Hardworking little gals should not be poisoned by insensitive big companies. You know I have seen pesticide research that says that [insert pesticide of your choice] is not toxic to bees because it has to be ingested.
I guess they have never seen an insect clean itself. Which they do regularly. And of course the bees would all take off their shoes before entering the hive.
:-)
:-(
Bob
Citing new research in its battle against the mosquito-borne disease and recent outbreak of microcephaly, on Saturday the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul halted the practice of adding a larvicide to drinking water.
Source: Brazilian state stops using chemical possibly linked to birth defects, Zika viru
To drinking water! They were adding insecticides to drinking water. I criticize behavior all the time but how many times have I ever called a group of people dimwits.
Dimwits!
And the news media did such a great job of reversing their factless mosquito paranoia by presenting the above news/evidence in a fair and responsible way over the radio and internet and newspapers this last week. I’ll bet you also saw them reporting clearly and effectively the fact that Columbia reportedly doesn’t have _any_ cases of brain damage in 3177 cases of zika Wow I sure feel safe with our news media watching the henhouse.
I guess there are more important things than a bunch of poor kids with brain damage — or autism, or ADHD, or older people with multiple sclerosis, or Parkinson’s, or Alzheimer’s.
But we can just rest easy because the news media and our big business-sponsored science industry has things under control.
:-) Whew. It was sort of cathartic to write all of that.
Thanks to the Freedom of Information Act, we now know the extent to which U.S. academics have been quietly supporting the food giant’s propaganda.
Source: The True Inside Story of How a College Professor Sells Out to Monsanto
I believe our academic system in the US is broken.
I have a PhD in Microbiology. I have been in these very research labs where the professors take secret money. The more money the professors take to secretly promote industry and special interests, the more powerful they are in their Departments. The more money, the more powerful the department is in the university structure. The more powerful, the more they can suppress true intellectual dissension.
The industry money in academia is mind numbing. I truly believe that there is no pure science anymore. The amusing thing is that I got my PhD in Microbiology from ….
You guessed it. The institution described above — The University of Illinois.
I speak in other places on this website about research that was done showing that some of the agrochemicals sprayed on plants are converted into more potent human toxins and carcinogens then the original chemicals.
What I don’t say, is that my wife was an undergraduate at The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign doing some of this research. The agrochemicals are absorbed by the plant, and then the plant tissue metabolizes these chemicals into higher level toxins — in the plant itself. You can’t wash it off.
She brought home, and was very proud of the published papers describing her research. And I still have them. Yet they have vanished online. They were not discredited. They were not proven incorrect. They vanished.
During my PhD work, I was absolutely hammered professionally and socially for suggesting that my major professor was misrepresenting the data I, and some of the other researchers, in his lab were producing. He tried to block me from registering for classes, he tried to block me from continuing my teaching assistantship (my only source of income), and worked hard to keep me from continuing with my education. I was told bluntly that I would have to “get out” of the entire program.
Fortunately, a Dean who had become involved in the process of throwing me out became concerned about all the information the Department had withheld from him. So, 99% because of him and 1% by keeping my mouth 100% shut, I was able to continue and complete my degree. But the money and politics of big business in academia will destroy this country if it hasn’t already.
Old stories probably should be treated like old dogs :-)
Bob
I’ve been giving them away to my friends.
Bob
… and leafing out. It’s February 10th and 80 degrees here. And my kumquats are in the background. I probably have 10 pounds of kumquats on a five pound tree :-) That’s what permaculture will do for you.
Bob
I have fussed in the past about gender specific permaculture events. I do not believe permaculture is about excluding one race, ethnic group, culture, or gender class from _any_ event. Especially one designated as Permaculture. And just now I was reading about a woman who said that she had read 30 something books about men and that she thought she understood us now.
Laughing.
30! :-)
Maybe there’s a reason there are so many books. My friends, the X & Y chromosomes have been separate for
300…
million…
freaking…
years. !
And that’s just for mammals. Our X & Y chromosomes have been separate genetic entities for longer than most _species!_ have been in existence. Our sex chromosomes contain more DNA than many small, wildly successful animal’s entire genetic complement. Our X & Y chromosomes contain massive amounts of control systems and information (many, many hundreds of genes) to control brain chemistry, moods, and emotion.
About 7% of our total unique DNA is in our sex chromosomes. A higher percentage than the percentage difference between the total DNA of a human and that of either a chimpanzee, or a gorilla. (5% ish). In addition because of the sequencing projects, we now have the entire sequences of our own genome and many of the great apes. Sequences that give us the ability to predict actual (areas of information) coding regions apart from the structural parts that hold the DNA in place. These structural regions play a role in division and also provide structural components at the ends but do not play any role in the physical, chemical, and hormone differences between males and females. The coding region differences between our X and Y chromosomes are still in the neighborhood of 6% the coding region differences between us and other great apes falls to between 1 and 2%
I have more in common _genetically/brain chemistry_ with a male gorilla then I do with a human female and for you women out there smirking — think about that again and your immediate and uncontrolled _chemical_ response when you see a baby. Have you ever seen a mother gorilla with her baby. Yet do you think you could ever _understand_ a male gorilla? Do you think you could understand why he gets angry or upset or moody?
