Category Archives: four-leggeds

The Pee and Poo Show **edited

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The title is funny, but the subject is serious — flushing human waste into clean drinking water just doesn’t make sense.  I was thinking that you could only utilize a composting toilet in the country, where you could have room to separate compost piles by year.  But I was wrong, as this  brilliant couple illustrates.

I love how they have utilized their space to raise vegetables and fruit and bees and collecting rainwater.  Absolutely sustainable.

Who knew we could save the world through poop? 😛

If you look at the comments, someone has added a link to the humanure website.  They also question separating the pee and poop–I think this gal wanted to use the urine right away for the nitrogen to fertilize her vegetables and such, but everyone has different goals, so separating it may not be a big to-do for them.

From Joe Jenkins, author of the Humanure Handbook:

Of course, there are those who question this without reading it.  If they did, they would know that the pathogens are broken down by microbes that eat them — that’s why on organic farms, e.coli is not a problem, but on factory farms, e.coli is rampant–too much in a small space for the ecological system to do its natural work of breaking them down.  **edited to add:  the chemicals on non-organic farms also interfere with microbes.  What kills the insects also kills the microbes.

Pregnant mothers, mercury, and toxins

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Well, this   sounded refreshing by the title.  But I’ll hold my applause until they actually put their money where their mouths are and get off their duffs.

This sentence is why I have my doubts:

“What we’re trying to get is the balance between awareness and alarmist,” said Dr. Jeanne Conry, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

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We are waaaay past alarm.  If you’re not alarmed, you haven’t been paying attention.  This is decades past due!  They knew this back in the sixties, so spare me the tender steps and get on it already.  And don’t act all concerned with women’s health when you’re willing to poison them with vaccination….and of course, you’re not willing to treat poor women with whatever they can pay you.

I cannot believe they are recommending fish, especially catfish, tuna and salmon.  This report states catfish are okay, but I have read in other reports that they are high in mercury.   Fish can be high not only in mercury but toxins from pesticides [PDF} and other farm run off.  I don’t go along with the statement that this is good news in regards to standards for drinking water.  I cannot drink tap water because of the contaminants. Note that they are STILL finding DDT decades after being banned.   And because of “budgetary restraints” glyphosate (Monsanto’s RoundUP)  was not measured.   This should alarm everyone.

…and they’re asking the American Chemical Society for its input? A group that makes its living off of chemicals that are toxic to us and destroy our immune systems?  Seriously??

And in the we-are-our-own-worst-enemy category–the report states there are high concentrations of chemicals from home lawn and garden use in streams, etc. in the urban setting.  I’ve told the story before, but it bears repeating–there was a couple who had the perfect yard–grass was unnaturally green and not a “weed” in sight.  They sprayed for weeds frequently, I’m told.  They had not one but two dogs die of cancer.  Yep.

So…yeah, we have our own culpability for contributing to the toxic soup in pursuit of a perfect yard.  And perfect looking vegetables and fruits…who cares if they’re nutritious or not….kind of like our state of society right now, eh?  We judge more by the outside packaging than by what is on the inside….

Okay, I’m off my soapbox.  For now.

 

 

More dolphins beached **edited

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It’s in Brazil this time.

I wonder if it has anything to do with this spill in 2011…

From the link to the story of Chevron in Ecuador:

Such sentiment holds strong appeal to those who claim that people here, like Ms. Ruíz’s 16-year-old son, are dying from the pollution that Texaco spawned. Citing scientific studies, the plaintiffs claim that toxic chemicals from Texaco’s waste pits, including benzene, which is known to induce leukemia, have leached for decades into soil, groundwater and streams. A report last year by Richard Cabrera, a geologist and court-appointed expert, estimated that 1,400 people in this jungle region — perhaps more — had died of cancer because of oil contamination.

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Note that even Chevron agreed that they had spoiled what once was a pristine jungle.  Even worse is Petroecuador has dirtied its hands with contributing to the mess.  Despite their protests, they cannot pass off their own responsibilities.  <sigh>

I found this update to the above story.

You might recall the story of the proposed mining operation in an untouched part of Wisconsin.

I’m thoroughly convinced that these people are not going to be happy until they’ve destroyed every natural habitat and ecosystem.

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Another reason the dolphins might be beaching themselves is mercury.  A report here on gold mining operations and the threat of mercury….a compelling story.

