A Brief History of Monsanto

In yesterday’s article, Don’t You Just Love Monsanto?, I told you all the wondrous things about the Monsanto corporation and how they were making the world such a better place.

You may have noticed that my tongue was firmly planted in my cheek in writing that article. The truth is I don’t think very highly of Monsanto. And I don’t believe any right-thinking person does either.

And that’s because they have done a lot to make this world a worse place.

But who is this Monsanto corporation? Where did they come from? Today, I give you a brief history of Monsanto.

Monsanto, based out of Creve Coeur, Missouri, is a multinational agricultural biotechnology corporation. It is the world’s leading producer of the herbicide glyphosate, marketed as “Roundup.” Monsanto is also the leading producer of genetically engineered (GE) seed; it sells 90% of the U.S.’s GE seeds.

The reason Monsanto is not a well-loved company – and that’s putting it politely – is because of their development and marketing of genetically engineered seed and bovine growth hormone, as well as its aggressive litigation and political lobbying practices.

Plus in the past, they have created some of the most toxic substances known to the world.

Monsanto was founded in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1901, by John Francis Queeny, a 30-year veteran of the pharmaceutical industry. He funded the start-up with his own money and capital from a soft drink distributor, and gave the company his wife’s maiden name.

The company’s first product was the artificial sweetener saccharin, which it sold to the Coca-Cola Company.

Over the next few decades, Monsanto produced various chemical products, which cemented its place as one of the top chemical companies in the U.S.

Th 1940’s were a fertile decade for this growing company. Major products developed in this decade were the herbicides 2,4,5-T; DDT; and Agent Orange (used primarily during the Vietnam War as a defoliant agent and later proven to be highly carcinogenic to any who come into contact with the solution); the artificial sweetener aspartame (NutraSweet); bovine somatotropin (bovine growth hormone (BST), and PCBs.

Also in this decade, Monsanto operated the Dayton Project, and later Mound Laboratories in Miamisburg, Ohio, for the Manhattan Project, the development of the first nuclear weapons and, after 1947, the Atomic Energy Commission.

In 1982, Monsanto scientists became the first to genetically modify a plant cell. Five years later, Monsanto conducted the first field tests of genetically engineered crops. This development allowed Monsanto, by the late 1990’s, to make a transition from chemical giant to biotech giant.

By this time, Monsanto had gotten patents for their genetically engineered seeds, which then allowed them to swing into high gear.

Thanks to their genetically modified seeds, also known as GMOs, or genetically modified organisms, Monsanto has become the largest producer of glyphosate herbicides through its popular brand, Roundup.

One of the reasons Monsanto’s seed products are genetically modified is to make them immune to Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide. Yet, this new herbicide has been shown to cause liver and kidney toxicity.

In response to questions about the genetically modified organisms they are producing, Monsanto has said, “Monsanto should not have to vouchsafe the safety of biotech food. Our interest is in selling as much of it as possible. Assuring its safety is the FDA’s job.”

The problem with that statement is that Monsanto has a very cozy relationship with the FDA.

And then there are the lawsuits against farmers. Monsanto has filed lawsuits against many farmers in Canada and the U.S. on the grounds of patent infringement, specifically the farmers’ sale of seed containing Monsanto’s patented genes.

In many of the cases, the seeds the farmer have sold were unknowingly sown by wind carrying genetically modified seeds from neighboring farms.

But Monsanto has shown no compassion towards these farmers who they say have broken the law, and they have put many farmers out of business.

Monsanto also has patent claims on breeding techniques for pigs which would grant them ownership of any pigs born of such techniques and their related herds. Greenpeace claims Monsanto is trying to claim ownership on ordinary breeding techniques.

Monsanto claims that the patent is a defensive measure to track animals from its system. They furthermore claim their patented method uses a specialized insemination device that requires less sperm than is typically needed.

So if they get the patent, you will hear of many lawsuits against pig farmers/breeders for patent infringement.

And then there’s Monsanto’s environmental track record. Monsanto has been identified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as being a “potentially responsible party” for 56 contaminated sites (Superfund sites) in the United States. Monsanto has been sued, and has settled, multiple times for damaging the health of its employees or residents near its Superfund sites through pollution and poisoning.

And how about Monsanto’s bovine growth hormone, which is another technological advance in the quest to have a completely bioengineered food supply – which some have called “Frankenfoods.”

Bovine somatotropin, abbreviated as rBST and commonly known as rBGH, is technically a recombinant bovine growth hormone. It is a synthetic hormone that is injected into cows to increase milk production.

