Michael Jackson, the sensationally gifted child star who rose to become the "King of Pop" and the biggest celebrity in the world only to fall from his throne in a freakish series of scandals, died Thursday. He was 50. Jackson died at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. Ed Winter, the assistant chief coroner for Los Angeles County, confirmed his office had been notified of the death and would handle the investigation.
The circumstances of Jackson's death were not immediately clear. Jackson was not breathing when Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics responded to a call at his Los Angeles home about 12:30 p.m., Capt. Steve Ruda told the Los Angeles Times. The paramedics performed CPR and took him to UCLA Medical Center, Ruda told the newspaper.
Jackson's death brought a tragic end to a long, bizarre, sometimes farcical decline from his peak in the 1980s, when he was popular music's premier all-around performer, a uniter of black and white music who shattered the race barrier on MTV, dominated the charts and dazzled even more on stage.
His 1982 album "Thriller" _ which included the blockbuster hits "Beat It," "Billie Jean" and "Thriller" _ remains the biggest-selling album of all time, with more than 100 million copies worldwide.
The public first knew him in the late 1960s, when as a boy he was the precocious, spinning lead singer of the Jackson 5, the music group he formed with his four older brothers. Among their No. 1 hits were "I Want You Back," "ABC," and "I'll Be There."
He was perhaps the most exciting performer of his generation, known for his feverish, crotch-grabbing dance moves and his high-pitched voice punctuated with squeals and titters. His single sequined glove, tight, military-style jacket and aviator sunglasses were trademarks second only to his ever-changing, surgically altered appearance.
"For Michael to be taken away from us so suddenly at such a young age, I just don't have the words," said Quincy Jones, who produced "Thriller." "He was the consummate entertainer and his contributions and legacy will be felt upon the world forever. I've lost my little brother today, and part of my soul has gone with him."
Jackson ranked alongside Elvis Presley and the Beatles as the biggest pop sensations of all time. In fact, he united two of music's biggest names when he was briefly married to Presley's daughter, Lisa Marie.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
No Need to Oversimplify Poverty
Bill Easterly takes a complex problem, African poverty, and tries to reduce it to a single factor: "the consensus among most academic economists is that destructive governments rather than destructive geography explain the poverty of nations." This is a strange assertion. Geography and government policies both matter.
The idea that geography affects economic performance is an old one. Easterly and some other economists have taken a particular position about the relationship between geography and development. They too have recognized the high correlation of a country's poverty with being in a malaria-transmission region, or being landlocked, or being in an ecological zone leading to low food productivity. Those correlations after all are powerful, as recently shown again by Prof. William Nordhaus of Yale , in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Easterly and the others, however, have made a very unusual argument: yes, the correlations are there, but only for historical reasons. Bad geography two centuries ago led colonial powers to adopt exploitative political and economic institutions in the adversely affected regions. The adverse geography itself is no longer important, Easterly and his colleagues have claimed, but the adverse political and economic institutions live on nonetheless.
Specialists in many fields, inside economics and beyond, disagree strongly with this way of thinking. They believe that various dimensions of geography were important in the past, and are still important directly today. A region that suffers from malaria today, whether because of its tropical climate or the species of its mosquitoes, is hindered in development not only because it has poor institutions inherited from 1820, but because it has malaria, which kills and disables children, discourages public and private investments, and hinders economies in many other ways. A recent academic study by Kai Carstensen and Erich Gundlach, published in the World Bank Economic Review in 2006, made this point powerfully and directly: "After controlling for institutional quality, malaria prevalence is found to cause quantitatively negative effects on income."
Adam Smith, the pioneer of market economics, knew about the direct role of geography in affecting transport and trade all the way back in 1776. Even though the main purpose of the Wealth of Nations was to discuss the implications of economic policy and the division of labor on economic wealth, Smith also emphasized the role of geography in affecting national wealth. He cited Africa as a region suffering from especially high transport costs and therefore poor economic development:
There are in Africa none of those great inlets, such as the Baltic and Adriatic seas in Europe, the Mediterranean and Euxine [Black] seas in both Europe and Asia, and the gulfs of Arabia, Persia, India, Bengal, and Siam, in Asia, to carry maritime commerce into the interior parts of that great continent: and the great rivers of Africa are at too great a distance from one another to give occasion to any considerable inland navigation.