I think all of this is highly amusing and fun to think about.
Males and females are genetically significantly different. But to use that as an excuse to treat each other with disrespect is childish.
We are all human beings. And we all have things we are very good at and things we aren’t so good at.
And I have a suggestion; that we begin to accept our differences and not try to “understand” each other but to treat our fellow hominids and in particular our partners in a kind, generous, open, and uncontrolling way. Let us treat the other _with respect_. Respect encourages openness and most importantly, communication. It promotes acceptance of our fellow hominids.
I do not believe we should _tell_ a partner how to do such and such, or how they should dress for their business. Or show them the “right way” to do something. Or sulk, hide, be unavailabe, or hit, if they don’t follow your “directions”. Let’s treat each other and especially our sex partners with respect. And treat them as we would _like_ to be treated ourselves.
To me, it does not seem disrespectful to give warm, thoughtful, open _encouragement_ about such and such especially if requested! The same with how someone is dressed, or how someone could do something, etc. But to me it seems a bit disrespectful (and disingenuous too) to give that encouragement and then expect that any suggestions to be immediately acted upon by the other.
I believe that I would give all encouragement that I receive the due consideration it deserves. But then it would be my choice to follow or not follow the advice.
Just a thought. :-)
For a permaculture event, maybe programs could be labeled “a kinder gentler program” or a “we’re gonna find heavy equipment and use it” program :-)
But in my opinion it is simply disrespectful to decide that women can’t enjoy a “heavy equipment program” and that men can’t enjoy a “kinder gentler program”. I believe it is disrespectful to have a program that is advertised as only open to one gender or another! And I do not believe that anything in permaculture should be based on disrespect.
Bob
Source: February Newsletter – Upcoming Workshops and Talks
Leave Well Alone
People often tell me that because they have a well, they don’t need to worry about water conservation. This really couldn’t be further from the truth. Well drillers have never been busier in California, and according to National Geographic magazine, “As the state feels the pressure of a drought with no end in sight, farmers and landowners who no longer have access to surface water are spending millions of dollars to dig increasingly deep wells. But experts warn that the new rush for water is unsustainable and that it carries serious consequences for the environment and the future.” Locally we have lost oak woodland habitat as a result of the falling water table, however, by harvesting rainwater where it falls on the land, we can slow it down, spread it out, and allow it to infiltrate into the earth, moving slowly down gradient to water our trees and plants, and recharge the acquifers before it goes to the ocean.We recommend people use rainwater as their first source of water, then gray water from their homes, before resorting to city or well water. Find out more at one of our upcoming workshops and talks!
Alden
Well said, well said!
Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos said Saturday that there’s no evidence Zika has caused any cases of the birth defect known as microcephaly in his country, though it has diagnosed 3,177 pregnant women with the virus.
Source: Colombia: 3,177 pregnant women with Zika; no microcephaly
All the recent reports on the radio, on TV, and in the newspaper say that there is a link between microcephaly and the Zika virus. But if you have had much scientific experience you realize that it is virtually impossible this early to have definitively linked the microcephaly to _any_ virus.
Another case of full blown news media generated panic with no truth behind it.
The fact is that many/most insecticides are neurotoxins. They damage nerve tissue in insects. As I have said multiple times, human nerve tissue and insect nerve tissue is dangerously similar. And now Columbia reports no link between microcephaly and Zika. None. What could be the connection? Well I would bet that in some countries they are spraying insecticides heavily to control the mosquitos. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.
EPA must fix key policies to stem imminent threats to aquatic life WASHINGTON, DC—(ENEWSPF)–February 2, 2016. Center for Food Safety (CFS) today filed a formal petition with the U.S. Environmental P
Source: Legal Petition Urges EPA to Protect Waters from Widespread Insecticide Contamination
Neonicotinoid products are applied on more than 150 million acres of crop land annually. The runoff from these products flows, both above and below ground, far beyond the agricultural fields, gardens, trees, lawns, and other areas where they are first applied. This leads to unintended effects on non-target species across a vast array of wetlands and water bodies. They are slow to break down, causing them to build up in the environment, particularly water bodies, and endanger a wide range of beneficial species.
My friends they are bioicides! They kill insect larvae in water too! At the base of all aquatic food chains are small filter feeding animals. In many instances insect larva! If we destroy the base of the food chain in rivers lakes and the oceans ….
Why are we _doing_ this?
Dark, charismatic and brooding — these are words to describe famous country singer Johnny Cash, and apparently a new spider species is as fascinating as him, too. A black tarantula found among 14 new spider species in the United States is now named after the musical icon.
Source: Black Tarantula Named After Singer Johnny Cash Among 14 New Spider Species Found In The US
Cool :-)
Almost looks like this one that I found.
