Cause and Effect: Floods.

A flood is a very large number or amount of water that rises and spreads. A stream, river, or lake floods when water overflows
beyond its banks. Flooding waters cover land that is usually dry. Floods have been a part of life at all ends of the earth, they
occur in forests, mountains, and even deserts. They can even happen any time of the year, not just in winter. This essay will
investigate the causes and effects of floods, most notably in the areas of; kinds of floods, causes and effects of these floods, and
prevention of floods.
There are a few types of flood. A flood that rises and falls rapidly with little or no advance warning is called a flash flood. They
are usually the result from intense rainfall over a relatively small area. Streams and rivers periodically flood and the adjacent
dry lands that are covered are called flood plains.
The main causes of floods are heavy rains and fast-melting snow masses. Coastal areas are occasionally flooded by
unusually high tides caused by severe winds over the ocean surfaces, or by tsunamis resulting from undersea earthquakes.
Coastal flooding can also be caused by intense rain squalls that accompany a hurricane.
The main cause of flooding is when a lot of rain falls in a few days. The ground becomes so wet that no more rain can trickle
through the earth. This rain runs into the rivers and the water level quickly becomes much higher. The river cannot cope with
this extra water and the water breaks over the river banks. This is what happened in China in 1998. Countries like Bangladesh,
where land is flat with high mountains, are often flooded in the spring. Hurricanes, cyclones, and typhoons can cause floods.
These are very strong winds which form over the seas and blow towards coastlines. The winds make the waves in the sea much
higher. The waves then crash onto the beach and flood the flat land by the coast. Earthquakes also make possible flooding by
shaking the earth causing tsunamis. The tsunamis are big waves that travel towards the shore and flood the flat coastal land.
Unusually high tides in spring can influence floods by an estuary. High waves, caused by the high tide, rush up the river
estuary. There is too much water in the river so the surrounding land is flooded when the river banks burst. Finally dam failure
can be the producer of a flood. If engineers do not open enough of the dam holes in times of heavy rainfall, the water can then
spill over the top of the dam. The outcome of a flood can be catastrophic. Many things can happen as a result from a flood.
Effects of a flood can be seen everywhere afterwards. There can be broken roads and railway lines, wrecked houses, electricity
and gas supplies can be cut off, trees fall over, and bridges can even break. There are also a few other effects from floods;
diseases, people and animals killed, crushed crops, smashed cars, and electrical items like computers and TV's can be ruined.
There are ways to prevent or minimize the damage caused by floods. People can protect their property by insurance. They
insurance money will pay for repair and replacement of damaged items. But this doesn't stop a flood from happening, or
prevent damage to property. People can put sand bags around their houses, and by cracks in doors and conservatories.
Windows can also be boarded up to stop water from coming into the house. People can evacuate their houses, if there is time.
As a result of evacuation they may save precious belongings, pets, and essential items such as clothes, food, and money.
Governments can spend money to make river banks higher. Soil or concrete can be used to make the river banks higher, this is
called a levee. When there is more water in the river, it should therefore stay in the channel as the banks are higher. When a
flood agent occurs a flood wall can be built by the river bank to protect the town from floods. If the river bursts its banks, the
water should stay in front of the floods wall. They water will not reach the town as it is trapped between the river bank and the
flood wall. These are just some of the ways a flood or its effect can help to be prevented.
There are many ill effects of flooding, although the causes of them are many times beyond control. People can still help to
prevent floods and flooding. By having insurance, building flood walls and levees, and proper evacuation it is possible to
minimize the consequences resulting from these natural disasters.




