The Green Planet

Bumi Hijau: Environmentalis dan Environmentalisme

noreply@blogger.com (The Green Planet) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 09:32:00 +0000

Bumi Hijau: Environmentalis dan Environmentalisme: Anda harus siap sakit hati untuk menjadi seorang Environmentalis. Ini bukanlah sebuah statemen yang pesimis, inilah faktanya. Namun Anda tidak perlu berkecil hati untuk menjadi seorang pejuang lingkungan hidup sejati. Semua berawal dari niat dan keinginan Anda, dan Anda tidak sendiri.

Sungguh sangat disayangkan masih sangat banyak individu atau golongan yang tidak peduli dengan tempat mereka hidup saat ini, Bumi. Mereka merasa berhak dengan cara hidup mereka diatas siapaun dan apapun. Itu adalah hal yang salah. Kita hidup di Bumi tidak sendiri dan kita juga beregenerasi. Setidaknya, jika Anda termasuk orang yang tidak peduli dengan lingkungan Anda hidup saat ini, pikirkanlah sejenak generasi Anda nanti. Setiap orang pasti menginginkan anak cucu mereka hidup dengan keadaan baik, namun sadarkah Anda tentang lingkungan hidup anak cucu Anda nantinya? Semua tergantung dengan apa yang Anda lakukan sekarang. Berikanlah satu paket kehidupan yang layak untuk generasi Anda, jangan setengah-setengah.

Bumi Hijau: Sampah Organik dan Anorganik

noreply@blogger.com (The Green Planet) — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 07:21:00 +0000

Bumi Hijau: Sampah Organik dan Anorganik: Sampah baik di Indonesia maupun di dunia memang menjadi suatu masalah tersendiri. Seiring pertumbuhan jumlah penghuni Bumi meningkat pula sampah yang dihasilkan. Pemerintah juga kewalahan mengurus masalah yang satu ini, keterbatasan lahan sebagai TPS maupun TPA sering dijadikan alasan. Sebenarnya kalau kita mau menilik lebih dalam untuk menanggulangi masalah sampah ini akan sampai pada suatu titik dimana masalah sampah ini bukanlah tanggung jawab pemerintah saja. Kita semua menanggung beban itu. Sebaik apapun manajemen penanggulangan sampah jika dari individu seperti kita tidak memiliki kesadaran akan masalah ini suatu saat akan terjadi juga titik kewalahan seperti yang biasa terjadi.

Bumi Hijau: Pembangkit Listrik Tenaga Angin Lepas Pantai Jepan...

noreply@blogger.com (The Green Planet) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 09:59:00 +0000

Bumi Hijau: Pembangkit Listrik Tenaga Angin Lepas Pantai Jepan...: Pemerintah Jepang telah berencana untuk membangun instalasi pembangkit listrik terapung tenaga angin lepas pantai dekat Fukushima, sehingga bisa mengurangi ketergantungan pada tenaga nuklir dan bahaya terkait. "Hal ini merupakan upaya pemerintah Jepang merekonstruksi daerah bencana sambil mempromosikan energi terbarukan," kata seorang pejabat di Badan Sumber Daya Alam dan Energi. "Membangun turbin tenaga angin di darat akan lebih sulit, karena masalah polusi suara dan peraturan perencanaan kota," kata pejabat yang tidak disebutkan namanya. "Jadi kita memilih lahan di lepas pantai."

Bumi Hijau: Free Energy (Bagian 3)

noreply@blogger.com (The Green Planet) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 19:17:00 +0000

Bumi Hijau: Free Energy (Bagian 3): "Free-Energi Devices" atau "Zero-Point Energi Devices" adalah nama diterapkan pada sistem yang sepertinya mampu menghasilkan daya output lebih tinggi dari daya inputnya. Ada kecenderungan yang kuat bagi orang-orang untuk menyatakan bahwa sistem seperti itu tidak mungkin bekerja karena melanggar Hukum Kekekalan Energi, itu tidak benar. Semua tergantung sudut pandang Anda. Sekali lagi, ini tergantung sudut pandang Anda. Akan ada banyak sekali pendapat dan sangkalan terutama yang datang dari pihak-pihak yang akan dirugikan dengan munculnya perangkat free-energy ini. Sepenuhnya hak Anda untuk memilih, Anda sebagai mahluk demokrasi berhak tahu dan berhak memilih apa yang terbaik bagi Anda terlepas dari suatu kepentingan apapun.

Bumi Hijau: Magnet Motor ShenHe Wang

noreply@blogger.com (The Green Planet) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 09:22:00 +0000

Bumi Hijau: Magnet Motor ShenHe Wang: Seorang ilmuan dari Cina, Shenhe Wang (Wang Shum Ho) telah merancang dan membuat sebuah generator listrik berkapasitas 5 kilowatt. Generator ini terbuat dari magnet permanen dan sama sekali tidak menggunakan bahan bakar untuk menjalankannya. Perangkat Wang ini juga menggunakan partikel magnetik dalam bentuk cairan sebagai suspensi. Karyanya itu seharusnya dipamerkan pada World Expo Shanghai dari tanggal 1 Mei 2010 sampai 31 Oktober 2010 namun pemerintah Cina tidak mengizinkannya. Sebaliknya, mereka hanya mengizinkan dia menunjukkan versi seukuran arloji yang hanya menunjukkan bahwa desainnya bekerja tetapi, secara praktis tidak ada gunanya sebagai pembangkit listrik.

Bumi Hijau: Penanaman Pohon di Bantaran Kali Pesanggrahan

noreply@blogger.com (The Green Planet) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 09:21:00 +0000

Bumi Hijau: Penanaman Pohon di Bantaran Kali Pesanggrahan: Salam Bumi Hijau,

Baru saja Bumi Hijau mendapat email dari rekan yang isinya:

Sehubungan dengan program CSR yang akan dijalankan secara berkesinambungan, bersama ini HR Departemen PT. Sysmex ingin mengajak rekan-rekan untuk turut serta mensukseskan program ini. Tema yang akan diambil kali ini adalah Go Green - Penghijauan & Pelestarian Alam Bantaran Kali Pesanggrahan.

