Crop yieldIn agriculture, the yield is a measurement of the amount of a crop grown, or product such as wool, meat or milk produced, per unit area of land. The seed ratio is another way of calculating yields. Innovations, such as the use of fertilizer, the creation of better farming tools, new methods of farming and improved crop varieties, have improved yields. The higher the yield and more intensive use of the farmland, the higher the productivity and profitability of a farm; this increases the well-being of farming families.
Flexible-fuel vehicleA flexible-fuel vehicle (FFV) or dual-fuel vehicle (colloquially called a flex-fuel vehicle) is an alternative fuel vehicle with an internal combustion engine designed to run on more than one fuel, usually gasoline blended with either ethanol or methanol fuel, and both fuels are stored in the same common tank. Modern flex-fuel engines are capable of burning any proportion of the resulting blend in the combustion chamber as fuel injection and spark timing are adjusted automatically according to the actual blend detected by a fuel composition sensor.
Genetic engineering techniquesGenetic engineering techniques allow the modification of animal and plant genomes. Techniques have been devised to insert, delete, and modify DNA at multiple levels, ranging from a specific base pair in a specific gene to entire genes. There are a number of steps that are followed before a genetically modified organism (GMO) is created. Genetic engineers must first choose what gene they wish to insert, modify, or delete. The gene must then be isolated and incorporated, along with other genetic elements, into a suitable vector.
2007–2008 world food price crisisThe world food price crisis refers to a period of time when the cost of food increased significantly and had a profound impact on the availability and affordability of food for people around the world. This crisis is often characterized by sharp spikes in the prices of key staple foods such as wheat, rice, and corn, as well as other agricultural commodities such as sugar and oil. The causes of the world food price crisis are complex and multifaceted, but they generally involve a combination of factors including droughts and other weather-related events, increased demand for biofuels, trade policies, and financial speculation.
InterestIn finance and economics, interest is payment from a borrower or deposit-taking financial institution to a lender or depositor of an amount above repayment of the principal sum (that is, the amount borrowed), at a particular rate. It is distinct from a fee which the borrower may pay to the lender or some third party. It is also distinct from dividend which is paid by a company to its shareholders (owners) from its profit or reserve, but not at a particular rate decided beforehand, rather on a pro rata basis as a share in the reward gained by risk taking entrepreneurs when the revenue earned exceeds the total costs.
Sustainable productsSustainable products are those products that provide environmental, social and economic benefits while protecting public health and environment over their whole life cycle, from the extraction of raw materials until the final disposal. According to Belz, Frank-Martin., the definition of sustainable product has six characteristics: Customer satisfaction: any products or services that do not meet customer needs will not survive in the market in a long term.
Water splittingWater splitting is the chemical reaction in which water is broken down into oxygen and hydrogen: 2 H2O → 2 H2 + O2 Efficient and economical water splitting would be a technological breakthrough that could underpin a hydrogen economy, based on green hydrogen. A version of water splitting occurs in photosynthesis, but hydrogen is not produced. The reverse of water splitting is the basis of the hydrogen fuel cell. Electrolysis of water Electrolysis of water is the decomposition of water (H2O) into oxygen (O2) and hydrogen (H2) due to an electric current being passed through the water.
The Co-operative GroupThe Co-operative Group Limited, trading as Co-op, is a British consumer co-operative with a group of retail businesses including grocery retail and wholesale, legal services, funerals and insurance retailing. The Co-operative Group has over 65,000 employees across the UK. The group has its headquarters in One Angel Square in Manchester.
Nuclear fuelNuclear fuel is material used in nuclear power stations to produce heat to power turbines. Heat is created when nuclear fuel undergoes nuclear fission. Most nuclear fuels contain heavy fissile actinide elements that are capable of undergoing and sustaining nuclear fission. The three most relevant fissile isotopes are uranium-233, uranium-235 and plutonium-239. When the unstable nuclei of these atoms are hit by a slow-moving neutron, they frequently split, creating two daughter nuclei and two or three more neutrons.
PhotosynthesisPhotosynthesis (ˌfoʊtəˈsɪnθəsɪs ) is a biological process used by many cellular organisms to convert light energy into chemical energy, which is stored in organic compounds that can later be metabolized through cellular respiration to fuel the organism's activities. The term usually refers to oxygenic photosynthesis, where oxygen is produced as a byproduct, and some of the chemical energy produced is stored in carbohydrate molecules such as sugars, starch and cellulose, which are synthesized from endergonic reaction of carbon dioxide with water.
