ACTION ALERT

Tick, Tock

The clock is ticking on our last chance to stop a ticking time bomb.

On August 6 (2014), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), over the objections of 50 members of Congress, and more than 500,000 citizens, scientists, farmers and health professionals, moved one step closer to approving Dow’s new Enlist "Agent Orange" brand soy and corn crops.

The crops are engineered to withstand massive doses of Enlist Duo herbicide, concocted from a combination of 2,4-D (used to make Agent Orange) and glyphosate, the key ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup.

The USDA has admitted that approval of Dow’s new crops will cause the use of 2,4-D to skyrocket from 26 million pounds to 176 million pounds. Scientists predict worse.

Dow’s 2,4-D is already the seventh largest source of dioxins in the U.S. It’s been linked to a host of ills, including birth defects, infertility, allergies, Parkinson’s disease, endocrine disruption and cancer.

It’s unconscionable that the USDA would approve these crops. Yet the agency is less than 18 days away from doing just that. Unless we stop it.

Deadline September 8: Tell the USDA to reject Dow's 'Agent Orange' crops!

Today I invite you to check out this Website: 

www.OrganicConsumers.org

Here are two articles from July.

Hope in a Book

"Hope in a book about the environmental challenges we face in the twenty-first century is an audacious thing to promise, so I'm pleased to report that Courtney White delivers on it." - Michael Pollan

The debate between "saving the environment" and extracting enough food and energy from nature in order to sustain a growing population has always been framed in terms of trade-offs.

Until now.

In his book, Grass, Soil, Hope: A Journey through Carbon Country, Courtney White says there may just be a free lunch after all—by making the most of sunlight, grass and carbon to grow food, while also healing the land.

Grass, Soil, Hope reads like a travelogue, "a journey to the grassy frontiers of agriculture," according to Michael Pollan, who wrote the foreword. The book's heroes are the farmers and scientists who are figuring out that, contrary to conventional wisdom, we can create significant amounts of new soil in the course of a single generation.

Read Pollan's foreword to Grass, Soil, Hope

Go here order the book. Enter the code CGP35 to receive a 35-percent discount (good through Dec. 31, 2014).

Another Pro-GMO President?

Hillary Clinton. Former senator and secretary of state. Mother. Grandmother-to-be. Potential frontrunner for the Democratic nominee for U.S. president in 2016.

And Monsanto cheerleader.

From back in the days when she worked for the Rose Law Firm, which represented Monsanto, to her ongoing cozy relationships with pro-GMO appointees Michael Taylor (Deputy Commissioner for Foods) and Tom Vilsack (Secretary of Agriculture), Clinton has always pandered to the pesticide and junk food manufacturers.

She hasn't changed her tune—even though she's on the wrong side of the 93 percent of Americans (future voters) who want mandatory GMO labeling laws.

Last month, Clinton told the pro-GMOers at the BIO International Convention that the public is "misinformed" on the safety of GMO foods. Monsanto just needs to put a more positive spin on the mounting scientific evidence against GMO crops and GMO-contaminated foods, and voilà! Consumers will no longer need to worry their pretty little heads.

It's time to tell Hillary: No amount of "spin" will convince consumers that Monsanto's toxic crops and food are good for public health and the environment.

And no candidate who cheerleads for Monsanto will get the vote of the millions of consumers who believe politicians should stop taking Monsanto's money, and start protecting the public.

Welcome to our Environmental Action BLOG

Welcome to Environmental Action, a bog for Chautauqua area residents (and beyond) to learn and to share ideas on being Mindful, Acting Locally to affect Environment Globally. We need to stand up for our human rights and NOT LET BIG BUSINESS control our destinies.

I am setting up this BLOG (special thanks to Sue B for teaching me the basics) as a platform to enable more participation and multi-directional communication within our community. Please feel free to comment and to add your ideas! And, if you know how to BLOG, please help me set up the infrastructure.

I am very new to this, and the past year we have been very involved in the FRACKING Debate. Thank all of you for your support to learn more about horizontal high-pressure hydrofracturing, and the potential long term effect(s) on our environment. A special thanks to Audrey D for her work. But FRACKING is just one environmental issue. Perhaps you have an interest in solar or wind energy, a concern about water, soil or air, want to learn more about organic gardening techniques, genetic engineering, or perhaps want to set up a car pool... hopefully this BLOG will help us get connected, hoping that different interest TOPICS will manifest. I have posted a list (add your own) of Action Topics in the column to the right. Please comment, share URLs, even RANT, but please follow the etiquette of our Protocols, listed below.

Please add your email address if you wish to receive new posts delivered to your inbox (you can always opt out). Thank you!

PROTOCOLS

      Be Polite. Speak in "I" terms, not "YOU...".   Agree to possibly disagree; every opinion is important.

      Please remember...

            Is it TRUE?
                                  Is it KIND?
                                                         Is it CONSTRUCTIVE?
                                                                                                      Is it NECESSARY?

       If NO to any of the above, then DON'T POST!



Now, please share your passion, areas of expertise or concerns ...           I guess I'll go first.

Jeff Barr:  I am passionate about Nature and Mother Earth. I was fortunate to have a biology teacher in high school that predicted global warming in the 60's. He introduced me to Euell Gibbons, the famous wild-foods forager, whom I had the pleasure of spending a week in the woods collecting edibles.
I strive for self-sufficiency, hoping to get off the grid, build a zero-carbon home out of materials mostly gathered from my land, and live a simple but fulfilling sustainable lifestyle. I have been an avid organic gardener for years, am a certified Master Gardener through the Cooperative Extension Service, and am pursuing different permaculture techniques in the design of my homestead. At the present I am building hugelkultur raised beds combined with terrapreta concepts.   - Jeff Barr  207.229-6630 cell