Category Archives: farming

Dividing First Nations in other ways…

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Scott Sewell has this up on how things changed when the gaming commissions came to town.  A sly way to divide tribes, eh?

There is just something wrong with giving tribes two choices: nuclear waste or gambling casinos.

But the federal government says to Indian people, “I will recognize your sovereignty if you have either a nuclear or toxic-waste dump or casino.” That’s pretty much the only way you get your sovereignty recognized as Indian people.
Let me be clear about this: We are sovereign. I don’t care if the federal government recognizes me, my nation, and my people. That’s of little consequence to me in the long-term picture. The federal government, as far as I’m concerned, is by and large illegal. Most transactions are illegal. It’s like being recognized by a bunch of hoodlums. But under the law, they recognize your sovereignty in those two things, a dump or a casino. So Indian people are in an ironic situation, in that our choices for economic development are so limited.

In Minnesota, I see two examples. I see a reservation like Mille Lacs. They have two casinos. They built schools, houses, roads, clinics, and community buildings. They bought land. Nobody was going to do that for them. No federal appropriation was going to be made for those Indian people to do that, although their land was mostly taken from them. The federal government is supposed to provide those things for them. That’s not going to happen, so they did that with their casinos, and that’s right. They’re making some long-term investments that are smart. They don’t think those casinos are going to last forever, but they’re doing the right thing.

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I have heard of folks willing their land to a tribe native to the area. Cool.

Here is the Native Harvest website Winona mentions.

And the Indigenous Environmental Network.

The grassroots people of Kul Wicasa oppose the development of the power line infrastructure planned by Basin Electric.  The Lower Brule substation is to be located two miles from the Big Bend Damn.  The thick, corrosive nature of tarsands oil (which in its natural state is the consistency of peanut butter) requires a constant temperature of 150 degrees Fahrenheit and necessary dilutants to liquify it enough to be slurried through the pipeline. This will require an enormous amount of power.  Basin Electric stated at a public utilities commission meeting in Winner, SD “the pipeline apparently moves oil under 1440 pounds of pressure per square inch. If the line is to move 700,000 barrels of crude per day, each pumping station requires three 6500 hp electric motors running on 17 megawatts of power night and day.  If the flow rate is increased to 900,000 barrels per day, five 6500hp electric motors are required.  That would use 25 megawatts of power.”

This increasing demand for electricity forces the need for the additional power station at Lower Brule. Transmission studies indicate the current system has reached its load limit.   Given the location of the Lower Brule substation, 2 miles south of the Big Bend Damn, it is apparent Missouri River water will be used to produce electricity.

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Soooo…..they toss a few crumbs with wind turbines…but what they don’t tell them is that the pipeline is going to require even more energy…and precious water to move the “peanut butter” through the lines…um-hmmm…

This is just stunning:

…the land isn’t even there now; it’s an oil mine; there was a lake there that was 200 miles long and 100 miles wide.  Now, the elders are saying, for the first time, the shoreline is receding and the rocks at the bottom of the lake are exposed.  Water is being taken from the rivers and lakes to support the destruction by the tarsands mine. 

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It’s really hard to imagine that much water being used.  It’s gone.  No longer usable by humans or animals.

This pipeline would destroy farmland and jobs, contrary to Big Oil myth.  The First Nations are trying to support themselves with the food production, but once again Big Oil has other ideas.  If you know anything about history, the Native Americans were moved to areas out West…once oil was discovered, suddenly they were in the way and once again moved.  This continued on…and now we have the modern day version of it–pollute the land so it is no longer inhabitable.

 

Banned chemicals linked to autism **edited

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Global News has a post up on an SFU (? university isn’t named) professor that has linked autism with Chlordane and flame retardant PBDE-28.

Chlordane was in use in the U.S. until 1988. It has been linked to testicular cancer, lymphoma, and leukemia.

It has more widespread indications of affecting the health, however:

The non-cancer health effects of chlordane compounds, which include migraines, respiratory infections, diabetes, immune-system activation, anxiety, depression, blurry vision, confusion, intractable seizures as well as permanent neurological damage,[13] may affect more people than cancer. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) has defined a concentration of chlordane compounds of 20 ng/M3 as the Minimal Risk Level (MRLs). ATSDR defines Minimal Risk Level as an estimate of daily human exposure to a dose of a chemical that is likely to be without an appreciable risk of adverse non-cancerous effects over a specific duration of exposure.[14]

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Good Grief, this stuff is uber toxic!  The fact that seizures and migraines are symptoms lends more credibility to it affecting neurological function…as in autism.  So…it’s not just mercury and heavy metals that can be linked to autism.  And multiple exposures of both just spells disaster, imo.