More recently, Paul Collier in The Bottom Billion, as well as my colleagues and I in several studies, have shown that being landlocked and far from the coast continues to be a major hindrance to participating in certain kinds of international trade, especially for manufacturing exports. This is seen powerfully in sectors like apparel and other assembly exports, where semi-processed goods are imported from abroad, further processed, and then re-exported. It is very disadvantageous in general to set up such export operations in landlocked countries or far from ports or major markets. Collier emphasizes the special difficulty for a poor landlocked country that is surrounded by poor neighbors. The nearby markets are insufficient to generate much trade, and participation in globe trade is very hard. As Collier puts it, landlocked countries are "hostages to their neighbors."
When it comes to agriculture, the geography-based problems of water are often paramount. The Green Revolution in Asia, which helped to trigger long-term economic growth in India and other countries, depended heavily on irrigation from the massive rivers systems of the region. In dry land areas with much higher costs of irrigation, the Green Revolution has been much harder to achieve. It may not be impossible, but the costs of entry for poor dry land countries are very high. The result can be low farm productivity, chronic rural poverty, and often no escape from extreme deprivation.
Bill Easterly seems not to want to be bothered by the details of irrigation-based versus rain-fed agriculture, or the types of mosquito species in Africa, or the implications of being landlocked for international trade, or the effects of a dry climate and high costs of irrigation on food production in poor rural areas. He seems to prefer a one-factor solution. He is not alone among economists in ignoring these "details," but this is nonetheless an odd approach scientifically, especially when dealing with a complex system like an economy. When biologists deal with a complex system like the human body, they know that thousands of particular causes - even one single change of base pair in the genetic code - can cause crippling diseases or deaths. They are attentive to the large number of possible causes and their interactions, rather than claiming as the ancients once did that disease is the result of an imbalance of the four bodily humours. The key is to use a "differential diagnosis" to ascertain the causes underlying a specific situation, rather than assuming that a problem like poverty has a single cause.
Sub-Saharan Africa faces a constellation of special challenges, with greater or lesser impact in different parts of the region, including: a climate and ecology especially burdened by infectious diseases such as p. falciparum malaria and other vector-borne diseases; a rain-fed agriculture, much of it in sub-humid or arid zones that are prone to drought; high overland transport costs, including the greatest number of landlocked countries of any continent and a relative paucity of ocean-navigable rivers; low population densities in rural areas, characteristic of many rainforest and dry ecosystems, which make rural infrastructure relatively expensive; a historical legacy of colonial rule in which the colonial powers left behind relatively little infrastructure; and of course challenges of bad governance like Mr. Mugabe of Zimbabwe. These challenges should be addressed forthrightly and in an integrated manner.It's just bad science, and offensive, to read in Easterly's blog that I offer "a bizarre geographic theory of Africa's poverty and [am] oblivious to the bad governments that many courageous dissenters have fought at great sacrifice." The geographic factors are not "bizarre," and I have never been oblivious to the tremendous costs that can be caused by bad governments. In the End of Poverty (p. 194) I wrote "I visited Zimbabwe several times, and saw Robert Mugabe's depredations firsthand. Zimbabwe is a case where the traditional explanation of miserable rule is a sufficient explanation for a country's ills (although the nation no doubt suffers from other serious problems as well)." I have always pointed to geography and good governance as complementary factors, not a choice of one or the other.Complex systems, in summary, require explanations that acknowledge complexity. An economy is affected by many factors: its proximity to trade, resource base, climate, history, social divisions, as well as government policies. A true economic science treats the economy with the care and sophistication that biologists treat an organism or that ecologists treat an ecosystem. Single-factor explanations for poverty take us back to pre-scientific realms and ways of thinking that are counterproductive for solving real problems.