Bumi Hijau: Apakah Reduce, Reuse, Recycle itu?

noreply@blogger.com (The Green Planet) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 09:11:00 +0000

Bumi Hijau: Apakah Reduce, Reuse, Recycle itu?: Belakangan ini, sering kita membaca atau mendengar tentang Reduce, Reuse, dan Recycle di jalan-jalan, televisi, website dsb. Namun kadang kita masih bingung dengan istilah-istilah itu. Apa sih yang dimaksud dengan istilah-istilah diatas? Apa bedanya satu sama lain? Disini kami ingin berbagi pengetahuan mengenai topik tersebut diatas. Dan tentunya dengan contoh dan aplikasinya dalam kehidupan sehari-hari sehingga Anda pun bisa ikut andil dalam menjaga kelestarian lingkungan ini. Kita mulai dari langkah kecil dan tidak akan pernah ada kata terlambat jika Anda melakukannya sekarang dari diri Anda sendiri.

Bumi Hijau: Mitos dan Pohon

noreply@blogger.com (The Green Planet) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 09:10:00 +0000

Bumi Hijau: Mitos dan Pohon: Antara mitos dan pohon dalam budaya kita sebagai orang Indonesia sangat erat hubungannya. Hampir di setiap budaya memiliki mitos tentang pohon yang secara tidak langsung berpengaruh terhadap keberadaan pohon itu sendiri. Satu mitos mampu menimbulkan efek yang berseberangan. Sebagai contoh, kepercayaan yang ada di Jawa dan Bali, beberapa orang atau generasi percaya bahwa sebuah pohon yang besar memiliki "penunggu". Anda yang di luar Jawa dan Bali juga tentunya pernah mendengar mengenai hal ini bukan? Nah, efek apa yang timbul dalam masyarakat menanggapi mitos ini? Ada baiknya dan tentu ada buruknya.

Bumi Hijau: Free Energy (Bagian 1)

noreply@blogger.com (The Green Planet) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 09:08:00 +0000

Bumi Hijau: Free Energy (Bagian 1):Artikel ini berisi sebagian dari apa yang telah kami pelajari dan teliti selama beberapa tahun terakhir mengenai subjek Free-energy. Kami tidak sedang mencoba untuk menjual apapun kepada Anda, ataupun mencoba untuk meyakinkan Anda tentang apa pun. Disini kami hanya ingin berbagi informasi yang selama ini, mungkin, belum pernah Anda dengar sebelumnya. Ketika kami mulai melihat dan belajar tentang Free-energy, ada beberapa informasi berguna namun sangat sedikit informasinya, dan apapun itu sangatlah susah bagi kami untuk memahaminya karena diantaranya hanya berupa dokumen paten. Tujuan kami di sini adalah untuk membuatnya lebih mudah bagi Anda untuk mencari dan memahami beberapa materi yang sekarang tersedia. Anda boleh percaya atau tidak dengan apa yang Anda lihat atau baca nanti. Hal itu adalah hak mutlak Anda sendiri dan tidak ada hubungannya dengan kami.

Bumi Hijau: Free Energy (Bagian 2)

noreply@blogger.com (The Green Planet) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 09:02:00 +0000

Bumi Hijau: Free Energy (Bagian 2):

Pada awal abad ke-21 ini kita telah mencapai titik dimana kita perlu menyatakan bahwa “hukum-hukum” sains tidak mencakup semua aspek, dan meskipun sains sendiri telah menjadi sesuatu yang bermanfaat sebelumnya, tapi cakupan mereka perlu diperluas lagi untuk menjawab kasus-kasus yang masih belum terselesaikan hingga sekarang.

Sebagai contoh, anggaplah ada seorang perampok yang masuk ke dalam bank dan mengambil semua uang yang ada disana. Berapa banyakkah uang yang bisa diambil oleh si perampok itu? Jawabnya: semuanya, dimana batas maksimalnya adalah total jumlah maksimal yang ada di bank tersebut. Hal ini merupakan sesuatu yang hendak dikatakan oleh “hukum-hukum” kekekalan energi. Sederhananya begini, Anda tidak bisa mengambil lebih dari apa yang sudah ada disitu sebelumnya. Masuk akal bukan?

Home Made Biogas

noreply@blogger.com (The Green Planet) — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 15:01:00 +0000

What Is Biogas?

Biogas is actually a mixture of gases, usually carbon dioxide and methane. It is produced by a few kinds of microorganisms, usually when air or oxygen is absent. (The absence of oxygen is called “anaerobic conditions.”) Animals that eat a lot of plant material, particularly grazing animals such as cattle, produce large amounts of biogas. The biogas is produced not by the cow or elephant, but by billions of microorganisms living in its digestive system. Biogas also develops in bogs and at the bottom of lakes, where decaying organic matter builds up under wet and anaerobic conditions.

Besides being able to live without oxygen, methaneproducing microorganisms have another special feature: They are among the very few creatures that can digest cellulose, the main ingredient of plant fi bres. Another special feature of these organisms is that they are very sensitive to conditions in their environment, such as temperature, acidity, the amount of water, etc.

Biogas is a Form of Renewable Energy Flammable biogas can be collected using a simple tank, as shown here. Animal manure is stored in a closed tank where the gas accumulates. It makes an excellent fuel for cook stoves and furnaces, and can be used in place of regular natural gas, which is a
fossil fuel.

Biogas is considered to be a source of renewable energy. This is because the production of biogas depends on the supply of grass, which usually grows back each year. By comparison, the natural gas used in most of our homes is not considered a form of renewable energy. Natural gas formed from the fossilized remains of plants and animals-a process that took millions of years. These resources do not “grow back” in a time scale that is meaningful for humans. Biogas is Not New People have been using biogas for over 200 years. In the days before electricity, biogas was drawn from the underground sewer pipes in London and burned in street lamps, which were known as “gaslights.” In many parts of the world, biogas is used to heat and light homes, to cook, and even to fuel buses. It is collected from large-scale sources such as landfi lls and pig barns, and through small domestic or community systems in many villages. For more information about biogas, read the backgrounder entitled Biomass Energy.

Built It
The apparatus you are going to build uses a discarded 18 litre water container as the “digester.” A mixture of water and animal manure will generate the methane, which you will collect in a plastic balloon. The 18 litre water container performs the same task as the stomach of a livestock animal by providing the warm, wet conditions favored by the bacteria that make the methane. Safety Precautions The main hazards in this activity are from sharp tools such as tubing cutters and scissors. Exercise caution while using any tool. There is no risk of explosion due to the leakage of methane because the gas develops so slowly that it dissipates long before it can reach fl ammable concentrations in room air. Exercise the normal precautions in the use of Bunsen burners: keep hair and clothing away from the burnerwhile it is lit.

