Bilbies Bring New Life To Deserts

Bilbies and bettongs-the desert forms of bandicoots and rat-kangaroos-can bring degraded desert landscape back to life, according to new study. "The depressions they make capture scarce resources such as seeds, leaf litter and water, and become a focal point of plant germination after desert rains... The native species consistently excavate much more than their invasive counterpart, the European rabbit. And their diggings contain 45 percent more seedlings than rabbit disturbance." I couldn't see why this might not have been the case with native small mammals across the whole Australian landscape.

Phosphorus Famine

Readily available global phosphorus supplies may start running out by the end of this century. Nearly 40% of global reserves are controlled by a single country - Morocco. In addition, modern agricultural practices have tripled the natural rate of phosphorus depletion from the land, and excessive runoff into waterways is feeding uncontrolled algal blooms and throwing aquatic ecosystems off-kilter.

Estimating Soil Carbon Sequestration

It is so disappointing to see research into soil carbon accumulation continuing to only focus on biomass decomposition - only one part of the underground carbon story. This cotton root study cleverly measures root biomass, but uses it to only 'derive' root carbon. It would be so good to find ways of directly measuring carbon deposition during plant growth - ie what plants pump into the ground during growth - perhaps that would better explain why perennial grasses accumulate so much carbon - its certainly not just from decomposition of their root biomass.

Reducing Livestock Methane

The evidence is trickling in to support the common sense logic that a healthy natural diet can reduce enteric methane production. Since January, cows at 15 farms across Vermont have had their grain feed adjusted to include more plants like alfalfa and flaxseed - substances that, unlike corn or soy, mimic the spring grasses that the animals evolved long ago to eat. As of the last reading in mid-May, the methane output on one farm had dropped 18%. Meanwhile, milk production has held its own.

Farmers Have Solutions to Mitigating Climate Change

Innovations in food production and land use that are ready to be scaled-up today could reduce greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to roughly 25% of global fossil fuel emissions and present the best opportunity to remove greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere, according to a new report by the Worldwatch Institute and Ecoagriculture Partners.

Saving Trees More Profitable Than Palm Oil?

Selling credits for the billions of tons of carbon that are locked in Indonesia's tropical rain forests could be as profitable as converting these areas into palm oil plantations.

Forest Carbon Concerns

A plan to pay tropical countries not to chop down trees risks being discredited by opportunists even before it starts. Development and environment groups have long warned that suddenly placing a big value on rainforests could spur friction and even conflict in some developing nations, because of uncertain tenure rights, corruption and inadequate policing. Fraudulent trading of carbon credits will increase as organised crime infiltrates the system.

Eco Evangelist

While personally not a holder of any specific religious belief, this is a tale of a man driven to change agriculture, and the world, through spreading the word of the Bible and its environmental message. His work in Kenya is remarkable and inspirational. Its a great read on bringing back biodiversity as well as hope to farmers.

Michelle Obama vs Agribusiness

As a previous newsletter noted, Michelle Obama has started an organic vegetable garden at the White House - and interestingly it has got agribusinesses a little upset, afterall, it could plant a seed of doubt in consumers' minds about conventionally grown crops. Mid America CropLife Association has sent her a letter to persuade the first lady to use 'conventional agriculture,' i.e., chemicals and genetically modified seeds. 

Long Term Thinking About Food

Michael Pollan has a knack for taking the complex, big-picture problems facing the entire food system and explaining them in simple, relatable bite-sized pieces. His argument all boils down to this: It is very challenging to have a healthy population without a healthy diet, and you cannot have a healthy diet without a healthy agriculture system. Producing food on a massive scale at the lowest price possible has taken precedence over obeying natural laws.

Sustainable Fish Farms

In the next few years, consumption of farm-raised fish will surpass that caught in the wild for the first time. But most fish farms - even ones heralded as "sustainable" - create as many problems as they solve, from fecal contamination to the threat that escaped cultivated fish pose to the gene pool of their wild cousins. But there is one aquaculture enterprise in southern Spain that may be winning - and its a great story starting with the tolerance of management to fish predators.