You know what’s missing from the wikipedia link?  The manufacturer(s). I found one of them here.  Big surprise, eh? /snark

When does Monsanto start to pay back for all the misery they have caused the world?  Anybody?

There’s a much better written article here.  Gah,the more I read, the more alarmed I get, as if I wasn’t alarmed enough.  It appears to be as persistent for remaining in the environment and not breaking down, just like DDT …

It is not known whether chlordane breaks down in most soils. If breakdown occurs, it is very slow. Chlordane is known to remain in some soils for over 20 years. Persistence is greater in heavy, clayey or organic soil than in sandy soil. Most chlordane is lost from soil by evaporation. Evaporation is more rapid from light, sandy soils than from heavy soils.

Half of the chlordane applied to the soil surface may evaporate in 2 or 3 days. Evaporation is much slower after chlordane penetrates into the soil. In water, some chlordane attaches strongly to sediment and particles in the water column and some is lost by evaporation. It is not known whether much breakdown of chlordane occurs in water or in sediment.

Chlordane breaks down in the atmosphere by reacting with light and with some chemicals in the atmosphere. However, it is sufficiently long lived that it may travel long distances and be deposited on land or in water far from its source.

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More:

Finally, some chlordane may be left over from the pre-ban days. Old containers of material thought to contain chlordane should be disposed of carefully and contact with the skin and breathing vapors should be avoided.

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Here’s what bothers me about this statement–what exactly does “dispose of” mean?  How should it be disposed of?

It’s just shuffling it from one area to another.  It’s not a solution.  It just doesn’t magically disappear.  It becomes a problem for the next hapless person who comes in contact with it, unaware of the danger. And that usually means poor people, who don’t know about their toxic environment and if they did, they don’t have the $$$ attention of politicians $$$ who can do something about removing it.

Truly, the only solution is not to allow these toxic substances into the environment to begin with.

Greenpeace protests logging in Canada

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Report here. 

What bothers me is when I see trees torn down for yet more construction when there are thousands of empty buildings waiting to be occupied.  There should be a law that prohibits this–we don’t have the luxury of time anymore.  We need those trees to take the carbon dioxide out of the air and provide us with fresh oxygen.  Indiana is especially bad about destroying forests–when you look at aerial photos, you can pick Indiana out just by the lack of trees.   You can tell such a difference when leaving Indiana and going to Ohio–the air is better.  Combine this with the 15 million pounds of toxins released into our waterways…toxic soup.  (sigh)

Heavy Metals and Chemical Toxins in Foods **edited

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Where’s my spoon?  /snark

Magnetic Wheaties.  The press refused to publish this because they didn’t think it was real.  Anyone want to test their own Wheaties and dispute it?

Heavy Metals in Vegan foods. 

Sea vegetables.

Here’s another paper on heavy metals content in foods.

Arsenic in food.  The discussion is in defense of reports of arsenic in organic foods.  What the news reports got wrong was that heavy metals are present in conventionally grown foods, too.  It’s not a fault of growing them organically…but it is a fault of our toxic environment—which we are all responsible for promoting.

Another link here.

While there is a set legal limit for the amount of arsenic in water, that’s not the case for food. In previous weeks, researchers also detected high levels of arsenic in apple and grape juices. “All of these arsenic studies come back to the fact that there are multiple exposures, with the levels varying from product to product and batch to batch,” says Patty Lovera, assistant director of Food & Water Watch, a consumer safety organization. “We need to figure out some regulatory limit.”

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Arsenic in rice has been discussed on the mercury support group–obviously, we’re concerned about putting more poison in our bodies.  It’s frustrating as hell because even if you eat organic, you’re still at risk of heavy metals by the soil contamination.

Someone said in a reply on one of the sites I visited:  you’re pretty much going to get exposed by anything you eat…nothing is safe.

But I would not give up organic food.  Conventionally grown food is less nutritious, besides polluting the environment even more–it doesn’t make sense on that point alone.

Finally, here’s a disturbing video produced by Environmental Working Group on toxic chemicals in babies’ blood.

I looked up the Kids Safe Chemicals Act of 2008…and I’ll give you three guesses how it turned out.  Yep.

But, wait!  There’s yet another bill introduced with link to co-sponsors…here’s where it stands. 

