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This is one of those stories that reminds us that everything really is connected to everything else.
Here's the web of connections: a threat to California's booming almond business; hard times for honeybees in North Dakota; and high corn prices.
Confused?
OK, let's start with the almonds. They come from an old-world tree that migrated to California and prospered in the hands of farmers like James McFarlane, who lives right outside the city of Clovis.
Why California Almonds Need North Dakota Flowers (And A Few Billion Bees), 2/14/12
Russian scientists have finally drilled down through four kilometres of Antarctic ice to a lake that has been sealed for the last 20 million years.
Veteran Antarctic researcher Professor John Priscu says that he expects to see 'unique organisms' in the lake.
But it was revealed this may not be the only surprise from sub-glacial Lake Vostok, a body of water as large as Lake Ontario.
Russian scientists drill into Antarctic lake buried under the ice for 20 million years, amid extraordinary claims the Nazis may have got there first, 2/7/12
A key chemical of one of the most horrifying elements of the Vietnam War -- Agent Orange -- may soon be unleashed on America's farmlands. Considered by world nations to be a "Weapon of Mass Destruction" (WMD), Agent Orange was dropped in the millions of gallons on civilian populations during the Vietnam War in order to destroy foliage and poison North Vietnamese soldiers. The former president of the Vietnamese Red Cross, Professor Nhan, described it as, "...a massive violation of human rights of the civilian population, and a weapon of mass destruction."
America's farmlands to be carpet-bombed with Vietnam-era Agent Orange chemical if Dow petition approved, 12/27/11
Developing a renewable energy system that creates energy independence and even a considerable new source of revenue is not some sort of sci-fi pipe dream. BioCycle reports that the German village of Wildpoldsried, population 2,600, has had such incredible success in building its renewable energy system. Wildpoldsried generates 321 percent more renewable energy than it uses, and it now sells the excess back to the national power grid for roughly $5.7 million in additional revenue every single year.
German village generates 321% more renewable energy than it needs, earns millions selling it back to national power grid, 12/19/11
During the summer of 1913, in a field just south of Cairo on the eastern bank of the Nile, an American engineer called Frank Shuman stood before a gathering of Egypt's colonial elite, including the British consul-general Lord Kitchener, and switched on his new invention. Gallons of water soon spilled from a pump, saturating the soil by his feet. Behind him stood row upon row of curved mirrors held aloft on metal cradles, each directed towards the fierce sun overhead. As the sun's rays hit the mirrors, they were reflected towards a thin glass pipe containing water. The now super-heated water turned to steam, resulting in enough pressure to drive the pumps used to irrigate the surrounding fields where Egypt's lucrative cotton crop was grown. It was an invention, claimed Shuman, which could help Egypt become far less reliant on the coal being imported at great expense from Britain's mines.
Could the desert sun power the world?, 12/11/11
New research comparing the environmental effects of "green" biofuel to those brought about by traditional fossil fuel has revealed some shocking findings. Rather than reduce the overall carbon load and protect the environment as previously believed, biofuel derived from palm oil may actually be more environmentally harmful than fossil fuel.
Study suggests 'green' biofuels are more environmentally harmful than fossil fuels, 11/8/11
At first glance they're beautiful, but these incredible snaps reveal something far more ugly.
J Henry Fair's spectacular aerial images show the devastation man has wreaked on America.
Pollution is exposed on a massive scale, creating striking vivid colours that highlight the scars of spillages, open cast mining, chemical and oil leaks, industrial decay and deforestation.
Polluted America: Amazingly colourful aerial pictures that highlight damage to Earth wrought by industry, 10/26/11
The 9.0+ mega earthquake and tsunami that rocked Japan back in March caused millions of tons of debris to wash into the Pacific Ocean. And for the first time, some of that debris has been spotted drifting between Russia and Hawaii, where officials expect it to hit Hawaiian shores much sooner than their original two-years-from-now estimate.
Russian researcher Nikolai Maximenko and his team recently identified household appliances, furniture, plastic material, and even boats floating in Pacific waters during a recent trek home from Honolulu to Russia aboard the STS Pallada. Their discovery represents the first documented case of Fukushima rubble being identified in waters, and heading towards US land.
Millions of tons of Fukushima debris expected to soon wash up on Hawaii beaches, western US coastline, 10/26/11
Two days before the massive 9.0+ magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Japan, millions of dead fish were found mysteriously blanketing waters at King Harbor Marina in Redondo Beach, Calif.