Melamine in Infant Formulas

Separate to the Chinese melamine crisis, it appears that many infant formulas have trace amounts of melamine in them as a result of the breakdown of an insecticide used on food crops and animal forage - melamine is one of the breakdown products.

Biomedical Animals

A bullish group of agricultural scientists says that farm animals have been vastly underrated as a resource for improving human health - and they're vying for some of the billions of dollars the government invests in biomedical research. They believe there is a detrimental overemphasis on studying mice for human health studies.

GM Wheat on Agenda Again

Five years after biotech giant Monsanto was forced to shelve plans for its Roundup Ready wheat, a coalition of Canadian, American and Australian farm groups recently reached an agreement on what they call "the goal of synchronized commercialization of biotech traits in our wheat crops."

GM Lies

Monsanto are running ads in America promoting that their genetically modified (GM) seeds are going to save the world from environmental catastrophe and human hunger. There are some great summaries of why these claims are lies.

Third Wave of GM

The many benefits of the first wave of biotech products, in medicine, have unfortunately been overshadowed by the supposed risks of biotech's second wave, in agriculture. Might its third wave-so-called industrial biotech, also known as "white biotech" or "green chemistry" - resolve biotech's image problem? Unlike transgenic tomatoes, industrial-biotech products are not sold directly to consumers. And instead of displacing "natural" products with bioengineered alternatives, as in agriculture, industrial biotechnology generally displaces fossil fuels and their associated chemical processes with greener biological alternatives.

Massive Bat Loses

A mysterious fungus attacking America's bats could spread nationwide within years and represents the most serious threat to wildlife in a century. One cave was turned into a morgue, with bats freezing to death outside and so many carcasses littering the cave's floor the stench was too strong for researchers to enter. One possible consequence of the syndrome's toll on bats is increased used of pesticides to control insect populations. Their loss is seen as great as a loss of bees.

Still Learning About Our Atmosphere

Many studies have shown that trace gases and pollutants in the lowest level of our atmosphere break down naturally, thanks to molecules called hydroxyl (OH) radicals. But the breakdown spews out ozone, itself a toxic pollutant and a greenhouse gas. In China, they have discovered a rather large anomaly to this theory though: "It was a complete surprise to us [that], after such a long time of scientific research, such a big gap has been found."

Smart Power Grids

Green sources of power tend to be distributed and intermittent, which makes them difficult to integrate into the existing grid. The grids themselves have changed very little since they were first developed more than a century ago. Adding digital sensors and remote controls to the transmission and distribution system would make it smarter, greener and more efficient. Also smart meters could establish a two-way data connection between the customer and the power company - power companies can determine the location of outages more easily, and no longer need to send staff to read meters, or to turn the power on or off at a particular property. Eventually customers will get personal energy profile read-outs too.

What's New...

I met Sarah Hamlyn-Harris during a talk recently in Millmerran - it was a thrill to discover that she is producing compost teas commercially in Stanthorpe, using Elaine Ingham's prescription and a microscope. She calls herself - Tea for Life. She was spurred into doing this when it became obvious that many farmers liked the idea of using compost teas, but did not not have the time to make it, let alone attend a Soil Foodweb Institute course.

She graduated in Vet Science, but found herself led back to healthy soils. She has studied Holistic Management, the Soil Foodweb's university course and post-graduate studies in environmental remediation....what additional skills!

If you are in the Stanthorpe region - drop her a line.

Ausmin Price Reductions

Slowly but surely some fertiliser prices are heading down. Ausmin's Platinum range (partially acid-treated apatite, trace mineral + black urea granules) is being offered at discounted prices until end of June. Suppliers include:DL & FM Smith (Guyra NSW), Fertile Farm (Gunnedah NSW), Gaia Consultancy (Forbes NSW).

Bionutrient Sale Apology

The sale price for 25kg bags of fulvic acid powder mentioned in last week's newsletter should have read $375ex/bag, ex Moree (not $100/bag). My apologies - its still a good deal as it represents a $100 discount per bag.