Bovine growth hormone has been found to produce adverse effects, behaving as a cancer accelerator; this biologically active hormone is associated with breast cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer and colon cancer.

But that hasn’t stopped Monsanto from pushing forward their agenda with it, just like they push forward their agenda with everything else they produce.

They have even have had the unmitigated gall to sue dairies for advertising that its milk products did not come from cows treated with bovine growth hormone. Monsanto’s claim was that such advertising hurt its business.

At the top of the page is a video that tells about a collaboration between Monsanto and Fox news to squash a report that two Fox news investigative reporters did on bovine growth hormone. The reporters stated that most of the U.S. milk supply is tainted with the growth hormone, and that there were very specific health risks.

The Fox news reporters showed the insidious connections Monsanto has with government regulators, which allow Monsanto to get its way. But because the report hit so close to home, Monsanto was able to get it suppressed.

Monsanto is a true High Density Lifestyle corporation. They only think of their needs at the expense of what is good for the general public. And it doesn’t matter who gets in the way of Monsanto’s insatiable quest for bigger and higher profits.

Consider yourself forewarned…

Don’t You Just Love Monsanto?

The Monsanto Food Corporation – don’t you just love Monsanto!

I mean, check out the above video – they are helping farmers to feed the world! Who doesn’t want to feed the world? Who doesn’t love farmers?

Really – it’s Monsanto to the rescue!

What? Are you saying something? Are you saying Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) – which is Monsanto’s handiwork – don’t produce more food, and aren’t proven safe, and Monsanto gets to patent seeds and already has infected most food staples (nearly 100% of corn, wheat, soy is GMO!), and sue farmers and push traditional farmers to bankruptcy and mass suicide?

Oh, c’mon, get with the program – don’t you just love Monsanto?

I mean, here is their mission statement, from their website:

Monsanto is an agricultural company. We apply innovation and technology to help farmers around the world produce more while conserving more. We help farmers grow yield sustainably so they can be successful, produce healthier foods, better animal feeds and more fiber, while also reducing agriculture’s impact on our environment.

Furthermore, on their website, Monsanto has a pledge. This is what they pledge:

Integrity

Integrity is the foundation for all that we do. Integrity includes honesty, decency, consistency, and courage. Building on those values, we are committed to:

Dialogue

We will listen carefully to diverse points of view and engage in thoughtful dialogue. We will broaden our understanding of issues in order to better address the needs and concerns of society and each other.

Transparency

We will ensure that information is available, accessible, and understandable.

Sharing

We will share knowledge and technology to advance scientific understanding, to improve agriculture and the environment, to improve crops, and to help farmers in developing countries.

Benefits

We will use sound and innovative science and thoughtful and effective stewardship to deliver high-quality products that are beneficial to our customers and to the environment.

Respect

We will respect the religious, cultural, and ethical concerns of people throughout the world. The safety of our employees, the communities where we operate, our customers, consumers, and the environment will be our highest priority.

Act as Owners
to Achieve Results

We will create clarity of direction, roles, and accountability; build strong relationships with our customers and external partners; make wise decisions; steward our company resources; and take responsibility for achieving agreed-upon results.

Create a Great
Place to Work

We will ensure diversity of people and thought; foster innovation, creativity and learning; practice inclusive teamwork; and reward and recognize our people.

I mean, what an enlightened philosophy. What a beautiful philosophy. C’mon, repeat after me, Don’t You Just Love Monsanto?

What, you got a problem with that? This is a company that has produced saccharine, aspartame, Agent Orange, bovine growth hormone, PCB’s, DDT, and genetically engineered seeds.

I mean, c’mon, they’ve produced some of the finest things ever. And I mean ever.

Ok, so they sue farmers who aren’t happy with genetically modified seeds. But let’s get real – those farmers getting sued are pesky and aren’t with the program. They obviously don’t know how to show the love for Monsanto.

And what Monsanto is saying is, if you’re not going to show us the love, we’re going to sue you.

So, listen to me: let’s show Monsanto the love. Or else, they might show sue you or me.

Below are two videos: the first is a short factual piece about Monsanto’s bovine growth hormone and their efforts to not allow milk without bovine growth hormone in it labeled as such.

The second video is the trailer from the film Food, Inc. Although Food, Inc. is not just about Monsanto (although the film does go into Monsanto’s dark side), it is a film about the American food supply, and how we have lost touch with where our food comes from.

Which is precisely what Monsanto wants.

The World According to BP’s CEO Tony Hayward

During the course of this series on green/sustainable living, one of the topics I have not written about is the ecological disaster that is the Gulf Coast oil spill.

