Healing Rhinos and Other Souls

For nearly fifty years Walter Eschenburg lived and worked as a pioneering wildlife vet in the South African bushveld with its many animals and a host of weird and wonderful people. After a childhood spent in a German castle during the Second World War, a harrowing escape from the Russian army and a sequence of bold moves and fortunate circumstances, it is here, against the backdrop of the harsh but beautiful landscapes of the Waterberg, that Walter comes into his own and develops into a seasoned vet. He encounters charging rhinos, tame buffalo, irate cows and angry giraffes; he deals with snakes and warthogs, amorous elephants, cats, dogs and donkeys. He treats his patients with compassion and kindness, and his clients with large doses of humor. Read more here:

Healing Rhinos and Other Souls

 

Phantoms of the Prairie: The Return of Cougars to the Midwest

---

Book Review

Phantoms of the Prairie: The Return of Cougars to the Midwest, by John W. Laundre. Last seen in the 1880s, cougars (also known as pumas or mountain lions) are making a return to the plains regions of the Midwest. Their comeback, heralded by wildlife enthusiasts, has brought concern and questions to many. Will the people of the region make room for cougars? Can they survive the highly altered landscape of the Midwest? Is there a future for these intrepid pioneers if they head even farther east? Using GIS technology, and historical data, among many other methods, Phantoms of the Prairie takes readers on a virtual journey, showing how the cougar might move over the landscape with minimal human contact. Drawing on his years of research on cougars, John W. Laundré offers an overview of what has been, what is, and what might be regarding the return of cougars to their ancestral prairie homeland.

“The return of the American lion to the Great Plains and Midwest is a riveting tale. With the eye of a detective, the mind of a trained scientist, and the heartfelt passion of a conservationist, cougar biologist John Laundré deftly sets its stage, giving voice to this fascinating—and absolutely necessary—predator. The successful return of this long lost species to Middle America, and hopefully beyond, will be tribute not just to the cat’s remarkable adaptability and resiliency, but to human tolerance and understanding as well.” --—Jay Tischendorf, veterinarian, founder and director of the American Ecological Research Institute

John W. Laundré has studied cougars for more than twenty years in both the United States and Mexico. As vice president of the Cougar Rewilding Foundation, he advocates the return of cougars to their former territorial range. A Wisconsin native, he is currently an adjunct professor of biology at the State University of New York at Oswego.
Read more here.

Keystone Pipeline Could Push Whooping Crane Into Extinction

Thursday, 15 September, 2011

---

Outdoors/Nature

By Leda Huta

If you were to choose a route through which to move toxic, highly corrosive, sludgy crude oil, would you place it on the same narrow corridor used by one of the world’s most endangered birds? The Canadian energy company TransCanada did and the Obama administration is on the verge of approving that absurd proposal.

If approved by the administration, the Keystone XL tar-sands pipeline will move a half million+ barrels daily of Canadian crude 1,700 miles from Alberta, Canada to the Texas coast as soon as 2013. TransCanada would like the world to believe that their pipeline is relatively safe, claiming just one predicted spill in the first 7 years. Yet, TransCanada’s existing Keystone Pipeline has experienced 12 spills — in just 12 months of operation.

Despite assurances by pipeline operators, spills continue. The July spill of a much smaller pipeline under the Yellowstone River in Montana released 1,000 gallons of oil into the Yellowstone. The Keystone XL would be 3 times as large, carrying 600,000 of oil per day. There have been five major pipeline spills in the United States in the last 24 months. Adding nearly 2,000 miles of high-pressure pipeline carrying one of the most corrosive and dirty fuels known to man is a disaster in the making.

