Hydroponics and Aeroponics Research free essay sample

Hydroponics is a subset of hydroculture and is a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions, in water, without soil. Terrestrial plants may be grown with their roots in the mineral nutrient solution only or in an inert medium, such as perlite,gravel ,mineral wool,expanded clayor coconut husk . Some of the reasons why hydroponics is being adapted around the world for food production are the following: No soil is needed for hydroponics The water stays in the system and can be reused thus, lower water costs It is possible to control the nutrition levels in their entirety thus, lower nutrition costs No nutrition pollution is released into the environment because of the controlled system Stable and high yields Pests and diseases are easier to get rid of than in soil because of the containers mobility It is easier to harvest No pesticide damage Today, hydroponics is an established branch of agronomy. We will write a custom essay sample on Hydroponics and Aeroponics Research or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Progress has been rapid, and results obtained in various countries have proved it to be thoroughly practical and to have very definite advantages over conventional methods of horticulture. There are two chief merits of the soil-less cultivation of plants. First, hydroponics may potentially produce much higher crop yields. Also, hydroponics can be used in places where in-ground agriculture or gardening are not possible. Ideal Hydroponics growing conditions (1) Temperature:An ideal temperature range should be from 70 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit, during lights-on cycle and from 64 to 71 degrees Fahrenheit during light-off cycle. The ideal day time growing temperature without CO2 augmentation is 73 degrees Fahrennheit/23 degrees Centigrade whereas, without CO2 augmentation is 76 degrees Fahrenheit/24. 5 degrees Centigrade. (2)Temperature for the root zone:It is very important to understand that if you are growing your hydroponic plants are in cement slabs or basements; do not place the pots on the floor because this can drop the temperature of the root zone, which can destroy your hydroponic plants. The ideal root zone temperature is 68 degrees Fahrenheit. 3)Temperature for water or nutrient solution: The ideal temperature for water or nutrient solution is from 66 to 71 degrees Fahrenheit. (4)Humidity: Proper humidity helps create conditions that permit harmful organisms and molds to flourish. During vegetative period the ideal humidity required is 40 to 65% and 40 to 60% for flowering. (5)Lights: For hydroponics vegetable plantation the light cycle required is 18 hours light on and 6 hours light off. For flowering it is 12 hours with light on and 12 hours with light off. Of course the exact hours of light cycle may change depending on the plant. 6) Lighting: You need fluorescent lighting for early cuttings and cloning and forhydroponics vegetable growth you’ll need High Pressure Sodium and metal halide; for vegetative growth lighting 60% halide and 40% HPS; for floral growth high pressure sodium only and no metal halide. (7)Light coverage: For 10 square feet of space you need 400 watt bulb and for 20 square feet you need 1000 watt light. You can accordingly extend the cove rage areas. (8)Light measurement: The unit for measuring light is called Lumen and a plant should receive 3000 lumens to grow faster. 9)Plant tops to lights distance:Remember, if hydroponics plants get too close to hydroponics lights they can be damaged severely. The distance between the plants top and lights should be 2. 5 feet. (10)Grow media: Processed coconut rusks, coco coir, perlite, lava rocks etc. (11)Air circulation: Your grow room should have at least one fan no matter what’s the size of your grow room. For roots ideal pH is 6. 5. Overall, the main advantages of hydroponics over soil culture are more effectient nutrition regulation, availability in regions of the world having nonarable land, effecient use of water and fertilizers, ease and low cost of sterilization of the medium, and higher density planting, leading to increased yields per acre. In hydroponics, soil free mediums are used for starting seeds and providing support to the plant. Plant roots need both air and water and so a perfect medium is one that is able to hold a nearly equal concentration of air and water. The determining factor in water/air holding capacity of a medium is the small spaces between each granule or fiber. There are many types of sterile substances with varying water/air holding capacities which can be used as a medium. Most common media types are – Coco peat, Perlite, Expanded clay pellets, Rockwool. You could also use sand, gravel, saw dust, sponge as grow media. Coco Peat:  Our favorite loose growing medium is Coconut Fiber or Coco peat. It represents a major step forward in organic soil free potting mediums. It has the water retention of vermiculite and the air retention of perlite. It is a completely organic medium made from coconut husks. Ground up and sterilized coco peat offers plants the perfect rooting medium and protection against root diseases and fungus infestation. Coco peat is a completely renewable resource, unlike peat moss which is rapidly becoming depleted from overuse. Perlite:  Perlite has been around for the longest time of all these soilfree mediums. Made from air-puffed glass pellets, and literally as light as air, Perlite has excellent oxygen retention which is the main reason it is used as a supplement in soil and soilfree mixes. The main drawback of Perlite is that because it is so lightweight, it is easily washed away and makes a poor medium in flood and flush type systems. Expanded Clay Pellets:  Expanded