Geography: marzo 2013

The importance of water

Water is the common name applied to the liquid form (state) of the hydrogen and oxygen compound H2O. Pure water is an odorless, tasteless, clear liquid. Water is one of nature's most important gifts to mankind. Essential to life, a person's survival depends on drinking water. Water is one of the most essential elements to good health -- it is necessary for the digestion and absorbtion of food; helps maintain proper muscle tone; supplies oxygen and nutrients to the cells; rids the body of wastes; and serves as a natural air conditioning system. Health officials emphasize the importance of drinking at least eight glasses of clean water each and every day to maintain good health.
Since water contains no calories and can serve as an appetite suppressant and helps the body metabolize stored fat, it may possibly be one of the most significant factors in losing weight. In his book, titled "The Snowbird Diet" Dr. Donald Robertson says the body will not function properly without enough water and discusses the importance of drinking plenty of water for permanent weight loss: "Drinking enough water is the best treatment for fluid retention; the overweight person needs more water than the thin one; water helps to maintain proper muscle tone; water can help relieve constipation; drinking water is essential to weight loss."

Crop farming

People get a major part of the food they consume out of farmed crops. Farming can be pursued as a small project or a commercial one. Are you interested in growing crops for either reason? We have a guide that will help you understand the basics of crop farming.

Farmed crops are a major source of food for human and raw materials for industries. Human has cultivated plants for sustenance ever since.

In the modern times, these crops are further processed to make substances for various other uses. And due to population increase, new technologies have emerged to enable farmers to grow crops at higher yields, larger size, and with more resistance to pests and insects.

Farms can be run as small family farms of less than 10 acres or as a commercial one with sales of at least $250,000. They could be managed intensively as a small project or run with the latest in farming technology. But just the same, farmers of crops of any size face basically the same forces and challenges

Physical factors affecting farming

Farming systems

Types of farming

Ranching

Refers to the practice of grazing animals on the public lands. Some public lands may also be used for raising livestock.

Rain and irrigated farming

Farming in areas where rainfall is deficient and there is no assured source of artificial irrigation, is referred to as dry farming.

Mixed farming

Mixed farming is the combining of two independent agricultural enterprises on the same farm.

Single Crop and Multi-crop Farming

Single-crop farming is a form of specialised farming. If a farmer specialises in crop enterprise, it is left to him to produce a single crop or a multiplicity of crops.

Diversified Farming

When a farmer is engaged in a multitude of farm enterprises, it is referred to as diversified farming. If a large number of crop enterprises, with or without a number of non-crop enterprise is run by a single farmer, it is referred to as diversified farming. Raising of five or six crops makes it diversified. The motive behind diversified farming is self-sufficiency.

Specialised Farming

In a general sense, when only few enterprises are run by the farmer, in which he has acquired special knowledge, it is known as specialised farming. Specifically, specialised farming refers to only one kind of farm business such as raising food crops or rearing sheep or raising dairy cattle. Raising two to three crops makes it specialized. The motive behind specialied farming is profit.

Primary economic activity world map

Agriculture.
Livestock.
Fishing.
Logging.
Industry.
Crafts.
Gastronomy.

Gross domestic product of the countries in the world

Countries of the world sorted by their gross domestic product (GDP) tovalues of purchasing power parity (PPP), the sum of all goods and services produced by a country in a year, in relation to purchasing power parity (PPP.) This is an economic indicator introduced in the early nineties by the International Monetary Fund in a realistic way to compare living standards across countries, taking into account the per capita gross domestic productin terms of cost of living in each country.

The PPP is one of the most appropriate for comparing living standards,gross domestic product per capita, as it takes into account changes inprices. This indicator eliminates money illusion linked to changes rates, so that an appreciation or depreciation of a currency will not change the purchasing power parity of a country, since the inhabitants of this country receive their wages and make purchases in the same currency. Ie,allows the exchange rates between currencies are such as to allow a coinhas the same purchasing power anywhere in the world.