Tools
• Tubing cutter
• Scissors
• Adjustable wrench
• Rubber gloves
• Electric drill with ¼” bit, or cork borer
• Hot glue gun, with glue sticks
• Electrical or duct tape
• Sandpaper (metal fi le will also work)

Materials
• Used 18L clear plastic water bottle
• Large Mylar helium balloon Plastic water bottle cap (with the “no-spill” insert-see photo)
• Copper tubing (40 cm long, 6.5mm (1/4”) inside diameter)
• T-connector for plastic tubing (barbed, 6mm or ¼” long)
• 1 cork (tapered, 23mm long)
• Clear vinyl tubing (1.5 m long, 4mm or ¼-inch inside diameter)
• 2 barb fi ttings (¼” x ¼”)
• Ball valve (1/4”)
• 6-8L manure pellets (goat, sheep, llama, rabbit, or other ruminant)
• Rubber gloves
• Large plastic funnel (can be made from a 4L plastic milk jug with bottom removed)
• Wooden dowelling or stick (30 to 50 cm long, 2-3 cm thick)

Sources
Water bottle: Many hardware and grocery stores now sell purifi ed water that they bottle on site. They often collect containers that can no longer berefilled because of dirt or damage to the bottle. These unrefi llable bottles are frequently available for free. Ask to speak to the clerk in charge of refi lling bottles. Ask for a used cap as well.
Mylar balloons: Check with any local fl orist or novelty store.
Tubing, valves, T-connectors, barb fittings: Check at your local hardware or plumbing supply store.
Manure: If you do not know someone who has domesticated rabbits, sheep, llamas or other similar pellet-producing animals, you can often purchase sheep or steer manure by the bag at your local garden center.

A. Prepare the biogas collection system
1. Cut a 20cm piece of copper tubing. Round off the sharp edges of the freshly cut tubing using sandpaper or a metal fi le.

2. The Mylar balloon has a sleeve-like valve that prevents helium from escaping once it is fi lled. This sleeve will help form a leak-proof seal around the rigid tubing. Push the tubing into the neck of the balloon, past the end of the sleeve, leaving about 2cm protruding from the neck of the balloon, shown below.

3. Test the tube to be sure air can enter and leave the balloon freely, by blowing a little in through the tube. The balloon should infl ate with little or no resistance, and the air should be able to escape easily through the tube.
4. Securely tape the neck of the balloon to the tube as shown in the illustration.

5. Using a drill or cork borer, make a small (4mm) hole in the center of the stopper. Add a few drops of hot glue around and inside the hole and insert the stem of the ¼-inch T-adapter into the cork.

6. Screw the two barb fi ttings into the body of the ball valve. Tighten with the adjustable wrench.

7. Cut two sections of vinyl tubing, each 25cm long. Use them to connect the balloon to the T-adapter, and to connect the ball valve to the Bunsen burner. Assemble the rest of the gas collection system according to the diagram below.

B. Prepare the manure mixture
This is a job best done outside, with rubber gloves!
1. Cut the bottom off a 4L plastic milk jug to make a wide-mouthed funnel.
2. Place the funnel into the neck of the plastic water bottle and scoop in small amounts of manure.
3. Use a stick or piece of dowelling to push the manure through the neck of the bottle if it gets plugged.
4. Add enough water to bring the level close to the top of the water bottle.
5. Use the stick to stir up the manure and water mixture, releasing any bubbles of air that might be trapped.
6. Clean up carefully. Use soap and wash hands thoroughly.

C. Final Set-up
1. Snap the cap onto the top of the manure-fi lled 18 litre water bottle.
2. Be sure the ball valve is closed, but that gas moving from the water bottle can pass freely through the T-adapter to the balloon.
3. Set the biogas generator in a warm location, such as over a heat register or radiator or in a sunlit window. If the biogas generator is placed in a window, be sure to wrap the outside of the container in black plastic or construction paper, to discourage algae from growing inside the bottle.

Test It
For the fi rst few weeks, your biogas generator will produce mainly carbon dioxide. When the aerobic bacteria use up all the oxygen inside the bottle, the anaerobic bacteria, which make methane, can take over. It can take up to a month for the generator to start making biogas with enough methane to be flammable. When gas begins to accumulate in the balloon, test it by attempting to light the Bunsen burner:

1. First, open the clamp or valve so that biogas can flow back from the balloon to the Bunsen burner.
2. Have a friend squeeze the Mylar balloon gently while you attempt to light the Bunsen burner with a match or spark igniter.
3. If your Bunsen burner ignites, your biogas generator is a success!

Medical Interview Skill

noreply@blogger.com (The Green Planet) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:55:00 +0000

You must prepare properly if you want to perform impressively at your medical interview. If you want to pull ahead of some of the competition you have to understand some of the established medical interview strategies and develop content for you answers. You should take the time to obtain complete knowledge of your skills, abilities and achievements. This must be a deliberate activity. Simply relying on your mind to magically generate the content in the heat of the interview is a lazy strategy and unnecessary risks failure.

I write this post for everybody who needs information about medical consultant interview course. Oxford Medical is one of the UK's best providers of medical interview skills training and career development courses. Based in Oxford, they provide expert help and tuition in management training, interview skills training and Medical Education training to current doctors. Their various interview courses are aimed at those with a consultant interview, GPST or CT/ST Interview. With the current competitive climate within the NHS medical job market they are fully aware of what you require. Their tutors are experts in this field, fully trained and have vast experience in the medical selection process.

In there you will find some useful medical interview questions to practice and to help you prepare for your medical interview. Naturally some of them are difficult and are aimed at consultant medical interview candidates. They have categorized them for ease of preparation. Should you want to know how to answer these questions and give an effective and powerful answer then why not come along to one of our expert interview courses which are run separately for consultants, ST/CT, CMT and GPST doctors in small groups. You have to check by yourself for more information.

Note to pull ahead of some of the competition:

Make the effort to:
• Know the facts about your candidacy
• Develop 10-15 stories, which allow you to elegantly sell at least 3 or more core skills
• Establish the benefits that your skills offer the hospital or deanery that you are applying to

Remember to show them how you have demonstrated the essential criteria on the person specification - don't just tell them that you possess them. Understand that a medical interview consists of the exchange of a few thousand words between you and the medical interview panel. Your career's future is likely to hinge on a few short exchanges of those words. With a bit of effort you can design which phrases you want your medical interview panel to remember and ensure that they discuss your implanted phrases when deciding the outcome of everybody's medical interview performance. You must prepare for your medical interview with the focus and effort that you prepare for your exams. A consultant medical interview would be a good source for you. Good luck :)

Marsh Rice Rat (Oryzomys palustris)

noreply@blogger.com (The Green Planet) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 05:52:00 +0000

Marsh Rice Rat (Oryzomys palustris)
Order Rodentia : Family
Muridae : Oryzomys palustris (Harlan)

Description
Ratlike, with long, nearly naked, scaly tail; ears short and hairy; upperparts grizzled grayish brown, heavily lined with black, especially in winter pelage; underparts whitish. External measurements average: total length, 245 mm; tail, 116 mm; hind foot, 29 mm. Weight, 40-68 g, averaging 51 g.