clay pellets maintain water by virtue of their porosity and surface area. This medium is pH neutral and reusable, making them ideal for hydroponic systems. The main drawback is that it cannot retain moisture for a long period of lime. Rockwool:  Rockwool is made from molten rock which is spun into long, glass-like fibers. Rockwool has good water to air capacity and is widely used as a starting medium for seeds and a rooting medium for cuttings. CommercialSome commercial installations use no  pesticides  or  herbicides, preferring  integrated pest management  techniques. There is often a price premium willingly paid by consumers for produce that is labelled organic. Some states in the USA require soil as an essential to obtain  organic certification. There are also overlapping and somewhat contradictory rules established by the US Federal Government, so some food grown with hydroponics can be certified  organic. Hydroponics also saves water; it uses as little as  1? 20  the amount as a regular farm to produce the same amount of food. The  water table  can be impacted by the water use and  run-off  of chemicals from farms, but hydroponics may minimize impact as well as having the advantage that water use and water returns are easier to measure. This can save the farmer money by allowing reduced water use and the ability to measure consequences to the land around a farm. To increase plant growth, lighting systems such as  metal halide lamps  for growing stage only or  high-pressure sodium  for growing/flowering/blooming stage are used to lengthen the day or to supplement natural sunshine if it is scarce. Metal halide emits more light in the blue spectrum, making it ideal for plant growth but is harmful to unprotected skin and can cause skin cancer. High-pressure sodium emits more light in the red spectrum, meaning that it is best suited for supplementing natural sunshine and can be used throughout the growing cycle. However, these lighting systems require large amounts of electricity to operate, making efficiency and safety very critical. The environment in a hydroponics  greenhouse  is tightly controlled for maximum efficiency, and this new mindset is called soil-less/controlled-environment agriculture  (CEA). With this growers can make ultra-premium foods anywhere in the world, regardless of temperature and growing seasons. Growers monitor the temperature, humidity, and pH level constantly. Hydroponics have been used to enhance vegetables to provide more nutritional value. A hydroponic farmer in Virginia has developed a calcium and potassium enriched head of lettuce, scheduled to be widely available in April 2007. Grocers in test markets have said that the lettuce sells very well, and the farmers claim that their hydroponic lettuce uses 90% less water than traditional soil farming Let’s talk about Commercial Hydroponics†¦Ã‚   | | With many years of experience HydroGarden is the UK leader in hydroponics. We have assisted many growers develop their businesses with our access to experts and consultants in a wide range of topics including plant biochemistry, analytical chemistry, commercial growers with crop specific knowledge, commercial installation experience and much more. Several directors within HydroGarden have owned and operated their own commercial hydroponic operations. Hydroponics is also now recognised as an important research tool. It has particular advantages where various controls are needed such as the pharmaceutical industry and other areas of research where a clean root system is required for instance. In Australia hydroponics production has risen from 155 hectares in 1990 to 500 hectares in 1996. This growth continues. In progressive, forward thinking countries throughout the world the commercial hydroponics industry has increased 4-5 fold during the last 10 years. It is currently estimated that the area under hydroponic cultivation is between 20,000 and 25,000 hectares with a farm gate value of US$6-8 billion. HydroGarden believes that the future lies in locally grown and sold produce, limiting the ‘road miles’ applied to today’s food supplies. Whilst export opportunities will occur, the main development will be that smaller niche, locally based growers will sell to supermarkets, farmers markets and wholesale operations as well as the consumer direct. This method of growing our food is a more sustainable model than those currently practised. Today’s consumer has become increasingly aware of health and environmental issues, even water consumption and availability†¦these are all drivers for the further development of hydroponic growing techniques. As a company HydroGarden can assist you to identify the most suitable system for your crop, location, skills and needs. We understand that different plants require different systems in different locations and as such can offer those systems how and when you need them†¦ Why use Hydroponics? | | There are 5 forces threatening long term crop and food production in open field situations:1  Increasing ultraviolet radiation2  Decreasing fresh water supplies and water quality3  Increasing top soil erosion and soil degradation4  Increasing resistance of insect pests and plant diseases to traditional chemical controls5  A convergence of natural cycles leading to extreme weather conditionsFurther, open field production is hindered because the grower has no control over the growing environment. The result is that the grower cannot predict yields and is unable to budget effectively. The field grower cannot always ensure adequate aeration of the rootzone during periods of extended rainfall. The results might be any of the following:Anaerobic conditions will benefit the proliferation of fungus (Phytophthora sp. ) and nematodes that will attack the roots