commentopia What the World Is Saying A SERVICE BRINGING YOU THE BEST READERS' COMMENTS FROM TOP NEWS SOURCES ON THE WEB ENVIRONMENT ARCHIVES — APRIL 2010
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APRIL 26, 2010 -- MAY 2, 2010 STUDY SHOWS MANY FARMERS REAPING BENEFITS FROM BIOTECH CROPS
NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES REPORT There is a big difference between being "good" vs. "better." Reducing your daily Twinkie consumption from 20 Twinkies to 5 Twinkies is "better" for you, but I don't think anyone would consider it "good" for you. The reduction in fertilizer and pesticide use resulting from GM crops may be "better" than current fertilizer/pesticide use, but that doesn't mean it's "good." It is sad & ironic that we are killing the system that produces life (and therefore food) in order to produce "food," which I put in quotes because I don't think anyone would eat Bt-corn in its most elemental form (i.e. on the cob). Read the article NPR/BioTech crops are good for earth, report finds <> I had to laugh when I read about this 'report' and was reminded of similar 'independent' reports that said smoking had no ill effects on human health, or, going back aways, that DDT wasn't bad for you. What next? Will we suddenly hear that the earth really is flat after all, or that it really is only 6000 years old? I've spoken to many farmers in eastern Oregon and none of them feel comfortable buying Roundup Ready seed...but they feel they have no choice, since Monsanto has cornered the market on every single successful commercial crop. The only way to prevent the adverse effects of Monsanto's products is --whattya know-- to use more Monsanto products. Ah, if only George Orwell were alive today. Read the article NPR/BioTech crops are good for earth, report finds <> I appreciate NPR's courage in coverage of an issue that has become such a sacred cow among many uniformed members of the public. Biotech crops are clearly an environmental and agricultural blessing. As the American Association for the Advancement of Science AND the National Academy of Science report, it can go a long way for producing environmentally-friendly food for the globe's growing population. Read the article NPR/BioTech crops are good for earth, report finds
APRIL 12, 2010 -- APRIL 25, 2010 THE GREAT ATLANTIC WIND FARM --POWER TO A SEABOARD GRID?
Offshore wind farms don't kill many (if any) birds. Read the article ARS TECHNICA/It looks like time to build an Atlantic seaboard wind grid <> Read European studies where they are more advanced than here in the US re wind power. When alternative power sources (wind or solar) exceed about 15% of total capacity you start to run into problems with lack of sustainability during periods of low wind/insolation. This requires very expensive back -up non renewable capacity. In fact more expensive than if it was the principle source. The point is however the US is nowhere near that 15% figure. We should be doing more wind and solar at this time. Read the article SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN/String of offshore turbines off the East Coast could provide a steady supply of wind power
APRIL 5, 2010 -- APRIL 11, 2010 DID TOADS TUMBLE TO ITALIAN TREMBLOR?
I think it needs rather more than observations regarding just one toad colony to justify such an elaborate theory being taken seriously. Take the following... "Looking for clues to explain the toads' behaviour, Grant found that scientists had noticed disruptions in the ionosphere, the uppermost electromagnetic layer of the earth's atmosphere, at the time of the L'Aquila earthquake, which the toads may have detected." For this to be true, then it is not only postulating that toads can detect disruptions in the ionosphere, but that these disruptions in the ionosphere are associated in some way with an imminent earthquake. Frankly this looks like little more than random speculation at this stage. If toads are able to forecast earthquakes or disruptions in the ionosphere can are associated with earthquakes (or the ability of toads to sense them) then this ought to lead to some testable hypothesis. As it stands, this just looks like associating arbitrary events after the event. Maybe there is something in the release of ground gases theory, but at the moment this is more appropriate to "New Age" than "New Scientist". Read the article THE GUARDIAN/ Toads able to detect earthquakes days beforehand, says study <> I realize biologists may not <always> be held to the same quantitative standards as physicists and geophysicists, but really, extreme caution is warranted when extrapolating outside one's area of expertise. For decades now, geophysicists have carefully examined radon gas emissions, geomagnetic and geoelectric fields, strain rates, stress measurements, and microseismic records before and after many significant earthquakes. The consensus at this point is that there are NO statistically significant recognizable precursors in the short term (days to months) before large earthquakes. The non-deterministic nature of earthquake triggering mechanisms makes this a reasonable conclusion. Stress builds up over many years and <will> be released. However the precise location and timing of the main stress release is subject to many complex factors, and is likely to remain unpredictable. So odd behaviour of a single toad colony 74 km away from the L'Aquila epicentre? Nice try, but no. Read the article THE REGISTER/Italian toads predicted L'Aquila earthquake
MARCH 29, 2010 -- APRIL 4, 2010 BUDGET THREAT: A PLAGUE OF GRASSHOPPERS ON THE HORIZON?
