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Random stuffs……
Yes, the planet has gone through these cycles before. We’re making it worse, we’re making it faster.
Humans have this amazing ability to create miracles when faced with problems (call it god or whatever if you want, I think we’re just smart) – every time there’s a war, our technology advances by leaps and bounds. When there’s an outbreak of some virus or disease, we find ways to beat it.
We have a problem – the planet’s climate is changing and we need to stop our part in making it worse. If you have a open wound on your leg, you don’t pour salt in it (I hope), you try to make it better. Strangely, our planet is MORE important to us that our own legs, but instead of trying to heal it, we’re pouring salt (in the form of oil, a mind boggling array of pharmaceutical drugs and an equally mind boggling array of other pollutants) all over it.
Stop using all those chemicals. Drive less (and/or use a more eco friendly vehicle). For every thing you need, there is a earth friendly version. Look for it.
Acknowledge climate change. Understand that “global warming” doesn’t mean that the whole planet heats up – the polar ice caps are taking the brunt of it and melting. Those giant white reflectors on either end of our planet reflect a lot of heat. As the planet warms up, the melt, giving less surface to bounce the heat off of…which makes it warm up faster.
Think it doesn’t affect you? Probably not. But if you have kids, they’ll have kids, and so on, and THEY will care. We act now, they have a better life. Yeah, sucks to be us, but someone has to step up.
/end rambling – I tried to have a more thought out post but I’ve been way too busy! This post was written for Blog Action Day 2009 about Climate Change
DoubleDanger sent this link through Twitter. It looks like Monsanto’s efforts are rewarding them in a similar manner to overuse of antibiotics creating superbugs.
The gospel of high-tech genetically modified (GM) crops is not sounding quite so sweet in the land of the converted. A new pest, the evil pigweed, is hitting headlines and chomping its way across Sun Belt states, threatening to transform cotton and soybean plots into weed battlefields.
In late 2004, “superweeds” that resisted Monsanto’s iconic “Roundup” herbicide, popped up in GM crops in the county of Macon, Georgia. Monsanto, the US multinational biotech corporation, is the world’s leading producer of Roundup, as well as genetically engineered seeds. Company figures show that nine out of 10 US farmers produce Roundup Ready seeds for their soybean crops.
Superweeds have since alarmingly appeared in other parts of Georgia, as well as South Carolina, North Carolina, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky and Missouri, according to media reports. Roundup contains the active ingredient glyphosate, which is the most used herbicide in the USA.
How has this happened? Farmers over-relied on Monsanto’s revolutionary and controversial combination of a single “round up” herbicide and a high-tech seed with a built-in resistance to glyphosate, scientists say.
(read more)
Please see the “How to avoid Monsanto” page to the right!
On Saturday, March 28, 2009, at 8:30 pm, our family is taking part in Earth Hour—a global event in which millions of people will turn out their lights to make a statement of concern about our planet and climate change.
Sponsored by World Wildlife Fund, Earth Hour got started just two years ago and is now the largest event of its kind in the world. Last year, more than 50 million participated and the lights went out at the Empire State Building, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Sydney Opera House and the Coliseum in Rome, just to name a few. Even Google’s homepage went black for the day! In Israel, President Shimon Peres personally turned off lights in Tel Aviv.
This year, Earth Hour will be even bigger—nearly 2,000 cities in over 80 countries have agreed to take part including Atlanta, Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami and Nashville with more signing up every day. Around the world cities like Moscow, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Shanghai and Mexico City will turn out their lights.
But Earth Hour isn’t just for big cities—anyone can participate, including families like ours. Check out this video at http://www.earthhourus.org/video.
Participating in Earth Hour is easy, fun and free. We hope your family will take part in this amazing event. To sign up, visit www.EarthHourUS.org where you’ll learn more about Earth Hour including creative ideas for things for families to do when the lights go out.
One more thing–we want the US to turn out more lights than any other country in the world during this historic event so please pass this note along to anyone you think might want to take part. Let’s all turn out and take action on March 28 at 8:30 pm.