and eventually kill the plant. Roots need oxygen to respire and therefore are not productive when the soil is saturated for long periods. Beneficial soil borne micro-organisms are eliminated, therefore exposing the roots to fungal and bacterial attack. Rain and excessive irrigation on the soil will leach essential nutrients from the root profile. Nitrates can be washed through the soil profile and pollute streams, reservoirs and the sea. Hydroponic nutrient solutions can be tailored to the plant requirements whereas in the field there is a tendency to over or under-fertilise. Nutrients in the soil are often fixed as insoluble compounds that are not available to plants and therefore a loss to the grower. SOIL GROWNSmall plant big root | HYDROPONICALLY GROWNBig plant small root | Looking at the benefits | | Irrigation water in field grown operations cannot be effectively recycled. Hydroponics can reduce irrigation water usage by 70% to 90% by recycling the run-off water. As water becomes scarce and more important as a resource, the use of hydroponics and other water saving technologies will increase. Fungal disease can be significantly reduced through controlled humidity. Hydroponic systems will reduce the amount of exposed moisture in the growing environment. Hydroponics will effectively prevent wetting the leaf surfaces which, in normal agriculture, provides the fungal spores with the perfect medium to proliferate. All labour inputs associated with soil management, such as digging and weeding are substantially reduced with hydroponics. The use of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in protected environments is ideally suited to hydroponic growing techniques, especially when carried out in a protected environment such as a glasshouse or plastic/polythene tunnels. The use of IPM can virtually eliminate the need to use toxic and expensive chemical insecticides. Taking all the above into account, it is easy to see why protected cropping in general and hydroponics especially is becoming increasingly important. A hydroponically grown greenhouse plant:Can be protected from increasing and damaging UV radiationOffers the possibility of safe biological control of insect pests and diseasesUses water that is reclaimed and reusedAllows nutrients to be reclaimed, re-balanced and re-usedCan be protected from unpredictable weather patternsHas a good root system that is at reduced risk from contaminants and diseasesMakes very efficient use of labour, which is increasingly expensive in western conomiesCan be grown to take full advantage of their genetic potential and produce outstanding crops by using optimum nutrient formulationsCan be producing at times when market prices are highestCombine these factors with increasing public concern over food safety, pesticide residues and fungicide use; it is easy to see that the future of crop production favours hydroponic and greenhouse production. Especially when premium prices can be obtained and the demand is sustainable. Global diversity†¦ | | Lettuce, strawberries and cut flowers are well known commercial hydroponic crops in Australia, and have been for the past decade and more. Tomatoes, pepper, cucumbers and cut flowers form the bulk of Dutch hydroponic crops. A number of UK growers have successful cucumber and tomato operations and many herb growers are moving into this form of cultivation. Nowadays plants for essential oils, rare herbs, medicinal plants and Chinese vegetables such as pak choi are more recent crops of great interest. There is a developing interest in growing plants for pharmaceutical and nutraceutical use. It is possible to grow practically any commercial crops hydroponically. Commercial growers have been producing superbly flavoured hydroponic tomatoes for many years. Speciality crops and even fruit trees can all be grown hydroponically. We have recently learnt of a commercial hydroponic potato business in the Southern Hemisphere ! We are seeing an increasing interest in the production of cut herbs and salad crops, driven by the demand for convenience foods that are also seen as ‘healthy’. The production of cut flowers is itself a huge market, the introduction of new more exotic plant types lends itself to hydroponic production as a means of growing the best quality from the outset and therefore making it more difficult for cheaper lower quality crops to compete. We expect, in time, to see an increase in demand for edible flowers, especially for use in restaurants and hotel complexes. Even fruit trees can be grown this way. In fact there are very few plants that cannot be grown hydroponically, the choice for a commercial operation is a pure economic one. We produce a number of separate data sheets relating to various crop types and opportunities, this information includes some basic plant growing information as well as recommended or typical system types suitable for the crop. Whilst it is not exhaustive it will give the reader an idea of the potential for hydroponic crop production. Commercial systems†¦ | | All commercial systems are active, in that some form of pump or feeding device is used to deliver fresh nutrient solution to the plants in an ongoing basis. These systems are more productive and are therefore the only type suitable for commercial production. Of the active systems available they break down into either re-circulating or run to waste; run to waste systems are becoming less popular as environmental concerns and legislation restricts, or even prohibits, nutrient run off. However, if the run off can be managed to obtain a zero figure, these systems still have their place. As a company we encourage the use of re-circulating systems to maximise resource utilisation, but this is not always possible in certain circumstances.

