My job is so shitty I wish I could overthrow my boss. It’s like this oppressive regime where only true believers in his management techniques will stay around. I work marathon-length hours and he’s made all these changes that have made it the worst architecture firm to work at in Manhattan. Like he moved the office to the Financial District and fired my assistant. She was the only one who knew where the blueprints were! I need access to those blueprints to complete my job! F my life, right? And he keeps trying to start all these new initiatives to boost revenue, but seriously we just need to stick to what we do best. There’s only one true profit center. I seriously feel ready to go on strike at any second.

I just read this article about how these free radical particles can cause the downfall of good health and accelerate aging. These could actually cause death to millions of Americans. If these particles are flying around undetected everywhere, does that mean we’re all radicalized?

Have you seen the second season of Breaking Bad? I just finished it. I couldn’t believe that episode where they poison the guy with ricin! That was the bomb! I won’t say any more because I don’t want to reveal the earth-shattering events to come.

Oh! So I’ve been planning a big trip for the summer. I’m thinking of visiting all of the most famous suspension bridges in the United States. So probably like the Golden Gate Bridge, The Brooklyn Bridge, and the Verrazano Narrows Bridge. I’m gonna bring my younger brother and I know he’ll want to go to bars, so I’m thinking of getting him a fake drivers license, but I hope that doesn’t blow up in my face.

Okay, I gotta run! I’m late for flight school. I missed the last class where we learn how to land, so I really can’t miss another one. Talk to you later!

http://trollthensa.com/

World is Unprepared as Climate Change Starvation 'Disaster' Lies Ahead: Report

Published on Sunday, April 14, 2013 by Common Dreams

- Jacob Chamberlain, staff writer

 

Millions of people will die of starvation across the world as agricultural yields are expected to tank and the price of food is expected to double by 2050 scientists warned in a new report released this week.

Corn in the hands of a farmworker in South Africa. Photograph: Greatstock Photographic Library/Alamy

The culprit? Extreme temperatures, floods and droughts brought on by climate change, the scientists warned in this year's US National Climate Assessment.

Lead researches of the study told the Observer that food insecurity risks turning parts of Africa into permanent disaster areas.

Frank Rijsberman, head of the world's 15 international CGIAR crop research centers, stated:

Food production will have to rise 60% by 2050 just to keep pace with expected global population increase and changing demand. Climate change comes on top of that. The annual production gains we have come to expect … will be taken away by climate change. We are not so worried about the total amount of food produced so much as the vulnerability of the one billion people who are without food already and who will be hit hardest by climate change. They have no capacity to adapt.

The Observer reports:

America's agricultural economy is set to undergo dramatic changes over the next three decades, as warmer temperatures devastate crops, according to a US government report. The draft US National Climate Assessment report predicts that a gradually warming climate and unpredictable severe weather, such as the drought that last year spread across two-thirds of the continental United States, will have serious consequences for farmers.
The research by 60 scientists predicts that all crops will be affected by the temperature shift as well as livestock and fruit harvests. The changing climate, it says, is likely to lead to more pests and less effective herbicides. The $50bn Californian wine industry could shrink as much as 70% by 2050.

The report lays bare the stark consequences for the $300bn US farm industry, stating: "Many agricultural regions will experience declines in crop and livestock production. The rising incidence of weather extremes will have increasingly negative impacts on crop and livestock production. Climate disruptions have increased in the recent past and are projected to increase further over the next 25 years.

"Critical thresholds are already being exceeded. Many regions will experience declines in crop and livestock production from increased stress due to weeds, diseases, insect pests and other climate change-induced stresses. Climate disruptions to agricultural production have increased in the recent past and are projected to increase further".

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License

Foodopoly: The Battle Over the Future of Food and Farming in America from Monsanto to Wal-Mart

Foodopoly: The Battle Over the Future of Food and Farming in America from Monsanto to Wal-Mart

Globalization, Climate Change, and Human Health — NEJM

Globalization, Climate Change, and Human Health — NEJM

RARE & HEIRLOOM ORGANIC PEPPERS, TOMATOES, HERBS.

I'm trying to sell seedlings again. Hey... Mama needs a new pair of shoes, know what I mean?

Here's my current, thrown-together ad on craigslist:

 

 "Seedlings are small still, and have a couple weeks before they're big enough for transplanting. You can buy them small and grow them bigger yourself, or reserve them and pick them up in a few weeks, ready to transplant. The Golden Snow Peas from India are ready for transplant now.

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------
Rare, endangered, and classic vegetable seedlings sustainably grown in Richmond. My seeds are from open-pollinated, non-GMO, sustainable producers. I use organic soil and "precision watering" to keep my operation in harmony with the Wildcat Canyon watershed. I never use sprays, & maintain wild habitat alongside my garden.