The idea that geography affects economic performance is an old one. Easterly and some other economists have taken a particular position about the relationship between geography and development. They too have recognized the high correlation of a country's poverty with being in a malaria-transmission region, or being landlocked, or being in an ecological zone leading to low food productivity. Those correlations after all are powerful, as recently shown again by Prof. William Nordhaus of Yale , in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Easterly and the others, however, have made a very unusual argument: yes, the correlations are there, but only for historical reasons. Bad geography two centuries ago led colonial powers to adopt exploitative political and economic institutions in the adversely affected regions. The adverse geography itself is no longer important, Easterly and his colleagues have claimed, but the adverse political and economic institutions live on nonetheless.
Specialists in many fields, inside economics and beyond, disagree strongly with this way of thinking. They believe that various dimensions of geography were important in the past, and are still important directly today. A region that suffers from malaria today, whether because of its tropical climate or the species of its mosquitoes, is hindered in development not only because it has poor institutions inherited from 1820, but because it has malaria, which kills and disables children, discourages public and private investments, and hinders economies in many other ways. A recent academic study by Kai Carstensen and Erich Gundlach, published in the World Bank Economic Review in 2006, made this point powerfully and directly: "After controlling for institutional quality, malaria prevalence is found to cause quantitatively negative effects on income."
Adam Smith, the pioneer of market economics, knew about the direct role of geography in affecting transport and trade all the way back in 1776. Even though the main purpose of the Wealth of Nations was to discuss the implications of economic policy and the division of labor on economic wealth, Smith also emphasized the role of geography in affecting national wealth. He cited Africa as a region suffering from especially high transport costs and therefore poor economic development:
There are in Africa none of those great inlets, such as the Baltic and Adriatic seas in Europe, the Mediterranean and Euxine [Black] seas in both Europe and Asia, and the gulfs of Arabia, Persia, India, Bengal, and Siam, in Asia, to carry maritime commerce into the interior parts of that great continent: and the great rivers of Africa are at too great a distance from one another to give occasion to any considerable inland navigation.
More recently, Paul Collier in The Bottom Billion, as well as my colleagues and I in several studies, have shown that being landlocked and far from the coast continues to be a major hindrance to participating in certain kinds of international trade, especially for manufacturing exports. This is seen powerfully in sectors like apparel and other assembly exports, where semi-processed goods are imported from abroad, further processed, and then re-exported. It is very disadvantageous in general to set up such export operations in landlocked countries or far from ports or major markets. Collier emphasizes the special difficulty for a poor landlocked country that is surrounded by poor neighbors. The nearby markets are insufficient to generate much trade, and participation in globe trade is very hard. As Collier puts it, landlocked countries are "hostages to their neighbors."
When it comes to agriculture, the geography-based problems of water are often paramount. The Green Revolution in Asia, which helped to trigger long-term economic growth in India and other countries, depended heavily on irrigation from the massive rivers systems of the region. In dry land areas with much higher costs of irrigation, the Green Revolution has been much harder to achieve. It may not be impossible, but the costs of entry for poor dry land countries are very high. The result can be low farm productivity, chronic rural poverty, and often no escape from extreme deprivation.
Bill Easterly seems not to want to be bothered by the details of irrigation-based versus rain-fed agriculture, or the types of mosquito species in Africa, or the implications of being landlocked for international trade, or the effects of a dry climate and high costs of irrigation on food production in poor rural areas. He seems to prefer a one-factor solution. He is not alone among economists in ignoring these "details," but this is nonetheless an odd approach scientifically, especially when dealing with a complex system like an economy. When biologists deal with a complex system like the human body, they know that thousands of particular causes - even one single change of base pair in the genetic code - can cause crippling diseases or deaths. They are attentive to the large number of possible causes and their interactions, rather than claiming as the ancients once did that disease is the result of an imbalance of the four bodily humours. The key is to use a "differential diagnosis" to ascertain the causes underlying a specific situation, rather than assuming that a problem like poverty has a single cause.
