone layer serves as a greenhouse that traps radiation from the sun. Since it is destroyed by pollution, we suffer from too much heat and an imbalance of temperature.

The repair of the ozone layer takes a long time. But we can still so some significant steps:

• Avoid using too much coal or fuel.
• Turn off lights when not needed

If we cannot avoid using the electric fan or aircon, open it very low temperature and turn it off after 3 hours.

• Do not burn garbage. The smoke they emit might add to the destruction of the ozone layer.

New Trees Could Increase Global Warming

Planting new trees in snow-covered regions may contribute to global warming as they counter the effect of tropical forests, according to a study by the US National Academy of Science.

According to them, rainforests could help cool the planet by absorbing carbon dioxide and producing clouds that reflect sunlight or the dark canopy of Canadian, Scandinavian, and Siberian forests. Reforestation projects in the tropics would help mitigate global warming, but such projects would be counterproductive in high-latitude areas.

In mid-latitude locations like the United States and most of Europe, more trees would create only marginal benefits for climate change.

According to lead researcher Govindamy Bala, only tropical rainforests are strongly beneficial in helping snow down global warming.

It is a win-win situation in the tropics because trees in the tropics, in addition to absorbing carbon dioxide, promote convective clouds that help to cool the planet.

Sometime during the 1990s the Whole Life and Whole Food Expos I once loved to attend began to look like conventions for manufacturers of products using Soy, Hemp, or Spirulina. Soy, Hemp, and Spirulina in and of themselves are valuable crops to be sure, but, they are definitely not "Cure-Alls", and, in fact they may be more damaging. Promotion efforts are more often based on personal religious convictions or industrial greed than saving the planet. If the production of these 3 crops is increased to the level that many of these extremists suggest it will ensure a global ecological disaster that will eventually leave Earth as lifeless as Mars.

Can A Hot Dog "Save The Planet"?

How many Soy Hot Dogs would it take to save the planet? You can make imitations of just about anything by processing Soy in various ways, including hot dogs. In order to get soy hot dogs you have to first alter the land so you can plant and harvest soy, obviously destroying the current ecosystem. You have to use chemicals and pesticides and then build a factory to process the Soy beans and turn them into soy hot dogs, again destroying another environment. It really seems as if some people fail to understand that soy hot dogs, and soy-based plastic products, do not actually grow from the ground, or on trees, and that processing of the Soy beans is required. Processing causes environmental damage. Increasing worldwide soy production will not save the planet. Increasing worldwide soy production may actually become one of the last nails in Earth's coffin.

Let us not forget concerns about Genetically Modified Seeds, and nutrient depletion in the soil when there is any form of mono-culture.

Demonized or Deified Hemp Becomes a Danger

Hemp is an amazing plant with many uses. However, I have actually had someone try to suggest to me that a Hemp-Based Imitation Leather Belt was better, for then environment, than a Real Leather Belt. They also proceeded to go into a tirade that "Hemp-Based Plastic" imitations were better than all other other fibers including such natural fibers such as wool or alpaca fiber. The main point of their argument was that Hemp is "Cruelty Free". Last time I checked Hemp-Based Imitation Leather Belts were not falling off hemp plants to be picked and sold by "Cruelty Free" shops. Turning Hemp into a substance that imitates leather requires processing, and we already know land is consumed, and animals are displaced or killed as "pests". Therefore Hemp-Based Imitation Leather Belts can not be completely environmentally friendly nor Cruelty Free.

Then there is the issue of paper products from Hemp. Hemp makes an excellent paper, possibly better than wood pulp. Personally I believe that growing hemp to make paper products is a great idea and should be more wide-spread. However, deforested areas should replaced with trees instead of fields of hemp. The reason I bring up this concern is that hemp grows faster than trees, and some companies may care more about profits than reforestation, replanting help over and over again until the ground cannot support plant life any longer. Again I will say hemp is a valuable plant. I also believe it to be one of the most valuable plants in the world. As with Soy I could go on for many pages about all the good things hemp can be used for.

Sadly, because of it's relationship to Cannabis it has been devalued and demonized by some, and over-rated and deified by others. I feel that both, those who have demonized this plant, and those who have deified it, play their respective roles in the destruction of Planet Earth by doing so. Hemp is a great plant, but, not a "Cure-All Crop" by any means.