Distribution
Found in eastern Texas west to Brazos County and south to Cameron County.

Habits
These rats typically inhabit marshy areas but they may be found in almost any situation where grasses and sedges offer an adequate food supply and protective cover. They are semiaquatic and do not hesitate to swim or dive to escape capture. Near Copano Bay their runways are so situated in the salt grasses and sedges that the rats have to travel in shallow water most of the time. In southeastern Texas, the rats are common on the dikes and levees thrown up in the coastal marshes. In inland areas they prefer marshes and moist meadows; occasionally they live in forested areas.

Their surface runways resemble those made by cotton rats. They are 5-8 cm in width and lead from the shallow burrows or surface nests to the feeding areas. The globular nest is composed of grasses, sedges, or weeds and frequently is placed under debris above high water in the emergent vegetation. They occasionally take over and remodel for their own use the nests of blackbirds.

The marsh rice rat is omnivorous, with about equal amounts of plant and animal matter making up the diet, although the types of food eaten varies with season and availability. Plant foods include green vegetation, fungus, and the seeds of sedges, marsh grasses, and rice. Animal foods include insects, fiddler crabs, snails, fishes, and the carcasses of small rodents and birds. It is because of their fondness for cultivated rice that they were named rice rats. In most places these rats do no damage, but in rice fields they may become economically important by consuming large quantities of rice.

They are prolific. The breeding season is nearly yearlong, during which time breeding females may bear several litters. A single female may bear five to six litters per year, although suboptimal conditions may restrict reproductive output. Litter size ranges from two to seven (average, four) but may be affected by population density as crowded conditions appear to restrict the number of young produced.

The gestation period is about 25 days. A captive female produced six litters, totaling 20 young, in 1 year — an average of 3.3 young per litter. At birth the young are blind, helpless, nearly naked, and weigh about 3 g each. They grow rather rapidly. Their eyes open on the fifth or sixth day; they are weaned on the 11th day; and sexual maturity is reached between 40 and 45 days of age. These rats appear to grow continually throughout their lifetime.

Source: courtesy of Texas A&M University Press.

Norway Rat* (Rattus norvegicus)

noreply@blogger.com (The Green Planet) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:37:00 +0000

Norway Rat* (Rattus norvegicus)
Order Rodentia
Family Muridae : Rattus norvegicus (Berkenhout)

Description
Similar to the roof rat but larger and chunkier; tail shorter than length of head and body. External measurements average: total length, 440 mm; tail, 205 mm; hind foot, 46 mm. Weight, 400-500 g.

Distribution
Widespread in Texas but not so common in the southern half of the state as the roof rat.

Habits
The Norway, or brown, rat lives both as a commensal in close association with man and in the feral state, chiefly where vegetation is tall and rank and affords adequate protection. For example, the marshy lands on Galveston Island off the coast of Texas offer ideal habitat for them. As a commensal this rat lives principally in basements, on the ground floor, or in burrows under sidewalks or outbuildings. They appear to be most common about feed stores, chicken houses, and garbage dumps. Although more at home on the ground, these rats are adept at climbing and have been observed traveling along telephone wires from one building to another. In places they become exceedingly numerous and destructive.

They feed on a variety of items including both plant and animal materials. All sorts of garbage appear to be welcome, but their main stay is plant material. Grains of various sorts are highly prized. When established around poultry houses, they feed extensively on eggs and young chickens. They even have been known to kill lambs and young pigs!

These rats are prolific breeders. The gestation period varies from 21 to 23 days and the number of young from two to 14, averaging seven or eight. At birth they are blind, naked, and helpless. They grow rapidly; their eyes open in 14-17 days and they are weaned when 3 or 4 weeks old. There is no delimited breeding season, but there is a tendency for a slow-up in reproduction during fall and winter. The life span is reported to be 2-3 years.

Although these rats are preyed upon by a number of animals including the spotted skunk and the barn owl, as well as house cats, these predators often are not able to keep the rat population in check. Considerable destruction of property and foodstuffs can take place where rats are abundant. In addition, they constitute a menace to public health. They are known to be reservoirs of bubonic plague (transmitted to man by the bite of a flea or other insect), endemic typhus fever, ratbite fever, and a few other dreaded diseases. Because of this it is commonly said that Norway and roof rats are more dangerous than lions or tigers! Every effort should be made to exterminate them when they are found on your premises, and it is advisable to ratproof garbage cans and all buildings to prevent their entrance.

Note: *nonnative species
Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Bahaya Sebuah Senyuman

noreply@blogger.com (The Green Planet) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 23:05:00 +0000

Hal yang melatar belakangi saya untuk posting tentang hal ini adalah untuk menanggapi beberapa permintaan teman untuk melakukan "Smile atau $mile" di shoutbox saya belakangan ini. Istilah "Smile" mungkin sudah tidak asing bagi para penggiat Adsense, baik Google Adsense, KumpulBlogger, Adsense Camps dsb. Smile adalah suatu kode atau istilah yang mereka gunakan untuk meminta kepada rekan (pemilik blog lain) untuk berkunjung ke blognya dan melakukan klik pada iklan-iklan yang terpasang disana.

Apakah itu aman?

Itulah yang ingin saya utarakan disini. Jika anda bertanya kepada saya apakah itu aman? Tegas saya jawab; Itu tidak aman. Senyuman yang anda minta atau bahkan senyuman yang tidak anda minta, apalagi itu direferensikan shoutbox anda, anda siap-siap saja menerima bahaya sebuah senyuman :)))

Kenapa bisa begitu?