Remember – tonight – 8:30pm YOUR TIME! Lights out! We typically leave one on so the little kids don’t spaz, but everything else? Off!
A group called CAC (Citizens Against Chickens) has formed and are trying to drowned out the voices of those of us who want chickens.
Chickens (hens) are legal in Portland any many surrounding towns, Eugene, Corvallis and MANY big cities (NYC for one) across the country. Chickens do NOT equal “poor white trash” or lower property values. Chickens are not livestock unless you plan on killing them for food. The city allows pot bellied pigs, but not pet chickens.
Please help, here’s what you can do (and PLEASE help!!!)
1) Recruit more members and urge them to join our Face Book Group (Chickens in the Yard) and/or our Yahoo Group (Salem Chickens) to keep abreast of the situation and so that I have a way to contact supporters when help is needed.
2) We submitted 659 signatures on a petition, but we need to keep collecting more. If you haven’t signed one yet (and you are at least 18 years old and live inside the city limits), please go to the Tea Party Book Shop downtown on the corner of Liberty and Ferry Streets and sign our petition.
3) Better yet, if you think you can get 10 or more signatures from friends, relatives, and co-workers who haven’t already signed, then download our petition (attached) and collect signatures for us. If you decide to do this, please let me know so I can collect them weeks or months from now. You can contact me directly at SalemChickens@yahoo.com.
4) It’s time to unleash the postcards we had pre-printed, asking city councilors to vote yes on urban hens. These postcards are also available at the Tea Party Book Shop. Just sign the back, add a stamp, write an additional note if you like, and mail it. Please take extra postcards and ask your friends to do the same.
5) Use the website below to determine which neighborhood you live in. If it’s one on the attached list that we haven’t heard from yet, please urge them to put Chickens in the Yard on the agenda for their next meeting. We are happy to come and give a presentation but we have to be invited first. Once we are on the agenda, it’s important that you show up to support us and urge the board to vote for urban hens. The support of neighborhood associations is absolutely critical to getting the city councilors’ vote later on.
http://www.cityofsalem.net/Departments/CommunityServices/neighbor/Pages/map.aspx
6) Show up at City Hall when we give presentations at city council meetings. These events will be announced on our Yahoo Group and Face Book pages. You can also keep informed through our website www.SalemChickens.com
Imagine a bunch of men deciding to do the opposite of what the people they represent want – welcome to America :eyeroll
It happens here in Salem even – again I write about chickens. 4 of our councilmen want to kill the whole chicken issue before it goes to public vote.
Don’t let it happen! We need your voices!
If you live in the following areas, let your neighborhood association know you want chickens so they’ll support the cause.
South Gateway
South Salem
Morningside
If you live in the South Gateway neighborhood (it’s a big one, I didn’t even know which one I was in til I looked), please go to http://sgna.us/ and leave a comment in support of chickens in our yards in the post “Should residents be allowed to raise up to 5 chickens inside the city limits?”.
You’ll notice I left a comment – please, if you live in this neighborhood, leave one too!
You might be too late reading this, but there are 2 meetings – tonight (March 11) Morningside neighborhood association meeting – 6:30 pm at the Morningside Elementary School and tomorrow (March 12) Southeast Salem neighborhood association (SESNA) meeting – 7:00 pm at the Capital Park Westleyan church (410 19th St). If you can make it, please do so.
Here’s a packet the C.I.T.Y (Chickens In The Yard) group put together about chickens living in urban/suburban areas, check it out! City Chickens
I’m not the only one in Salem who wants chickens!
http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_030309_news_salem_backyard_chickens.206e8e31.html
The group – C.I.T.Y. – can be found at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SalemChickens
Considering that Portland, population of over half a million, allows up to 5 backyard hens, I think it’s ridiculous that Salem residents cannot. I am tired of buying eggs, and I miss raising chickens!
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Salem, OR
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