Fetal Alochol Syndrome Essay

Fetal Alochol Syndrome Essay Fetal Alochol Syndrome Essay Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder is the â€Å"umbrella term used to describe the range of possible effects associated with alcohol consumption during pregnancy. (Payne, 2012) The most widely known of these disorders is Fetal Alcohol syndrome (FAS) is defined as a pattern of physical, mental, and behavioral problems in the baby that are thought to be due to alcohol abuse by the mother during pregnancy. (ACOG) There are many resources to help in the awareness and possible prevention of fetal alcohol syndrome, including N.O.F.A.S. ; The National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is the only international non-profit committed solely to FASD prevention, advocacy, and support. This organization was founded in 1990 and is the leading voice and resource of the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders community. (N.O.F.A.S.) According to the article on Fetal alcohol syndrome on the webpage Kidshealth.org â€Å"When a woman drinks alcohol during pregnancy, she risks giving birth to a child who w ill pay the price - in mental and physical deficiencies - for his or her entire life.† Many pregnant women still choose to drink alcohol and there is an estimated 1 in every 750 infants born in the United States are born with a case of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome whether it is a pattern of physical, developmental, and or functional problems, while another 40000 are born with fetal alcohol effects (FAE).† (Numours) There are many signs and different level of severites of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Some of the more common signs and symptoms of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome include; low birth weight, small head circumference, failure to thrive, developmental delay, organ dysfunction, facial abnormalities, epilepsy, poor coordination/fine motor skills, poor socialization skills, such as difficulty building and maintaining friendships and relating to groups, lack of imagination or curiosity, learning difficulties, and behavioral problems. Anyone suffering from Fetal Alcohol Effect may have some of these symptoms listed above but on a less severe degree. A child suffering from the affect of alcohol during growth and development who suffers from facial abnormalities may include; smaller eye openings, flattened cheekbones, and or an underdeveloped groove between the nose and upper lip. Learning disabilities may include including poor memory, inability to understand concepts such as time and money, poor language comprehension, poor problem-solving skills. While behavior problems of a child/person suffering from fetal alcohol syndrome include; hyperactivity, inability to concentrate, social withdrawal, stubbornness, impulsiveness, and anxiety. The most severe problems that may be caused by fetal alcohol syndrome can include physical deformities, mental retardation, learning disorders, vision difficulties and behavioral problems. Some features present in someone suffering with the effects of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome in ones central nervous system include; â€Å"agenesis and hypoplasia of the corpus callosum, cavum septi pellucidi, cavum vergae, ventriculomegaly, hypoplasia of inferior olivary eminences, small brain stem, and micrencephaly.† (NCBI) Whereas the physical deformaties of someone suffering from the effects of fetal alcohol syndrome can include; atypical physiognomy, â€Å"smooth philtrum - The divot or groove between the nose and upper lip flattens with increased prenatal alcohol exposure, Thin vermilion - The upper lip thins with increased prenatal alcohol exposure, Small palpebral fissures - Eye width decreases with increased prenatal alcohol exposure† to the more severe frontonasal dysplasia also known as a cleft lip. (NCBI), (Numours). There are some other conditions that can commonly occur along with fetal alcohol syndrome, these are considered Alcohol related birth defects and not considered fetal alcohol syndrome. These include Cardiac problems/conditions like a heart murmur that almost always disappears by one year of age; most commonly it is a Ventricular septal

buy custom Business of India essay

buy custom Business of India essay The domestic finance, food and foreign trade appear to be shifting gears in manner of operation. It now operates in unorthodox style underscoring the Indias endeavors to come up with a sustained process of growth of economy. The theme has been studied by various economic experts and it appears nearly solved. The foreign exchange catastrophe that occurred recently is a perfect example of this menace Ruba (2011). In the last two years, Indias export as been operating at 40 and 50 %. This is a record higher than the previous years basing on Indias five year economic plan. The earnings from exports have too have stagnated. This is an indication of decline from the 1958 half. As at now, it has not gained above two thirds of imports. This contrast the 90% achieved in the 1950s and 1956. This export trade obstinacy is degrading when compared with the effort India is investing in promoting exports (http://business.mapsofindia.com/india-business/international-business.html) It is important to note that repayment burden of interest and capital on foreign loan now amounts to 2% less than earnings from exports which were expected to rise in the 1960s close to fourth of current exports Schaffer (2011). It is as a result of this that India is reviewing its performance on export over previous years and forecasting on future prospects of export. Indias export constitutes 1.5% of worlds export after World War II. Indias economy is negligible when compared to other large countries of the world, though it is a crucial domestic part of activities of economy Schaffer (2011). The cumulative value of Indias export does not exceed 6-7% of its national income. However, this plays an important role in Indias economy. They offer means for which the country can finance the most pressing needs of imports. Buy custom Business of India essay