The media has covered it extensively, and we all know that the repercussions and consequences will be felt for at least the next decade, if not longer.

And we also know that this could be a turning point in the need for a massive paradigm shift towards a society based on renewable energy and sustainable living.

And so, because it has been covered so extensively, I didn’t see the need to add anything onto it.

Until I kept reading the statements of the CEO of British Petroleum, Tony Hayward. One of his most recent statements, that he’d “like his life back,” has to go down in the annals of moronic statements of all time.

There have been people killed, animals that have died and/or been drenched in oil, and livelihoods lost, because of the oil spill. Yet poor Tony Hayward has only concern for poor Tony Hayward and the fact that his life is in disarray.

Hayward has failed to grasp the scope of the disaster his company has created, and he’s obviously out of touch with the devastation that BP has wrought.

In other words, he’s a first class jerk.

And so, thanks to the NRDC, a video has been made that compiles his most ridiculous quotes relating to this disaster and combines it with images of what the spill has wrought. You can see it at the top of the page.

The sad thing is that when Tony Hayward is no longer head of BP, he’ll still be able to laugh all the way to the bank. Tell that to the people and animals who live around the Gulf Coast.

An Exclusive Interview with Ed Begley, Jr. – Part 2

Today I continue with the exclusive interview I recently did with the actor and environmental activist Ed Begley, Jr.

If you missed the first part of the interview, here is Part 1 of the exclusive interview with Ed Begley, Jr.

Ed Begley, Jr. has been an environmentalist longer than he has been an actor, so his ideas are well-thought out, and his actions follow from there.

Here then is the second part of the interview:

Michael Wayne: Do you think if our country and economy moved in the direction of becoming a more green economy, that it would cause an economic renaissance? And if so, why do you think this would be? And what is holding us back from moving in that direction?

Ed Begley, Jr.: I’m not an economist, but the U.S. does need to continue to be a leader in the technologies of the future.  I think there are good jobs making solar panels, wind turbines, electric cars, hybrid cars.  I hope these industries grown in the U.S. and I hope they do contribute to an economic recovery.  Our government can continue to encourage growth in these areas as well.

M.W.: What do you think of lawns?

E.B.: As a residential décor, I’m not a huge fan.  I think we can do better things with our water and still have beautiful landscaping that can include native, drought tolerant plants and fresh, organic fruits / vegetables to eat.

M.W.: What made you decide to become a vegetarian?

E.B.: It made me feel healthier, and allowed me to contribute to a lower personal carbon footprint as well.

M.W.: The United Nations issued a report a few years back stating that meat consumption did more to affect climate change than all cars, trucks and planes combined. This lead Paul McCartney to start the Meat Free Monday campaign, urging people to not eat meat one day a week. Do you think not eating meat one day a week is enough to help halt global warming?

E.B.: No, but it’s a step in the right direction.  I always encourage people to expand their green diet.  It’s a good choice for the environment and for your health.

M.W.: What’s your opinion on organic and sustainable foods?

E.B.: I think it’s an important part of our future, and something that people can get involved with right away.

M.W.: What type of vehicle do you drive?

E.B.: My transportation hierarchy goes like this:  1) walking, 2) biking, 3) public transportation, 4) electric car, 5) hybrid car.  When I have to drive, I currently use a Toyota Rav4 EV.  I hope to replace it with an American electric soon.  When I have to drive long distances, I borrow my wife’s Prius.

M.W.: You ride a hybrid electric bike. How does that work?

E.B.: It’s a regular bike that also has an electric motor and battery to assist you.  I don’t use it too often any more, as I’ve made a conscious effort to get back on my bike every day. I’m in good bike shape again and using my road and mountain bikes almost exclusively now.

M.W.: You have a new book coming out in August. What is the name of it, and what do you hope to accomplish with the book?

E.B.: Actually it came out last August – it’s called Ed Begley, Jr’s. Guide to Sustainable Living. It was the follow up to my first book Living Like Ed.  Living Like Ed was sort of a summary of my 40 year journey.  The new book is a more advance treatise for people that really want to get into this stuff.  The purpose of the new book was to give people a roadmap on how to approach sustainability and in what order.  The first section of the book is about home energy audits – that is the place where everyone should start.  I wanted to make sure people were thinking about efficiency and saving money first, and not getting hung up with the sexy shiny objects like solar panels and wind turbines.

M.W.: With all the people who use gyms to work out, can equipment in gyms be retrofitted to generate electricity?