Sub-Saharan Africa faces a constellation of special challenges, with greater or lesser impact in different parts of the region, including: a climate and ecology especially burdened by infectious diseases such as p. falciparum malaria and other vector-borne diseases; a rain-fed agriculture, much of it in sub-humid or arid zones that are prone to drought; high overland transport costs, including the greatest number of landlocked countries of any continent and a relative paucity of ocean-navigable rivers; low population densities in rural areas, characteristic of many rainforest and dry ecosystems, which make rural infrastructure relatively expensive; a historical legacy of colonial rule in which the colonial powers left behind relatively little infrastructure; and of course challenges of bad governance like Mr. Mugabe of Zimbabwe. These challenges should be addressed forthrightly and in an integrated manner.It's just bad science, and offensive, to read in Easterly's blog that I offer "a bizarre geographic theory of Africa's poverty and [am] oblivious to the bad governments that many courageous dissenters have fought at great sacrifice." The geographic factors are not "bizarre," and I have never been oblivious to the tremendous costs that can be caused by bad governments. In the End of Poverty (p. 194) I wrote "I visited Zimbabwe several times, and saw Robert Mugabe's depredations firsthand. Zimbabwe is a case where the traditional explanation of miserable rule is a sufficient explanation for a country's ills (although the nation no doubt suffers from other serious problems as well)." I have always pointed to geography and good governance as complementary factors, not a choice of one or the other.Complex systems, in summary, require explanations that acknowledge complexity. An economy is affected by many factors: its proximity to trade, resource base, climate, history, social divisions, as well as government policies. A true economic science treats the economy with the care and sophistication that biologists treat an organism or that ecologists treat an ecosystem. Single-factor explanations for poverty take us back to pre-scientific realms and ways of thinking that are counterproductive for solving real problems.
Ecological balance in northern region under threat following withdrawal of waters of common rivers
The ecological balance in five districts of Rangpur region is under severe threat because of unilateral withdrawal of waters of common rivers by India, official concerned feared.They said as an impact of ecological imbalance, the region is facing unprecedented floods, drought, desertification and arsenic contamination, which might fasten the causes of degradation, experienced circle said demanding anonymity.They said unilateral withdrawal of waters of the common rivers by neighbouring India is the main reason of destroying ecological imbalance, they said. They added if the present situation is continued going, the human habitat in the region might be relocated in near future.They said the flash floods, which are visiting the region every year, is not only due to heave rains, but also due to release of huge waters by India during the rainy season through their barrages. The flow of the rivers is also being disrupted because of withdrawal in upstream during the lean season causing drought in the region, the circle viewed.Meanwhile, India is constructing more structures for controlling flow of the common rivers, which made the rivers flow less when enter into Bangladesh.According to survey reports, underground water level in Rangpur region has going down by 30 to 80 feet during the past two decades. Hundreds of trees are dying during the lean season because of inadequate moisture in the soil of the region. "If water flow through the round the year, the situation might improve," said the circle, adding it is only possible if India refrain from withdrawing waters of the common rivers
Grocery shopping part II: 10 compelling reasons to buy organic
Why should you go organic? Here are 10 compelling reasons to put down the conventional products...
1. Keep chemicals off your plate. Pesticides are poisons designed to kill living organisms and thus are harmful to humans. Many EPA-approved pesticides were registered long before extensive research linked these chemicals to cancer, autoimmune diseases and a host of other malfunctions in the body. Want to know the EXACT chemicals on your foods? Search whatsonmyfood.com for your favorite fruits and vegetables.
2. Help lose weight. Toxins in the body make it diffcult for our metabolism to function optimally from interupting the thryoid function to affecting hormone levels.
3. Protect future generations. Children are four times more sensitive to exposure to cancer-causing pesticides in foods than adults.
4. Protect water quality. The EPA estimates that pesticides pollute the public’s primary source of drinking water for more than half the country's population.
5. Organic farmers work in harmony with nature. Three billion tons of topsoil is eroded from croplands in the U.S. each year, and much of it is due to conventional farming practices, which often ignore the health of the soil. Organic agriculture respects the balance necessary for a healthy ecosystem; wildlife is encouraged by including forage crops in rotation and by retaining fencerows, wetlands and other natural areas.
5. Save energy. More energy is now used to produce synthetic fertilizers than to till, cultivate and harvest all the crops in the US.
7. Support a true economy. Organic foods might seem expensive at first. However, your tax dollars pay for hazardous waste clean-up and environmental damage caused by conventional farming.
