This week’s Monsanto ECO Newsletter from Planet Waves features stories ranging from a small farm in Maine that uses stewardship of the land and its creatures as a central part of rehabilitating drug addicts; to an architectural prototype built with compostable “bio-bricks”; to the detection of radiation effects on snow monkeys in Fukushima, Japan; to the popularity of ‘unattractive’ produce that would normally be thrown away in France — and more.
You can read the full issue here.
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luckydriver: i’ve always had a fondness for the unusually shaped produce, too — they always come home with me from the farmer’s market. 🙂 and a couple years ago, an unusual eggplant i’d taken in even found its way onto the PW blog; he was such a photogenic (and tasty) eggplant!
http://planetwaves.net/news/astro-daily/box-seats-for-justice/
http://planetwaves.net/news/astro-daily/this-little-light-of-mine-and-a-venus-neptune-trine/
http://planetwaves.net/news/astro-daily/mercury-pluto-and-venus-neptune-ask-are-you-an-innie-or-an-outie/
I have a garden in the back of our house. We grow all kinds of vegetables in this tiny garden. Tomatoes, greens, broccoli, lettuce, and I got my own blueberry bush. We only made this garden last year. We got all our seeds from a small gardening center in Mass. Out of my family, I feel like i am the most aware of all the eco problems. I do small stuff, like shutting off lights and not letting the water run while brushing my teeth. I do not drive not because I do not want, but I can’t concentrate because of disability.
Though, on another topic, this is not a new problem to humans. I wonder what was the footprint of the Giza pyramids when they were built, or the Great Wall of China? Not a small one I don’t think. Sure, the scale of the problem now is much bigger than anytime BC. However, I don’t think it is wise to label people of the past as saints in this regard. If that were the case, mammoths would still exist in some parts of the world. I think this is the sad paradox of the power of human inguenuity. We managed to harness fire, carve entire cities out rock, traverse the entire globe on foot. Build, build, build. At what cost though? It helps to consult the stars for advice, but how do you transmute that beautiful message into simple, everyday language people understand? I think part of the problem with bringing astrology to the masses is that most people put it in the same realm as dragons and trolls. Fantasy. All they need are facts and figures. For example, I think a study should be conducted on mercury retrograde effects. Since Mercury deals with mechanics and technology, call up Best Buy, auto mechanics, car salespeople, phone companies. Ask them at what time of the year do they receive the most calls. Do the times of the year match when Mercury went backwards? Put out said results to the public. This is just one example how astrology can be used to reach the everyday world. People will listen. People will respond. People will act.
The information about the “inglorious fruits and vegetables” just made my day! When I was a kid, my grandfather had an enormous garden that essentially supplied all the vegetables my family consumed during the summer. He used to let me roam around in the garden, and I spent hours and hours in there either investigating all the plants or just camping out near a gooseberry bush to get a little quiet time. My favorite thing to do was to help my grandfather pick the veggies when it was time to do so, and it was always the imperfect ones that I held dear. Getting my hands on one of those was like unearthing a diamond! I just loved the ones that grew however they felt like growing. Even now, just looking at those pictures of the imperfect fruits and veggies, I wind up feeling incredibly happy! Thanks!
..ok, the math is bad,.. I’m a drop-out, go figure. Fact still remains, I will throw carrot seeds all over the place. And laugh my ass off the whole time I’m doing it,.. and keep an eye out for the scary dudes with guns who have serious authoritarian issues.
Peace, and Vegetables,
Jere
..So, I’ve got probably a 100,000 carrot seeds. Shit you not, each carrot, being bienniel produces about 20 freakin’ umbels, (each umbel producing about a hundred seeds…), I had a dozen carrots, now I’ve got a lot of seeds. And, big ass carrots. I’m gonna go spread these seeds on my neighbors lawns, and the City property. Yeah, I know I can get my ass cited for this shit, but, fuck ’em all, they’ll appreciate me in another lifetime.
Symbiosis,
Jere