I'm a disabled, very low-income, novice beekeeper-activist working on food justice, farming, and environmental issues. I surround the seedling project with habitat for wild pollinators and other woodland creatures. Selling seedlings brings in much needed income and is a 'job' that works around my disability. It also allows me to raise awareness about the need to increase crop diversity on farms, protect beneficial insects, improve access to nutritious food in low-income areas, and preserve heirloom genetics for climate change adaptation. (The genetic traits needed to adapt to a warming world are already out there in heirlooms and their wild relatives. We do not need to genetically modify plants to adapt.)

I choose varieties based on history/need to preserve, nutrition/medicinal value, easy to grow for beginning gardeners, regionally -appropriate, and/or pollinator-friendly.... but flavor is everything! I want people to love their decision to grow heirlooms, so I pick the best tasting varieties I can find. Recipes, historical info, growing tips, seed-saving tips, a kick ass list of local resources, and photos available in my "catalog" ($3 to cover printing & help putting it together)

-------------- UPCOMING SEEDLINGS...
BROCCOLI:
Calabrese Green Sprouting Broccoli: Italian heirloom that was brought to America in the 1880s, 5-8" heads and many side shoots

CHARD:
Five-color Silverbeet Chard: Brilliant pink, yellow, orange, red and white. Originated in Australia. Very mild, ornamental, and tasty.

BEAN:
Gold Marie Vining Bean: Rampant vining pole plants produce tons of large golden pods. The gorgeous pods are ideal when harvested at 6-8 inches, but are often tender at much larger dimensions! The massive pods are a bright, clear buttercup yellow, flat and sometimes almost resemble a loose spiral shape, looking voluptuous hanging from the robust vines. This worthy variety was nearly lost commercially and was preserved by backyard seed savers.

Purple Podded Pole Bean: delicious heirloom was discovered in the Ozark Mountains by Henry Fields in the 1930's and still grows in this region. The pods are bright-purple and tender. Plants grow to 6' and produce heavy yields.

Rattlesnake Pole Bean: easy to grow and produces lots of green pods that have purple streaks. Good flavor and very tender, the speckled seeds are popular in soup. This variety is great for hot areas.

BEETS:
Golden Beet: Dates back to the 1820's or before. The beets are a rich, golden-yellow and very sweet. A beautiful beet that won't bleed like red beets. The greens are also very tasty. A favorite of many.

Lutz Salad Leaf Beet: Quite possibly the best storage beet known. Top-shaped red roots with concentric lighter zones. Pink-stemmed leaves are renowned for use like chard, superb in salads. Roots remain tender and sweet even when grown to quite a large size, having reached 3-4 pounds! Also known as "Winter Keeper."

CUCUMBER:
White Wonder Cucumber: Great yielder. Creamy-ivory, 7"-long fruits, delicious and great for pickles or slicing. W. Atlee Burpee introduced this heirloom in 1893 after they received it from a customer in New York.

CORN:
Strawberry Popcorn: Popular, cute, little ears look just like big strawberries, just 2"-3" long. The 4' plants produce 2-4 ears each, great for fall decorations or making delicious popcorn. American heirloom.

EGGPLANT:
Aswad Eggplant: Delicious Iraqi variety. Satiny, dark purple-black fruits get very large--to 3 pounds or more. Shaped like a squat teardrop, the flesh is sweet and tender, perfect for grilling or baking. The fruit are abundantly produced. Very heat tolerant and productive.

KALE/GREENS:
Red Russian Kale: Very tender and mild, a pre-1885 heirloom variety. Oak type leaves have a red tinge, and stems are a purplish-red. Great flavor.

LETTUCE:
De Morges Braun Lettuce: Very rare romaine type with upright, rounded leaves, applegreen in the center and pink-to-bronze outside. Tender and sweet, holds well in the garden, and is one of the last to become bitter. A good choice for early spring or fall gardens, as it tolerates cool temperatures very well. Makes a lovely salad! From Switzerland.

Forellenschluss Lettuce: Old Austrian heirloom, the name means "speckled like a trout"; a superb, gorgeous romaine lettuce that is highly splashed in deep red. Very beautiful and tasty.

Lollo Rossa Lettuce: Very curled leaves are light green with stunning bright red edges. Beautiful, mild and tasty. Great for edible landscaping.

Rouge d'Hiver Lettuce: Heirloom, red romaine-type from France. Listed in Vilmorin's Vegetable Garden Book from 1885. Red and green leaves; turns a deeper shade of red in cold weather.