8. Mineral Rich Soil. Planting large plots of land with the same crop year after year tripled farm production between 1950 and 1970, but the lack of natural diversity of plant life has negatively affected soil quality, leaving mineral levels extremely low. MInerals are crucial for the body to function optimally.
9. Nourishment. Organic farming starts with the nourishment of the soil, in turn producing nourishing plants. Well-balanced soil produces strong, healthy plants that have more nutrients than conventionally grown produce.
10. Flavor. Organic produce simply tastes better. Conduct your own taste test!
Check out Urban Organics, a New York organic produce and grocery delivery service
1. Keep chemicals off your plate. Pesticides are poisons designed to kill living organisms and thus are harmful to humans. Many EPA-approved pesticides were registered long before extensive research linked these chemicals to cancer, autoimmune diseases and a host of other malfunctions in the body. Want to know the EXACT chemicals on your foods? Search whatsonmyfood.com for your favorite fruits and vegetables.
2. Help lose weight. Toxins in the body make it diffcult for our metabolism to function optimally from interupting the thryoid function to affecting hormone levels.
3. Protect future generations. Children are four times more sensitive to exposure to cancer-causing pesticides in foods than adults.
4. Protect water quality. The EPA estimates that pesticides pollute the public’s primary source of drinking water for more than half the country's population.
5. Organic farmers work in harmony with nature. Three billion tons of topsoil is eroded from croplands in the U.S. each year, and much of it is due to conventional farming practices, which often ignore the health of the soil. Organic agriculture respects the balance necessary for a healthy ecosystem; wildlife is encouraged by including forage crops in rotation and by retaining fencerows, wetlands and other natural areas.
5. Save energy. More energy is now used to produce synthetic fertilizers than to till, cultivate and harvest all the crops in the US.
7. Support a true economy. Organic foods might seem expensive at first. However, your tax dollars pay for hazardous waste clean-up and environmental damage caused by conventional farming.
8. Mineral Rich Soil. Planting large plots of land with the same crop year after year tripled farm production between 1950 and 1970, but the lack of natural diversity of plant life has negatively affected soil quality, leaving mineral levels extremely low. MInerals are crucial for the body to function optimally.
9. Nourishment. Organic farming starts with the nourishment of the soil, in turn producing nourishing plants. Well-balanced soil produces strong, healthy plants that have more nutrients than conventionally grown produce.
10. Flavor. Organic produce simply tastes better. Conduct your own taste test!
Check out Urban Organics, a New York organic produce and grocery delivery service
Should Rochester parents feed their kids organic or locally grown foods?
In Rochester, thankfully, you don't have to choose.
Wegmans has announced their brand new blog. Its purpose is to "share our experiment with organic farming." It also provides news from local growers. A lot of the organic foods you find in Wegmans come straight from their organic farm near Canandaigua Lake.
This is community whose major supermarket retailer is dedicated to providing the community with fresh, nutritious, organic foods. There are also a plethora of farms dedicated to producing organic food: organic dairy farms, fruit farms, etc. However, organic produce can be hard on the wallet. Local farmers who do not farm organically provide wonderful, tasty and nutritious foods as well. NO consumer should feel bad about purchasing from their neighborhood farmer.
What exactly IS organic food?
Simply put, it is food that was grown without the assistance of chemicals or pesticides.
What qualifies as "locally grown" food?
Food that was harvested within a 50 to 100 mile radius from where you live.
Which is better for my family?
The debate is out on that. Some argue that local produce, even if not organically grown, holds onto more of its nutritional value because it is fresher. Also, the environmental impact of transporting food across the country is more significant than spraying crops with chemicals. Locally grown food tastes better and scientists have not proven that chemicals sprayed on crop have any negative long-term effects on people.
However, if it comes out that chemical and pesticides have long-term, negative side-effects, organic foods win hands down! In the meantime, what to feed your kids?
If you can afford it, buy local organic foods. If that just seems out of your price range, buy from your local farmer. Always wash your fruits and veggies thoroughly with water to remove chemical residue. If local consumers continue to buy from local farmers, they will have a greater impact on the local economy AND will have significant impact in help farmers decide to go organic.
