Garry Rogers's Blog, page 15

Plants of the Post Anthropocene: 2. Annual Bluegrass (Poa annua)

Despite its small size and mild demeanor, Annual Bluegrass has traveled with people from its Eurasian home to establish in every continent. In America, Sereno Watson found it in the Great Basin Desert of Utah and Nevada during the 1872 exploration of the fortieth parallel. He “collected [it] on stream-banks in cañons (sic) near roads traveled only by teams of woodmen” –Watson (King 1872: xli). Continue reading →

Weed No. 2. Annual Bluegrass (Poa annua)

Despite its small size and mild demeanor, Annual Bluegrass has traveled with people from its Eurasian home to establish in every continent. In America, Sereno Watson found it in the Great Basin Desert of Utah and Nevada during the 1872 exploration of the fortieth parallel. He “collected [it] on stream-banks in cañons (sic) near roads traveled only by teams of woodmen” –Watson (King 1872: xli). Continue reading →

Weeds–Nature’s Emergency Technicians: No. 1. Alkali Heliotrope

Weeds are the most dynamic members of the botanical world. The many ways they disperse their seeds and smite their competitors are often unexpected and enlightening. Weeds’ ability to colonize and thrive in damaged and hostile environments suggests that they will be the plants that survive the Anthropocene. Some weeds will make fine companions for any of us that survive, but some weeds would be inimical to humans and other animals. Continue reading →

Weeds–Nature’s Emergency Technicians: Alkali Heliotrope

Weeds are the most dynamic members of the botanical world. The many ways they disperse their seeds and smite their competitors are often unexpected and enlightening. Weeds’ ability to colonize and thrive in damaged and hostile environments suggests that they will be the plants that survive the Anthropocene. Some weeds will make fine companions for any of us that survive, but some weeds would be inimical to humans and other animals. Continue reading →

European Glyphosate Safety Report Copy-Pasted Monsanto Study

"Whether this is a question of negligence or intent, it is completely unacceptable for government bodies to pass off industry analysis as their own," Achterberg said. "It calls into question the entire EU pesticide approval process. If regulators rely on the industry's evaluation of the science without doing their own assessment, the decision whether pesticides are deemed safe or not is effectively in the industry's hands. Voting against glyphosate is the last opportunity our governments have to fulfill their duty to protect us from this dangerous chemical." Continue reading →

Illegal Pot Farms Are Fouling California Waterways with Banned Pesticides

"The presence of potentially deadly pollutants in eight Northern and Central California watersheds is the latest sign of damage to the environment from thousands of illegal cannabis plantations, many of them run by drug cartels serving customers in other states, according to law enforcement" --Reuters. Continue reading →

Invasive species shift Great Lakes ecosystems – Summit County Citizens Voice

Many times, the only effective means to eliminate an invasive species is the application of manual labor: catching, pulling, or mowing. Continue reading →

Did Monsanto Write Malawi’s Seed Policy?

"It is a chilling revelation that the seed policy was authored by an ex-Monsanto employee," said Blessings Chinsinga, Chancellor College professor, when I told him this news.

Indeed. It is difficult to imagine a more egregious conflict of interest than allowing a seed company executive to write a government policy that threatens to outlaw farmers' saving and exchanging of seeds in order to open new markets for his company. Continue reading →

Ask your Governor to Stop Monsanto’s Deceptive Marketing

Glyphosate destroys bacteria in the human gut and, therefore, is a major contributor to disease. Disturbing the microbiota can contribute to a whole host of “21st century diseases,” including diabetes, obesity, food allergies, heart disease, antibiotic-resistant infections, cancer, asthma, autism, irritable bowel syndrome, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and more. Continue reading →

Weed killer designed to save farms is devastating them

"Critics say that the herbicide [Dicamba-system] was approved by federal officials without enough data, particularly on the critical question of whether it could drift off target. Government officials and manufacturers Monsanto and BASF deny the charge, saying the system worked as Congress designed it." --Caitlin Dewey Continue reading →