The Amazing Resurrection Plant

What an amazing plant is the resurrection plant. In terms of adapting it has a heap to offer us.It's survived millions of years and it   is able to withstand very long periods indeed without water and then spring back to life when it finds moisture again .What a thing to be able to do !

The resurrection plant is the name given to two different species of plant, the first is Selaginella lepidophylla and the second is Anastatica hierochuntica. The first is native to the Chihuahuan Desert which runs across the U.S.-Mexico border. The second is found in many places including the Middle East and the Sahara Desert.

The key feature of these plants is their ability to survive without water. They do so by curling up into a ball and "dying". These plants then revive themselves after coming into contact with more water. Selaginella which grows in desert and mountainous areas, may be cracked and dried out, but will turn green again and revive after rain. Where there is no moisture, as for example in dry soil or deserts the plant folds up its stems into a tight ball. This conserves any internal moisture. The plant’s metabolic functions are reduced to a bare minimum   and it looks like it is dead. It can actually stay this way for years. When it is like this the wind can easily transport it. With rain the resurrection plant takes in water and grows rapidly.

They seem to be able to do this because they contain trehalose. Trehalose is a disaccharide discovered in 1832. It allows plants and invertebrate animals to survive long periods without water because it has very high water retention capability. It is also an antioxidant and is used in food and cosmetics. It is also found in some insects such as grasshoppers, locusts, butterflies and bees, in which the blood-sugar is trehalose. The moisture retaining capacity of trehalose means that it is also used as a moisturizer in many basic toiletries. It is also used to protect organs for transplants. It can also be used to protect vaccines during distribution.  

The resurrection plant is a primitive plant and it comes somewhere between mosses and ferns in plant evolution. It is what is known as a lycopod. They first appeared 400 million years ago as small plants. Between 345 and 280 million years ago they had a period of dominance when they grew as giant trees over thirty metres tall with trunks that were as much as two metres across. They contributed to the coal deposits we use today. These giant lycopods became extinct but the smaller relatives still exist today.

Green Movement Changes the Meaning of Earth Day | Use Celsias.com - reduce global °Celsius

April 22nd will mark the 40th anniversary of the first Earth Day and with a new anniversary comes a new meaning for the day. Started in 1970, Earth Day was originally conceived as a day in which the people of the world could come together and educate themselves about the needs of the planet.

However, with the “Green” movement in full effect, Earth Day has gone from a day of environmental education to a day of environmental action. For this year’s festivities, a massive rally has been planned to take place in Washington that organizers are hoping will force Congress into signing a new and much needed climate bill.

Organizers have also set up The Earth Day Network to give information about the day itself and give awareness to green campaigns that need members and support. One of these green campaigns is A Walk For Water . This campaign will help raise funds to build permanent water resources in West Africa, which in the 110+ degree heat of the area, will both help save the water supply and countless lives of the impoverished West African communities.

The Earth Day Network has also crafted other grassroots campaigns to help save important environmental areas like forests and wetlands . However, not every green initiative is of the grassroots variety. The major conglomerate Siemens is getting in on the movement by running a green campaign called A Million Acts of Green that motivates customers to come up with green solutions for the upcoming Earth Day.

Many other major companies like Globetrotters Engineering Corporation (an architectural company founded by CEO, Niranjan Shah ) work every day to help the environment by designing energy efficient buildings and homes. This shows that the green movement is big enough even for companies like Siemens and Niranjan Shah’s Globetrotters Corporation.

Earth Day will celebrate its 40th anniversary, but in many ways this year’s celebration is somewhat of a rebirth. The day that was originally created to spread awareness and education of the planet’s problems has now become something more meaningful. It has now become a day in which the world works together to help and protect the Earth we all call home.

10 Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs

 

How do you know whether you can be a successful entrepreneur, or if you are better off as a salaried employee? While there is no surefire formula for success, studies have shown that successful entrepreneurs share these ten characteristics. Check if you possess any one of them. 

Running a one-person business is a creative, flexible and challenging way to become your own boss and chart your own future. It is about creating a life, as it is about making a living. It takes courage, determination and foresight to decide to become an entrepreneur. From the relatively safe cocoon of the corporate world, where paychecks arrive regularly, you will be venturing into the unchartered territories of business.

1. Think success.

To attain the kind of success that you want, you need to dream big. Every success story starts with big dreams. You need to have big dreams for yourself - which you want to be somebody rich, famous or fulfilled. You need to have a clear vision of what you want to achieve. But it doesn't stop in dreaming alone. You should actively visualize success in your mind that you can almost feel it, touch it or it is within your reach. Play this image back at every opportunity. What does it feel to triple your current income? How will your life change? What will your business look like if you achieved the million-dollar mark?

Successful entrepreneurs possess an attitude of openness and faith that you can have what you want if you can simply envision it as the first step on the path of action to acquiring it. Management gurus have taught us the power of visualization - seeing yourself in your mind as having accomplished your dreams. If you want to be a successful writer, envision yourself signing books for a throng of people who have lined up to have your autograph. If you want to be rich, picture yourself in luxurious surroundings holding a fat bank account. And the process of envisioning success for you should be a constant activity! You need to think that you are successful (or will be one) every single waking hour. A personal development coach shared me her secret to help her continuously visualize her goals for the moment: when climbing stairs, recite your goal with every step you take. So if you want more money, say "I will have money" in every step of the stairs. This technique will reinforce your goal and keep it fresh in your consciousness.