After being poisoned with mercury, Jose Atehortua suffered terribly:

In the ensuing weeks, Atehortua’s molars fell out; he was besieged by ringing in his ears, loss of hearing and appetite, impaired vision and balance, and damaged kidneys — ailments common to acute mercury vapor intoxication. But somehow kidney dialysis worked, and, slowly, movement returned to his arms and legs. Four months later, Atehortua returned to the entable, famous among Segovia’s miners as the azogado who had miraculously recovered from paralysis.

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The above symptoms are common with us on the mercury poisoning group.   I personally had ringing in the ears, diminished hearing and appetite, darkened vision, balance issues, kidney impairment, liver impairment, and dental issues including loose teeth.   The alarming thing of this article is that they are thinking it was just a one time deal, instead of him probably suffering from long term poisoning until one night his body had had enough and gave out.  It took me a year after amalgam placement to start having monthly migraines.  Another year to start showing low thyroid symptoms, another year to start with memory loss and weight gain (even though I was still exercising)….and so it’s not as easily dismissed.  I wonder now if this guy, if he continued to work there, is still alive or if he is, whether he is seriously disabled–mentally or physically.

Now expand all of this out to how it must be affecting dolphins and other sea mammals….one can understand why they are losing their senses and beaching themselves.   Moving the entable to another location, while continuing to enable mercury exposure, is not going to help anyone–human nor animal.  And as in the previous story, why pollute a rural area?  Just stop, already.  Just stop.  Gold is not worth it.  All the gold in the world will not buy back your health….this paragraph attests to that:

Meanwhile, evidence is accumulating that more chronic varieties of the acute symptoms endured by Atehortua are affecting the most vulnerable segment of the population. In neurological tests administered to 196 children in Segovia, aged 7 to 13, 96 percent failed at least one measure of intoxication, whose indicators include attention, memory, language, and executive functions. These data are included in a UN health report, published in January, which describes the mercury situation in Antioquia as “dramatic.”

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**edited to fix goof on above paragraph.

Monsanto bulldozer keeps on rollin’

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While we’re looking the other way at issues that should be non-issues….another sneaky thing in the House version of the Ag part of the funding of the government is to continue the Monsanto Protection Act.  Yep.

From Organic Consumers:

URGENT: House Passes Monsanto Protection Act. Ask Your Senators to Stop It!

Dear Supporter,

On Friday, September 20, the U.S. House of Representatives passed its version of the Continuing Resolution (H.J.RES.59), a bill to keep the government running through December 15. The bill will force a showdown with the Senate because it includes a provision to defund the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare.

But the Continuing Resolution is controversial for another reason. It extends the Monsanto Protection Act, officially referred to as the Farmers Assurance Provision, a law that gives biotech firms immunity from federal prosecution for illegally growing GMO crops.

Please call your Senators today and ask them to pass a clean version of the Continuing Resolution, one that doesn’t extend the Monsanto Protection Act.

You can call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected with your Senator. Or find individual senators’ phone numbers here.

You can say:

“I’m calling to ask the Senator to oppose the Farmers Assurance Provision, sometimes referred to as the Monsanto Protection Act, and to vote no on any bill, including the Continuing Resolution, which includes the provision.”

If you want to go into more detail, you can add:

“New GMOs aren’t regulated enough as it is. Even the American Medical Association complains that the Food and Drug Administration doesn’t safety test new GMOs for human health risks before allowing them on the market for human consumption. The AMA last year recommended that GMOs undergo mandatory premarket safety testing.

“The U.S. Department of Agriculture does conduct a mandatory review of new GMOs, but not for human health risks.

“The USDA is notorious for ignoring the impact new GMOs will have on organic and non-GMO farmers who experience serious economic losses when their crops are contaminated.

“In recent years, the courts have had to step in and stop the planting of new GMOs. The courts did this by requiring that the USDA complete a thorough Environmental Impact Statement before approving a controversial crop. The Monsanto Protection Act strips the court of its constitutional power to review executive branch decisions, which means the courts can no longer intervene in order to protect the public. Now, the USDA can rubber-stamp new GMOs and, even if serious harm could result, the court can’t stop them from being planted.

“I hope the Senator will work to stop the Monsanto Protection Act from being extended past September 30 and vote against any bill that includes it.”