Pros and Cons of Teacher Websites Research Paper - 1

Pros and Cons of Teacher Websites - Research Paper Example Classroom websites have been recognized for their simple yet valuable contribution to the educational world, but not without a fair share of negative points. Either way, the users of this tool should evaluate whether these flaws outweigh the contribution that it makes to learning. The main function of a classroom website is to serve as an additional and convenient method for the teachers to share information with their students. From this, spring the many advantages of having a classroom website. The fact that it is a technology-based tool, however, has certain disadvantages. One large advantage of this is that teachers can always leave notes as reminders for the student on this website. The notes can be pertaining to any important matter discussed in class, which the teacher does not want the students to forget. This especially includes things like homework, announcements, and class rules. A student who cannot recall the homework assigned for a subject can simply log on to the website to see the reminder that the teacher left for the students. This however, requires the teacher to update the website after every single lesson (Greenspan, 2002). This can be a time-consuming activity, especially for teachers who have multiple classes to manage. Apart from this, the teacher may also use this website to make announcements and share news. This includes announcements such as informing the class of an upcoming fieldtrip or the cancellation of a class. The need for such announcements usually arises after class stands dismisses. Thus, if the teacher posts such announcements online, this saves the teacher the trouble of having to inform the students through other, lengthier means, and it also ensures that the news is displayed.

Current Preparedness Issue Paper Term Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Current Preparedness Issue - Term Paper Example Thus, it is important to analyze how civilian-military coordination to emergencies in our system occurs. Unfortunately, while great strides have been made, the coordination between US civil and military agencies at the local, state and federal level still have many procedural and practical problems during emergencies. Hurricane Katrina was a fracture point that demonstrated widespread failure in the US disaster response system. There was â€Å"widespread confusion on operations, communications, and protocols† (Meyer and Baca, 2010). Blanco, Nagin and FEMA were unable to coordinate properly with each other at the leadership level, with competing and often redundant mandates. There were many other reasons for failure during Katrina, of course, some of which deserve more analysis later: Racism among local officials that led to people being locked in, FEMA becoming a backseat agency after Homeland Security, etc. But what is illustrative for the general disaster response lesson is that the problem was predictably caused by a lack of state participation in the National Response Plan. â€Å"Further demonstrating the lack of any meaningful role by state and local governments in the adoption of the NRP is the fact that the officials who approved the NRP do not include a single non-federal representative. The Department of Education, an entity with no role whatsoever in domestic incident response, is a signatory to the NRP, while FEMA is not. Not one governor or mayor signed it† (Mayer and Baca, 2010). Things have improved since Katrina, but the government should still be preparing for another debacle on that scale in the interim. Levinson and Granot (2002) make clear why military command only is predictably likely to fail by analyzing the case study of Israel. Their disaster response agency, while nominally civilian, is still staffed by former military career men with little experience in civil-military relations. When disasters happened like the 1990 trai n disaster, â€Å"the scenario went along the lines of military thinking and not according to a course-of-business civilian accident†. The case study indicates a few flaws with a purely military approach. First: Military leaders are not used to working with civilian chains of command or lack thereof. Firefighters, EMTs and police do not have as strong a chain of command as the military do, so more respect for individual autonomy is essential. Second: Military leaders tend to respond to disasters by treating them as full-scale operations. They thus tend to overescalate responses, assign too many resources (as if the situation were a battle that must be overwhelmed), and can lead to panic. Third: The focus on hierarchy not only leads to more alienation of civilian personnel, but it also has additional problems. It prevents the coordination of volunteers who are trying to do what they can but may smart at excessive command and control. It alienates those with management skills, both those people with little disaster experience and those with plenty. It can prevent coordination among multiple groups at different levels, especially pushing away NGOs like the Red Cross and religious associations. And in most emergency response agencies, the ground-level people have the most expertise, yet military planning tends to prioritize consulting people with less experience but more clout. In the military, experience at a core task is the key to promotion: In civilian life, there is