Spirulina Ain't "The Solution". Processing is One Major Problem.

Spirulina is another crop billed as "cure-all" for the worlds food problems. Large Scale Production of Spirulina as food source? Enough to meet world demands? I value Spirulina. I use Spirulina. Spirulina has its' place and can serve a valuable role in a more sustainable agricultural system coming to fruition. Can Spirulina miraculously save the planet as some suggest? Do these people even know what Spirulina is? Have they actually had Spirulina? Have they ever seen Spirulina?

Spirulina is a blue green algae, that, with enough processing may able to be turned into an entire 5 course meal, possibly even the wine. With enough processing many things can be turned into imitations of other things.
Just maybe it's the processing of too many things that is our biggest environmental problem? To live sustainability, humans as a species need to make our collective agricultural, industrial, spiritual, and domestic systems to fit in the world in a way that models when we were hunter/gatherers.

There will be NO "Cure-all Crops" that will save the planet. All of these crops require processing to resemble all these things people want them to imitate. Thus they cause the disruption of natural ecosystems for production and processing. Preparing land ,or bodies of water, for large scale production of one crop alters the ecosystem, sometimes in irreversible ways. Processing requires destruction of ecosystems in order to create factories or as a result of concentrated residue from the processing. For example, you might think carrot juice is tasty and nutritious whole food, however, if a lake becomes filled with mainly carrot juice then the carrot juice becomes a pollutant. As such, if any crop is implemented as "The Cure-All Crop" and planted worldwide to the exclusion of other plants and agricultural models it also becomes an invasive pollutant that will leave this planet a lifeless desert.

The Real Solution

The real solution is the understanding that there are no blanket solutions, no "Cure-All Crops", or "Cure-All" Diets. Blanket solutions only bring about new major problems to contend with. What will save the planet and create abundance for all, are agricultural, industrial, spiritual, and domestic systems based on sustainability through bio-diversity and understanding of ecological systems. This has been termed Permaculture.

Proponents of Permaculture all over the world are trying to find all of the pieces to the puzzle for cleaning up, and being good stewards of our planet. Advocates of Permaculture range from "Back to The Land" Luddites to Futurists, like myself, who have went "Back to the Land" as a way to help humanity evolve without killing our beautiful home. There is no time left for the myopic agendas a few groups, or industries. Remember, the miracle food, Soylent Green, was a fraud made of people and the fictional work Soylent Green should serve as a prophetic vision on the dangers of "Cure-All Crops" and "Cure-All Diets".

Some times when it rains in the desert the rain is evaporated before it even hits the ground. Animals and plants have found ways to adapt to the Earths driest and hottest deserts.

Plants Adaptation to the Desert Biome:

Different plants have different ways to adapt to the desert. They have their own way to preserve and get water. Some plants have developed tap roots. These tap roots can extend to thirty meters below the surface to draw water out of the water table. Other plants have shallow roots to catch water as soon as it lands. Desert sand is well drained and water doesn't sit around on top. This means water can soak into the ground very fast.

Some plants such as the spines or fur trees reduce the heat by facing leaves directly up or down to minimize surface area hit by the sun so less water is evaporated.

Other plants like the Joshua tree have small knife like leaves that have a very small surface area. The small surface area means that less water is evaporated. This tree also has a waxy resin that prevents much water from evaporating.

Another plant called the living stones exposes only a few of its leaves. Most of them are underground along with the main body. This is done so it doesn't loose all its precious water to the sun. The tree is also kept cooler.

The Mosquite tree has adapted to the desert by having roots that can extend 30m into the ground. This is so it can tap into the underground water supply.

Living Stones

Joshua Tree

In the desert many plants space out from each other because the water is scarce. If the plants were close together like the bush around Northam many wouldn't survive. The plants would be competing for water and only the hardiest would survive. Another adaptation is that some kinds of plants have chemicals or poisons in its roots to keep other plants from growing nearby.

A tree called the Creosote has adapted a taste and smell that wild life find unpleasant. It has leaves that closes in the day and stays close to the stem to reduce water evaporation, and that open at night to absorb moisture. This plant has also adapted duel root systems that tap deep in the underground water and radial roots that collect the surface water.

Some plants only open their stomata at night time for gas exchange this is because evaporation rates are lower than day time and there is less chance of water been lost.