ONIONS:
Crimson Forest Bunching Onion: Beautiful brilliant red stalks, flavorful and tasty. Very unique and colorful, a bulbing type.

RADISH:
Early Scarlet Globe Radish: The classic, round red radish with crisp white flesh that is mild and tasty. Has better warm weather tolerance than many.

Pink Beauty Radish: A beautiful round pink radish that has become hard to find. It is sweet and tasty. Popular at specialty markets, a must for all radish growers! Wonderful and unique.

Purple Plum Radish: Here is one lovely radish with bright purple skin. Truly one of the most colorful varieties for marketing. 1-1/2-inch globes have sweet, crisp, white flesh which does not get pithy.

SPINACH:
Giant Noble Spinach: This is the giant of the spinach clan; plants spread to 25 inches! Tender leaves are great for canning, steaming or salads; for those who want quantity and quality; introduced in 1926.

SNOW PEAS:
Golden Sweet Snow Peas (Five 4"x4" pots available now!) More than a novelty, this variety produces flat pods that are a beautiful, bright lemon-yellow, great in stir-fries. Tall 6' vines with purple flowers. Collected from a market in India, rare and tasty.

TOMATOES:
Amana Orange Tomato: Big, 1-lb., glowing orange beefsteaks have an intense full flavor--that most tomatoes don't match! This very attractive heirloom tomato is named for the Amana Colonies, in Amana, Iowa. Try making some orange spaghetti sauce for the kids.

Berkeley Tie Dye Tomato: Large fruits have orange-red and yellow-green stripes. Super dense meaty flesh with almost no juice has strong assertive flavor that is tangy, but also sweet. Plants have good to outstanding production.

Black Icicle Tomato: Stunning, perfectly shaped, deep purplish-brown fruit that are almost black. A great variety for both home gardeners and chefs. This tomato has the incredible rich taste that is in many of the large, dark beefsteak types: sweet, rich with earthy overtones. One of the best tasting varieties . Another variety from the Ukraine. Did you know the darker the tomato, the more lycopene it contains? Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant with heart and cancer-fighting benefits.

Pink Brandywine Tomato: The most popular heirloom vegetable! A favorite of many gardeners; large fruit with superb flavor. A great potato-leafed variety from 1885! Beautiful pink fruit up to 1-1/2 lbs. each!

Placero Tomato: Flavorful, small tomato from Cuba. This tomato also is said to have a very high beta-carotene content. Tasty, red fruit grow on very productive plants.

Roman Candle Tomato: Beautiful, neon yellow, banana-shaped fruits are bursting with intense sweetness and flavor. A wonderful new tomato that originated as a "sport" from Mr. John Swenson's Speckled Roman. A new favorite of market growers, it is quite colorful.

 

 

Tlacalula Pink Tomato: A unique tomato collected by a friend in Tlacalula, Mexico; the pear-shaped fruit have deep ribs and ruffles that give them a distinctive look. They have a mild, sweet, pink flesh and pink skin with gold-splotched shoulders. A rare tomato grown near Oaxaca, Mexico for several generations

 

 

Yellow Brandywine Tomato: Superbly rich and delicious-tasting large fruit, the golden variety gives good yields and some say the fruit are better tasting than Pink Brandywine. Large potato-leaf plants are very sturdy and deep green. This heirloom is delicious any way you eat it!

Yellow Riesentraube Tomato: Everyone loves our popular red variety, but here is the brilliant yellow version of this fantastic grape tomato. Imagine clusters of delicious, golden grape tomatoes; these are even sweeter than the red ones! Super productive plants with pointed, grape-sized fruit.

HERBS:
Lettuce Leaf Basil: Japanese heirloom
Common Chives
Slo-bolt Cilantro
Marjoram
Oregano
Giant of Italy Parsley
Russian Tarragon
Thyme: French heirloom
Broad Leaf Sage (not til late season)

PEPPERS:
Long Purple Cayenne Pepper: Very spicy pods are lovely bright purple in color, making them quite unique and colorful. The tall plants are just covered with dark fruit; great for hot sauce, chili and soup. Nice enough for the flower beds.

Fish Pepper: African-American heirloom popular in the Philadelphia/Baltimore region. A pre-1947 variety that was used in fish and shellfish cookery. The color of the fruit range from green, orange, brown, white and red, being spicy and hot. What really makes this pepper stand out is its wonderful foliage, as the 2-feet tall plants have stunning white and green mottled leaves, which makes this variety superb for ornamental and edible landscaping.