E.B.: There are a few gyms outfitted with bikes that generate 12V power.  Why not?

M.W.: Are you satisfied with the Obama administration’s environmental and energy policies so far?

E.B.: They’ve done some good things – but they can do more.

M.W.: When Dick Cheney was VP, he held secret talks with oil companies to help set energy policy. If you were at that meeting, what would you have told them?

E.B.: I would have told them the same thing I tell people now.  Oil comes at greater and greater cost with each passing year.  Let’s decide it’s getting too expensive and too dangerous and look elsewhere for energy.  We need oil, but we need a transition plan away from it.

M.W.: Dick Cheney also said, when he was VP, that conservation was not a viable part of an energy policy. Do you agree or disagree with that?

E.B.: Strongly disagree.  Energy efficiency should be the cornerstone of our policy.

M.W.: Any last words?

E.B.: Just thank you for the time.

An Exclusive Interview with Ed Begley, Jr. – Part 1

Ed Begley, Jr. is both a well-known actor and well-known environmental activist, and in this exclusive interview with us, he talks candidly about his environmental activism.

He first became prominent when he starred in the 1980’s TV show, St. Elsewhere. And he’s been busy working ever since, acting in TV shows such as Arrested Development, Scrubs, and The West Wing, and in such movies as This is Spinal Tap, A Mighty Wind, and Recount.

His most recent movie acting roles are in Woody Allen’s Whatever Works, and the Judd Apatow film, Pineapple Express.

Currently, he is seen in two TV shows: the network show Gary Unmarried, and the cable reality show, Living with Ed.

Living with Ed, seen on Planet Green, allows Ed to talk about his favorite subject, green and sustainable living. He knows his stuff about the environment, as he has been involved in environmentalism a long time.

After all, how many people do you know use a bicycle to power their toast?

Truly, Ed Begley, Jr. lives a Low Density Lifestyle. To learn more about him and his work, go to his website at www.edbegley.com.

So today, I give you the first part of the exclusive interview I did with Ed. I’ll continue with the interview tomorrow.

Michael Wayne: How do you use a bicycle to power your toaster?
Ed Begley, Jr.: The original system I had was made by a friend of mine. It was a simple stationary bike with a generator on the back that fed 12V power down into my solar battery array where it could then be used as stored power. A few years ago another company built me one out of a bike trainer – so I could hook any normal bike to it and make power that way. It doesn’t power the toaster directly – it simply puts power into my batteries that power the entire house. What I figured out was that 15 minutes of hard riding essentially generated enough power to toast two slices of bread.

M.W.: What got you interested in living in a more sustainable way?
E.B.: It was several things. It was the first Earth Day in April 1970, and I wanted to get involved. I had grown up in smoggy Los Angeles and had really had it with the horrible, choking smog. My father Ed Begley Sr., a wonderful actor, had just passed away and I wanted to do something to honor him. Even though we didn’t call him one, he was an environmentalist. He was the son of Irish immigrants and a ‘conservative that liked to conserve’. He had lived through the great depression and had saved string and tin foil and turned out the lights and did those things you did back then to save money. He had always told me “Eddie, don’t tell people what you are going to do, show them by doing it.” And so, to honor him, and to get involved with Earth Day and to try and do something about the horrible smog problem in L.A., I started taking public transportation, riding my bike, walking, recycling, composting, using biodegradable soaps and detergents, eating a vegetarian diet and so on. I even bought an electric car.

M.W.: What are some of the things people can do to live a more sustainable lifestyle?
E.B.: They can Live Simply so that Others Can Simply Live. Less is more. I encourage everyone to slow down and simplify. Start with what you can afford and work your way up the ladder. That’s the way I did it starting back in 1970. You do what you can, save money, and do more. Start with the cheap and easy stuff – energy efficient lighting, weather stripping, recycling, composting, home gardening, bike riding, public transportation etc. A kilowatt SAVED is far cheaper than a kilowatt PRODUCED. I encourage everyone to start with a home energy audit – and work towards a more energy efficient home through insulation, windows, lighting etc.

M.W.: What do you use to power your home, and approximately what does it cost you a year?
E.B.: My electricity comes almost entirely from solar. I use between $300 and $600 a year in grid electric – mostly off peak power to charge my electric car which I use about 10,000 miles a year. I also use between $20 and $40 a month in natural gas. The natural gas is for heating the home using hot water – some of the work is done via solar thermal, the rest with a high efficiency AO Smith Vertex 100 gas water heater hooked into a FirstCo AquaTherm water-based forced air furnace. Both the solar thermal and solar PV are fully paid back and I’m into profit on all of them. Solar thermal was first put in in 1985, and PV in 1990. I also get to claim a carbon negative footprint, as I invested in a 75kw wind turbine in the California desert back in 1985 and its still putting out about 10 homes worth of power.