Sen. Frank Lautenberg [D-NJ] Bill Author

Kirsten Gillibrand [D-NY] Bill Author

Max Baucus [D-MT]

Michael F. Bennet [D-CO]

Richard Blumenthal [D-CT]

Barbara Boxer [D-CA]

Maria Cantwell [D-WA]

Benjamin Cardin [D-MD]

William “Mo” Cowan [D-MA]

Richard Durbin [D-IL]

Dianne Feinstein [D-CA]

Al Franken [D-MN]

Tom Harkin [D-IA]

Angus King [I-ME]

Amy Klobuchar [D-MN]

Patrick Leahy [D-VT]

Robert Menéndez [D-NJ]

Jeff Merkley [D-OR]

Barbara Mikulski [D – MD]

Patty Murray [D-WA]

Bill Nelson [D- FL]

Bernard Sanders [I-VT]

Brian Schatz [D-HI]

Charles Schumer [D-NY]

Jon Tester [D-MT]

Tom Udall [D-NM]

Elizabeth Warren [D-MA]

Sheldon Whitehouse [D-RI]

Ron Wyden [D-OR]

Again, no mention on the toxins’ effects on the animals and birds.  Mercury has been found in birds on land and sea birds.  It’s also been found in marine mammals.

**edited to correct wording.

My environmental journey

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The critics of environmentalists claim that we’re phonies…okay, well, here is my journey…

…my advocating for the environment has been a slow evolving process that includes my experience with mercury poisoning, growing awareness of what we’re doing to the atmosphere, and a spiritual component of realizing everything is connected.

Here are some of the things I do:

–use cloth bags when going to the grocery.  I might use plastic for meat, but I re-use those bags, too, bringing them to the grocery along with the cloth bags.  If you use the cloth bags for meat, be sure to launder them before using again, to avoid contamination.

–avoid plastic packaging. …well, plastic *everything*.   This has been much easier following the GAPS diet because you don’t eat the processed food in packaging, but real food.  If I am given an option, I will buy something in glass packaging before plastic.

—re-use the glass containers for drinking glasses, food storage, plants, etc. I try to avoid ziploc bags when possible.

—don’t purchase synthetic materials like nylon and other materials requiring petroleum.  The list I think is a catch-all, because I think some of the things listed are made with petroleum if plastic or manufactured cloth such as nylon, so some of the products listed could be okay if not using those materials.  Here’s a website on organic cotton, fyi.

–When I had my home, I made a conscious decision not to pave the driveway–it was gravel.  I didn’t spray for weeds, either.  I let my grass grow to 3 inches so that the roots could grow deeply enough to avoid having to water the lawn, especially during the dry time in July–this also helped keep the weeds down. Meanwhile, my neighbors practically shaved the grass off and…wait for it…had to waste precious water to keep the grass from dying in July.    I let a patch of ground that was the former owner’s garden, grow its natural way, without my interference.  Yeah, I was the neighborhood hippie…

—use baking soda, borax, and vinegar for cleaning.  A formula I found in a natural health mag goes like this:  Bathroom cleaner:  6 T vinegar, 2 T borax mixed with a cup– of warm water.  Put this in a 1 qt. spray bottle and fill the rest with water.  Works great, especially if used every day.

—I would like to use non-toxic natural cleaners for laundry, dish washing, etc., but with my finances, this isn’t doable right now. Oh, and fyi, avoid dishwashers–the detergent used in them is highly toxic.

—ride a bike or walk when going somewhere.  This was easier for me when I lived in Fort Wayne, where everything was within walking distance.  I could get to the downtown in 45 minutes to an hour.  There is something to be said for walking or riding–you are much more connected to what is going on around you.  You hear the birds sing.  Feel the breeze.  Hear the ripple of water along the river…driving a vehicle cuts you off from so much, besides polluting.

—use flannel cloths instead of toilet paper and re-wash them.  I know, I know, some of you are going “ick” right now.  No. 1 is fine…No. 2 still requires paper. So there.

—cloth pads instead of chemically manufactured pads.

—use less.  I just use less.  This was part of the learning process of being poor–you just learn how to manage on less.  Not easy, for sure.  I became much more adept at planning meals and using food up before it went to waste.  I didn’t buy as much at the grocery until I needed it.  This is easier if the grocery is within walking distance….which is becoming harder as the independents are being forced out while big box stores are situated out in no-man’s-land, forcing people to drive there.

—garden organically, using compost from kitchen waste, and if you’re really adventurous, pee and poo.   This is not for sissies…so come with your brain in active mode and your determination to get away from petroleum and chemicals.  You will succeed, but you can’t give up when challenged.  Nature does challenge you, but also gives such splendid rewards. 😉

This is an ongoing process, for sure.  I didn’t just wake up one day and start doing all of this.  It was a gradual endeavor with every new discovery of my own contribution to pollution.

So…there you have it…my efforts towards helping instead of hurting the environment.

I think if we all took those first steps, and built on that, we would greatly reduce our dependency on petroleum.  Everything helps and every bit matters.

