Local And Organic Is Not Sustainable

To feed the world's people you need industrial agriculture. It is a matter of scale.

Must reading for people who think the local food movement will solve all of our agricultural problems.

MJ: Spoiled: Organic and Local Is So 2008

Consider what it would take to make our farm system entirely organic. The only reason industrial organic agriculture can get away with replenishing its soils with manure or by planting nitrogen-fixing cover crops is that the industry is so tiny—making up less than 3 percent of the US food supply (and just 5.3 percent even in gung-ho green cultures like Austria's). If we wanted to rid the world of synthetic fertilizer use—and assuming dietary habits remain constant—the extra land we'd need for cover crops or forage (to feed the animals to make the manure) would more than double, possibly triple, the current area of farmland, according to Vaclav Smil, an environmental scientist at the University of Manitoba. Such an expansion, Smil notes, "would require complete elimination of all tropical rainforests, conversion of a large part of tropical and subtropical grasslands to cropland, and the return of a substantial share of the labor force to field farming—making this clearly only a theoretical notion."

The Palins

I feel bad for the family. But choices have consequences.

MSNBC: Bristol Palin and fiancé split

Are the conservatives who lauded the choices made by Bristol in interviews during the Republican Presidential Convention still happy with her decisions now I wonder?

MJ: Sarah Palin: More Earmark Hypocrisy

Using Gasified Wood In Your Truck

A neighbor of mine runs their truck on wood in the summer months.

For a how-to See MEN: Mother's Woodburning Truck: After 1,500 miles of free-fuel driving, we found that you can run a truck using firewood for fuel. This article includes detailed diagrams, photographs and how the wood/gas generator was constructed.

Rescuing Huskies

A husky can be a great dog but do not get one unless you can give it one hour of exercise every day, and a lot more at least once a week. Although I have never been a fan of pure breed dogs and like the husky-shepherd mix best of all.

But it is sad when people buy a puppy expecting one thing and then are confronted by reality.

See: AdoptAHusky.com

Via MLive: Too many Siberian huskies end up in shelters

I will confess that for years, I have harbored a secret fantasy about owning a Siberian husky. Granted, I'm a romantic. I love their look, their spirit, their sense of adventure. I figured owning one would bring out my Jack London rather than my Elmer Fudd.

But the fact that I don't have one is finally OK. My visit with the Michigan Dog Drivers Association last weekend affirmed what I also secretly knew. Anyone can wish for one. But it takes a special person to own one and do it well.

Reminds Me Of "Those Who Write The History Books..."

Funny but true at BalloonJuice.com: The Thin Line Between Socialism and Capitalist Nirvana

The 2010 proposed rate of 39.60% = socialism.
The 2002-2008 rates of 35.00% = capitalist nirvana.
The 39.6% rate of the 1990’s = socialism.

Vinegar - There Really Is Nothing It Cannot Do

PhysOrg: Cleansing toxic waste -- with vinegar

The research team, led by Dr Doug Stewart from the School of Civil Engineering and Dr Ian Burke from the School of Earth and Environment, has discovered that adding dilute acetic acid (vinegar) to the affected site stimulates the growth of naturally-occurring bacteria by providing an attractive food source. In turn, these bacteria then cleanse the affected area by altering the chemical make-up of the chromium compounds to make them harmless.

Orange Juice Is Packed With Orange Flavors

Alissa Hamilton is promoting her book Squeezed: What You Don't Know About Orange Juice (Yale Agrarian Studies Series)

Boston.com has an interview: Q&A with Alissa Hamilton

IDEAS: What isn't straightforward about orange juice?

HAMILTON: It's a heavily processed product. It's heavily engineered as well. In the process of pasteurizing, juice is heated and stripped of oxygen, a process called deaeration, so it doesn't oxidize. Then it's put in huge storage tanks where it can be kept for upwards of a year. It gets stripped of flavor-providing chemicals, which are volatile. When it's ready for packaging, companies such as Tropicana hire flavor companies such as Firmenich to engineer flavor packs to make it taste fresh. People think not-from-concentrate is a fresher product, but it also sits in storage for quite a long time.

Via BoingBoing

Too Many Cars

A bunch of pictures of unsold cars sitting in lots around the world at Ritholtz: Unsold Cars Around the World



At some point these cars will be deeply discounted in order to be sold. At that point what happens to a person with a slightly used car? Who is going to buy a used car if there are new cars available at the same price? Eventually there will be a collapse in vehicle values and many people are going to find they owe more for their car than it is worth. Just like their house. And when energy prices start to rise again people will have more credit card debt than assets.

More images at Getty.

We Condemn In Others What We Fear Most About Ourselves

Via BB: Red states consume more porn?

According to a new Harvard Business School study, eight of the top ten states in terms of online porn consumption were ones where McCain won in the presidential election. Professor Benjamin Edelman analyzed anonymised credit cards receipts from a large online porn company. Based on their limited data, the largest consumer is Utah.

Commuter Bikes

MetaEfficient with a 2009 Commuter Bike Round-Up.

Not on their list is a bicycles I would consider for commuting duty too. Schwinn's electric assist bicycles.

Emprically Showing Conservatives Do Not Support Liberty

First, a study by George Mason University professor Daniel Klein: Conservative Magazines and the Presumption of Liberty: A Content Analysis on Sex, Gambling, and Drugs

Conservatives say they are for small government and individual liberty, but a content analysis of leading conservative magazines shows that most have preponderantly failed to take pro-liberty positions on sex, gambling, and drugs. Besides many anti-liberty commissions, the magazines may be criticized for anti-liberty omission—that is, failing to oppose anti-liberty policies.

This reminds me of a conversation I heard between two older gentleman last week. Within a span of a few minutes they complained about the United States moving towards "socialism" and they wanted Adjustable Rate Mortgages outlawed.

Or another person I know who will only vote Republican because he doesn't want to pay high taxes. Yet he has also said people who send spam faxes to fax machines should be severely punished and he wants the State to care for his autistic son when he turns 18.

There Will Be Gardening

The possibility of a garden on the White House lawn is getting closer to reality.

Via TH: White House Farm Coming Soon

I believe that by this summer there will be a garden – another garden, a vegetable garden – on the White House lawn...I believe the Obamas are committed to that. It’s a big idea, and its gonna happen. During the campaign, going around shaking peoples’ hands, he never got sick once. He was eating well, and it could have to do with having an organic chef with him. This is someone who 'gets' nutrition.

I, We, Two

BBC: 'Oldest English words' identified