Chocolate Habanero Pepper: chocolate-brown, lantern shaped fruit are about 2" long, and so ornamental! But don't let the color fool you; these are not candy, but rather flaming-hot fruit that carry a massive 300,000 Scoville units of heat! Hot pepper enthusiasts love the heat and flavor that these chocolate fruit are packed with, but be careful and use in moderation.

 

Golden Marconi Pepper: A late Italian pepper with beautiful, big, yellow, 7-inch tapering fruit that are very sweet and great for frying or fresh. This wonderful heirloom is delicious and mild.

Lemon Drop Pepper: Seasoning pepper from Peru ripens to a clear lemon yellow, sometimes with a dark purple blush. The flavor is a very clean, uncomplicated, slightly citrus-y heat. 2-foot plants are covered with the thin-walled, conical fruits which reach 2-3 inches in length, with very few seeds.

Pasilla Bajio Pepper: Mild-sweet-hot, fruit is dark green, turning brown as it ripens. This pepper is used in Mexican "mole" sauces, tasty.

Mini Sweet Red Stuffing Pepper: The brilliant red-colored version of heirloom stuffing peppers from Amish growers near Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Very productive plants, produce tiny bell-shaped peppers about 1"-2" across.

Mini Sweet Yellow Stuffing Pepper: Amazing little pepper comes from an Amish grower in Indiana. The seed was passed down to her from her grandmother, whom she fondly remembers growing these peppers in the 1950s in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The very productive plants produce the cutest little mini bell-shaped peppers, only 1-2 inches across! Ester uses these to make wonderful stuffed and pickled peppers!

FLOWERS:
Purple Gleam California Poppy
Sensation Mix Cosmos
Goldfinger Mexican Sunflower
Yellow Torch Mexican Sunflower
Chocolate Morning Glory
Rose Feather Morning Glory

Global climate policy impacts on livestock, land use, livelihoods, and food security

 

1. Alla A. Golub^a,
2. Benjamin B. Henderson^b,¹,
3. Thomas W. Hertel^a,
4. Pierre J. Gerber^b,
5. Steven K. Rose^c, and
6. Brent Sohngen^d

 

 http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2012/09/26/1108772109

1. ^aCenter for Global Trade Analysis, Department of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2056;
2. ^bLivestock Information, Sector Analysis and Policy Branch, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 00153 Rome, Italy;
3. ^cEnergy and Environmental Analysis Research Group, Electric Power Research Institute, Washington, DC 20036; and
4. ^dOhio State University, OH 43210

1. Edited by Mario Herrero, International Livestock Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya, and accepted by the Editorial Board May 23, 2012 (received for review June 3, 2011)

Abstract

Recent research has shed light on the cost-effective contribution that agriculture can make to global greenhouse gas abatement; however, the resulting impacts on agricultural production, producer livelihoods, and food security remain largely unexplored. This paper provides an integrated assessment of the linkages between land-based climate policies, development, and food security, with a particular emphasis on abatement opportunities and impacts in the livestock sector. Targeting Annex I countries and exempting non-Annex I countries from land-based carbon policies on equity or food security grounds may result in significant leakage rates for livestock production and agriculture as a whole. We find that such leakage can be eliminated by supplying forest carbon sequestration incentives to non-Annex I countries. Furthermore, substantial additional global agricultural abatement can be attained by extending a greenhouse gas emissions tax to non-Annex I agricultural producers, while compensating them for their additional tax expenses. Because of their relatively large emissions intensities and limited abatement possibilities, ruminant meat producers face the greatest market adjustments to land-based climate policies. We also evaluate the impacts of climate policies on livelihoods and food consumption in developing countries. In the absence of non-Annex I abatement policies, these impacts are modest. However, strong income and food consumption impacts surface because of higher food costs after forest carbon sequestration is promoted at a global scale. Food consumption among unskilled labor households falls but rises for the representative farm households, because global agricultural supplies are restricted and farm prices rise sharply in the face of inelastic food demands.

 

2013 Seedlings on the way!

Found a wonderful spot to grow some organic heirloom seedlings for the 2013 season, and can't wait for my seeds to arrive.

The "catalog" I'm putting together includes stolen photos of veggies, growing tips, recipes, and information about food justice and environmental health issues that are making heirloom gardening a revolutionary act.

I have very limited space here, but am going to try to offer garden classics among some rare, endangered, and unusual varieties. I choose varieties that are relatively easy-to-grow (for bay area climate), yield well and/or/offer nutritional or historical significance.  Some varieties I chose for being pollinator-friendly.

I use non-GMO (genetically modified), open-pollinated seeds, organic soil, and use no chemical sprays or fertilizers.  I encourage gardeners to go organic, and include a list of local places to learn about natural gardening and urban homesteading for food security in the catalog.