Maarten Stapper in Armidale

Maarten Stapper will be in Armidale on the evening, 10th June. He is one of Australia's most passionate advocates of a new way of agriculture. If you are a primary producer looking at news ways of farming or a consumer that cares about the quality of the food they eat then don't miss this opportunity to catch Maarten talk.  Maarten Stapper Armidale 08/06/2009,23:41 144.50 Kb

Health

Electronic Cigarettes

These are battery-powered devices that deliver an odorless dose of nicotine and flavoring without cigarette tar or additives, and produces a vapor mist nearly identical in appearance to tobacco smoke. It remains unapproved by the US government and is virtually unstudied, but has not deterred thousands of smokers. Sales and use of electronic cigarettes are illegal on safety grounds in Australia and Hong Kong.

Bottled Water Industry Fights Back

At the end of March bottled-water sales in the UK were down 12% on the year. This has stirred the industry into action. Last autumn, Britain's biggest water bottlers launched the clinical-sounding Natural Hydration Council (NHC). When criticism first arose, companies lashed out at tap water, loaded with chlorine, fluoride and other chemicals. But bottled water seems to have lost that battle with sales still plummeting. They are now about to compare themselves to other drinks on the supermarket shelf - "In that context bottled water is the greenest, healthiest drink on the shelf."

Hormone Disruptors

A leading scientist has warned that chemicals found in many food, cosmetic and cleaning products pose a real threat to male fertility. The list of chemicals is extensive and pretty much covers most products currently on the market. Its not really a case of avoiding them, they are everywhere.

Giving Birth is Big Business

With Ceasarean statistics climbing and hospital births the norm, it is interesting to stop and wonder at these changes. The video trailer half way down this page puts the business aspect forward very succinctly. Birth is now a business more interested in financial and legal outcomes...

Label Lying

The FDA's own manual on nutritional labeling explains that it is the manufacturers, not the FDA, who are responsible for assuring the validity of a product label's nutrient values - and even then, the FDA recommends that the values be calculated using the highly inaccurate basis of product composition (that is to say, a recipe), rather than any test of the product itself. The FDA has not done random sampling to test the accuracy of Nutrition Facts labels since the 1990s! Independent sampling has identified some enormous lies...

Parasite Asthma Link

Could it be that an increase in autoimmune-type diseases is actually related to being too clean and too sterile ... and that exposing ourselves to more dirt and even to parasites could be the solution? It appears that may be so. A study is currently underway feeding sick people with parasites!

Health Data Deceptively

RealAge, a Web site that promises to help shave years off your age, has become one of the most popular tests on the Internet. It asks 150 or so questions about lifestyle and family history to assign a "biological age," how young or old your habits make you. The catch? The site makes its money by selling better living through drugs - it is a clearinghouse for drug companies, including Pfizer, Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline.

Cartoon

Ying and Yang, or the Golden Mean?

Miscellaneous

Scientists are studying color-changing cuttlefish and how these fascinating creatures can change color in less than a second. It could result in electronic ink and cheap TV screens that could use "less than one-hundredth the power of traditional television screens."

But more fascinating is the release of Wolfram Alpha - a computational search engine that goes beyond Google by actually answering your questions and producing a wide array of explanations and results. The demonstration videos give a clue to what it can do, but as they state, this is just the beginning.

Events

The calendar is playing up, so most of the links below are directed back to other websites where possible or to a contact email address. If there are no links, look to the related article above.   

* Maarten Stapper talk - Armidale NSW 10th June 2009.

Postscript

A Blonde In Church

An Alabama preacher said to his congregation, "Someone in this congregation has spread a rumor that I belong to the Ku Klux Klan. This is a horrible lie and one which a Christian community cannot tolerate. I am embarrassed and do not intend to accept this. Now, I want the party who did this to stand and ask forgiveness from God and this Christian Family."

No one moved. The preacher continued, "Do you have the nerve to face me and admit this is a falsehood? Remember, you will be forgiven and in your heart you will feel glory. Now stand and confess your transgression." Again, all was quiet.

Then slowly, a drop-dead gorgeous blonde with a body that would stop traffic rose from the third pew. Her head was bowed and her voice quivered as she spoke, "Reverend there has been a terrible misunderstanding. I never said you were a member of the Ku Klux Klan. I simply told a couple of my friends that you were a wizard under the sheets."

The preacher fell to his knees, his wife fainted, and the Congregation roared.