Organic Farming
Through out the history of mankind, we have cultivated our own food. We have created a society where everything is almost given to us;
there are people who work hard day after day trying to feed themselves and the rest of the world. Some people choose to grow the crops in a
sustainable way to have a healthy lifestyle. This is a main reason they grow their own food this way. Some farmers and companies practice
what I call super cropping. This is a vegetable growing operation, which

In the process of growing organically There are many farming methods some of which include Weeding, natural Pest Remedies, and
naturally occurring Fertilizers. These are all key topics to living and growing a healthy lifestyle. One of the first things you should do is
clear your land/plot of any weeds. There are many different ways of doing that. You can use sheet mulch which is either newspaper or black
plastic. After removing the weeds, the ground is ready for plants through the material on the ground you cut a hole for the plants to grow
through. What this does is keeps the weeds from growing up due to no sunlight. Another method of weed control is flame weeding which is
highly suggested for large amounts of land. burns all the new weed seedlings. This is an advantage for other plants because it heats the soil
where the soil is cold it is a plus. Some other techniques include cutting down (weeds) before they flower which in the long run will save
you a lot more time, some farmers tend to do this because weeds go to seed after the flowering stage. If a gust of wind comes than all those
horrible weeds would be transplanted in your garden. Last but not least the good old fashioned hand weeding which I think is my favorite
because I feel it connects me more to nature.

After you have your land weed free, and clear of any invasive plants, you might start to notice something is nipping at your vegetables. This
would be an insect infestation this is not healthy for your young ones because they are subject to diseases Therefore there are organic pest
remedies that are still to this day practiced throughout the World. There are many good or (beneficial) insects for your garden the problem is
trying to determine which ones they are. That being said most people deicide to use chemical sprays, and that is not good unless you want to
eat chemicals. One thing you should do is clear all weeds around plants so theres no place for the insects to hide, Then you should also take
into consideration that planting some crops such as potatoes, carrots, cabbage and broccoli seem to attract more insects than others. Another
solution is planting some flowers such as daisies, cosmos, dill, clover, and coneflower. These are good flowers for attracting beneficial
insects. This is an insect that preys on undesirable pest. The key is to make sure something is in flower all season. Avoid growing the same
types of vegetables in the same spot year after year. This is called crop rotation. A four year rotation is best and of course maintaining your
garden is very important. Simply picking up dead plants and fruit will decrease the chance of a sad infestation.

A really big key point to growing organically is using no chemicals and instead using all natural resources. Soil fertility is also a very
important part for healthy plants. Here are four things that should be added as raw materials to the soil. Organic matter such as compost or
manure. This should help raise the nitrogen and should be applied up to 20 tons per acre, Second is Rock Phosphate which is a fine powder
and should be applied every four years, third is Green sand marl. This is sand with some potassium but mostly micronutrients to feed the
soil. The forth is limestone which is a ground rock containing calcium and magnesium. All these are very important especially the
micronutrients because they feed the soil. Why feed the soil instead of the plant you ask? Because the plants need a balanced availability of
nutrients.

Fertilizing your plants will help them grow healthy. It is better to use naturally occurring fertilizers such as manure, slurry, worm castings,
peat moss, seaweed, and guano. Some naturally occurring minerals are rock phosphate, sulfate, potash, and limestone. Some manufactured
fertilizers include blood meal, and bone meal.

The history of organics dates as far back as World War two, A Chemical substances know as Ammonium Nitrate And DDT were sprayed
around the position of the troops to control insects around them. In 1944 a campaign by the name of Green Revolution was formed in
Mexico and had private funding by the United States to encourage hybrid growing, with chemical controls. Around the 1950s scientists all
over the country studied for a sustainable agriculture system, But research still came to chemical approaches, until a guy by the name of
Jerome Irving Rodale made a dramatic change in the promotion of organic farming. He wrote many healthy livingbooks and magazines
articles. He quickly popularized the term Organic to mean grown without pesticides. Around the time of 1970 most Americans eyes
started to open. Global movements concerned with the pollution, and the environment increased their focus on organic farming. At this time
the difference of health benefits between organic and conventional food became clearer.

So next time you go to the store you might want to think about what you are really eating, I think the best way to ensure that your body is
getting the right nutrients is to grow your own produce. With just a little time and effort you can have a wonderful organically grown garden