That doesn’t sound safe, particularly not for the one of the most highly endangered birds in the world–the Whooping crane. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) calls the Whooping crane one of the most famous symbols of America’s dedication to saving its wild national heritage. Unfortunately for the crane, however, it uses the same 1,700-mile route as the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline......Continue reading

DDT: A Toxic History

By Chantelle Simoes

Nature/Outdoors

In 1939, scientists discovered that a chemical first synthesized in 1874 was an excellent insecticide. The chemical is widely known as its notorious abbreviation, DDT. DDT was used with great success in the second half of World War II to combat malaria and typhus, and the chemist who discovered its insecticidal properties was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1948. It was not until several years later that scientists began investigating the chemical's effects on non-target organisms, especially birds.

In 1962, Rachel Carson's pioneering and controversial book Silent Spring chronicled the environmental impact of pesticides including DDT. The chemical, she wrote, was a potent toxin that accumulated in the environment and in the fats of animals who ate any plant or animal material that was contaminated. The chemical has an ability to accumulate at higher and higher concentrations in animals higher up on the food chain. For example, if an earthworm ingests soil contaminated by DDT, the amount that accumulates within its tissues is much less than the amount that will remain in the sparrowhawk that eats the songbird that ate the earthworm.

DDT had an enormously negative affect on bird life. The chemical caused reproductive problems in many species, resulting in eggshell thinning that was catastrophic in scale. The chemical was thought to restrict the transportation of calcium carbonate, the main structural ingredient in the egg's protective shell, from the blood to the eggshell gland. For years, species such as the Brown Pelican, Peregrine Falcon, Bald Eagle, and Osprey showed dramatically reduced reproductive success, as their eggs would break under the weight of the adults' bodies.

From the 1950s to the 1970s when DDT was banned, these bird species experienced a severe population decline. The Peregrine Falcon even became locally extinct in the eastern United States. In 1967, Bald Eagles were listed as endangered on the precursor to the Endangered Species Act, likely as a result of the impact of DDT on their ability to reproduce. California condors, another species that was especially affected by the chemical, were reduced to a population of only several dozen individuals.

Beginning in the 1960s and 1970s when DDT was discovered as the cause of eggshell thinning, scientists mounted a nationwide conservation effort to increase the populations of birds most effected by DDT. Biologists began a captive-breeding program for Peregrine Falcons to reintroduce juvenile birds into the wild. In the mid-1980s, the 22 remaining California condors were captured to initiate a carefully-planned breeding program that has become the most expensive wildlife conservation program in U.S. history. Fortunately, the populations of these species have recovered, thanks to the efforts of these conservation programs. The Peregrine Falcon was removed from the Endangered Species List in 1999, and the Bald Eagle in 2007. Brown Pelicans have begun nesting in islands in the Gulf of Mexico for the first time in nearly a century. The California condor continues to improve steadily, although for these long-lived birds, the process has been much slower. Success stories such as these continue to prove that dedicated conservation efforts can bring even the most imperiled species back from the brink of extinction.

If you're looking for the perfect Birdhouses, Bird feeders, bird house kits, Birdwatching Binoculars, and More, visit YourBirdOasis.com!

---

Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson. Silent Spring, released in 1962, offered the first shattering look at widespread ecological degradation and touched off an environmental awareness that still exists. Rachel Carson's book focused on the poisons from insecticides, weed killers, and other common products as well as the use of sprays in agriculture, a practice that led to dangerous chemicals to the food source. Carson argued that those chemicals were more dangerous than radiation and that for the first time in history, humans were exposed to chemicals that stayed in their systems from birth to death. Presented with thorough documentation, the book opened more than a few eyes about the dangers of the modern world and stands today as a landmark work... More

---

DDT, Silent Spring, and the Rise of Environmentalism, by Thomas R. Dunlap. No single event played a greater role in the birth of modern environmentalism than the publication of Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" and its assault on insecticides. This collection of documents, the first of its kind, traces shifting attitudes toward DDT and pesticides in general through a variety of sources: excerpts from scientific studies and government reports, advertisements from industry journals, articles from popular magazines, and the famous "Fable for Tomorrow" from "Silent Spring".Beginning with attitudes toward nature at the turn of the twentieth century, the book moves through the use and early regulation of pesticides; the introduction and early success of DDT; the discovery of its environmental effects; and the uproar over "Silent Spring"... More

---

Return of the Eagle: How America Saved Its National Symbol

---

"A child's world is fresh and new and beautiful, full of wonder and excitement.
It is our misfortune that for most of us that clear-eyed vision,
that true instinct for what is beautiful and awe-inspiring,
is dimmed and even lost before we reach adulthood." - Rachel Carson

Endangered Gray Wolves Fall Prey to Politics

Nature/Outdoors

The political tussle over U.S. spending has ensnared an unlikely victim, the gray wolf, whose long-time status as an endangered species will likely be axed due to a late addition to the budget deal.