M.W.: What do you say to people who state that climate change isn’t real?
E.B.: I say let’s agree to disagree on that – and instead focus on what we can agree on. Do we agree that $3+ a gallon gas is a problem? Do we agree that we have a dependency problem on Mid-East oil, and that we are sending billions of dollars to countries that don’t like us very much and impact our national security? Do we agree that we want to clean up the air and water in our cities? Do we agree that we want to save money? If we can agree on those things, then a sustainable lifestyle can make a difference.

M.W.: What lessons should we emphatically learn from the Gulf Coast Oil Spill?
E.B.: That although there is still quite a bit of oil available to find, it is getting harder, more dangerous and more expensive to get. At some point we have to decide if getting to that oil is more expensive and dangerous than the alternative which is to spend the money on other forms of more renewable energy. I think that time is now.

M.W.: I understand that California has four times the amount of cars since the 1970’s, yet half the ozone. How was that accomplished? Didn’t the skeptics say it would bankrupt the state?
E.B.: It was accomplished through good policy and good technological efforts. Unleaded fuels, catalytic converters, combined cycle gas turbines, spray paint booths, natural gas busses, expanded public transportation – all things that contributed to California’s clean air efforts. There were many businessmen and economists that felt smog and pollution were signs of progress and that our economy would struggle. But throughout these changes in the 70s, 80s and 90s the economy thrived. We can do this.

M.W.: What can people do to be more energy conscious if they don’t have a lot of money?
E.B.: As we talked about above, they can pick the low hanging fruit – lighting, thermostat programming, weather stripping, biking, public transit, energy star devices, unplugging phantom power etc. etc. These are things people can do today on any budget and immediately start saving energy and saving money.

Part 2 will appear tomorrow…

The Planetwalker – The Man Who Walks the Planet

John Francis is an incredibly unique and gifted individual. He is a planetwalker – a man who walks the planet.

Listen to him above at a talk he gave at a TED conference.

For almost three decades, John Francis has been a planetwalker, traveling the globe by foot and sail with a message of environmental respect and responsibility – and for 17 of those years he did it without speaking.

John Francis walks the Earth in order to carry a message of careful, truly sustainable development and respect for our planet.

Over the years, he has walked tens of thousands of miles around the globe, crisscrossing the United States, and voyaging to Cuba, South America, Patagonia and Antarctica.

Born in 1946, Francis moved to Marin County, California as a young man. After witnessing the devastation caused by a 1971 oil spill in San Francisco Bay, he stopped riding in motorized vehicles, a vow which lasted 22 years from 1972 until 1994. From 1973 until 1990, he also spent 17 years voluntarily silent.

During this time he earned a Ph.D. in land management and traveled extensively, walking across the entire width of the lower 48 states of the USA as well as walking to South America.

His journey began on January 19, 1971, when two oil tankers owned by Standard Oil Company collided in San Francisco Bay, creating an enormous oil spill. After seeing the damage caused, John Francis decided that he wanted to stop riding in cars.

The following year, a neighbor of Francis’ died suddenly. Faced with a new sense of the uncertainty of life, Francis decided to act immediately and for the next 22 years refused to ride in motorized vehicles. Francis describes himself as having had an over-inflated sense of self-importance at this time, and says that he initially expected other people to follow his example and also forgo automobiles and other powered vehicles.

As Francis traveled about on foot, people would sometimes stop to talk about what he was doing, and he often found himself arguing with them, as well as with friends and acquaintances, about his decision to go on foot.

On his birthday in 1973, Francis decided to stop speaking as a gift to his community, to not argue for one day and instead listen to what others had to say. He found this so valuable that he continued to be silent the next day. This continued and he ended up not speaking for 17 years, with the exception of a phone call to his mother after 10 years of silence.

During this time, he communicated by writing and gestures, and also expressed himself by playing the banjo. He ended his vow of silence on Earth Day in 1990.

While he was silent, he completed three college degrees, culminating in a Ph.D. in Land Management from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

He walked to Ashland, Oregon to enroll in Southern Oregon University, and completed a B.A. there in a two-year program. Next, he walked to the state of Washington and built a boat, contacting the University of Montana and informing them that he’d like to enroll in a master’s degree program in about two years. He walked and sailed to Montana, and completed his degree there.