Some plants that do this are the cactus and the agaves

Creosote Bush

The grasses in the desert have adapted strong roots to hold them in place so when the desert sand is moved in strong winds the plants are able to stay in place. Some plants can anchor a whole sand dune in place.

Desert Grass

Other plants also direct the shiny side of their leaves to the sun to reflect the suns rays so less water is evaporated.

Some plants also slow down their growth rate for the drier half of the year to conserve water.

Many large cacti like the barrel or organ pipe cacti can store huge amounts of water in their stems and pulpy interior. The saguaro cacti has adapted to grow in harsh rocky and gravel soils because of its roots only 2.5cm under the ground so it gets every chance to soak up the rain or dew before it evaporates. The saguaro also has a spongy inside layer so it can transport and hold water. It also has a stretchy skin that is able to expandable so it can hold more water if it is available.

The saguaro is a very slow growing plant it can take 80 years for it to reach six meters in height. By doing this it needs less energy, food, and water to survive. This makes it a very hardy plant in the desert biome. Cacti have adapted spines on them to shelter them for the sun, to keep animals away, and to collect dew and moisture. The cacti also have waxy skin to seal in the moisture and to prevent water loss through evaporation.

Barrel Cacti

Plants like the Acacia and the ocotillo have adapted to the desert climate to loose their leaves during long periods of dryness. The plants also drop seeds and then enter into dormancy. This works well because less water is lost through evaporation during the hotter drier months. During dormancy water is retained by the trees waxy skin which traps water inside.

Acacia

Bulb plants such as the desert lily or the Ajo have adapted well to the desert. The top leaves dry out and leave the bulb underground. The bulb stores enough nutrients and water for it to become dormant for prolonged periods in the rocky, alluvial soils. When the winter rains come they send forth new leaves again.

Desert Lily

Some plants such as the desert sand verbena, desert paintbrush, and the Mojave aster grow quickly and produce many seeds and scatter them on the desert floor before dying.

Desert Sand Verbena

Animals Adaptation to the Desert Biome:

All desert animals have found one way or another to adapt to the desert climate they live in. Some animals are nocturnal and only come out at night when the desert is cooler.

Others have developed huge ears to pass off heat quickly. One of these animals is the Fennec Fox. Some animals have the ability to store water or go without it for long periods of time. Other animals have adapted to the desert by storing body fat in their tails or in a hump like the camel. Heat from the desert sun is kept in the animal by body fat. This is why they store it in one part of their body.

Camels are probably one of the best know desert dwelling animals in the world. The camel is also one of the largest. It is usually thought that camels store water in their humps. This is actually wrong. Camels store fatty tissue in their hump/s while the water is stored in their blood. When the fatty tissue is metabolized water is gained from reaction with oxygen. The camel will gain 1111 g of water per 1000 g of fat converted. This process enables camels to go without water for about two weeks and up to one month without food.

Camels have very efficient kidneys like other desert rodents. Urine is thick syrup and their feces are that dry that a fire can be started with them. Camels can withstand high temperatures and only begin to sweat when the temperature rises above 41°C. Camels have thick coats reflect the sun light, much like some desert dwelling plants. The coat also insulates the camel from heat radiation from the ground. The long legs of the camel keep it cooler because the body is higher above the ground. Camels also have nostrils that are able to seal. This helps to keep desert sand out.

Camel

The fennec fox lives in the Sahara desert in Northern Africa.

The fennec fox is nocturnal and mostly comes out at night to hunt for food. Its large ears are used for hunting at night and for passing of heat. The Fennec Fox has fur on the bottom of its paws to protect them from the scorching desert sand.

Fennec Fox

The jack rabbit or Hare has adapted long ears to pass off heat quickly, and small bodies to reduce water absorbing by the sun. The jack rabbit also has adapted long big ears and lots of blood vessels that release heat when the animal is resting in a cool shady spot.

Jack Rabbit (Hare)

Some desert animals have evolved long appendages to lessen body heat. One of these animals is the camel.

The Antelope squirrel can tolerate very high temperatures that would be dangerous to humans. It can withstand temperatures of over 104 degrees F, 40C.

The Antelope Squirrel

Some animals have adapted body heat regulators. In the heat of the day their body temperature stays normal and in the cool of the night their body temperature is warm.