And in a similar turn of events, millions of dead fish were recently discovered floating in China's Minjiang River -- just a coincidence, or a sign of worse things to come?
What's on Xiamen, a Chinese news source, reports that countless millions of dead fish were found floating on a large portion of the Minjiang River stretching from Huangtian in Gutian County, to Shuikou, an area that represents the largest grass carp breeding region in China's Fujian Province. As many as nine million fish have reportedly died in Huangtian alone, thus far.
Another mass die-off: Millions of fish found dead in China, 9/17/11
State and federal scientists are trying to identify a mysterious orange substance that washed up on the shore of a village in northwestern Alaska this week.
Residents on Wednesday noticed an orange sheen in the lagoon in front of Kivalina, Alaska, and clumps of the substance on the beach, city manager Janet Mitchell said.
Mystery substance comes to shore of Alaskan village, 8/5/11
World ecologists, toxicologists and fisheries scientists participating in a workshop staged by the International Programme on the State of the Oceans, IPSO, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, IUCN, at Oxford University, are sounding grim warnings. Overfishing and ocean acidification could bring about a collapse of ocean life or a massive extinction event within a single generation unless humans curb the use of fossil fuels and reverse overfishing. The world`s seas and aquatic life are being sickened by global warming, acidification and loss of oxygen.
Frightening report warns of eminent ocean life collapse, 7/11/11
Are you one of the many who, in the effort to be eco-friendly and to save money, replaced your old incandescent light bulbs with environmentally-friendly compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) energy saving light bulbs? If so, beware. A new study conducted by conducted by Peter Braun at Berlin Germany's Alab Laboratory found these light bulbs contain poisonous carcinogens that could cause cancer.
Compact fluorescent bulbs release cancer-causing chemicals when turned on, 5/19/11
This is about the wild horse roundups. BUT, ranch owners who own cattle and sheep should pay attention to the following, and wonder what water or land will be left for your livestock grazing in the future. Why do you think the DOI is removing all of the wild horses off our public lands? For you?
An open letter to the BLM, 5/9/11
When water begins to trickle down the streets of her coastal neighborhood, Yoshiko Takahashi knows it is time to hurry home.
Twice a day, the flow steadily increases until it is knee-deep, carrying fish and debris by her front door and trapping people in their homes. Those still on the streets slosh through the sea water in rubber boots or on bicycle.
"I look out the window, and it's like our houses are in the middle of the ocean," says Takahashi, who moved in three years ago.
Quake shifted Japan; towns now flood at high tide, 5/9/11
Parts of California are drying up, such as areas of a once fertile, agricultural breadbasket in the San Joaquin Valley. What were lush, productive fields are now a distant memory. Why? Because the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) has decided to re-interpret the Lake and Streambed Alteration Program (DFG code, section 1600) to include the normal use of water as a “permitable” action.
Here is the vague wording that allows such a broad interpretation:
Great California Water Swindle and Property Grab, 4/26/11
As a result, distinguished environmental researcher, Dr. Ilya Perlingieri, now warns to stay out of rain because it's likely radioactive. So is drinking water, food and air with unknown levels because governments like America and Japan won't say
Eco-insanity: Poisoning Mother Earth: America's Gulf and Fukushima, 4/23/11
Americans will be forced to use CFLs that contain poisonous carcinogens after government ban on traditional light bulb begins to take effect in January
Damning New Study: Eco Bulbs Cause Cancer, 4/20/11
Though some might argue that nanotechnology offers benefits not afforded by normal molecules, the environmental and human health consequences of this "breakthrough" technology appear dire, to say the least. New research published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials explains that nanoparticles damage beneficial soil bacteria and ultimately ruin plants' ability to uptake necessary nitrogen.
Nanoparticles destroy soil and the environment, study finds, 4/20/11
More than a month after a 9.0 magnitude earthquake hit northeastern Japan, followed by the even more devastating 30-ft high tsunami and the continuing nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, the beleaguered Japanese people are still experiencing aftershock after shock. Aftershocks of 4.5 magnitude or higher have numbered over 800!
Here’s a very disturbing video shot just 4 days ago near Tokyo, of a paved street literally heaving like liquid, and of water seeping out of cracks in the road
Japan Sinking?, 4/14/11
Though the notion now borders on political incorrectness among many environmentalists, the simple incandescent light bulb is still the cleanest, most non-toxic form of consumer lighting available. A new study published by the University of California - Irvine (UCI) has found that popular energy-saving LED light bulbs are filled with high levels of lead, arsenic, and various other toxic chemicals.