The annex, or rider, attached by two senators to the federal budget bill after weeks of tumultuous debate, marks the first time that Congress has removed an animal from the endangered species list and passed in a vote Thursday.

Added Tuesday, a few days after a deal to prevent the government from shutting down was agreed on, the move has left environmentalists both seething and admitting defeat after years of legal wrangling over the fate of the wolves.

"There is nothing we can do to sue because the rider actually bans the citizens from suing the government over this issue," said Kieran Suckling, executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity...... Continue Reading.

Radiation Leak in Canada

Environment

Ontario Power Generation has notified Canada's federal nuclear regulator about the release of 73,000 litres of demineralized water into Lake Ontario at the Pickering A nuclear generating station. The leak occurred at 11:30 p.m. ET on Monday at the plant located about 35 kilometres east of Toronto and was caused by a pump seal failure.

“The radiological risk to the environment and people's health is negligible,” the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission said in a statement. The nuclear regulator and Environment Canada are monitoring the situation...... Continue reading.

Regulation Lax as Gas Wells’ Tainted Water Hits Rivers

Environment

The American landscape is dotted with hundreds of thousands of new wells and drilling rigs, as the country scrambles to tap into this century’s gold rush — for natural gas.

The gas has always been there, of course, trapped deep underground in countless tiny bubbles, like frozen spills of seltzer water between thin layers of shale rock. But drilling companies have only in recent years developed techniques to unlock the enormous reserves, thought to be enough to supply the country with gas for heating buildings, generating electricity and powering vehicles for up to a hundred years.

So energy companies are clamoring to drill. And they are getting rare support from their usual sparring partners. Environmentalists say using natural gas will help slow climate change because it burns more cleanly than coal and oil. Lawmakers hail the gas as a source of jobs. They also see it as a way to wean the United States from its dependency on other countries for oil.

But the relatively new drilling method — known as high-volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing, or hydrofracking — carries significant environmental risks. It involves injecting huge amounts of water, mixed with sand and chemicals, at high pressures to break up rock formations and release the gas...... Continue reading.

Mexico Says No to Monsanto

Agriculture

The Mexican government denied Monsanto’s request to expand its pilot project in northern Mexico. The request was rejected because the government says additional tests and studies need to be carried out to determine the effect of genetically modified corn on native corn species...... Continue reading

Related stories:
First Strong Evidence of Genetically Modified Plants Growing in the Wild in U.S.
Monsanto Sues Farmer Who Unintentionally Had GM Canola Turn up on His Land for Patent Infringement
USDA to Fully Deregulate Monsanto's Genetically Engineered Alfalfa
National Organic Coalition 'Gravely Disappointed' With USDA Decision To Allow Unrestricted Planting Of Genetically Engineered Alfalfa
USDA Decision on GE Alfalfa Leaves Door Open For Contamination & Rise of Superweeds

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons, SDA photo by Keith Weller

EPA Approves Nebraska’s List of Impaired Waters

Environment

The Environmental Protection Agency has approved Nebraska’s list of impaired waters, which removes 36 waters from the previous impaired waters list and adds 107 waters. Today’s decision brings the total number of impaired waters in the state to 259. A water body is placed on the impaired waters list when monitoring finds that pollutant levels prevent the lake, river, or stream from attaining its beneficial uses. Beneficial uses in Nebraska include human recreation, agricultural water supply, and maintaining healthy aquatic life.