Water can be stored in fatty tissues in some animals like the Gila monster. This lizard stores water in its body fats in the tail.

Birds such as the Phainopepla and the Costa's Hummingbird breed during the cooler spring and leave the desert in the hot periods and heads for the pacific coast.

Some birds such as the Kingbird are active in the day but always stay in the shade to avoid the desert sun.

Some animals have adapted to be crepuscular, this means to be active only at dusk and dawn. These animals include the rattle snake and the Gila monster.

Gila Monster

Most desert animals are nocturnal. They come out at night to escape the dessert heat. These animals include bats, snakes, most rodents, foxes, and skunks.

Some animals have adapted to the desert by spending the hottest parts of the days in underground burrows. These include some reptiles, mammals, insects, and desert amphibians. The kangaroo rat blocks the entrance of its burrow to keep hot air from getting in.

The kangaroo rat has also adapted to manufacture its own water by doing it metabolically from the digestion of dry seeds.

Some animals like the round-tailed ground squirrel sleep burrows in the hottest parts of summer. They also hibernate in winter to avoid the winter cold.

The desert toad has adapted to the desert by going dormant in the mud of a dry underground pond in summer. Then when the rain comes and fills the pond the toad will emerge, breed, lay eggs, and replenish the body's reserve of water and food ready to go back into dormancy.

Desert Toad

Shrimp such as the fairy shrimp and the brine shrimp survive as eggs and hatch in little ponds when it rains and complete their life cycle.

Brine Shrimp

Certain lizards have adapted long legs when running over hot sand so it absorbs less heat from the ground. Like big ears, long legs pass off heat very quickly.

Owls, Poorwills and nighthawks, open their mouths wide while fluttering their throat region to evaporate water from their mouth cavities.

The world vulture and stalk pea urine on their legs cooling them and then circulate the cooled blood back through their body.

They have also adapted in high temperatures to soar up high into the sky where the temperature is cooler.

Many desert animals have pale fur or feathers. This is so the animals don't absorb too much heat. It also helps them to blend into the desert to escape from their predators.

The turkey and the vulture have adapted to obtain their entire moisture needs from the food they eat.

Rattle Snake

Some reptiles and bird in the desert use a process where they excrete metabolic wastes in the form of uric acid which wastes very little water in the process. Mammals however excrete urea that also uses very little water. Some animals and insects get most of their nutritional needs from the food they eat.

Some desert dwelling animals have specialized kidneys with extra small tubules to extract most of the water from their urine and return it to the bloodstream. They also can collect most of the water from the air they breathe out by using special organs in their naval cavities.

Vulture

The Desert Climate:

Deserts are usually located not far away from the equator. The only exception to this is the cold desert in Antarctica.

Most deserts are formed by hills or mountain ranges. The mountains stop the rain clouds from reaching the desert area. The rain clouds have to loose water to clear the mountains. By the time the clouds have cleared the mountains there is little or no water vapour left in the cloud. One great example is the Gobi and Taklamakan deserts created by the Himalayan Mountains.

These deserts are formed because the Himalayas make clouds loose their rain before they hit the mountains or on top of them. Some times when it rains in the desert the rain is evaporated by the sun before it even hits the ground.

Deserts are usually situated in the subtropical climate zone.

A night time in the desert the temperature can drop to freezing or even below that. Animals that are nocturnal have fur coats to keep them warm in the desert night. Animals like the Kangaroo have fur coats. During the day you will see kangaroos escaping the heat by lying under trees. Deserts are made of many different things. Deserts are made of sand, rock and mountains. Desert sands are usually rock that has weathered down over many years.

Himalayas

Some deserts are formed because they aren't near any large water bodies.

Others are too far away from the ocean to receive any rain and have a lack of moisture in the air. This is like most deserts in Australia.

The last way a desert is formed is by mountains. Mountains prevent rain clouds reaching the deserts. The Gobi desert is created by the Himalayas.

In the desert there is little or no cloud. This is why the deserts temperature is so extreme. At day time there is no cloud to reflect some of the suns rays. At night there is no cloud cover over the desert so no heat is kept in by clouds. Heat escapes back into the atmosphere. The land is very fast to heat up and to cool back down. The world's largest desert is Antarctica. The world's largest hot desert is the Sahara in North Africa. The Sahara Desert is huge 9 million square kilometers.

The Sahara Desert