It's strawberry season, people. Go buy some strawberries!!!
Further reading on the subject:
Wegmans Farm Blog
Eating Better than Organic
This or that: Local vs. Organic Food
Wegmans has announced their brand new blog. Its purpose is to "share our experiment with organic farming." It also provides news from local growers. A lot of the organic foods you find in Wegmans come straight from their organic farm near Canandaigua Lake.
This is community whose major supermarket retailer is dedicated to providing the community with fresh, nutritious, organic foods. There are also a plethora of farms dedicated to producing organic food: organic dairy farms, fruit farms, etc. However, organic produce can be hard on the wallet. Local farmers who do not farm organically provide wonderful, tasty and nutritious foods as well. NO consumer should feel bad about purchasing from their neighborhood farmer.
What exactly IS organic food?
Simply put, it is food that was grown without the assistance of chemicals or pesticides.
What qualifies as "locally grown" food?
Food that was harvested within a 50 to 100 mile radius from where you live.
Which is better for my family?
The debate is out on that. Some argue that local produce, even if not organically grown, holds onto more of its nutritional value because it is fresher. Also, the environmental impact of transporting food across the country is more significant than spraying crops with chemicals. Locally grown food tastes better and scientists have not proven that chemicals sprayed on crop have any negative long-term effects on people.
However, if it comes out that chemical and pesticides have long-term, negative side-effects, organic foods win hands down! In the meantime, what to feed your kids?
If you can afford it, buy local organic foods. If that just seems out of your price range, buy from your local farmer. Always wash your fruits and veggies thoroughly with water to remove chemical residue. If local consumers continue to buy from local farmers, they will have a greater impact on the local economy AND will have significant impact in help farmers decide to go organic.
It's strawberry season, people. Go buy some strawberries!!!
Further reading on the subject:
Wegmans Farm Blog
Eating Better than Organic
This or that: Local vs. Organic Food
A Voice of Echo Agriculture
Acres U.S.A., the monthly magazine
Acres U.S.A. is North America's oldest, largest magazine covering commercial-scale organic and sustainable farming ... subscribe now and receive Acres U.S.A. monthly by mail. Read some of our current issue below.
Subscribe to Acres U.S.A.
Free Sample Issue
Give a Gift SubscriptionChange Your Mailing AddressBulk IssuesAdvertise in Acres U.S.A.Write a Letter to the EditorFeature Article Archives
June 2009Featured Articles
Use Lime to Correct Calcium Needs, Not to Correct pHA top soil consultant shares key considerations that can make the difference between effective and ineffective — or even damaging — lime applications.
Increasing Winter Stockpiles & ProfitsHow holistic high density mob grazing allows this grass farmer to build healthy soil and winter graze at the same time.
Weed the Soil, Not the CropThese experienced organic growers explain in detail how changing the soil environment will in itself reduce weeds and the need for tillage.
Sustainable Hog Breeds: The WhitesSome venerable heritage breeds are examined for their suitability to today's natural, range-based hog grower.
Don't Believe the Hype!A renowned cowman explains why the use of line-breeding to create a predictable paternal gene pool is crucial to our national — and international — cattle herds.
Sustainable Sorghum Syrup Production in Mid-OhioThis Ohio sorghum grower produces a great niche crop every October and an excellent value-added product every March.
The Biochemical Sequence of Plant NutritionAfter being taken up by plants, minerals set up a kind of nutritional chain reaction, with each element in the sequence activating an element that follows.
Seeds: More Precious than Gold or OilWhy saving seed has become critical in an age of GMOs and industrial agriculture.
June 2009Columns
Interview — Charles Benbrook: Policy, Science & Organic AgricultureThe chief scientist for the Organic Center shares stories from behind the scenes in his longtime quest to win hearts and minds in the battle for a healthy, sustainable food system.
Eco-UpdateEco-ag news from around the world.
OpinionCommentary on vital issues affecting organic and sustainable farmers.
