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. . . about Chaos,
Reason, and Hope

 

Eaters of the World, Unite
(Jim Hightower, Hightower Lowdown, November 25, 2002)
As we gather around Thanksgiving tables this year, we can be thankful that, while the profiteers and politicians are headed one way with our food system, We the People are headed in quite another direction. . . . Whether it's called "sustainable," "organic," "beyond organic," "pure food" or just plain common sense, there is a mass movement and a growing coalition among consumers, farmers, workers, entrepreneurs, communities, conservationists, nutritionists, chefs, food activists and others to take back control of America's food economy and food culture. . . . The first big rebellion against the corporate messers has come in the marketplace, where there has been a surging demand for organic food. . . . Producing organically is economically viable for struggling farmers, and it's environmentally essential, so this is the future. The question is no longer whether "organic" will become the major force in the food economy, but rather what it means to say "organic" and who will control it. . . . While the big boys can't kill the movement, they are working mightily to co-opt it, primarily by trying to have "organic" defined strictly in terms of minimal production standards. . . . Wal-Mart, which has gone from a start-up supermarket a decade ago to the world's largest grocery seller now, is bringing its labor-exploiting, farmer-squeezing management ethic to organic retailing. And farms in China already are applying for organic certification to sell in the U.S. . . . This corporate grab is nothing but profiteering dressed up in a new suit. To be truly organic is to embrace and enrich the whole, not the few. It refers to a social organism with the complexity of a living thing in which the parts are unified, connected not only to each other but also to something larger, specifically, to our democratic ideals. It's more about fairness and respect than it is about stock options and parts-per-billion of pesticide residues. . . . "Locally grown" is developing the cachet of wholesomeness that "organically grown" once carried. . . . This can be a happy Thanksgiving, and next year's even happier, if we commit to using our dollars and activism in support of a food system geared to the common good, rather than corporate greed.

posted by Lorenzo 12:18 PM

 

Bioneers: Help and Hope for the Planet
(Bonnie Horrigan, Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, October 15, 2002)
The work of the Bioneers that we highlight has always been highly practical. While philosophy and vision are interesting and compelling, at the end of the day, we are interested in what we can actually do. . . . What we did was to bring together the visionaries who have both feet on the ground and who can put their ideas into practice, and to look at models that can be replicated widely and spread around the world. Our initial focus was on biodiversity and food and farming issues, as well as bioremediation and natural treatment systems for decontaminating the environment. Since then it's expanded. These days the conference has more than 100 speakers who are involved in a diverse spectrum of projects uniting nature, culture, and spirit. . . . A good example of a true biotechnology is the work of Paul Stamets, a mycologist from Washington State. Paul is a brilliant fellow who has written several classic texts in this field. He is not only a mushroom collector but also a first-rate scientist. . . . The medicinal and nutritional properties of many of these fungi are well known already, particularly in Asia. There's a maitake fraction moving through the FDA now that has strong anticancer properties. The antiviral remedies from fungi that are going to come out in the [next few] years are also remarkable. But Paul is also an ecologist and spends a lot of time in the rainforest in the Pacific Northwest saving these species, cloning them in his laboratory, and keeping an extraordinary gene bank. He asked the question: If these fungi are medicines for people, then might they not also be medicines for the earth? What are they actually doing in the ecological balance? . . . Paul has gone even further and applied this theory to farmland where E coli H:0157 is a tremendous problem. He's discovered a species of fungi that will actually defeat and then digest E coli. The implications of this are gigantic. . . . When some of this work got out of the bag, Paul got a call from the Department of Defense. Forget Saddam Hussein, the United States government has the biggest stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons components in the world, and these are arguably some of the most deadly [items] around. What do you do? How do you get rid of them? This is a major problem. Paul ended up sending the Department of Defense 28 samples of fungi to try in a blinded experiment, not telling them what these things were, and about 6 or 8 months later he received a very excited call back from the Pentagon. Two of these mushrooms worked. They actually were able to digest these heavy-duty poisons, no residue, no nothing. One of them did it in 4 months. . . . Again, the importance here is to look beneath the surface at the guiding principles. The restoration of diversity is one of the keys not only to our survival but also to our prosperity in the future. Nature does not favor centralization or monocultures, yet this is exactly what we have designed. It's a giant bull's-eye for extinction.

posted by Lorenzo 2:19 PM

 

