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Farmers line up to sign up for CRP
Pratt, Kan. —
After six years it’s time for farmers and producers across Kansas and the U.S. to again sign up for the Conservation Reserve Program.
Interested farmers need to make an appointment to enroll with their local Farm Service Agency before the end of business on Friday, Aug. 27 to be considered in the next CRP, said Lori Kreutzer, Farm Service Agency.
Farmers need to call 672-7449 and make an appointment at the FSA office to process their information. The office needs number of acres and location for consideration. A computer program helps determine the type of soil. Production history from 2002-2007 is checked for eligibility to determine the maximum offer rate. A number of methods can be used to enhance the land and increase the chances of getting accepted.
Link:http://www.pratttribune.com/highlight/x790229810/Farmers-line-up-to-sign-up-for-CRP
Urban farming: Growing food at home
The problem with a lot of the vegetable gardening articles you find on the Internet is that they speak of gardening as if you have the perfect place to grow one; which is usually not the case if you happen to live in an urban (city or suburbs) area. And because of this, urban families tend to think that there is really no way that they might grow their own food at home, which is a shame, because there are a lot of people doing just that. It just takes a little more ingenuity, work and patience. At least in some respects.
One of the things many people don’t realize is that urban gardening is actually easier in some respects, and that is because urban areas generally have fewer insects that will eat their plants or diseases that will infect them; thus, urban gardening is more about finding a place to garden, rather than dealing with the elements.
Link:http://www.helium.com/items/1919127-how-to-plant-an-urban-garden
Village center concept for western Cranston is waiting to be developed
CRANSTON — In an area where organic vegetables compete for space with new homes signs affixed to utility poles in every which way, a village concept is brewing.
An elementary school was built down the street on Scituate Avenue and plans are to build a library branch next door.
A proposal to quadruple density in an area east of Pippin Orchard Road south of the Scituate Avenue-Pippin Orchard Road intersection was recently thwarted by strong neighborhood opposition.
But the intersection itself –– envisioned as the heart of a growing community in western Cranston –– has given way to little in the form of a village center.
Link:http://www.projo.com/news/content/CRANSTON_COMPREHENSIVE_PLAN_08-12-10_E3JGJ7H_v67.2010a5c.html
Organic gardener shares knowledge at Holton Eco-Preserve
Millisa Bell has been a hobby organic gardener for nine years.
She has a degree in environmental studies and has been trained by organic farmer Frank Oakes, past president of Florida Organic Growers and owner of Oakes Organic Farm and the organic farm market Food & Thought, both in Naples.
And now Bell is planting the seeds for others through an upcoming organic vegetable and herb gardening class at the Holton Eco-Preserve at Unitarian Universalist Church of Fort Myers.
The 15-week class, with an enrollment cap of 40, will cover the fundamentals of organic gardening, including planting, container and raised-bed gardening, soil care, pest and disease management and harvest. Participants will be divided into teams that will create and cultivate plots Bell said will have seeds and transplants.
“This is one of the beginning steps a person can take,” said Bell, congregational administrator at the church. “This gives everybody the basic building tools.”
Will ice island finally convince global warming skeptics?
The island of ice is 100 square miles, more than four times the size of Manhattan. It broke off from a Greenland glacier and is adrift in the Arctic Ocean. This “unstoppable giant” could drift toward and threaten oil platforms and shipping lanes.
OK, I thought as I read today’s story, why don’t we just drop a few bombs on it and break it up so it melts faster?
“It’s so big that you can’t prevent it from drifting. You can’t stop it,” Jon-Ove Methlie Hagen, a University of Oslo glaciologist, said in today’s story.
It could wind up along Canada’s east coast, where other icebergs and jagged islands would take a year or two to grind it down, but it could risk oil activities and Newfoundland ships. Fragments would start to melt as they move into warmer waters.
Watershed gets $12 million
The Sauk River Watershed Area, including portions of Douglas, Pope, Stearns and Todd counties, has been approved to receive more than $12 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to carry out projects that will help landowners implement conservation practices that prevent, control and trap nutrient runoff from agricultural land.
“The funding announced today by USDA is great news for landowners,” said Gary Thoennes, chairman of the Douglas County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) Board. “These new funds will allow additional conservation practices to be applied to the landscape, expanding their reach and impact.”
Link:http://www.echopress.com/event/article/id/77269/group/News/
Gansu landslide: Another manmade disaster?
If a horrific, “unforeseen and natural” disaster happens in China these days, what is the actual betting that it was, in fact, both man-made and foreseeable? Well, unless it’s a direct hit with an asteroid, the answer is: quite high.
Now Tibetan poet and writer Tsering Woeser has compiled an impressive dossier that shows that the Zhouqu landslide in Gansu Province that has killed (so far) 702, with over 1,000 still missing, was likely precipitated by a variety of devastating ecological activities by - yes - man.
Link:http://shanghaiist.com/2010/08/11/gansu_landslide_another_manmade_dis.php
Bamboo And Soil Erosion: Holding The Earth Together One Plant At A Time
While we talk a great deal of water and tree conservation, we sometimes forget that land itself is a precious resource. Unfortunately it is one that is disappearing under the stress of overpopulation and irresponsible farming practices. While we are not necessarily losing square footage, we are losing the rich, fertile topsoil, and in a world with ever-increasing mouths to feed, the loss of that soil is one to worry about.
The bamboo plant is being looked at more closely than ever as a means to control soil erosion in countries around the world.
Australian Views on Climate Change Shifting
With Australian’s going to the polls on the 21st of August a new poll by Gallup shows that the countries attitudes towards global warming could be a factor in an election which follows many others with global warming playing a key factor.
Those who believe that climate change is a result of human activities has dropped from 52% in 2008 to 44% in 2010 while those who believe the reverse, that it is a result of natural causes, has leapt 10 points from 2008 to 31%.
In a country where 97% of respondents to the Gallup survey said that they know “a great deal” (24%) or “something” (73%) about climate change, the drop suggests a great impact as a result of the “climategate” controversy that saw emails published from the University of Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit (CRU) call their research into question.
Link:http://planetsave.com/2010/08/10/australian-views-on-climate-change-shifting/
U.N. Chief Recommends Small Steps on Climate
UNITED NATIONS — Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary general, said Monday that he doubted that member states would reach a new global climate change agreement in December at a conference in Mexico.
Mr. Ban, who was the head cheerleader for reaching a deal during the 2009 conference in Copenhagen, suggested that a better approach might consist of small steps in separate fields that built toward wider consensus rather than aiming for one sweeping pact.
“Climate change, I think, has been making progress, even though we have not reached such a point where we will have a globally agreed, comprehensive deal,” Mr. Ban said at a news conference.
Link:http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/10/science/earth/10nations.html
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