Kill the grasshoppers? Ridiculous. One man's pest is another man's food. Read the article WALL STREET JOURNAL/Day of the grasshopper looms <> I can tell you that the grasshoppers add a new dimension to riding a motorcycle through Montana, Wyoming, etc. Last grass hopper season, I made sure I had the full face helmet and full body leather on as they were bouncing off the windshield and faceshield of the helmet at a rate like rain in a downpour.
It is truly a creepy feeling to see dark swarming groups of these grass hoppers, which are probably 2" to 4" long and as you ride into them, they either bounce off the helmet or the ones with the wrong trajectory stick to your face shield and ooze. They have a unique snapping sound as they smack into your helmet and leather riding gear. When you see millions of them together, they have an entirely different look than encountering the occasional one in your backyard. Read the article WALL STREET JOURNAL/Day of the grasshopper looms
EARTH HOUR: IS AN HOUR OF DARKNESS A BRIGHT IDEA?
Are your candles made from petroleum, palm oil, or beeswax? Read the article HUFFINGTON POST/Earth Hour 2010: How to keep busy during an hour of darkness
This year for "Earth Hour" I plan to turn on every electrically powered device I own. I may even start my vehicle and let it idle. I hope others follow and show the world that they do not buy into the propaganda of the "FernGully Generation." Perhaps these efforts will allow for the disenchantment of society from the unfettered dogma pushed by today's psuedo-scientists and celebrity icons. Maybe, just maybe, the facade of this "inconvenient truth" is the notoriety, the tenure, and the creation of a new market to capitalize--going green. Read the article LOS ANGELES TIMES/Earth Hour is March 27
If we can't agree on reduced catches and sales of Bluefin Tuna, nature will impose them by reduced stocks of fish. The commercial fishing will exploit the resource until it becomes unprofitable for most boats because there are too few fish left. Same old, sad story in ocean conservation--what Hardin called the tragedy of the commons. Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/U.N. rejects export ban on Atlantic bluefin tuna. <> The irony is that the Japanese are consuming less tuna (including blue fin) each year, with market prices on a declining trend. One can even say that there is "tuna glut", with consumers viewing tuna flesh as just another commodity. I must point out that the Japanese government's decision to "go all out to stop the measure or else exempt itself from complying with it", as the article mentions, is not exactly based on a consensus among its citizens. I, for one, would not mind paying higher prices for tuna; it's high time that all consumers (not just the Japanese, mind you) started paying for the true cost of their actions. Read the article NEW YORK TIMES/U.N. rejects export ban on Atlantic bluefin tuna.
<> I've tried pointing out the simple maths of overfishing to small boat trawlers and there is almost no getting through to them.
Read the articleU.K. GUARDIAN/Bluefin fails to make U.N. list of protected fish
Canada has learned its lesson well. Agreements to limit fishing in the North Atlantic years ago were obeyed by Canada, but the EU turned a blind eye to the massive overfishing by EU factory ships off the coast of Newfoundland. Canadian fishermen were banned from fishing off our own coasts while EU trawlers swept the oceans clear of everything moving just outside our territorial limits. Complaints to the EU were ignored. The EU taught that signed agreements don't hold any force when dealing with the Europeans. Why sign if the only ones obeying are ourselves? Read the article U.K. GUARDIAN/Bluefin fails to make U.N. list of protected fish
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