A list of all the state's impaired waters can be viewed here.

Haitians Burn Monsanto Seed

By Ryan Stock

Agriculture

"A fabulous Easter gift," commented Monsanto Director of Development Initiatives Elizabeth Vancil. Nearly 60,000 seed sacks of hybrid corn seeds and other vegetable seeds were donated to post-earthquake Haiti by Monsanto. In observance of World Environment Day, June 4, 2010, roughly 10,000 rural Haitian farmers gathered in Papaye to march seven kilometers to Hinche in celebration of this gift. Upon arrival, these rewarded farmers took their collective Easter baskets of more than 400 tons of vegetable seeds and burned them all.[i] "Long live the native maize seed!" they chanted in unison. "Monsanto's GMO [genetically modified organism] & hybrid seed violate peasant agriculture!"

According to Chavannes Jean-Baptiste, coordinator of the Papay Peasant Movement (MPP), "there is presently a shortage of seed in Haiti because many rural families used their maize seed to feed refugees."[ii] Like any benevolent disaster capitalist corporation, Monsanto extended a hand in a time of crisis to the 65 percent of the population that survives off of subsistence agriculture. But not just any hand was extended in this time of great need, rather: a fistful of seeds. The extended fist was full of corn seeds, one of Haiti's staple crops, treated with the fungicide Maxim XO. With similar benevolence, not just any tomato seeds were donated to the agrarian peasants, but tomato seeds treated with Thiram, a chemical so toxic the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has ruled it too toxic to sell for home garden use, further mandating that any agricultural worker planting these seeds must wear special protective clothing.[iii] Happy Easter! Monsanto's web site's official explanation for this toxic donation is that "fungicidal seed treatments are often applied to seeds prior to planting to protect them from fungal diseases that arise in the soil and hamper the plant's ability to germinate and grow. The treatments also provide protection against diseases the seed might pick up in transfer between countries."[iv] However, according to the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services Hazardous Substance Fact Sheet, "repeated exposure [to Thiram] can affect the kidneys, liver and thyroid gland. High or repeated exposure may damage the nerves."[v] Why would Monsanto be so eager to donate seeds that could potentially compromise the health of so many famished people?...... Continue reading

NDEQ Awards $1.5M in Grants

Nebraska News

Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality Director Mike Linder has announced the awarding of $1,499,901 in 59 grants for litter cleanup, recycling, and public education programs and activities. Funds for the Litter Reduction and Recycling Grant Program are generated from a fee charged to certain manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers of products that commonly contribute to litter.

Since neither McCook nor Red Willow County did not apply for grant money none of that money will be coming into our community. For a list of Nebraska communities that applied for and were awarded grant money, click here.

EPA Vetoes Massive Mountaintop-removal Mine—Now Buckle Up for the Backlash

Environment

By Matt Wasson

In the wake of EPA's veto last week of the largest mountaintop-removal mine permit ever proposed in West Virginia, the grandstanding of West Virginia politicians and "sky is falling" rhetoric from the coal industry was not surprising. Every effort to protect streams and communities from the devastating impacts of mountaintop removal has been met with a similar chorus of complaint by coal companies and local politicians.

However, the immediate response of coal industry groups and West Virginia politicians to the news of EPA's action was a little different this time around. Notably absent was any reference to the so-called "War on Coal," which had previously been a mainstay of the coal industry's talking points. Instead, every West Virginia politician and coal industry trade group that issued a response to EPA's action appeared to be reading from the same script -- a new one focused on broad national implications of EPA's action for all U.S. industries, not just coal. Apparently we are now to believe that the opposition of West Virginia politicians to any and all regulations protecting streams from obliteration by coal companies is not about any provincial concerns or pressure from the most powerful industry in their district, but about "regulatory certainty," national energy supply, national security, and the unemployment rate.