2. Be passionate with what you do.

You start a business to change any or all part of your life. To attain this change, you need to develop or uncover an intense, personal passion to change the way things are and to live life to the fullest. Success comes easily if you love what you do. Why? Because we are more relentless in our pursuit of goals about things that we love. If you hate your job right now, do you think you will ever be successful at it? Not in a million years! You may plod along, even become competent at the tasks, but you will never be a great success at it. You will achieve peak performance and do what you have to do to succeed only if you are doing something that interests you or something that you care about. Entrepreneurs who succeed do not mind the fact that they are putting in 15 or 18 hours a day to their business because they absolutely love what they do. Success in business is all about patience and hard work, which can only be attained if you are passionate and crazy with your tasks and activities.

3. Focus on your strengths.

  Let's face it; you cannot be everything to everybody. Each of us has our own strengths and weaknesses. To be effective, you need to identify your strengths and concentrate on it. You will become more successful if you are able to channel your efforts to areas that you do best. In business, for example, if you know you have good marketing instincts, then harness this strength and make full use of it. Seek help or assistance in areas that you may be poor at, such as accounting or bookkeeping. To transform your weakness to strength, consider taking hands-on learning or formal training.

4. Never consider the possibility of failure.

Ayn Rand, in her novel The Fountainhead, wrote, "It is not in the nature of man - nor of any living entity, to start out by giving up." As an entrepreneur, you need to fully believe in your goals, and that you can do it. Think that what you are doing will contribute to the betterment of your environment and your personal self. You should have a strong faith in your idea, your capabilities and yourself. You must believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that you have the ability to recognize and fulfill them. The more you can develop faith in your ability to achieve your goals, the more rapidly you can attain it. However, your confidence should be balanced with calculated risks that you need to take to achieve greater rewards. Successful entrepreneurs are those who analyze and minimize risk in the pursuit of profit. As they always say, "no guts, no glory."

5. Plan accordingly.

You have a vision, and you have enough faith in yourself to believe that you can achieve your vision. But do you know how to get to your vision? To achieve your vision, you need to have concrete goals that will provide the stepping-stone towards your ultimate vision. Put your goals in writing; not doing so just makes them as intangible fantasies. You need to plan each day in such a way that your every action contributes to the attainment of your vision. Do you foresee yourself as the next Martha Stewart of hand-made home furnishings? Perhaps today, you need to see an artist to help you conceptualize the new line of hand-made linens that you hope to launch. Intense goal orientation is the characteristic of every successful entrepreneur. They have a vision, and they know how to get there. Your ability to set goals and make plans for your accomplishment is the skill required to succeed. Plan, plan and plan - because without which failure is guaranteed.

6. Work hard!

  Every successful entrepreneur works hard, hard and hard. No one achieves success just by sitting and staring at the wall every single day. Brian Tracy puts it out this way, "You work eight hours per day for survival; everything over eight hours per day is for success." Ask any successful businessperson and they will tell you immediately that they had to work more than 60 hours per week at the start of their businesses. Be prepared to say goodbye to after-office drinks every day, or a regular weekend get-away trip. If you are in a start-up phase, you will have to breathe, eat and drink your business until it can stand on its own. Working hard will be easy if you have a vision, clear goals, and are passionate with what you do.

7. Constantly Look for Ways to Network.

  In business, you are judged by the company you keep - from your management team, board of directors, and strategic partners. Businesses always need assistance, more so small businesses. Maybe the lady you met in a trade association meeting can help you secure funding, or the gentleman at a conference can provide you with management advise. It is important to form alliances with people who can help you, and whom you can help in return. To succeed in business, you need to possess good networking skills and always be alert to opportunities to expand your contacts.

8. Willingness to Learn.

You do not need to be a MBA degree holder or PhD graduate to succeed in your own business. In fact, there are a lot of entrepreneurs who did not even finish secondary education. Studies show that most self-made millionaires have average intelligence. Nonetheless, these people reached their full potentials achieved their financial and personal goals in business because they are willing to learn. To succeed, you must be willing to ask questions, remain curious, interested and open to new knowledge. This willingness to learn becomes more crucial given the rapid changes in technologies and ways of doing business.

9. Persevere and have faith.

No one said that the road to success is easy. Despite your good intentions and hard work, sometimes you will fail. Some successful entrepreneurs suffered setbacks and resounding defeats, even bankruptcy, yet managed to quickly stand up to make it big in their fields. Your courage to persist in the face of adversity and ability to bounce back after a temporary disappointment will assure your success. You must learn to pick yourself up and start all over again. Your persistence is the measure of the belief in yourself. Remember, if you persevere, nothing can stop you.

10. Discipline yourself.

  Thomas Huxley once said, "Do what you should do, when you should do it, whether you like it or not." Self-discipline is the key to success. The strength of will to force yourself to pay the price of success - doing what others don't like to do, going the extra mile, fighting and winning the lonely battle with yourself.