Maaf,bukan bermaksud mengajari. Saya yakin para pelaku Smile sadar betul resiko apa yang mereka dapatkan nantinya dengan aksi saling senyum itu. Setahu saya, Google dengan program Google adsensenya, melarang keras untuk permintaan klik iklan di blog publishernya dalam bentuk apapun. Google menghendaki, para pengunjung datang dan mengklik iklan berdasarkan keinginan atau kebutuhan yang alami, bukan klik yang direkayasa. Dengan berbagai cara, Google pun ingin memberikan suatu perlindungan yang terbaik bagi pihak peng-iklan. Salah satunya adalah Google mengecek semua klik iklan itu datang dari mana, apa yang membawa anda datang ke situs/blog tersebut sehingga anda sampai mengklik iklan-iklan yang ada disitu, berapa kali IP address anda melakukan klik iklan, dan di situlah Google menerapkan logika mengenai klik alami dan klik rekayasa. Untuk referensi dari mana anda datang ke suatu blog, mungkin cara kerjanya sama dengan "Sitemeter", dan untuk IP address detector cara kerjanya sama dengan "Rapidshare" yang hanya mengizinkan 1 line download untuk 1 IP address (free user). Tapi hal ini bukan berarti Google adsense menerapkan batas maximal klik iklan hanya 1 kali, tergantung, jika banyak klik dan Google menganggap itu alami, tidak masalah. Namun, jika sedikit klik dan Google curiga, itu yang akan jadi masalah bagi anda.

Saran saya, hindari "Smile" atau segala bentuk permintaan klik iklan. Dan 1 lagi yang terpenting, usahakan, jika ada orang yang mengklik iklan anda, sebaiknya jangan datang dari shoutbox. Google lebih suka dengan klik yang datang berdasarkan referensi Google sendiri dengan search engine-nya. Maka dari itu, untuk mendapat klik yang banyak, perbanyaklah pengunjung berdasar referensi Google search engine (SEO). Saya yakin, insya Allah account adsense anda aman dari Banned.

Kenapa saya bisa menulis tentang hal ini, bukannya saya jago atau hebat. Juatru karena pengalaman pahit. 4 account Google adsense saya di banned (dengan nama & alamat masing-masing account berbeda), dengan hanya mendapat 2x pembayaran. Semoga hal itu tidak terjadi dengan anda.

Note: Jika anda ingin meninggalkan komentar, semua komentar menunggu persetujuan saya. Karena ada beberapa pelaku spamming yang memborbardir setiap postingan blog ini. Dalam hal ini, saya akan bertindak se-obyektif mungkin. Jangan takut untuk berkomentar, karena dengan anda meninggalkan komentar sudah merupakan salah 1 backlink ke blog anda (blog ini do-follow).

Professional Ticket Broker

noreply@blogger.com (The Green Planet) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 17:10:00 +0000

A big problem when you want to see a concert but you don’t know how to get some tickets. It is a good day to share with you and give you some cookies. Dear friends, I have a good information for you, a good information about tickets. I am a music concert lover. However, sometimes I got a problem with a ticket. How do I get a ticket easily for any concerts? How about the Beacon Theatre ticket? That’s why I am here, I was searching by Google and I found the solution to share with you. Find out more about Beacon Theatre ticket.

Now, how about the Tournament of Roses Parade tickets? That is a nice question. I like roses, and that’s the great moment for me so I would never be late for the tournament parade. If you like too, just get the ticket right now. I need to tell you about this: ACheapSeat is a professional ticket broker with access to many Tournament of Roses Parade tickets across the country. We provide you with the hottest deals on premium Tournament of Roses Parade tickets every day. Browse our Tournament of Roses Parade ticket inventory and you're bound to save more than just a few bucks! The reason is, we're able to negotiate great prices on many Tournament of Roses Parade tickets and then we pass those savings on to you. That's why much of our business comes from repeat and referred customers.

Many more about AcheapSeat, it is a professional ticket broker with access to many Prudential Center tickets across the country. They provide you with the hottest deals on premium Prudential Center tickets every day. Browse our Prudential Center ticket inventory and you're bound to save more than just a few bucks! The reason is, we're able to negotiate great prices on many Prudential Center tickets and then we pass those savings on to you. That's why much of our business comes from repeat and referred customers. You would be hard-pressed to find a online ticket company that will gladly help, advise, and provide expertise on your Prudential Center tickets purchase. All that while offering you the lowest possible prices in a nationally competitive environment.

Tips for you before you buy a tiket:
1. Where and when? Choose the date and venue you would like to see.
2. Once you've found decided on when and where you would like to see, you're ready to check out.
3. Go to Order Review and you'll have the chance to go over your order.
4. If everything looks ok, proceed to the next page to enter your payment details.
5. You’ll get ur ticket.

Goodluck :)

David Icke And His Mind

noreply@blogger.com (The Green Planet) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:42:00 +0000

Setelah membaca dan mendengar beberapa penuturan dari David Icke Saya jadi berpikir tentang sesuatu. Siapakah dia? David Vaughan Icke lahir 29 April 1952. Dia adalah seorang penulis dari Inggris dan seorang pembicara publik yang telah mengabdikan dirinya sejak tahun 1990 untuk meneliti "siapa dan apa yang sebenarnya mengendalikan dunia." Dia juga seorang mantan pemain sepak bola profesional, wartawan , presenter acara olahraga di televisi, dan juru bicara Partai Hijau. 20 buku yang menjelaskan pandangannya berhasil ditulisnya. Icke berpendapat bahwa ia telah mengembangkan moral dan pandangan dunia politik yang menggabungkan spiritualisme dengan gairah kecaman dari apa yang ia lihat sebagai totaliter tren di dunia modern, posisi yang telah digambarkan sebagai "New Age conspiracism."

Official Website David Icke
Untuk info lebih lanjut mengenainya, silahkan kunjungi David Icke di Wikipedia.

Turut Berduka Kembali

noreply@blogger.com (The Green Planet) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 12:03:00 +0000

Belum lama gempa bumi mengguncang tasik, kini Padang yang terguncang. Gempa yang terjadi pada sore hari tadi menimbulkan banyak kerusukan struktural dan menurut lansiran berita di televisi bahwa getaran gempa di padang tersebut terasa di Mentawai,Jambi,Singapura hingga Malaysia. Gempa berkekuatan 7,6 skala Richter mengguncang wilayah Sumatera Barat. Gempa merusakkan sejumlah rumah dan pusat perbelanjaan.

"Banyak rumah yang roboh dan Plaza Andalas rusak parah," kata Anton, penduduk Padang, saat berbincang dengan VIVAnews, Rabu 30 September 2009.Informasi dari Badan Klimatologi, Meteorologi dan Geofisika, gempa 7,6 SR itu terjadi pada pukul 17.16.09 WIB, Rabu, 30 September 2009.Gempa terjadi di lokasi 0.84 Lintang Selatan dan 99.65 Bujur Timur. Pusat gempa berada di arah 57 kilometer barat daya Pariaman, Sumatera Barat.Pusat Peringatan ini mengatakan, jika tsunami terjadi, maka akan menjangkau Padang, Sumatera Barat, hanya dalam beberapa menit setelah gempa terjadi pukul 17.17 Waktu Indonesia Barat.