The new narrative about overbearing federal regulators stifling the economy and threatening national security fits nicely with the ideological persuasions of many new members of Congress. They would seem to be the primary target of the coal industry's new PR strategy, the goal of which is clearly to convince Congress to rein in the EPA and prevent the agency from promulgating new rules or enforcing existing ones. And the centerpiece of this new narrative is EPA's veto of the Spruce permit, which, it is increasingly apparent, was part of the coal industry's game plan all along...... Continue reading

USDA Poised to Approve Genetically Engineered Alfalfa

By Sarah Parsons

Agriculture

Ring the Frankenfood alarm. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is on the verge of approving Monsanto's genetically engineered (GE), Roundup Ready alfalfa for the spring planting season.

According to Food & Water Watch, the USDA released its environmental impact assessment on GE alfalfa on December 16, 2010. This is one of the very last stages in the approval process for genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Unless we raise a huge ruckus right now, you can bet that Big Ag will be sowing its GE alfalfa seeds this coming spring.

The real issue here is that Monsanto's Roundup Ready alfalfa seeds threaten to destroy the livelihoods of organic farmers and disrupt the organic food industry. The USDA admitted as much, but due to industry pressure, the agency still seems hell-bent on giving GE alfalfa the green light.

The USDA acknowledges that, as with any GE crop, Roundup Ready alfalfa runs the risk of spreading outside of its containment area and cross-breeding with organic alfalfa varieties. Organic varieties must be au naturale in order to be considered organic, so this kind of mixing has the potential to completely destroy the livelihoods of organic alfalfa farmers. Plus, alfalfa is a huge feed crop for dairy and beef cattle. A hindrance to the organic alfalfa industry would also harm the organic dairy and beef industry.

Organic foods aren't the only things threatened by GE alfalfa's approval, either. As we're seeing right now with Monsanto's Roundup Ready corn, cotton, and soy plants, weeds tend to evolve a resistance to Roundup, an herbicide. These resistant weeds morph into voracious "superweeds," choking out crops and pushing farmers to increase their reliance on toxic pesticides and herbicides. More chemicals are not only an extra expense for farmers, they contaminate soil, groundwater, and wildlife with toxins.

The USDA says it can mitigate the contamination of organics by limiting the planting of GE alfalfa to certain regions in certain states. This kind of policy is not only ineffective, it's unfair to organic farmers residing in regions where GE alfalfa will be planted.

The only real solution to protect the environment and organic farmers is for the USDA to deny approval of GE alfalfa. Food & Water Watch, the Center for Food Safety, and a coalition of other sustainable food groups are working to do just that...... Continue reading.

Ranchers Oppose Yellowstone Bison Relocation

Nature/Outdoors

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Ranchers are voicing concern about plans to relocate some Yellowstone Park bison to Indian reservations in Montana and Wyoming. The ranchers are worried about the animals' history of carrying brucellosis, a disease that causes domestic cows to miscarry.

"There isn't anyone up here who wants it. It's a cockamamie idea, and it's an experimental deal," said John Brenden, a Scobey rancher and legislator. "I don't like anybody experimenting on us."

At issue is the relocation of more than 40 bison, kept under quarantine for three years as part of an experiment to keep alive at least some of the bison migrating from Yellowstone National Park. 3 reservations want the animals for their bloodline purity

Bison that have left the park and tested positive for brucellosis have been slaughtered in Montana to prevent the animals from coming in contact with livestock.

However, the quarantined bison have tested negative for brucellosis for three years, been allowed to reproduce in captivity and are now ready for relocation. Three Indian reservations, the Fort Belknap and Fort Peck reservations in Montana and Wind River in Wyoming, have submitted proposals for acquiring the bison.

The animals are sought after because of bloodline purity, said Robbie Magnan, a tribal fish and game director who manages an existing herd of 117 bison on the Fort Peck Reservation. Park bison breed within their species, unlike their nonpark cousins that over the years have been crossbred with cattle.