Transitions"Certified Organic Industry News"
Eco-Gardener"A 'Recycled' Greenhouse!" by Anne Van Nest
Health & Healing"Pandemics & Swine Flu" by Dr. Michael W. Fox
The Natural Vet"Staying out of Trouble" by C. Edgar Sheaffer, V.M.D. & Bonnie M. Sheaffer, R.N.
Books & InformationReviews of new eco-farming literature
Acres U.S.A. ZipsLetters to the editor
Eco-ResourcesA roundup of eco-suppliers
Eco-MeetingsEco-farming meetings and events across North America
The Last WordEssays and parting shots
Acres U.S.A. is North America's oldest, largest magazine covering commercial-scale organic and sustainable farming ... subscribe now and receive Acres U.S.A. monthly by mail. Read some of our current issue below.
Subscribe to Acres U.S.A.
Free Sample Issue
Give a Gift SubscriptionChange Your Mailing AddressBulk IssuesAdvertise in Acres U.S.A.Write a Letter to the EditorFeature Article Archives
June 2009Featured Articles
Use Lime to Correct Calcium Needs, Not to Correct pHA top soil consultant shares key considerations that can make the difference between effective and ineffective — or even damaging — lime applications.
Increasing Winter Stockpiles & ProfitsHow holistic high density mob grazing allows this grass farmer to build healthy soil and winter graze at the same time.
Weed the Soil, Not the CropThese experienced organic growers explain in detail how changing the soil environment will in itself reduce weeds and the need for tillage.
Sustainable Hog Breeds: The WhitesSome venerable heritage breeds are examined for their suitability to today's natural, range-based hog grower.
Don't Believe the Hype!A renowned cowman explains why the use of line-breeding to create a predictable paternal gene pool is crucial to our national — and international — cattle herds.
Sustainable Sorghum Syrup Production in Mid-OhioThis Ohio sorghum grower produces a great niche crop every October and an excellent value-added product every March.
The Biochemical Sequence of Plant NutritionAfter being taken up by plants, minerals set up a kind of nutritional chain reaction, with each element in the sequence activating an element that follows.
Seeds: More Precious than Gold or OilWhy saving seed has become critical in an age of GMOs and industrial agriculture.
June 2009Columns
Interview — Charles Benbrook: Policy, Science & Organic AgricultureThe chief scientist for the Organic Center shares stories from behind the scenes in his longtime quest to win hearts and minds in the battle for a healthy, sustainable food system.
Eco-UpdateEco-ag news from around the world.
OpinionCommentary on vital issues affecting organic and sustainable farmers.
Transitions"Certified Organic Industry News"
Eco-Gardener"A 'Recycled' Greenhouse!" by Anne Van Nest
Health & Healing"Pandemics & Swine Flu" by Dr. Michael W. Fox
The Natural Vet"Staying out of Trouble" by C. Edgar Sheaffer, V.M.D. & Bonnie M. Sheaffer, R.N.
Books & InformationReviews of new eco-farming literature
Acres U.S.A. ZipsLetters to the editor
Eco-ResourcesA roundup of eco-suppliers
Eco-MeetingsEco-farming meetings and events across North America
The Last WordEssays and parting shots
Sustainable Harvest International
For $25 you can plant a forest and feed a family.
Sustainable Harvest International provides struggling families in Central America with the technical assistance and materials they need to plant a variety of trees together with other crops such as coffee, cocoa, bananas, vanilla and ginger in an integrated system that provides food and income while protecting the environment. You can support a family's ongoing participation in the SHI program by clicking here and making a donation of $25 per month. If you would like to know more, keep reading.
The Problem: The world's tropical forests are being lost at an alarming rate, largely due to agricultural expansion. This loss is resulting in the extinction of native plant and animal species, a net increase in greenhouse gases that contribute to global climate change, increased soil erosion, drought and flooding. This environmental degradation forces farmers to clear even more land to grow food for their families.The Solution: Sustainable Harvest InternationalA $25 donation to SHI provides a family with the training, tools and support to plant 100 trees!
Founded in 1997 by Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Florence Reed, Sustainable Harvest International (SHI) addresses the tropical deforestation crisis by providing farmers with sustainable alternatives to slash-and-burnagriculture. SHI facilitates long-term collaboration among trained local staff, farmers and communities to implement sustainable land-use practices that alleviate poverty by restoring ecological stability.