Labels Reveal What Is Organic and What Is Genetically Modified Fruit
(The Philadelphia Inquirer, June 26, 2002)
As much as we may dislike them, the stickers or labels attached to fruit speed up the scanning process at checkout. . . . For conventionally grown fruit, the PLU code on the sticker consists of four numbers. Organically grown fruit has a five-numeral PLU prefaced by the number 9. Genetically engineered fruit has a five-numeral PLU prefaced by the number 8. . . . So, a conventionally grown banana would be 4011, an organic banana would be 94011, and a genetically engineered banana would be 84011.

posted by Lorenzo 2:05 PM

 

Arctic Town to Get Offbeat Tidal Energy
OSLO, Norway (Reuters) - In a novel use of clean energy, the world's most northerly town will soon be the first to get electricity from a sub-sea power station run on tidal currents tugged by the moon. Gigantic forces in the oceans -- waves, currents and tides -- have often proved too costly or awkward to harness, compared to wind or solar power in global efforts to cut reliance on nuclear power or on fossil fuels blamed for global warming. Starting in late November or early December, however, a tidal current will start turning the blades of a windmill-like turbine standing on the seabed near Kvalsund at the Arctic tip of Norway.

posted by Hal 6:35 AM

 

U.S. Navy Sonar System Blocked by Federal Court
(Environmental News Service, October 31, 2002)
A federal judge today issued a preliminary injunction stopping the U.S. Navy from deployment of a new high intensity sonar system that could hurt or kill whales, dolphins, seals and sea turtles with its loud signals. . . . Judge LaPorte found that the plaintiff environmental groups, "have shown that they are likely to prevail on establishing violations" of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). . . . Scheduled for immediate deployment, the sonar system, known as Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System Low Frequency Active sonar (SURTASS LFA), relies on very loud, low frequency sound to detect submarines at great distances. . . . The environmental groups argued that the survival of entire populations of whales and other marine mammals are jeopardized by the deployment of this sonar, which has been measured at 140 decibels 300 miles away from the sound's source. . . . "Deployment of LFA over 75 percent of the world's oceans, more than 14 million square miles in the first year alone, threatens marine life on a staggering and unprecedented geographic scale, not just the 'small number of marine mammals' that the law allows, but countless marine mammals around the world," Reynolds said. . . . The ocean is a precious resource shared by all the world's peoples," said Cousteau. "The LFA permit is nothing less than a license to kill, and we are enormously grateful to the court for protecting our children's heritage."

posted by Lorenzo 6:41 PM

 

Energy from coal without burning it?
Scientists say they know how to do it
A new chemical process could make Cape Breton coal the environmentally friendly fuel of the future. A scientist at the Los Alomos National Laboratory has discovered a method to extract energy from coal without burning it. The process, developed by physicist Hans-Joachim Ziock, involves using gas streams to strip hydrogen and carbon from coal, which are then reacted with water to make even more hydrogen and a waste stream of carbon dioxide gas. The hydrogen will power a fuel cell, which chemically converts it into heat and water. �So there is no combustion to produce the electricity,� Ziock said in an interview from his lab in New Mexico. �Coal can be consumed completely cleanly.� None of the contaminants in coal will be released to the atmosphere through the process.

posted by Hal 8:32 AM

 

#1 CLIMATE CRIMINAL ESSO, aka Exxon/Mobile, �CLOSED� FOR A DAY
(StopEsso.org, October 25, 2002)
More than 600 ordinary people from 31 countries have come to Luxembourg to take on the world's biggest oil corporation, protesting against Esso's continuing and blatant interference in international the politics of climate change. . . . The stations were blocked by caution tape, "CLOSED" signs, and. oh yes, volunteers chained to pumps or across entrances. . . . When it comes to Climate Change, all oil companies are bad, but Esso, also known as ExxonMobil or Mobil, is by far the worst. Not only is it the biggest, but it uses its huge financial clout to ensure it can keep polluting the atmosphere with greenhouse gases without any limitations. key player in the USA's decision not to be part of the Kyoto Protocol - the only international agreement aimed at controlling the greenhouse emissions that are hurting our climate - Esso/Exxon/Mobile denies climate change is a real problem, has tried to hijack the climate debate through the use of front groups, flawed science and large political contributions (Bush�s biggest), and refuses to spend a single cent on clean renewable energy. . . . Stop the oil terrorists, BOYCOTT ESSO-EXXON-MOBILE

posted by Lorenzo 8:43 AM