Dirty Business
Saturday, November 24, 2007
"An estimated 1.4 billion of the world's poorest people now depend for their survival on farm saved seed. Hybrid seeds and their required fertilisers, pesticides and irrigation systems have trapped many of the world's poorest farmers into a cycle of debt.
In the US Monsanto are vigorously pursuing their proprietary rights. Using investigators to identify farmers suspected of saving their seed, Monsanto threaten criminal charges and damages in excess of $1 million."
This topic has been a thorn in my side for a long time. There's business....and then there is dirty rotten business. Monsanto, Du-Pont, and others like them are significantly hurting both people and planet and should be stopped.
For further reading about corporate greed with seed, see Primal Seeds.
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Thank you, zoyachubby, for sharing the picture of black mustard seeds thru use of the Creative Commons license. Readers will also enjoy visiting zoyachubby's food blog, Chicken's Kitchen.
Jellyfish
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Imagine 10 square miles, 35 feet deep, consisting of billions of jellyfish "attacking" (or coming into contact with?) caged salmon.
"Jellyfish wiped out Northern Ireland's only salmon farm, with more than 1 million pounds' ($2.06 million) worth of stock massacred in the attack.(read article) (and another)
[snip]
Staff on their way to give the fish their morning feed noticed a "reddish-brown tinge" to the sea and then realized the boats were struggling to make headway through an expanse of jellyfish up to 35 feet deep..."
As we continue to wobble off balance environmentally, we will be seeing more of this type of "weird" news.
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Many thanks to neil barman for the super cool picture made available for use through the Creative Commons license.
Green Board Game
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Time to play! The Union of Concerned Scientists has a board game to test your knowledge. I thought I was well informed on environmental issues (and I am, relatively speaking) but this game had questions/answers that surprised me.
Try out The Great Green Web Game of Consumer Choices
I love the photo, CarbonNYC! Yes, it does look like a board game. I'll be yellow and hopscotch my way to...somewhere. Thanks for using the Creative Commons license.
Try out The Great Green Web Game of Consumer Choices
I love the photo, CarbonNYC! Yes, it does look like a board game. I'll be yellow and hopscotch my way to...somewhere. Thanks for using the Creative Commons license.