Magnan said the park bison would not only improve the quality of the Fort Peck herd but also help tribal members return to a traditional diet low in carbohydrates and rich in bison meat. Diabetes is a serious problem on the reservation. Lowering carbohydrate consumption is considered key to managing blood sugar levels...... Continue reading

Chemist Discovers Non-Prank Use For Banana Peels

Photo by sandman_kk

Environment

Like a yellow jumpsuit that every banana must shed before going skinny-dipping in our tummies -- those infamous peels have eluded any further purpose for centuries. But, just when you thought that banana peels were destined merely to be the tormentor of cartoon characters and video-game go-kart racers, science has finally found a use to nature's most slippery litter. It turns out that peels can do more than clean the clock of some unobservant pedestrian -- they can clean dirty water, too.

According to Brazilian media, a chemist named Milena Boniolo from the Federal University of São Carlos, near São Paulo, has made a discovery that could potentially save thousands of banana peels from the garbage heap. When dried and ground into a powder, says Boniolo, peels have the ability to clean up polluted water......Read more here

How Big is Your Human Footprint?

Education

(ARA) - "Children are our future." It's a phrase heard so often, that it's easy to take for granted how powerful the sentiment truly is. Today's children are tomorrow's leaders. And just as we want to take simple steps to ensure a healthier planet for generations to come, children today are increasingly passionate about doing their part too.

Parents and children alike can take small, simple steps to lead more sustainable lifestyles that save energy, save water and reduce waste both at home and beyond. And P&G Future Friendly, along with the National Geographic Society, are challenging today's children to help lead the charge through an in-school conservation education program called Find Your Footprint.

Find Your Footprint helps kids identify -- and reduce -- their environmental footprint through a custom curriculum that focuses on water, waste and energy consumption. Kids can then put this education into action when their class participates in the Find Your Footprint Contest. The classroom with the best submission wins a state-of-art grand prize valued at over $36,000. The prize includes Promethean technologies (five ActivBoards and five sets of ActivExpression); plus $1,000 worth of National Geographic educational materials; and National Geographic Kids magazine subscriptions for every student in the class. All prizes will be presented during a special school ceremony next spring.

Program champion Dr. Mireya Mayor is a National Geographic Emerging Explorer, author of the upcoming National Geographic book "Pink Boots and a Machete," and host of Nat Geo WILD's "Wild Nights with Mireya Mayor" on cable TV, as well as a mom of two daughters herself. Having spent years traveling to exotic locations researching rare species, Dr. Mayor understands firsthand the importance of empowering today's children to lead the charge for preserving our environment.

"Through my work, I've had the great fortune to explore and experience the beauty of our jungles and rainforests. I've also seen how our actions, big and small, can impact our local communities and our world," said Dr. Mayor. "Find Your Footprint is a wonderful opportunity to empower our children to be ambassadors for change, by helping them understand the link between their environmental footprint and their school, as well as the world around them."

To participate in the contest, classrooms will choose to focus on water, waste or energy, and identify their school's environmental footprint. From there, they'll work as a team to brainstorm and develop a unique, step-by-step plan to reduce energy, waste or water consumption at their school in an environmentally responsible way. Teachers and students alike are encouraged to push the boundaries of creativity, and think BIG for this project. Is it a photo essay? A video documentary? A feature television program? A mural? A digital poster? Only the most captivating submissions will make it through the first round of judging. From here, the top six finalists will have their entries posted on a special National Geographic Find Your Footprint website where the general public will vote for their favorite submission.

Students and parents can encourage their teachers to participate at www.nationalgeographic.com/findyourfootprint. Here they'll learn about the rules and guidelines, and access the Find Your Footprint Lesson Plan including teacher's guide, student guide and posters for the classroom. Submissions are due by Dec. 3 to be eligible for the grand prize.

While you encourage your local schools to participate in the contest, you can start living more sustainably at home today with these simple steps, courtesy of National Geographic and Future Friendly:

* Save energy - Keeping your fridge too cold wastes energy. Keep your fridge between 37 F and 40 F and freezers at 5 F.

* Save water - If your bathroom fixtures were installed before 1992, replacing your toilet with a more efficient one could save thousands of gallons of water every year, between 14,000 and 25,000 gallons for a family of four.

