June 2007 Archives

NPR ran a very interesting story by Gwen Thompkins, their East Africa correspondent, on gum arabic production in Sudan.

Gum arabic comes from the sap of the Acacia senegal tree. Acacias are leguminous thorn trees common in arid regions. Sudan is the world's biggest producer of gum arabic. So valuable, it is the only Sudanese product exempt from the economic boycott.

Gum arabic is the best natural emulsifier. It is used in soft drinks, inks, and many other products. It is also a health food. One of the producers interviewed claimed that it is the original manna from heaven used by the wandering Israelites in the Bible.

The production has been falling in recent years, perhaps due to climate change. Also, Sudan's poor reputation in the world has led to a drop in sales.

I remember seeing stands of Acacia senegal when I worked in Senegal. They were common in the Louga region in the central part of the country and north to the border with Mauritania. They are very thorny. I can sympathize with anyone who has to harvest the exuded sap from the tree.

Check the Wikepedia entry for Acacia senegal here.

The only similar product I can think of in the USA is from the roots of longlife pine trees in the South. The old stumps of harvested longlife pines (40 to 60 years after harvest) can be processed to produce a natural gum that is used in organge soda and other products. I have seen some of the harvesting done in Alabama. A specially modified bulldozer is used to pull the stumps from the soil. In the sandy soils favored by longleaf the harvesting doesn't cause much of a problem. There has been some controversy that the harvesting may harm turtles, but the operations I have seen seem to avoid that. I have some pictures of the process somewhere that I will have to dig out.

I've been wondering how to get pictures into my blog entries without loading the pictures into my PASS space. This is the link to the picture of an owl we were trying to sell at a yard sale at my parents' house in Maine. This decoy owl was meant to scare away hawks from my Dad's pigeon houses.

By the way, the picture is stored in Flickr. They let you choose the size of the image you want to use. I picked the preferred link-back option.

When discussing the oil crisis many of the politicians keep saying that the US is addicted to oil. I'm not sure I agree with this term. As a society we chose to develop a road system that has become the primary means of transportation. Both rail and air travel use oil too.

I just got back from a trip to Maine. Shippensburg, PA to Lewiston, ME is about ten hours on a good day. Traffic on the interstates is getting heavier all the time. There are more trucks with seemingly heavier loads. There are even more cars buzzing around.

If we want a different transportation system, we will have to choose to make changes. It will be both a political, scientific, and technological challenge. But it cheapens the process to say we are addicted. We have to use our heads.

This is my first entry in my new Penn State blog. I am glad this option is now available. I will enjoy trying out the features. I have never worked with Movable Type before. I have used Blogger quite a bit and enjoy the new version.

I am a little concerned about the amount of storage space since everything is stored on my Pass Space account. I suppose this means I will have to do some long overdue spring cleaning!