With little money, he audited classes but professors tracked his grades, and when funds became available to pay for the classes he had taken, they were put on his transcript for credit. As is common with graduate students, Francis taught classes while studying for his master’s degree.

Francis then walked to Wisconsin, where he took up his doctoral studies, focusing on the effects of oil spills. During his studies, the Exxon Valdez disaster occurred, which brought attention to his research. After completing his degree, he walked to Washington D.C.

In 1994, Francis decided he could be a more effective environmentalist if he began to again use motorized transportation. At the border of Venezuela and Brazil, he boarded a bus.

Today, John Francis is an expert on oil spills, tankers and other environmental issues.

And also in these times, Francis does talk and drive, but it’s all in the name of inspiring people to do as he has done – become a steward of the earth and a planetwalker.

He has written a book about his experience, PlanetWalker: 22 Years of Walking. 17 Years of Silence.

This book is the story of a man who, on foot and in silence, has rediscovered rhythms in nature that most of us have forgotten, and learned to communicate his understanding and empathy without speaking a word.

He says of walking that, “part of the mystery of walking is that the destination is inside us and we really don’t know when we arrive until we arrive.”

Perhaps the Gulf Coast oil spill will create many more John Francis’. We surely will need them.

John Francis still lives in Marin County, CA, in Point Reyes Station, with his wife and two sons.

To learn more about John Francis and his organization Planetwalk, you can go to www.planetwalk.org.

Where Have All the Bees Gone?

In the article from the other day, The Obsession With Lawns, I mentioned how among other things that lawns are harming is the bee population – which begs the question, where have all the bees gone?

Bees are disappearing in droves, dying in epidemic numbers. One out of every three bees has died in the last few years.

For those of you who don’t like the sting of bees, you may think this is a good thing. Yet bees have an important place in nature.

You see, a third of what we eat is thanks to bees – because of their work pollinating flowers and plants. Bees are responsible for pollinating over 100 commonly eaten fruit and vegetable crops. Without bees our food system would be in serious trouble.

The disappearance of bees has an official name – Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD for short.

Colony Collapse Disorder was first applied to a drastic rise in the number of disappearances of Western honey bee colonies in North America in late 2006.

European beekeepers observed similar phenomena in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain, and initial reports have also come in from Switzerland and Germany, albeit to a lesser degree. Possible cases of CCD have also been reported in Taiwan since April 2007.

And what is causing CCD?

Bees are dying from the equivalent of the flu, and so they’re getting bad virus infections. But it’s not the same flu – there’s different strains and different types of viruses bees can get. CCD bees have a lot more pathogens than healthy bees do. The question is, why are these bees suddenly so susceptible to these different pathogens?

The answer is that their immune systems have become fragile.
There are a number of things that are weakening their immune systems: the widespread use of pesticides is first and foremost. This can harm the bees directly, or other insects that the bees eat.

Other possibilities have included cell phone radiation and genetically modified (GM) crops with pest control characteristics.

Whatever is behind it, it’s important that things be turned around, or our food system could be in peril.

Above, you can watch Dennis vanEngelsdorp, State Apiarist for Pennsylvania’s Department of Agriculture, speaking at a recent TED conference about the mysterious disappearance of bees. One of the things he does talk about as contributing to the bee problem are lawns, so pay heed to what he says.

And below is a trailer to a film about the bee crisis entitled The Last Beekeeper.

God’s Word on Lawns

In the last article, I discussed The Obsession with Lawns, and how lawns are extremely harmful for the environment.

Today I have no less an authority than God, who will tell us what He thinks of lawns.

This is a conversation God held with St. Francis not too long ago that we here at Low Density Lifestyle World Central Headquarters were allowed to sit in on.

Actually, it’s something that has floated around the internet for awhile that is totally appropriate to the discussion on lawns. It’s funny, but makes absolute sense.

So here goes:

God: Hey St. Francis, you know all about gardens and nature. What in the world is going on down there? What happened to the dandelions, violets, thistle and stuff I started eons ago? I had a perfect “no maintenance” garden plan. Those plants grow in any type of soil, withstand drought and multiply with abandon. The nectar from the long lasting blossoms attracts butterflies, honey bees and flocks of songbirds. I expected to see a vast garden of colors by now. But all I see are these green rectangles.

St. Francis: It’s the tribes that settled there, Lord. The Suburbanites. They started calling your flowers “weeds” and went to great lengths to kill them and replace them with grass.