The Green Planet turut berduka cita atas musibah ini. Semoga kita semua diberi kekuatan dan ketabahan untuk menghadapi bencana ini.

Email Marketing Service

noreply@blogger.com (The Green Planet) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 15:35:00 +0000

If you are looking for any easy and inexpensive way to put your emarketing on autopilot and get great deliverability, and if you have a product you have to promote your product, so what will you do to promote your product? Just check it out. You should try online marketing and use email for the promotion. I would like to share about how to manage email in your business. E-mail is an important thing for an online marketing. It is not easy to manage all incoming, outgoing, or auto-response email. To manage them, you need an assistant, you need a machine to make your work easier. You need an email marketing tool that will be your good assistant. This tool is working to change the way businesses and non-profit organizations communicate online by making it really easy to manage all online communications from a single web application. It’s the best choice for you.

How to find an email marketing tool?

After searching on Google, I found this email marketing service that you may be interested in. Here some information about them, it is the best option out there for anyone who wants to send out email newsletters. They have a great inbox deliverability, an extremely easy to use interface, great prices that start at $9.95 per month, lots of templates, and also include surveying, autoresponder, and blogging capability from the same application at no additional charge. That is not over, you will get more information and you will be guided to use the services.

More about iContact.

iContact Email Marketing currently has over 15,000 customers and 100,000 users around the world. It has an easy to use interface and over 300 professionally-designed email templates and it has a 15 days free trial. The product is used primarily by small businesses but also has a number of Fortune 500 companies like Bank of America, Ford, Nissan, Super 8 Motel, and International Paper, and political campaigns like Barack Obama '08. The company is based in Durham, NC and was founded by Ryan Allis and Aaron Houghton in 2003. I hope this information will help you to solve your problem about email marketing management.

Catatan Kaki Tanpa Kaki

noreply@blogger.com (The Green Planet) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:35:00 +0000

Pagi yang indah di hari kesebelas awal tahun ini, seorang teman datang ke rumahku untuk meminjam kakiku. Aku sama sekali tidak menanyakan apa yang terjadi dengan kakinya sehingga dia meminjam kakiku, karena menurutku itu tidak pantas dan memang tidak perlu. Mungkin saja kakinya sedang sakit, dan atau mungkin rusak atau patah. Dia meminjam kakiku karena hari ini adalah hari ulang tahun kekasihnya yang ke-21. Dia hendak mengantar kekasihnya melihat sesuatu yang indah yang sudah cukup lama direncanakannya. Mereka berdua adalah kawan baikku. Dengan senang hati aku meminjamkan sepasang kakiku yang sederhana ini karena aku tahu pada saat itu aku tidak terlalu membutuhkannya. Pagi itu aku akan berdiam dirumah, dan mungkin saja tertidur. Apa artinya sepasang kaki untuk kita jika kita sedang tertidur? Aku pikir kawanku lebih membutuhkannya.

Meskipun tidak menanyakan untuk apa, namun aku ingat betul, sebelumnya aku meminta temanku untuk mengembalikannya sebelum tengah hari karena aku membutuhkan kakiku untuk mengantar sesuatu kepada ibuku di sawah. Kawanku juga berjanji akan segera mengembalikannya sesuai dengan permintaanku.

Jam sudah menunjuk pukul sebelas siang. Seingatku, kawanku yang baik itu berjanji akan pulang sebelum tengah hari, tapi hingga sekarang belum juga muncul. Mungkin mereka dalam perjalanan pulang, hiburku dalam hati.

Menit demi menit berlalu, sekarang sudah tengah hari, tetapi dia belum datang juga. Aku mulai kecewa. Aku rasa aku sudah cukup menunggunya. Marah dan panik menari-nari di depanku. Aku berjanji dalam hati tidak akan pernah meminjamkan kakiku lagi kepadanya. Kawan yang sudah lama aku kenal telah ingkar janji.

Sambil terus mengumpat, aku memaksakan diri untuk berjalan tanpa kaki mengantar sesuatu untuk ibuku. Aku tidak ingin ibuku kecewa karena menungguku seperti aku yang terlalu lama menunggu temanku. Di tengah jalan tiba-tiba aku menjadi cemas, mungkin saja temanku mengalami kecelakaan di perjalanan pulang tadi, kesandung, misalnya. Atau mungkin ini hanya keinginan bawah sadarku yang terus berseru untuk tetap memaafkan kesalahan temanku itu. Keinginanku terus bergolak untuk memaafkannya, tapi tidak untuk saat ini.

Aku berjalan sangat pelan menyusuri jalan desa yang berbatu di bawah terik yang sangat menyengat. Aku merasa kepalaku mendidih. Aku berjalan tertatih-tatih menggunakan kedua tangan untuk mengganti kedua kakiku. Sungguh terasa berat badanku ini. Aku juga mulai merasa sedikit perih di kedua telapak tanganku. Tanganku mulai berdarah, terdapat beberapa luka sayatan karena batu tajam disana-sini. Tapi keinginanku untuk mengantar sesuatu ke ibuku lebih kuat. Selama perjalanan aku sempat bertemu dengan beberapa orang. Kami saling sapa dan setiap orang selalu menanyakan kakiku. “Kemana kedua kakimu”?, “Mengapa harus berjalan tanpa kaki?” Aku hanya tersenyum menanggapinya. Sudahlah aku tidak mau orang lain tahu masalah ini, toh mereka belum tentu akan meminjamkan kakinya untukku.
Pukul empat sore. Setelah perjuangan setengah mati berjalan dengan kedua tanganku, samar-amar aku mulai menangkap bayangan ibu di sebuah gubuk di pinggiran sawah. Ternyata aku sudah hampir sampai. Beliau tampak berkeringat dan letih sekali. Air mukanya tetap bijaksana walau kecantikannya mulai memudar. Beliau tersenyum melihatku di kejauhan, meski sebelumnya sempat kaget dengan apa yang kurang pada diriku yaitu kakiku. Dalam sesaat dahaga, sakit, dan rasa letihku hilang karena senyuman itu, senyuman dari seorang ibu yang sama dari dulu hingga sekarang.