Many Eco-friendly bulbs contain toxic chemicals, 4/10/11
A strong aftershock ripped through northeastern Japan, killing two, injuring dozens and piling misery on a region still buried under the rubble of last month’s devastating tsunami.
Strongest aftershock since Japan tsunami kills 2, 4/7/11
A vast field of debris, swept out to sea following the Japan earthquake and tsunami, is floating towards the U.S. West Coast, it emerged today.
More than 200,000 buildings were washed out by the enormous waves that followed the 9.0 quake on March 11.
Enormous Debris Field Headed for West Coast of U.S., 4/7/11
Imagine our declining pollinators – bees, moths, butterflies and bats – coming upon thousands of acres of toxic trees, genetically engineered so that every cell in the tree exudes pesticide, from crown to root. Imagine a world without pollinators. Without seed dispersers. Without soil microbes.
It would be a silent forest, a killing forest, an alien forest. No wonder Vandana Shiva scoffs at the moniker, biotechnology. “This is not a life technology. It’s a death science.”
Alien Forest, Alien Ocean, Alien Sky
These are my notes on the discussion by PatrioticSpace about what he sees as an upcoming catastrophe with the potential to kill tens of millions of people living in the Eastern and Southern United States.
Catastrophe Imminent?, Will Edgar Cayce's Prediction Come True?
In the first 24 hours of the Libyan attack, US B-2s dropped forty-five 2,000-pound bombs. These massive bombs, along with the Cruise missiles launched from British and French planes and ships, all contained depleted uranium (DU) warheads.
A strange way to protect Libyan civilians, 3/28/11
A new report released [March 12, 2011] in the Kremlin [!!!?] prepared for Prime Minister Putin by the Institute of Physics of the Earth in Moscow is warning that the Americas are in danger of suffering a mega-quake of catastrophic proportions during the next 14 days, with a specific emphasis being placed on the United States, Mexico, Central America and South American west coast regions, along with the New Madrid Fault Zone region.
Kremlin: Mega-Quakes Predicted for California & the New Madrid Fault on 20 March 2011
While much of the mainstream media appears to be moving on from the impending Fukushima Daiichi nuclear meltdown, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) recently released some startling and dire news about the now-empty spent fuel rod pool in the plant's Reactor 4. According to the NRC, a crack or hole in the empty pool is preventing efforts to refill it -- and since the pool does not have the same containment apparatuses that the actual reactors have, a fire or explosion could release the pool's 130 tons of uranium directly into the environment.
Exposed fuel rods in empty, cracked cooling pool may soon release 130 tons of uranium directly into the environment, 3/20/11
The United States Air Force and Navy has provided a visual insight into what caused the 9.0 magnitude off of Japan on March 11, 2011 at 05:46:23 UTC.
The image above was downloaded from the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) website.
JAPAN EARTHQUAKE CAUSED BY US MILITARY?, 3/18/11
The Institute for Public Accuracy issued the following statement by nuclear expert, Kevin Kamp, about the risk of nuclear disaster in post-Earthquake Japan: "The electrical grid is down. The emergency diesel generators have been damaged. The multi-reactor Fukushima atomic power plant is now relying on battery power, which will only last around eight hours. The danger is, the very thermally hot reactor cores at the plant must be continuously cooled for 24 to 48 hours. Without any electricity, the pumps won’t be able to pump water through the hot reactor cores to cool them. Once electricity is lost, the irradiated nuclear fuel could begin to melt down. If the containment systems fail, a catastrophic radioactivity release to the environment could occur."
Risk of Nuclear Catastrophe Escalates in Japan – 'Worse than Chernobyl', 3/11/11
It's the largest underground freshwater supply in the world, stretching from South Dakota all the way to Texas. It's underneath most of Nebraska's farmlands, and it provides crucial water resources for farming in Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and even New Mexico. It's called the Ogallala Aquifer, and it is being pumped dry.
America's breadbasket aquifer running dry; massive agriculture collapse inevitable, 3/10/11
Modern agriculture is heavily reliant on the use of phosphorus, a mineral necessary for proper plant and crop growth. But conventional growing methods have all but depleted this natural mineral from certain areas of farmland, which has resulted in the widespread mining of phosphorus to replace it. This mining and its subsequent overuse in agriculture has led not only to widespread pollution of water supplies, but it also threatens to use up the world's limited supply of phosphorus within the next several decades, say some.