* Reduce waste - More than 80 percent of recyclable bottles end up in landfills each year. Reduce bottle waste and filter your tap water.

Leaked Memo Shows EPA Doubts About Bee-Killing Pesticide

Environment

Over the concerns of its own scientists, the Environmental Protection Agency continues to approve a controversial pesticide introduced to U.S. markets shortly before the honeybee collapse, according to documents leaked to a Colorado beekeeper.

The pesticide, called clothianidin, is manufactured by German agrochemical company Bayer, though it’s actually banned in Germany. It’s also banned in France, Italy and Slovenia. Those countries fear that clothianidin, which is designed to be absorbed by plant tissue and released in pollen and nectar to kill pests, is also dangerous to pollen- and nectar-eating bees that are critical to some plants’ reproductive success.

In 2003, the EPA approved clothianidin for use in the United States. Since then, it’s become widely used, with farmers purchasing $262 million worth of clothianidin last year......During this time, after several decades of gradual decline, honeybee colonies in the United States underwent widespread, massive collapses.

Up to one-third have now vanished, troubling farmers who rely on bees to fertilize $15 billion worth of U.S. crops and citizens who simply like bees. Though colony collapse disorder likely has many causes — from mites to bacteria to fungus to the physiological stresses and epidemiological risks of industrial beekeeping — pesticides are prime suspects, and the EPA’s leaked documents (.pdf) are troubling.

The memo, obtained by Colorado beekeeper Tom Theobald and publicized by the Pesticide Action Network, was written in November by scientists from the EPA’s Environmental Fate and Effects Division, who are considering Bayer’s request to use clothianidin in cotton and mustard. They describe how a key Bayer safety study used by the EPA to justify its original clothianidin approvals, which were granted before the study was actually conducted, was sloppily designed and poorly run, making it a “supplemental” resource at best...... Continue reading.

The Great Plains is the Latest New Frontier

by P.J. Hill and Shawn Regan

Nature/Outdoors

High Country News - At the end of the 19th century, historian Frederick Jackson Turner famously announced the closing of the American frontier. The Homestead Act had lured settlers with offers of free land and boosted population density in the West to more than two people per square mile, the metric used to gauge frontier status.

Turner regretted the impact that a closed frontier would have on the character of Americans. The wild edge of the country created freedom by "breaking the bonds of custom, offering new experiences, (and) calling out new institutions and activities," Turner said in 1893. He worried that the American propensity to forge new institutions in the face of new environments was gone.

Now, more than a hundred years later, the Great Plains -- which covers parts of 10 states in the middle of the nation -- is experiencing Manifest Destiny in reverse: People are leaving in droves. Rural counties have lost 20 percent of their population since 1980, continuing a steady downward trend that dates back to the 1930s. The young are leading the exodus as they seek better opportunities elsewhere. Nowadays, the median age in some rural counties pushes 60.

The agricultural base of the Plains provides only half as much employment and income to the region as it did in 1969. It is clearly undergoing change - and change is hard. But where some see the death of a traditional way of life, others see a landscape full of new opportunities...... Continue reading.

Chihuahuas As Family Dogs

America Recycles Day

Environment

Monday is America Recycles Day, "the only nationally recognized day dedicated to encouraging Americans to recycle and complete the loop by buying recycled-content products." Co-chair of the Senate Recycling Caucus, Delaware Senator Tom Carper has written an insightful article about today's recycling efforts that can be read here.

More information can be found at AmericaRecycles.org

In other environmental news, Sen. Charles Schumer of New York is seeking a federal investigation after a newspaper's report of lead content in some reusable grocery bags. Article here.

And speaking of grocery bags, Trendy California recently rejected a ban on plastic shopping bags, but Brownsville, Texas, is moving ahead with such a ban next year. It recently agreed to allow shoppers who forget to bring reusable bags to buy plastic ones -- for an extra dollar. Article here

Cash For Your Trash: Scrap Recycling in America