Category Archives: chemical

Farm Bill

by

I’m late with this, but it’s nice to know others are out there fighting for those of us most affected by this.  The cuts in food stamps…i.e., the “Eat Shit” campaign of those compassionate conservatives who think all life is precious…as long as you’re a conservative and wealthy….poor people should just dry up and blow away and “decrease the surplus population…”

From the email sent to the organic advocates group I belong to:

Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-OH) and other hill champions are coordinating Members
of Congress to make ‘one minute’ speeches in opposition to the House Ag
Committee’s proposed cuts to SNAP. When you call your Members of Congress
today, ask him/her to speak out on the House floor in support of SNAP
tomorrow, *July 10 at noon or on Wed., July 11th at noon*. If interested,
House offices should contact LaDavia Drane (ladavia.drane@ mail.house. gov)
in Rep. Fudge’s office. “One Minutes” are first come, first serve.

~~~~~~~~~~~
“House Republicans think a working poor household with $2,000 in assets
shouldn’t be getting food stamps – an average of $1.50 per meal – but they
don’t seem to have problems with far wealthier insurance companies and
agribusiness getting much bigger handouts from the Farm Bill,” noted Dunlea.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates the House bill would cut spending
over ten years by more than $35 billion, the Senate bill $23 billion.****

“****America* ***’s children, seniors and 1.5 million veteran households
facing a constant struggle against hunger deserve better from Congress,”
said Senator Gillibrand of the House bill.****

The House bill does not include several amendments attached to the Senate
bill, including one that required those getting subsidized crop insurance
to comply with conservation requirements and another that reduce by 15
percentage points the share of crop insurance premiums the government pays
for farmers with adjusted gross incomes of more than $750,000. Currently
the government bears an average 62 percent of crop insurance premiums

~~~~~~~~~

The quote from Henry Kissinger popped in my head. Link Here:

http://www.corporate-aliens.com/quotes/getquote.php?Henry-Kissinger&quoteid=1427

Who controls the food supply controls the people; who controls the energy can control whole continents; who controls money can control the world.
Yeah, that about sums up the disaster the world is in right now, doesn’t it?
~~~~~~~~~
A really good article here on conventional versus organic farming.  I take issue with the yields being 25 percent more in conventional farming–I’ve read differently–especially when it comes to drought conditions.  Rodale did a comparison of conventional versus organic farming and found that the crop loss from bugs, etc., was minimal, and when they were in a drought, the organic soil was better able to retain moisture, helping the crop to survive.  If you look at the soil samples in the article, it’s plain to see the difference in soils. I used to have a compost bin at my house, and it was so amazing to put food scraps in the bin, along with leaves, sticks, and stuff, and see it magically transform into rich compost.  Compost is amazing in that it can help break up clay soils and will also help sandy soils to hold moisture.
In the ecology textbook I’m reading, they bring up an important point:  pesticides not only kill the bugs the farmers don’t want on the crop, but they also kill off beneficial bacteria in the soil which the plants need to thrive.  Also, I’ve read that the outbreaks in salmonella and e. coli could easily have been avoided with organically grown food–the beneficial bacteria love to eat them.
Here in the corn belt, we are experiencing a severe drought.  They have pretty much given up on the corn crop, and are unsure about soybeans.  Again I wonder at the wisdom of so much land being devoted to grains, instead of growing nuts, which don’t require chemicals to grow, and the trees help soil erosion.
Also, people are watering their lawns, which drives me up a wall–they cut the grass to two or less inches, and then wonder why the grass dies.  Grass should be grown to at least 3 inches so the roots will grow deeper, allowing it to find moisture when it’s dry out.  I never had a problem with my grass dying when I still had my house/lawn.  But you never, ever hear about this when they’re talking about people watering their lawns.
Finally, I like the idea of subsidizing farms based on how much carbon they leave in the soil.  Great idea.  Probably won’t go anywhere if Monsanto doesn’t like the idea…

No Justice for Bhopal

by

Incredibly, the citizens of Bhopal, India, are still left holding the bag after Union Carbide’s tragic 1984 accident that killed 20,000 people and polluted unknown amounts of water, soil and air.

In the environmental book I’m reading, they recount the Love Canal disaster and all the complexities involved in resolving a toxic event.  The original company, Hooker Chemical, sold the land to the local school board, and incredibly, the school board took it with a contract that stipulated that Hooker Chemical was not responsible for any chemicals on the land.  They had been dumping chemicals there for years—and they built a school on top of the land. Parents began complaining about their children’s health issues within five years after the schools’ opening.

This is where it gets interesting–they were ignored, and when they were finally believed, at first the reaction is what you would expect by those in charge–they admitted there was a problem, and came up with solutions for it.  However, once the financial numbers were crunched, they decided there wasn’t a problem, after all.  Even the state’s health dept scientists were loathe to charge the state for the clean-up.

And the ones who did the toxic dumping–the chemical company–walked away.  This is the real problem–chemical companies, pharmaceutical companies, oil companies that screw up and just walk away because it’s more important to keep them in business than it is to hold them accountable.

DN! today

by

DN has this up today.

Let’s only hope that the carbon emissions news is followed by actual, you know, action.  Because if anything this administration is famous for–it’s tough words with no backbone.  The other day, I was listening to Limbaugh rant about the immigration law and Arizona and how the Obama Administration was instituting an “800” number for anyone observing a police officer violating someone’s civil rights.  Limbaugh was all for civil rights and said it was about time that they started doing something about it.

bwahahaahahahahahaha. *snort*

Um, okay, he really didn’t say that.  He was incensed that the Obama administration was actually trying to provide a way for folks to speak up.  He immediately said it would be the sniveling liberals who would be calling in and the police officers would be afraid of lawsuits, yada, yada, yada.

My heart was lifted at the news of an “800” number…but then I recalled all the past “strong” words by this administration, followed by…no action.  So, yeah, unless there is a full time staff behind this 800 number, and the people at the other end of the phone are actually empowered to DO something, well, I don’t see it providing much help.  And it might even hurt someone who calls in thinking they are doing a service for the community, give their name, phone number and they themselves are harassed.  I’m just saying this is a possibility.  An administration that allows illegal wire-tapping against the Fourth Amendment leaves me doubting the sincerity of this program.  Why now? Especially after record deportations?

Onto the other stories on DN:

The Tar Sands pipeline being once again pushed by Big Oil and the Obama Administration going along is another red flag that this administration continues to say one thing and do another.  I’m just cynical enough to wonder if the sudden decrease in gas prices has anything to do with the Administration’s agreeing to Tar Sands?

Lawmakers making money off of legislation? No way. They’re the most fine, upstanding individuals ever to walk the Earth. /snark

You see, entitlement only applies to little old ladies trying to collect Social Security and the poor trying to collect food stamps to eat.   They make the laws, so members of Congress are entitled to make profits off of it.

Sorry to see Nora Ephron has passed.  I was watching “When Harry Met Sally…” last night.  Peace to her.

Natural Shampoo

by

I’ve been searching for a natural shampoo, without chemicals, as most of the chemicals they put in shampoos have been shown to be carcinogenic or endocrine disruptors.  Here’s a list of the stuff they put in personal care products.  I found propylene glycol on the label of a package of shredded coconut!  Good Grief.

I found a recipe for no-poo shampoo, where you put baking soda on your scalp and then rinse with vinegar.

Yeah…that didn’t work out too well…although it did help remove some of the buildup of the shampoo product I now use, leaving my hair bouncier.  But it’s not something you can use instead of commercial shampoo–your hair starts to look like it does when you’re sick for three days with the flu.  Not a pretty sight.

I found this helpful site on yucca as a shampoo.  Another site said you could also use it for a natural laundry soap.  Interesting.

It’s good for you, the wildlife, and the environment.  Woot.

California GMO Ballot

by

…as California goes, so goes the Nation  (she says hopefully)… (hat tip to organic consumers)

I wasn’t as impressed with this article as Ronnie Cummins.  It failed to note the Purdue University scientist, Dr. Huber, who sent a letter of concern to Vilsack.  But it was sure to get in GMO advocates that have nothing to back up their assertions that this *stuff that resembles food* is safe.