SHI works with local farmers, cooperatives, environmental organizations and indigenous groups that invite us into their communities. We provide these groups with long-term assistance adopting sustainable land-use practices such as reforestation, agro-forestry and organic farming. These practices allow rural people to raise their standard of living while planting trees, rather than clearing forest.
The more than 1,100 families working with SHI have planted more than two million trees and converted thousands of acres of degraded land to sustainable land-use practices, thereby saving tens of thousands of acres of tropical forest from slash-and-burn farming. Participating families enjoy increased income (up to 800%) from alternative cash crops as well as better health due to greater and more varied food crop production.
Rather than contributing to rainforest destruction, SHI participants are preserving forests and planting trees on degraded land. They are taking control of their environmental and economic destinies.
The vital work of Sustainable Harvest International must continue. Although SHI has accomplished a great deal, more remains to be done.
SHI constantly receives requests from new families, communities and organizations in other countries asking us to help them make their hope for a sustainable future a reality. We would love to help them, but we need increased financial support to make their dreams a reality.
Sustainable Harvest International's success has been made possible by a growing number of friends around the world who provide the funding to carry out our work. In order to keep our commitments to our existing participants and to reach new ones, however, Sustainable Harvest International urgently needs new financial support.
Working with SHI, you can change a desert into an oasis and hunger into plenty. I hope you will accept my offer to help create sustainable forests, food and income for some of the world's most economically disadvantaged people.
Sustainable Harvest International provides struggling families in Central America with the technical assistance and materials they need to plant a variety of trees together with other crops such as coffee, cocoa, bananas, vanilla and ginger in an integrated system that provides food and income while protecting the environment. You can support a family's ongoing participation in the SHI program by clicking here and making a donation of $25 per month. If you would like to know more, keep reading.
The Problem: The world's tropical forests are being lost at an alarming rate, largely due to agricultural expansion. This loss is resulting in the extinction of native plant and animal species, a net increase in greenhouse gases that contribute to global climate change, increased soil erosion, drought and flooding. This environmental degradation forces farmers to clear even more land to grow food for their families.The Solution: Sustainable Harvest InternationalA $25 donation to SHI provides a family with the training, tools and support to plant 100 trees!
Founded in 1997 by Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Florence Reed, Sustainable Harvest International (SHI) addresses the tropical deforestation crisis by providing farmers with sustainable alternatives to slash-and-burnagriculture. SHI facilitates long-term collaboration among trained local staff, farmers and communities to implement sustainable land-use practices that alleviate poverty by restoring ecological stability.
SHI works with local farmers, cooperatives, environmental organizations and indigenous groups that invite us into their communities. We provide these groups with long-term assistance adopting sustainable land-use practices such as reforestation, agro-forestry and organic farming. These practices allow rural people to raise their standard of living while planting trees, rather than clearing forest.
The more than 1,100 families working with SHI have planted more than two million trees and converted thousands of acres of degraded land to sustainable land-use practices, thereby saving tens of thousands of acres of tropical forest from slash-and-burn farming. Participating families enjoy increased income (up to 800%) from alternative cash crops as well as better health due to greater and more varied food crop production.
Rather than contributing to rainforest destruction, SHI participants are preserving forests and planting trees on degraded land. They are taking control of their environmental and economic destinies.
The vital work of Sustainable Harvest International must continue. Although SHI has accomplished a great deal, more remains to be done.
SHI constantly receives requests from new families, communities and organizations in other countries asking us to help them make their hope for a sustainable future a reality. We would love to help them, but we need increased financial support to make their dreams a reality.
Sustainable Harvest International's success has been made possible by a growing number of friends around the world who provide the funding to carry out our work. In order to keep our commitments to our existing participants and to reach new ones, however, Sustainable Harvest International urgently needs new financial support.
Working with SHI, you can change a desert into an oasis and hunger into plenty. I hope you will accept my offer to help create sustainable forests, food and income for some of the world's most economically disadvantaged people.
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