God: Grass? But it’s so boring. It’s not colorful. It doesn’t attract butterflies, birds and bees, only grubs and sod worms. It’s temperamental with temperatures. Do these Suburbanites really want all that grass growing there?

St. Francis: Apparently so, Lord. They go to great pains to grow it and keep it green. The begin each spring by fertilizing grass and poisoning any other plant that crops up in the lawn.

God: The spring rains and warm weather probably make grass grow really fast. That must make the Suburbanites happy.

St. Francis: Apparently not, Lord. As soon as it grows a little, they cut it… sometimes twice a week.

God: They cut it? Do they then bail it like hay?

St. Francis: Not exactly, Lord. Most of them rake it up and put it in bags.

God: They bag it? Why? Is it a cash crop? Do they sell it?

St. Francis: No Sir. Just the opposite. They pay to throw it away.

God: Now let me get this straight. They fertilize grass so when it does grow, they cut it off and pay to throw it away?

St. Francis: Yes, Sir.

God: These Suburbanites must be relieved in the summer when we cut back on the rain and turn up the heat. That surely slows the growth and saves them a lot of work.

St. Francis: You are not going to believe this Lord. When the grass stops growing so fast, they drag out hoses and pay more money to water it so they can continue to mow it and pay to get rid of it.

God: What nonsense. At least they kept some of the trees. That was a sheer stroke of genius, if I do say so myself. The trees grow leaves in the spring to provide beauty and shade in the summer. In the autumn they fall to the ground and form a natural blanket to keep moisture in the soil and protect the trees and bushes. Plus, as they rot, the leaves form compost to enhance the soil. It’s a natural circle of life.

St. Francis: You better sit down, Lord. The Suburbanites have drawn a new circle. As soon as the leaves fall, they rake them into great piles and pay to have them hauled away.

God: No. What do they do to protect the shrub and tree roots in the winter and to keep the soil moist and loose?

St. Francis: After throwing away the leaves, they go out and buy something which they call mulch. The haul it home and spread it around in place of the leaves.

God: And where do they get this mulch?

St. Francis: They cut down trees and grind them up to make the mulch.

God: Enough. I don’t want to think about this anymore. Sister Catherine, you’re in charge of the arts. What movie have you scheduled for us tonight?

Sister Catherine: “Dumb and Dumber”, Lord. It’s a real stupid movie about…..

God: Never mind, I think I just heard the whole story from St. Francis.

The Obsession with Lawns

It’s lawn mowing season! And with that, let’s look at the obsession with lawns.

I lived in Santa Cruz, CA at one time, and it was while living there that I discovered that a lot of people did something very different with their lawns: instead of a grass lawn, their yards were vegetable gardens.

Lots of people were growing corn in their front yards, along with squash, tomatoes, lettuce, carrots, berries, and all kinds of edibles.

Now I live in upstate NY, in – egads! – suburbia. And here, it’s the typical obsession with the lawn. Cut it, fertilize it, herbicide it, water it, Chemlawn it.

My neighbor mows his lawn three times a week. I mow my lawn every 10 days to 2 weeks.

My neighbor has a spotless lawn, with no weeds and nary a dandelion in sight.

My lawn has all kinds of things growing in it: crabgrass, clover, dandelions, plantain, and all kinds of other vegetation.

I used to live next to a guy who was out mowing his lawn every Sunday morning at 8am. So much for a quiet Sunday morning.

I was once staying in a town in Germany for a few weeks, and that town had an ordinance that you couldn’t mow your lawn on a Sunday. Besides that, all the townsfolk’s lawns looked like either the lawns I saw in Santa Cruz, CA – filled with vegetables – or my current lawn – a ragtag grassy space that would not win any awards from Better Homes and Gardens.

So, what’s the deal with lawns?

People have had lawns for a long time. Before the invention of the lawn mower, people let their animals graze on their lawn, and the grass grew along with the weeds. Many people also planted chamomile, thyme and vegetables in their lawn.

Toward the end of the 19th century in the U.S., suburbs appeared on the scene, along with the sprinkler, greatly improved lawn mowers, new ideas about landscaping and a shorter working week.

And thus was born the modern lawn.

Lawns are a standard feature of ornamental private and public gardens and landscapes in much of the world today. Lawns are created for aesthetic use in gardens, and for recreational use, including sports. They are typically planted near homes, often as part of gardens, and are also used in other ornamental landscapes and gardens.

Many different species of grass are used, often depending on the intended use of the lawn, with vigorous, coarse grasses used where active sports are played, and much finer, softer grasses on ornamental lawns.