~~~~~~~~

By now, you have heard of the *cough* research that says people who buy organic food are….jerks.  Um-hmmm…

Organic Consumers states that reason.com is a part of the Reason Foundation, a libertarian “think tank”, which is…wait for it…a member of ALEC.

~~~~~

Another link organic consumers had was to a movie trailer about the coming water crises.  However, it was made by the folks who brought us “Waiting for Superman” a smear piece on the public school system that was used as a prop to promote charter schools…so yeah, I’m not linking to it.

Protests against chemicals

by

The stroller brigade went to DC to protest the non-transparency of chemicals on our health and the environment. Link to info here.

Glad to see it.  I am dumbfounded on a daily basis at the apathy by those around me to the onslaught of toxins and how much damage they are doing not only to us but the environment.

People will tell me they’re taking x amount of prescription drugs, while drinking cokes, eating junk food, etc., while their bodies are already being assaulted.    One resident of the building  came outside, saying he wanted to “get some fresh air”….while dragging on a cigarette…

…I had to stifle myself to keep from cracking up laughing…

It’s just mindboggling how they don’t see any connection between how poorly they feel and the chemical soup we’re in.

I’ve noticed a change in people’s behavior when they saturate the skies with chemtrails…is anybody investigating that?

Here is a link exploring that.  There aren’t a lot of credible sources out there on this issue–but just from my personal observation, I think they are affecting people’s health.  Mercury poisoning makes one much, much more sensitive to toxins–car exhaust, perfumes, chemical cleaners, electro-magnetic fields (at one point, I couldn’t talk on a cell phone without getting a migraine the next day)etc.–and when they spray this junk in the air, I have a reaction to it.

One link I read said that the chemtrails contain aluminum and barium–those two metals are hazardous to one’s health–so I went looking for more info on it and found this.

I’m afraid that it will be like the onslaught of diseases after  introduction of chemicals–mainly cancer that takes many years to manifest.  I can say, as a canary in the coal mine, my reaction is a warning of how it is affecting folks who are not mercury toxic…