Archive for the 'Environment' Category
New Zealand to Accelerate the Exportation of Its Remaining Top Soil to China
April 8th, 2008Kiwis will get even cheaper jandles in return. Bargains. Sorry, I don’t feel like looking at this one squarely in the eyes right now. It’s too grim, and too close to home. Via: New Zealand Herald: Helen Clark said the free trade agreement opened the door for New Zealand business to step up the pace […]
Weather Engineering in China
April 7th, 2008Via: MIT Technology Review: To prevent rain over the roofless 91,000-seat Olympic stadium that Beijing natives have nicknamed the Bird’s Nest, the city’s branch of the national Weather Modification Office–itself a department of the larger China Meteorological Administration–has prepared a three-stage program for the 2008 Olympics this August. First, Beijing’s Weather Modification Office will track […]
U.S. Farm Bill Perpetuates Disastrous Agricultural Practices: There Is Another Way
April 5th, 2008Matthew Stiegelmeier for President! Via: Gourmet: Like his neighbors, Matthew did just fine last year, but he did it without growing a single ear of corn, and that’s where his family’s story begins to diverge from that of the other farmers. “I’ve got a philosophical problem with growing corn. Most corn goes to livestock. I […]
Wheat Killing Fungus Now in Iran
March 18th, 2008I lost track of how many people submitted this. At least five. Via: UN: A dangerous new fungus with the ability to destroy entire wheat fields has been detected in Iran, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported today. The wheat stem rust, whose spores are carried by wind across continents, was previously […]
Rangiora Eco Village
March 13th, 2008I read about the new Rangiora Eco Village development in a local newspaper yesterday. I wanted to mention it because I know that some of you are in New Zealand, or are planning to be here soon. This isn’t too far from where I’m sitting at the moment, and I’d like to see more Cryptogonners […]
U.S. Corn Biofuels Will Expand Gulf of Mexico ‘Dead Zone’
March 12th, 2008I’m finished with posting Corn-Ethanol-Is-Stupid stories. The only people who think it’s a good idea are the corn industrial complex interests and the corrupt politicians who accept the payola. Enough already. Via: AFP: A planned increase in US ethanol production from corn would spell environmental “disaster” for marine species in the Gulf of Mexico, said […]
Brazil: Women Destroy GE Crops
March 12th, 2008Nice work, ladies. Via: AFP: Around 300 women rural residents in Brazil burst into a property owned by the US company Monsanto and destroyed a plant nursery and crops containing genetically modified corn, their organization said. The women were protesting what they saw as environmental damage by the crops. They trashed the plants within 30 […]
Drugs in Drinking Water
March 10th, 2008Via: AP: A vast array of pharmaceuticals — including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones — have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, an Associated Press investigation shows. To be sure, the concentrations of these pharmaceuticals are tiny, measured in quantities of parts per billion or trillion, […]
The Price of Wheat is More Than 80% Higher Than a Year Ago
March 4th, 2008A couple of points: 1. Those bulk grains we bought turned out to be our best investment yet. 50KG sacks of maize (left), 25KG sacks of hard wheat berries (right) 2. The corn based ethanol strategy is working perfectly; if potential for kill off is the metric in question. Via: New York Times: According to […]
Indian Biogas Digester
February 28th, 2008Outstanding! I’d like to order one. Via: Fortune: Sintex Industries, a plastics and textiles manufacturer in Gujarat, India, is betting it can find profit in human waste. Its new biogas digester turns human excrement, cow dung, or kitchen garbage into fuel that can be used for cooking or generating electricity, simultaneously addressing two of India’s […]
