May 2011
40 posts
Why Permaculture Design?
Peak Oil, loss of diversity, species extinction, conspiracy, oil spills, food insecurity…. The problems that we face seem to increase both in size and complexity every day. However we can simplify all of these global issues and emphasize three primary concerns. In order of increasing priority, the three biggest issues are:
Pollution
Deforestation
Soil destruction and erosion
Old growth forest...
Is Monsanto Poisoning Babies? A New Report Begs...
Monsanto is the epitome of everything that is wrong with modern agriculture. What worries me the most is that whilst we can reduce and reverse a lot of the damage from things like GHG’s, pesticides, fertilizers, deforestation – the threats from GMO’s may well be irreversible and worse than we can even imagine.
There will be no penalty severe enough for the crimes they are committing against...
sadomars asked: Peter,
Tumblr is a truly great place to learn. One of the reasons I love tumblr is simply because one can choose what they want, and I learned a lot from growing through yours. Great knowledge, future wisdom, that you are sharing with with us all!
I look forward to your posts.
Tumblr is a truly great place to learn. One of the reasons I love tumblr is simply because one can choose what they want, and I learned a lot from growing through yours. Great knowledge, future wisdom, that you are sharing with with us all!
I look forward to your posts.
Peak Oil Has Happened: How The Global Oil Watchdog...
How the IEA was silenced about the future of global oil production.
The US Government Dirty Tricks Department certainly has a lot to answer for, not only to its own people but to the world at large.
I see that the world crude oil prices are down today as a result of yesterdays posted US news of increased stock levels. Are they either deliberately stockpiling or more likely manipulating the...
The Grass Isn’t Greener… get rid of your lawn!
by Rob Avis
If you’ve been following permaculture, then you’ve probably been hearing about Permablitz – the transformation of lawns into productive, abundant landscapes. (For those of you in our region, here in Canada, check out this site.)
You may be thinking: why food? Why not lawns?
Obviously, the bright green, manicured lawn is a human invention — Mother Nature certainly doesn’t use a...
Native Bees to Help Our Garden
As the world’s bee population is becoming more and more endangered we are keen to embark on the journey of native bee keeping.
by Zaia Kendall
Australian Stingless Bee
As many of you already know, the world’s bees are in trouble. Colony collapse disorder, predator beetles and probably a range of other factors that have to do with our lack of care for the earth is slowly annihilating the...
GM soy: the high cost of the quest for 'green...
NOTE: For why the RTRS, referred to in the article, perpetuates the problem rather than being part of the solution, see: http://www.toxicsoy.org
—- —- GM soy: the high cost of the quest for ‘green gold’ Louise Gray The Telegraph, 17 May 2011 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/8518048/GM-soy-the-high-cost-of-the-quest-for-green-gold.html *Scientists and...
Monsanto admits non-GM is faster and cheaper
EXTRACT: Monsanto’s efforts to cultivate new lines of consumer-focused produce do not involve direct manipulation of genetic code.
There’s an economic incentive at work here, as well. Monsanto said it generally takes around 10 years and $100 million to make a genetically modified seed. Advanced cross-breeding techniques [without GM] can shorten that process to five or eight years,...
GM products a failure - Zimbabwe
PHILLIP CHIDAVAENZI, SENIOR FEATURES REPORTER Newsday, Zimbabwe HARARE - May 17 2011 At the turn of the millennium, genetically modified organisms (GMOs) were touted as an answer to food shortages haunting the globe, particularly in developing countries. But a local agricultural policy expert Roger Mpande says this has turned out to be a false start and Zimbabwe’s best bet is to...
More Problems with Glyphosate: US Rice Growers...
Adding to the natural rice industry’s woes after Bayer CropScience contaminated a third of the US rice supply with transgenic rice in 2006, the widespread application of Bayer’s glufosinate and Monsanto’s glyphosate is reducing crop yields, and burning and deforming rice plants that survive. [Image: Glyphosate deforms the growing points on rice plants.]
The Mississippi Rice Council (MRC) has...
Nebraska Dairyman Applies Raw Milk to Pastures and...
Found this link on a forum for milk cows. Thought it was really neato! http://www.greenpasture.org/community/?q=node/228 An Illinois steel-company executive turned Nebraska dairyman has stumbled onto an amazingly low-cost way to grow high-quality grass – and probably even crops – on depleted soil. Can raw milk make grass grow? More specifically, can one application of three gallons of raw milk...
New Zealand GMO horror farm ignoring bio-security...
1. AgResearch Ignoring Bio-security Risks
2. GE Cover-Up or Just Bad Science?
—- —- 1. AgResearch Ignoring Bio-security Risks Sunday, 1 May 2011, 8:44 pm Press Release: GE Free NZ AgResearch Ignoring Bio-security Risks http://bit.ly/lRoXGX AgResearch’s 200 acre facility at Ruakura could pose a dangerous bio-security risk to populations in Hamilton and surrounding farmlands,...
Premium Prices Paid For Non-Genetically Modified...
Premium for non-GM canola set to continue ABC, 3 May 2011 http://www.abc.net.au/rural/news/content/201105/s3206216.htm The premium for non-genetically modified canola looks set to continue at least into next season. Tom Puddy, from Western Australia’s largest grain handler, CBH, says European demand for ‘sustainable’ canola means the non-GM price is likely to remain $30-$40...
EU farm chief slams genetically engineered food
EU farm chief: GM food meets no quality, diversity criteria EurActiv, 3 May 2011 http://www.euractiv.com/en/cap/eu-farm-chief-gm-food-meets-quality-diversity-criteria-news-504488 EU Agriculture Commissioner Dacian Ciolos says he strongly favours traditional agriculture that produces quality food, diverse diets and natural biodiversity, requirements which genetically-modified crops cannot satisfy....
Genetically Engineered Red Apple Scientists Beaten...
GE Red Apple Scientists Pipped At The Post Press Release: Jon Muller GE Free NZ, 3 May 2011 http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/SC1105/S00004/ge-red-apple-scientists-pipped-at-the-post.htm Plant and Food scientists working on a GE red apple have been pipped to the post by the commercial launch of the RedLove variety of apple. The RedLove apple is the work of Swiss researcher Markus Kobelt, who over 20...
Old Fashioned Scythe instead of Tractors, she has... →
Get a video version with audio here:
http://www.scytheconnection.com/adp/video/oil.html
Old Fashioned Scythe versus Modern Petrol String... →
She has very bad technique, you will be worn out in no time if you had a lot to cut.
See other video for proper technique where you can scythe all day with no wear and tear on your body.
Want to know why so much unrest in Middle East?
by Lester R. Brown, Earth Policy Institute
Captured from a bus window, while crossing the no-man’s land between Jordan and Israel/Palestine, the once-mighty Jordan river is today just a murky trickle (see bottom centre of image) that wouldn’t flow at all today if it wasn’t for the pollution poured into it…. It is estimated that the Jordan River will dry up completely by the end of 2011. Photo ©...
The Benefits Of Eating Organic Raw Cheese
Where in the world can you get hold of raw cheese? Not in this country, unless you make your own that is.
So what’s so special about eating raw cheese? Well it’s the flavour that you notice first. When chomping into a piece of cheese made from organic, raw milk, you really taste the difference! There is a certain complexity about raw cheese that is noticed straightaway after that first bite;...
Modern Science discovers what Permaculturists...
How many times must we ‘discover’ something we’ve discovered before – particularly when our lives and our futures depend on reacting appropriately, and shaping society, to incorporate the lessons learned?
One of the most transformative experiences in my life was from studying soil science many years ago. Getting something of an understanding of the inner workings of that thin skin which ...