 

 

 

Eye Candy, but not for long if XL Pipeline goes in… **edited

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This week’s pics of beautiful Canada.  So gorgeous.  I wonder if #17 is a rock formation by the First Nations ancestors?  Perhaps a marker to show the way?

I look at this in awe of it….and then the horrible pictures of the destruction of the land by the oil and gas companies…and my heart sinks.

Thanks to those of you who signed the petition against XL pipeline.  Blessings to all of you for speaking out and making your voice heard.

I think I might have featured this video before, but definitely bears repeating:

It’s disturbing in the first few minutes a woman stands there and says “keep this stuff in Indiana, where it belongs….”

Excuse me?  It belongs in my state…because…?  The attitude is that we deserve it.  WTH?  We don’t want it here any more than you do.  Stop making Indiana the freaking garbage can for the Koch brothers!

…and Rahm Emanuel allows up to 2 years for the Kochs to comply to an order to enclose the petcoke.  What a joke.

Here’s the MSDS data sheet on petcoke. Note how BP gets out of updating the MSDS by a hole in the law that allows them to get out of updating it every three years.

Just look at the handling of this stuff, and one can see how toxic it is:

Handling

Contact with hot product may cause burns. Avoid contact with eyes. Avoid breathing dust.

Use only with adequate ventilation.

Avoid the creation of dust when handling and avoid all possible

sources of ignition (spark or flame).

To avoid fire or explosion, dissipate static electricity during

transfer by grounding and bonding containers and equipment before transferring material.

Use explosion-proof electrical (ventilating, lighting and material handling) equipment.

Wash thoroughly after handling.

When using do not eat, drink or smoke.

Regular periodic self inspection of the skin is recommended, especially those areas subject to contamination.

In the event of any localized changes in appearance or texture of the skin being noticed, medical advice should be sought without delay.

Storage

Keep container tightly closed. Keep container in a cool, well-ventilated area.

Empty containers may contain harmful, flammable/combustible or explosive residue or vapors.

Do not cut, grind, drill, weld, reuse or dispose of containers unless adequate precautions are taken against these hazards.

Not suitable

Prolonged exposure to elevated temperature

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It goes on to say the air purifying respirators are limited in their ability to protect one from this toxic stuff.  It also recommends gloves that cannot be penetrated by chemicals or oil. Heavy-duty.

Lastly, we have this bit:

Overexposure to dust may cause mechanical irritation.

Repeated or prolonged inhalation of dust may lead to chronic respiratory irritation.

Repeated and prolonged inhalation of any respirable dust may result in changes in lung function.

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They always want long term studies to evaluate toxins…but do we really have to poison people long term when something is obviously this toxic?

Here’s a good piece on petcoke.  They’ve been burning it in Nova Scotia.  Burning it releases mercury, lead, and arsenic…just like coal.  But it is said to be more toxic.

“The carbon intensity of petcoke is higher than the carbon intensity of most conventional coal so when you burn petcoke, you’re likely going to release more toxic emissions than you will when you burn traditional coal so it has a higher carbon dioxide content, it also has a higher sulphur content and by contrast, the carbon intensity of natural gas is about a third that of coal. And this is when we’re talking about fossil fuels, we’re choosing the best of evils,” said Abreu, adding that they would prefer to see an electrical system that relies on a diverse mix of renewable fuels.

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This stuff needs to stay in the ground. Absolutely.

**edited:  to take out the part of the scientist.  He was saying the same thing I was saying…can you tell that this upsets me? Oy.

Another Reason for the Honeybee collapse

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Here’s a report that states high-fructose corn syrup may be behind the honeybee colony collapse.  The commercial honey growers will take ALL of the honey and replace their food with high fructose corn syrup.

Since high fructose corn syrup contains mercury…it stands to reason that it could be one of the culprits behind the collapse.   I say “one” because there is also the pesticide connection.

Again, it’s taking everything and being greedy.  That greed eventually comes back on you.

No Confirmed Link with Pig Feed and virus

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Okay….I’ve been casually reading on this story and find it reeeaaally hard to believe they “can’t find” a link between the dreaded virus in the feed and the pigs contracting the virus.  It just seems a no brainer that if the virus is in the feed…and the pigs come down with the virus…yeah, it’s the feed…and here we have the evidence that the virus can survive not only in feed, but feces and water.

From the article:

While dry ground feed only allowed PEDV to survive for seven days, wet ground feed provided a more hospitable environment, allowing PEDV to survive at least 28 days. Again, the duration could be longer, but Goyal’s study ended. Storing infected feed at room temperature for two weeks should kill the virus.

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The next question is why is blood plasma in the feed to begin with?  Can you say unhealthy, inhumane factory farms?  I knew that you could.