There is often heavy social pressure to mow one’s lawn regularly and to keep all appearances tidy. Local municipal ordinances commonly require homeowners to keep grass cut.

But this obsession with lawns is killing the environment.

That’s because a hefty portion of the 100 million pounds of household pesticides and herbicides U.S. consumers buy every year goes straight to lawns.

But it doesn’t all stay there. Some of these chemicals leach into the groundwater, pollute the air, and get onto the skin and into the mouths of children, pets, and other creatures that come into contact with the treated grass.

To make matters worse, the tons of chemical fertilizers added go directly to the soil, and some of it runs off into waterways. Those nutrients that turn your grass green can cause vast algae blooms that kill fish and other aquatic creatures.

And there there’s the lawn mower: lawn mowers account for five percent of the country’s total emissions.

Research has found that cutting grass for an hour with a gas-powered lawnmower produces about as much air pollution as a 100-mile drive in a car.

Lawns are also contributing to the mysterious crisis of the disappearing bees. Bees are dying and disappearing at alarming numbers, so much so that the crisis now has a name: Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD.

Bees need biodiversity, a wealth of different flowers to eat pollen from in order to thrive and have a healthy immune system. Lawns lack in biodiversity, being just one thing: grass, and mainly one or two types of grass seeds.

As National Bee Expert Dennis vanEngelsdorp, the state apiarist of Pennsylvania, said, “it’s astonishing how we decided that this green, flat lawn is a beautiful thing, when really it’s a sterile desert.”

Another thing about biodiversity and lawns: they usually are composed primarily of plants not local to the area, which can further decrease local biodiversity.

There is also the water question. Maintaining a green lawn can require large amounts of water. In more arid regions of the world, such as the U.S. Southwest and Australia, lawn care has crimped already scarce water resources, requiring larger, more environmentally invasive water supply systems. And even in areas of the world that are not usually arid, there can be times when there are droughts.

There is now the reality that there will come a time when we reach peak water, and overuse of water to maintain lawns is contributing to the problem.

Grass typically goes dormant during cold, winter months, and turns brown during hot, dry summer months, thereby reducing its demand for water. Many property owners consider this “dead” appearance unacceptable and therefore increase watering during the summer months.

For those who still like the aesthetics of having a lawn, there are alternatives. You can use organic lawn care methods. You can replace your lawn with ground creepers such as Creeping Jenny. You can use regionally appropriate species of low growing or mowable plants in lawn areas such as clover, creeping Charley, or sedum instead of high-maintenance turf grass.

There are also many alternatives to lawns including meadows, butterfly gardens, rain gardens, and kitchen gardens. Planting trees and shrubs in naturalistic arrangements can help restore habitat for birds and wildlife.

The Human Powered Car

During this series on green/sustainable living, I’ve talked about various types of cars: electric cars, biodiesel cars, wind-powered cars, and even cars fueled by pee.

But how about a car powered by people? It gives new meaning to the term “Power to the People.”

Well, there is a car that fits that description. It’s called the HumanCar.

Now, when you think of a car, you probably include things like an engine, or at least a motor, gasoline, even batteries. But what if there could be a car powered entirely by human motion; one that did not need an engine, fuel, batteries, or even electricity?

That, my friends, is the HumanCar, and the Human Car, Inc. company, located in Oregon and founded by engineer Chuck Greenwood, are developing these new models of transportation.

HumanCar is exactly what it sounds like: a car (well, it has four wheels, at least) powered by people. The HumanCar FM4 (pictured above) has seats for four; the passengers “rock it like an engine,” which roughly equates to pushing and pulling on the amber-handled levers to generate speed (up to 60 mph, going downhill) and leaning to turn.

It’s street-legal, so try to not to act too surprised when one of these cars pulls up to you at a stop light.

Technically, according to the company, the HumanCar is powered by a simple yet robust control system. Conventional mini-contactors connect both motors in parallel for acceleration. Alternatively, they are reconnected in series when the brake lever is actuated. This creates a much higher output voltage that is temporarily stored in a small bank of ultracapacitors, and then re-regulated down nominal storage battery voltage.

The high end state-of-the-art system, the Imagine LMV HumanCar pictured above, uses a pair of 3 phase AC frameless motors along with a special controller adapted from machine tool industry, and 200 VDC NiMH batteries (or Lithium Ion if functional and available).

Check out the HumanCar FM4 in action in the above video, and you’ll see how well and fast it can move. Then get together a couple of your friends and go for a test drive yourselves.

To find out more, you can go to the HumanCar website, or to their Facebook page.

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