Background
The Monsanto Protection Act was first passed in March, when it was quietly and without debate slipped into the earlier version of the Continuing Resolution, a bill to fund the government through September 30. As Politico reporter David Rogers explained in his Monsanto Protection Act exposé, “Big Agriculture Flexes its Muscle,” the Monsanto-friendly rider was never voted on. Rogers, a seasoned political reporter, described how the Monsanto Protection Act became law “with little or no floor debate and in a period of turmoil.”

The backroom deal that made the Monsanto Protection Act law generated a public backlash. It was the subject of a Daily Show episode. And it helped spawn a worldwide March against Monsanto, reported on by the New York Times.

Because the Senate never voted on the Monsanto Protection Act, we don’t know where all of the senators stand on the issue. But here’s what we do know:

•    Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) conspired with Monsanto lobbyists to write the law.

•    Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), chair of the full Senate Appropriations Committee, publicly apologized for letting the Monsanto Protection Act slip through. But, she said, she had a responsibility to avoid a government shutdown.

•    Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), tried for a vote to repeal the Monsanto Protection Act during the Senate Farm Bill debate.

•    Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) blocked Merkley’s amendment.

•    Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D- Mich.) promised Merkley that the amendment wouldn’t be renewed without a vote.

Can Sen. Stabenow keep her promise? We’ll find out this week when the Senate debates the new Continuing Resolution. While the focus will be on the House’s provision to defund Obamacare, we need every senator to know that it is not acceptable to include the Monsanto Protection Act in the new bill.

Please call your senators today. Ask them to reject extending the Monsanto Protection Act and vote no on the Continuing Resolution unless this blatant giveaway to the biotech industry is removed.

Thank you!

— Alexis and the team at OCA

Organic Consumers Association

6771 South Silver Hill Drive – Finland, MN 55603 – Phone: 218-226-4164 – Fax: 218-353-7652

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Environmental stuff

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Minke whale washes ashore in Portuguese Cove, Nova Scotia.  Why on Earth are they not taking the whale to someone who can analyze why it died?  They’re more worried about the smell of the carcass than finding out what caused its death. Mercury?  Runoff from chemical farms? Genetically modified organisms? Oil? Pharmaceuticals washed out to the ocean?

Greenpeace protests with mechanical polar bear. Pretty cool exhibit, eh?

 

Walker Backs Down

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Gov. Scott Walker has rescinded a $500,000 grant to the United Sportsmen of Wisconsin.

You know, for folks who are so dead set against government in their lives, via taxation and regulation, they sure to go out of their way to get those tax dollars while trying to circumvent the democratic process.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that the grant was slipped into the budget bill by outgoing Majority Leader Scott Suder with terms that excluded most sporting groups in the state. The grant was not properly advertised, conveniently leaving United Sportsmen as the sole applicant.

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More Wisconsin news here. 

You’re telling me that citizens throwing pop cans and shouting obscenities requires the use of armed guards?  Talk about overreaction.  Yes, it was wrong for the one demonstrator to destroy the camera, no doubt, but having armed guards with assault rifles is just soo over the top.

What I don’t understand is why  they are allowed in the forest at all.  Why are they destroying what little we have left?  People seem to think that climate change is this thingy down the road….hello, it’s happening now and destroying the forests is one of the reasons.    Why are they not valued as much as the mining operations?  Why aren’t the environmental impacts on the land and water considered as important?

The primary cause of this lasting pollution is acid mine drainage. Mining exposes sulfide-bearing ore that generates sulfuric acid and mixes with water. This outflow of acidic water, otherwise known as acid mine drainage, contaminates drinking water aquifers, lakes, and streams, agricultural lands, and prime fish and wildlife habitat. Because acid mine drainage can’t be stopped, once started it must be treated until the acid generating material runs out. As acknowledged in government mining permits, this can take hundreds or thousands of years.

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Texas’ Freedom of Information Foundation is aiding CMD in obtaining public records that members of ALEC are trying to keep in the dark.

The Fight for Fifteen in Wisconsin.  I think $15 per hour is reasonable and would put us back to where we would have been had our wages not stagnated over the last twenty or so years…

There is just something terribly wrong when a CEO can make millions in income while employees are forced on food stamps or food banks to feed themselves and their families.

Finally, in non-Wisconsin news, CMD has this up on the paper trail of Larry Summers.   I haven’t begun to read all the information here, so I’m off to read the links. …note, however, the link to education “reform”–he’s on the board of the Eli Broad Foundation.  Not only that, but Andy Stern is also on the board–he was head of the Service Employees Union…wow….a union supporter on the board of an organization trying to destroy teacher’s unions and public education.  Just wow.