Conventional agriculture using up global supply of phosphorus, causing widespread pollution, 2/27/11
From the point of view of many humans, the term "natural disaster" is a convenient scapegoat because it allow a person (or a whole nation) to blame nature for their own poor planning. Wherever we find so-called "natural disasters" around the world (such as Brazil at the moment), we also usually find a large group of people who have cut down the forests that buffer rainfall, paved over the grasslands that allow rain to soak into the soil, and built their homes right in the middle of gullies and natural drainage channels. When the floods come, they look to the sky and curse Mother Nature, shouting, "We got hit by a natural disaster!"
Why most natural disasters aren't natural at all, 1/16/11
In the name of job creation and clean energy, the Obama administration has doled out billions of dollars in stimulus money to some of the nation’s biggest polluters and granted them sweeping exemptions from the most basic form of environmental oversight, a Center for Public Integrity investigation has found.
Big Polluters Freed from Environmental Oversight by Stimulus, 11/28/10
Almost Four Decades Ago, Gaviotas was Started as a Sustainable Community in One of the Harshest Places in South America. It Has Worked -- Largely Because of Trees.
Village that Reinvented the World, 11/2/10
WHEN people see one of Patrick Blanc’s “forested” walls, their reaction is almost universal: there are gasps of surprise, followed by flashes of light as camera flashbulbs go off – and then comes the need to touch the lush tendrils of living plants growing magically on a wall. It is this interaction between human being and nature in the heart of even the most densely packed cities that makes Blanc smile.
Wrapped in life-giving green, 9/26/10
The Pacific Garbage Patch is a swirling mass of plastic in the middle of the Pacific ocean that is big enough to qualify as the planet's largest landfill. Roughly located in an area between 135° to 155°W and 35° to 42°N, much of the world's trash has accumulated into this part of the Pacific Ocean based on the movement of ocean currents.
Pacific Garbage Patch, 8/21/10
A previously undefined expanse of the western North Atlantic has been found to contain high concentrations of plastic debris, comparable to those observed in the region of the Pacific commonly referred to as the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch".
North Atlantic Garbage Patch, 8/19/10
There has been much in the mainstream news recently about population control. In fact, there seems to be a concerted effort by the Elite to introduce the idea as a legitimate debate about dealing with the “problem” of over-population. It appears the elite are trying to legitimize these claims using the global warming argument that CO2, which humans exhale, must be minimized at all costs.
Understandably, the notion that a small group of powerful people is consciously and methodically trying to kill off the majority of the population is a tough pill to swallow. Incidentally, people who refuse to question the events of September 11th usually do so for one reason: they don’t want to believe that the conspirators would kill over 3000 innocent people to advance their agenda. However, what has taken place in the aftermath of 9/11 seems to prove the true nature of the Elite in regards to how little they value human life.
Sheep For Slaughter: Are the Elite really trying to KILL us?, 6/22/10
What's most striking about the present BP oil catastrophe is not that it is an aberration but rather part of a dangerous pattern of mankind's propensity to destroy nature. To destroy life in a large region of an ocean isn't even new: The world already has over two hundred "dead zones" where fish can't live because the ocean water has no more oxygen left thanks to the runoff effects of man-made chemicals.
Corporate atrocities against nature may ultimately destroy human civilization, 6/18/10
Yes, the ruling class is trying to commit suicide. In and of itself, this would be a great boon to mankind. Imagine if the ruling class admitted their abject failure to get anything right, and did the honorable thing. Top management at Wall Street, the elite of both major parties, their lobbyists, the big pr firms, the worst hacks of the corporate press, most CEOs and COOs--what if they all just got in a big bathtub, conceded defeat and opened up a vein like Frank Pentangeli in The Godfather II? Who would miss them?
So suicide isn’t the problem, exactly. The problem is that they don’t know they’re trying to kill themselves, and it doesn’t occur to them to behave honorably. The ruling class is not Frank Pentangeli. The ruling class is the husband who is failing at work, having his home foreclosed, his car repossessed, his children are getting humiliated at school because they aren’t wearing the right clothes, the self-help books have failed, the church offers no solace, television won’t acknowledge his existence--so he shoots his wife and four kids and then puts the gun in his mouth.
Thus the problem is murder suicide. The husband wants to kill the only people in his life more powerless than himself, because they are living reminders of his own shame.
Does the Ruling Class Really Want to Commit Suicide?, 6/9/10
Deniers are dancing on the graves of their reputations, to say nothing of reality itself. But Earth will still get the last laugh on all of them, and us for that matter.
10 Ways Mother Earth Will Strike Back if We Don't Stop Our Wanton Destruction of the Environment, 3/21/10
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