Monday, June 7, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
About the new regulations for the Chesapeake Watershed and its effect on lawn care
“New” standards for lawn care that may come as a result of enforcement of water quality rules might make it easier to care for a lawn and at the same time have a lawn that is safe for pets and small children.
In the Victorian times that many people have nostalgia for in Currier and Ives prints and such; lawns had tiny flowers. Violets and clover plants and even dandelions grew along with grass.
The chemical industry knew that the nerve gas they stockpiled in case it was needed for chemical warfare would, if used in smaller quantity, kill insects without causing much harm to humans. After WWII the chemistry used to produce nerve gas for chemical warfare was converted for insecticide, herbicides and chemical agriculture. At around the same time power mowers started to replace hand push mowers. A new lawn care industry was born and the old Victorian lawn standard began to fall to favor "modern" force fed lawns that looked more like outdoor carpeting than real plants.
If you are willing to accept a few tiny flowers, clover, in the springtime dandelions and also cut your grass long enough to have a leaf to produce the nutrients it needs and leave the cuttings in the lawn; your lawn will need no fertilizer or poisons to kill insects and weeds. Your lawn will be healthy and grow well mostly on its own. In my experience the Japanese Beetles will affect your neighbor's around you that use chemicals and ignore your lawn. Just check the ph and add limestone to bring it up if necessary.
The lawn care industry exists almost entirely for the purpose of selling petro chemicals. You don’t need to have the fake lawns that petro chemical industry says that you need.
And you can eat the dandelion in a salad; it won’t have harmful petro chemicals in it that were derived from nerve gas.
The Daily Local (dailylocal.com), Serving Chester County, PA
Lawsuit settlement to change rules, enforcement for local water quality
Changes expected in Chester County municipalities linked to Chesapeake Bay watershed
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
By ANNE PICKERING, Staff Writer
In the Victorian times that many people have nostalgia for in Currier and Ives prints and such; lawns had tiny flowers. Violets and clover plants and even dandelions grew along with grass.
The chemical industry knew that the nerve gas they stockpiled in case it was needed for chemical warfare would, if used in smaller quantity, kill insects without causing much harm to humans. After WWII the chemistry used to produce nerve gas for chemical warfare was converted for insecticide, herbicides and chemical agriculture. At around the same time power mowers started to replace hand push mowers. A new lawn care industry was born and the old Victorian lawn standard began to fall to favor "modern" force fed lawns that looked more like outdoor carpeting than real plants.
If you are willing to accept a few tiny flowers, clover, in the springtime dandelions and also cut your grass long enough to have a leaf to produce the nutrients it needs and leave the cuttings in the lawn; your lawn will need no fertilizer or poisons to kill insects and weeds. Your lawn will be healthy and grow well mostly on its own. In my experience the Japanese Beetles will affect your neighbor's around you that use chemicals and ignore your lawn. Just check the ph and add limestone to bring it up if necessary.
The lawn care industry exists almost entirely for the purpose of selling petro chemicals. You don’t need to have the fake lawns that petro chemical industry says that you need.
And you can eat the dandelion in a salad; it won’t have harmful petro chemicals in it that were derived from nerve gas.
The Daily Local (dailylocal.com), Serving Chester County, PA
Lawsuit settlement to change rules, enforcement for local water quality
Changes expected in Chester County municipalities linked to Chesapeake Bay watershed
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
By ANNE PICKERING, Staff Writer
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Dam Removal on the Manatawny Creek in Pottstown
Dam removal does not only benefit fish migration. It also restores habitat.
Only a few months after the orphaned dam on the Manatawny Creek in Pottstown was removed the macro invertebrate (aquatic insect) population began to rebound. We found Stoneflies a few hundred feet upstream of the former dam site. It was previously a too warm, low oxygen, muddy bottom (dead) area of the water. Stoneflies are generally a more sensitive aquatic insect than Mayflies.
Restoring America’s Rivers: Preparing for the Future from American Rivers on Vimeo.
Only a few months after the orphaned dam on the Manatawny Creek in Pottstown was removed the macro invertebrate (aquatic insect) population began to rebound. We found Stoneflies a few hundred feet upstream of the former dam site. It was previously a too warm, low oxygen, muddy bottom (dead) area of the water. Stoneflies are generally a more sensitive aquatic insect than Mayflies.
Faith Zerbe of Riverkeeper Network
Manatawny Stonefly
Dam removal is a public safety project not just to decrease the danger of floods but also to prevent accidental drowning. The majority of drowning deaths in flowing water locally have been at dam sites.
Dam removal is a public safety project not just to decrease the danger of floods but also to prevent accidental drowning. The majority of drowning deaths in flowing water locally have been at dam sites.
Restoring America’s Rivers: Preparing for the Future from American Rivers on Vimeo.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Belize
My brother Joe is in Belize right now. This photo is of Joe with a bonefish from January of 2005.
Friday, April 30, 2010
The Russians are Coming-with explosive liquefied gas and/or will hydrofracking ruin our drinking water
There are no easy answers to heating with gas.
The Sparrows Point large-scale liquefied natural gas marine import terminal all by itself could be a disaster. The liquefied natural gas tankers have been called “floating bombs” with the explosive potential of a Hiroshima sized atomic bomb sans-radiation. A large scale leak could also “fast freeze” a large area at −260 °F.
Drilling in Pennsylvania’s forests for natural gas is both an environmental problem and could endanger water supplies.
Gas pipelines themselves have exploded with deadly results.
If we are going to use natural gas there are no easy answers.
In order to minimize the risk, very strict regulations with strong teeth are a must. But right now we have soft regulations and an extremely sparse regulatory staff.
Have a glass of methane
Danger at our doorstep
LNG storage facilities outside Baltimore and Washington would be tempting targets
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Activeion spray bottle uses water as a disinfectant
This appears to be a good product.
When we tested antiseptic cleaners at a place where I worked we started by washing down a surface with water. The chemist that was there said, “well now you washed away all of the pathogens”.
Keep in mind that water alone will remove most pathogens by just washing them away. But you do need some kind of soap or detergent to clean some crud or stains.
Anti-bacterial hand soap can be overkill. It can kill skin friendly microorganisms.
gizmag Activeion spray bottle uses water as a disinfectant
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