Aku terlambat dan ibu sudah lama menungguku disana. Beliau segera meminta maaf karena sudah merepotkanku. Aku hanya malu, ternyata semua yang aku pikirkan salah. Ibuku sama sekali tidak kecewa dengan keterlambatanku. Satu hal yang tidak beliau tanyakan adalah perihal kakiku. Ternyata beliau sudah tahu masalah yang menimpa diriku. Aku baru tahu bahwa ternyata yang terjadi dengan temanku sama sekali berbeda dengan apa yang aku pikirkan sebelumnya. Kini aku tahu, kawanku lebih membutuhkan sepasang kaki untuk saat ini. Ibu bercerita, sepulang mengatar kekasihnya, temanku memakai kakiku untuk membawa ibunya ke rumah sakit karena telah terpatuk ular saat ibunya meladang bersama ibuku. Dia tidak sempat meminta izin langsung kepadaku, jadi dia menitipkan permintaan maafnya kepada ibuku. Maafku untuk ibu dan kawanku.

Terima kasih ibu atas pelajaran hari ini. Aku telah salah menilai sesuatu karena ada sesuatu yang selalu dirahasiakan. Aku tidak akan pernah tahu seandainya aku tidak memutuskan untuk berjalan dengan tanganku. Inilah tugasku untuk mengetahui segala sesuatu yang disembunyikan-Nya.

Gold Bullion Collector

noreply@blogger.com (The Green Planet) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 08:27:00 +0000

Do you want to be a gold bullion collector? In this post I'd like to talk about how to buy gold coins. What is a gold coins? I think you should know about this at first. A gold coin is a coin made mostly or entirely of gold. Gold has been used for coins practically since the invention of coinage, originally because of gold's intrinsic value. In modern times, most gold coins are intended either to be sold to collectors, or to be used as bullion coins - coins whose nominal value is irrelevant and which serve primarily as a method of investing in gold. Now, if you are individuals, families, or institutional who interested in preserving wealth and adding growth to your existing portfolio, in other words you want to buy gold coin, welcome to the right place at Gold Coins Gains Aurum Advisors.

Do you want to buy bullion? Gold bullion is a coin made from precious metal and kept as a store of value or an asset. Bullion coin is usually available in silver and gold, which you can obtain it in Online store or through Aurum advisor. If you are looking for the best place to buy gold bullion, I recommend you to come to Gold Coin Gains. They have many collection of gold coins. Also, you will find about gold IRA transfer there. Taking possession of your IRA gold is qualified as a distribution. Under that circumstance, the IRS requires that a possible penalty and the appropriate taxes be paid. To avoid the penalty and taxes you want to have your gold stored at a depository through the IRA custodian we provide.Investors that want to take advantage of a gold IRA use an already designated specialized precious metals depository for the storage of gold. The depository offers a secure safekeeping service and provides easy access for the physical delivery of your gold. For more information just visit Buy Gold. Good luck and wish you have a great day :)

Idul Fitri 1430 H

noreply@blogger.com (The Green Planet) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 05:34:00 +0000

THE GREEN PLANET MENGUCAPKAN SELAMAT HARI RAYA IDUL FITRI 1430 H. MINAL AIDIN WAL WAIDZIN, MOHON MAAF LAHIR DAN BATIN...

Turut Berduka Cita

noreply@blogger.com (The Green Planet) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 12:31:00 +0000

Kami mengucapkan turut berduka cita atas musibah gempa bumi di Jawa barat dan sekitarnya. Semoga semua pihak yang tertimpa musibah ini diberi kekuatan dan keikhlasan.

Grizzly or Brown Bear (Ursus arctos Linnaeus)

noreply@blogger.com (The Green Planet) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 12:22:00 +0000

Grizzly or Brown Bear (Ursus arctos Linnaeus)
Order Carnivora : Family
Ursidae : Ursus arctos Linnaeus

Description
Largest of the carnivores in western United States; head large with face distinctly "dished in"; body robust; legs strong, massive, and relatively short; tail much shorter than hind foot; last upper molar about as large as the two teeth in front of it combined; front claws 7-12 cm in length; upperparts brownish or yellowish brown, often with inter-mixture of white-tipped hairs; underparts similar to upperparts but lacking white-tipped hairs. Dental formula as in the black bear. External measurements of adult male: total length, 1,982 mm; length of tail, 76 mm; hind foot, 280 mm; height at shoulder, 1,017 mm. Females smaller. Weight of males, 180-360 kg, seldom as much as 500 kg; females, 130-180 kg, seldom as much as 360 kg.

Distribution
Only two specimens of grizzly bears are available from Texas. According to Vernon Bailey, who wrote of this bear in his "Biological Survey of Texas," a large and very old male grizzly was killed in the Davis Mountains in October, 1890 by C. O. Finley and John Z. Means. Measurements of the skull are: greatest length, 370 mm; basal length, 310 mm; zygomatic breadth, 220 mm; mastoid breadth, 157 mm; interorbital breadth, 71 mm; postorbital breadth, 69 mm. Mr. Finley reported that the claws on the front feet were about 31/2 inches (9 cm) long, and the color of the bear was brown with gray tips to the hairs. Its weight was estimated at 1,100 pounds (500 kg) "if it had been fat." Mr. Finley found that this bear had killed a cow and eaten most of it in a gulch near the head of Limpia Creek, where the dogs took the trail. Out of a pack of 52 hounds, only a few would follow the trail, although most of them were used to hunting black bear. These few followed rather reluctantly, and after a run of about 8 km over rough country stopped the bear, which killed one of them before it was quieted by the rifles of Finley and Means. It took four men to put the skin, with head and feet attached, upon a horse for the return to camp.

Walter Dalquest reported examining the partial skull of a grizzly bear that had washed out on the banks of the Red River (Montague County) about 1950. This specimen has since been lost.

Habits
The grizzly is essentially an inhabitant of rough, mountainous country today, but considerable evidence points to the fact that 100 years ago it was also very much at home in the plains of the West. The impact of contact with the white man has forced the grizzly to make his last stand in rough, wilderness terrain.

The home range of grizzlies is estimated to be about 40 km in diameter in regions where food is plentiful. On the Sun River Game Preserve in Montana, on which no hunting has been permitted since 1912, the population averages one grizzly to 28 km² of range. This figure probably is close to the maximum population density attained before the white man settled the West. Outside the preserve, the population density is about one-third as great, because of hunting pressure, and in many sections of the state the grizzly has long been extinct.

Like the black bear, the grizzly holes up and sleeps through the severe part of the winter, subsisting on fat stored in the body. It does not hibernate in the true sense of the word. The young are born while the mother is in her winter den.