Cost Estimation Plan Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Cost Estimation Plan - Coursework Example According to the agreement, these operations will be transferred to government. Approach road to this tunnel is shared with that of Sydney Harbour Bridge. The SHT is 2.3 kilo meters long with only 1 kilometer of the tunnel being under the Sydney Harbour. There are total 4 sections in the tunnel; two on the North of the Sydney Harbour and the other two on its Southern side. The two land tunnels on the North side have a length of 1 kilometer each and those on the Southern side have a length of half kilometer each. The four units are joined by means of eight solid concrete blocks. There are two carriage ways in SHT, each having two traffic lanes. This tunnel is one of the largest tunnels in Australia and therefore, has much importance. The project for construction of the SHT can be considered as one of its own nature as there are certain outcomes observed which have raised questions about the project. One such important issue is the fact that the project Sydney Harbour Tunnel was a PPP in which the private partner bore higher portion of risk as compared to that of public partner, or to be more precise, in this case government of Australia. In the next section of this essay we will focus on the various assumptions made during the cost estimation of the STH plan. Various approaches towards the cost estimation of mega infrastructural projects and their application to the Sydney Harbour Tunnel Project will follow the assumptions. A cost-benefit analysis of the project is given and conclusion is drawn on the basis of all the discussion. To start the discussion about cot estimation of STH, let us first discuss some of the major assumptions made during the financial planning stages of the project. Given are some of the basic facts and figures about Sydney Harbour Tunnel: 2.0 Looking into The Finances and Economics of Sydney Harbour Tunnel Sydney Harbour Tunnel was built on the principle of 'BOT,' i.e., Build, Operate and Transfer. There were a number of financial advisors involved in economic and financial analysis of the project. A combination of analysis techniques were used by these consultants and a unified statement as a result of the analyses was given by the Auditor General NSW in 1994.It was stated that the project was viable and beneficial on financial, economic and environmental basis. The tunnel was reported to be justified on the basis of factors like travel time, air quality, economics of the project and the quality of travel with special reference to air quality. However, it was mentioned in the later parts of the report that technical deficiencies and constraints may affect some of the outcomes o the project. These assumptions are addressed in the very next section of the essay with their detailed analysis and how it influenced the overall functioning of the tunnel from the start up to the date. The estimated cost for the construction of the tunnel was reported to be 3.8 million Australian Dollars. These funds were generated from three different sources. The first tool used was the issuance of inflation-index bonds of maturity 30 years to raise a capital of AU $ 486. The second

Babylonians and Sumerians Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Babylonians and Sumerians - Essay Example The researcher states that one of the points of commonality between Sumerians and Babylonians is religion. Babylonians and Sumerians were both highly polytheistic. At some points, as neighboring city-states, Babylonians and Sumerians shared the same gods. All these gods were based on the perceptions that people had towards forces of nature. To this extent, both the Sumerians and Babylonians had the god(s) of air, sun, moon, rain and sea. Both civilizations also had towers or ziggurats in the middle of their cities. Sacrifices were offered to the pantheon of gods in Sumeria and Babylon. Nevertheless, in the offering of sacrifice, there is a parting point since the Sumerians offered only crop harvests while the Babylonians sacrificed even their children. Both civilizations were city-states. Again, both civilizations had all-dispensing rulers. In Sumeria, the powerful political ruler, Gilgamesh was also a priest. However, in Babylon, Hammurabi (fl. ca. 1792 – 1750 BC) the ruler w as a king, priest and lawgiver. Both civilizations used the Sumerian language, though the Babylonians limited their use of the Sumerian language to religious purposes. The Babylonians used the Akkadian language for official purposes while the Sumerians had their own language. According to Finkel and Reade, Babylonians is no doubt one of the biggest city-states in Mesopotamia. For one, as touching architecture, Babylonians erected massive buildings and architectural structures such as the Hanging Gardens and the Ishtar Gates. The Babylonians among many other things invested advanced techniques of irrigation along the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. This helped the Babylonians grow a lot of crops. Gadotti observes that the Sumerians also had their inventions, even in the field of architecture and art. One of the most remarkable works of Sumerian art is the Erech vase in alabaster.