writeaboutwarming

March 4, 2014 – It’s March, everybody!   Spring cannot be too far away.   The birds are singing up a storm, and though we’ve just gotten a fresh coat of snow on the ground, temperatures will be in the 40’s later this week.   Thank heaven, the sun is shining very brightly. You will be unsurprised to learn that Monsanto continues its march toward world domination.   Are you as baffled as I am that they do so with Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack’s complicity?   Is EVERYBODY on their payroll?   What does Vilsack stand to gain by helping Monsanto, et. al. to own the world’s food sources?   Can this truly be some form of horribly dysfunctional patriotism?? In 2011, Vilsack convened an industry-controlled panel of stakeholders (known as AC21) in the ongoing confrontation between biotech companies and organic farmers.   He ostensibly was seeking a fair solution to the problem of transgenic contamination.   After he and his corp...

February 10, 2014 - Hampered these five years by a do-nothing Congress, Pres. Obama is finally making slow inroads in combatting climate change.  One measure designed to help farmers and ranchers was announced just last week.  To begin immediately, the administration is setting up 10 climate centers and sub-centers across the country that will act as clearinghouses of agricultural information, intended to help farmers and livestock producers better deal with climatic extremes like those of the last few decades. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack made the announcement, in which he referred to the extended fire seasons, invasive pests (see my article in Transition Voice about the mountain pine bark beetle),  flooding, and drought as ongoing emergencies farmers must attempt to either mitigate or adapt to.  The growing season in the Midwest is now two weeks longer than sixty years ago, and the fire season is a full two months longer than it was in 1980.  Vilsack al...

February 3, 2014 - We live in a disjointed world.  To wit: I read, probably 10 days ago, that Monsanto isn't introducing any new GE seeds this year.  Meanwhile, GE superweeds have overrun American farms, with 50 percent of American farmers reporting Roundup-resistant weed infestations.  Then there's the USDA, which has extended its public comment period on its Advisory Community's recommendations vis-a-vis better relations between conventional and organic farmers (kind of reminds me of that song from the musical Oklahoma!: "Oh, the farmer and the cowman should be friends ...").  Are we turning a corner, where GE seeds are concerned?  Read on, and ponder. First, there's the issue of GE labeling.   Oh sure, Monsanto has defeated GE labeling bills in California and Washington, but labeling bills just keep "cropping up," nonetheless.  In fact, last year over half the states introduced GE labeling legislation.  On top of that, U.S. wheat exports to J...

June 4, 2012 - Yes, it's June already.  Time passes quickly, and that brings me to an important question: what are you doing to prepare yourself for the coming changes?  Are you growing a garden this summer?  Have you purchased a vehicle that gets higher gas mileage?  How much of your outdoor water comes from rain barrels?  Hope you're learning to go easy on the air conditioning.  Make sure you've got fans available.  Stocking up on your basic food requirements?  Candles?  Soap?  Baking soda and vinegar?  Most important of all, have you talked to your kids about what lies ahead?  Let them know their future will require lots of planning - and lots of courage. You can use as your model the United States Department of Agriculture.  It appears they've been keeping their ear to the ground, because they've come up with a financial tool that's perfectly suited to the times in which we live.  Swarms of young peopl...