The natural food of grizzlies is extremely varied. Results of a study made in Montana revealed the following: early spring: winter-killed animals, green grasses, and weeds; middle and late spring: bulbs and roots, increasing use of grasses and sedges, few rodents, occasional young elk calves; summer: continued use of green vegetation, ants, beetles, and other insects, fruits and berries, few rodents; fall: largely pine nuts, few rodents. In certain sections they feed extensively on salmon during the spring run; occasional individuals turn renegade and become killers of livestock.

The breeding season is in June and July, and from one to four cubs (usually two) are born 6 or 7 months later. Seton gives the gestation period as 180-187 days; Brown, 236 days. The young cubs weigh about 750 g at birth, are about 20 cm long, and their eyes and ears are closed. Their eyes open in 8 or 9 days, in contrast to 6 weeks in the black bear.

Hispid Cotton Rat (Sigmodon hispidus)

noreply@blogger.com (The Green Planet) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 08:42:00 +0000

Hispid Cotton Rat (Sigmodon hispidus)
Order Rodentia : Family
Muridae : Sigmodon hispidus Say and Ord

Description
A moderately large, robust rat with pattern of last two lower molars S-shaped; tail shorter than head and body, sparsely haired, the annulations and scales clearly visible; ears relatively small and blackish or grayish; pelage coarse and grizzled, the black guard hairs rather stiff (hispid); hind foot with six plantar tubercles and with three middle toes longer than outer two; upperparts grizzled brown; underparts grayish white or buff. External measurements average: total length, 270 mm; tail, 110 mm; hind foot, 31 mm. Weight, 80-150 g.
Distribution in Texas. Statewide.

Habits
Normally this rat inhabits tall-grass areas where such grasses as bluestem (Andropogon), cordgrass (Spartina), or sedges (Carex) offer both freedom of movement under a protective canopy and an adequate food supply. In such situations, their runways form a network of interconnecting travelways about 5-8 cm wide. In western Texas, where grassy ground cover is not available, the rats live in dens at the bases of small, low clumps of mesquite in otherwise nearly barren terrain, much after the fashion of white-throated wood rats. Between these two extremes are several types of habitat that may support small populations of cotton rats. Preferred sites are old fields, natural prairie, unmolested rights-of-way for roads and railroads, and other places not subject to flooding and where the vegetation grows rank and tall.

The rats place their nests either in chambers off underground burrows or above ground in dense clumps of grass, piles of brush, or other situations that offer some concealment and protection. The nests are globular, about 12 cm in diameter and composed of shredded grasses and weeds. Underground burrows are from 3-5 cm in diameter, simple in design, and seldom longer than 8 m. Occasionally, the rats take over and use the discarded burrows of pocket gophers and moles.
Their food is almost exclusively plant material, but there is some evidence that they feed also on the eggs of ground-nesting birds such as bobwhite and meadow lark. The telltale piles of grasses, sedges, and herbs cut into lengths of 5-8 cm and piled at their feeding stations along the runways give a good clue to their natural foods. In captivity, they are fond of most greens, rolled oats, corn, apples, potatoes, dog biscuits, and so forth. They are active the year round and do not store food for winter use.

Cotton rats are prolific and produce several litters of two to 10 young, averaging about five, a year. Captive females have given birth to as many as nine litters a year; data from wild-caught rats likewise indicate a nearly yearlong breeding season at least in the warmer parts of their range. The gestation period is approximately 27 days. Females frequently breed again immediately after partus. At birth the young are hairless, for the most part, pink, blind, and weigh about 5 g. They develop rapidly. The eyes open in about 36 hours, the incisors erupt on the fifth or sixth day, and the young rats are usually weaned when 15 or 20 days old. They can be successfully weaned, however, as soon as the teeth have erupted (5-6 days). Sexual maturity is reached in about 40 days when the animals are still in juvenile pelage; 6-month-old rats are indistinguishable externally from adults.

Cotton rats are subject to violent fluctuations in numbers. The last serious outbreak in Texas occurred in 1958 when millions of these rodents seemed to appear from nowhere and caused serious losses to farm crops, particularly peas, peanuts, watermelons, and cauliflower — as much as 90% loss in some instances.

Normally, cotton rats occur in moderate to low populations in all parts of the state where ground cover is present. The size of the population is correlated with the amount of suitable habitat, and suitable habitat in turn is correlated with the amount of rainfall. Thus, in the marginal parts of its range this rat is attuned to climatic changes and the population is subject to violent fluctuations.

In fact, peak populations are recorded about every 10 years in central Texas. Records reveal a severe outbreak in 1919. Lesser peaks were reported in the late 1930s and again in the late 1940s. During the 7-year drought that began about 1950, cotton rat populations in central Texas were low because there were few places where they could live in numbers. Ground cover was sparse or even absent over most of their range west of a line drawn from Fort Worth to San Antonio and Corpus Christi.

When the rains came in 1957 they were a blessing, not only to the ranchers, but also to the cotton rat. Ground cover increased, providing better cover and more nutritious green food, and the cotton rat population took off. More of the youngsters in each litter could survive and produce young of their own. Because green food was available in quantity during most of 1957 and well into 1958, females were able to produce more and larger litters than normally. By late May 1958, they were found in unbelievable numbers in especially favorable areas. Estimates were as high as several hundred rats per hectare.

This rate of increase sounds fantastic, but is not difficult to comprehend when one is aware of the reproductive potential of these rats. Let’s repeat some data for emphasis. An adult female may breed throughout the year in Texas when conditions are favorable. She may produce as many as nine litters of 10 young each (normally less). The gestation period is only 4 weeks, and the female breeds again within a few hours after giving birth. Young females are sexually mature in 40 days and can be mothers at the tender age of 68 days and grandmothers at 136 days! Thus, if we assume a new generation of cotton rats every 68 days, a female could be a great-great-great-grandmother at the age of 1 year and be the ancestor of about 15,500 cotton rats. If this same rate of reproduction were extended for only three more generations and all survived, the grand total of offspring from the original female would be more than 3½ million!

Although this potential is always present in cotton rats, it is seldom realized because of death due to predators, disease, lack of suitable or sufficient food, accidents, smaller litters, fewer litters a year, and so on. But when conditions are just right, the population "explodes," and we are hip deep in cotton rats before we know it.

Fortunately, every eruption is followed by a crash in the population that is brought on by a combination of factors, principally disease. Predators such as coyotes, bobcats, hawks, owls, and certain snakes take their toll, but the main killer is disease. As the rats increase in numbers, the animals become more and more crowded and provide more contacts for the rapid spread of disease. At the same time, the virulence of the disease increases until finally the crash occurs and the population is low once again.