Did You Celebrate Earth Hour 2012?
Saturday, March 31st, 2012 at 8:05 pm
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Wishing everyone a Happy, Relaxing, Earth Hour. Reflect on the message...
Deadly Bat Disease: White-Nose Syndrome
Thursday, September 8th, 2011 at 6:04 am
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Photo Courtesy of http://www.fws.gov/WhiteNoseSyndrome/
Back in our old Urban Homestead, we had build and put up a bat house to attract these wonderful and super helpful creatures. Well it would seem the bat poplulation in our neck of the woods might be in big trouble.
Researchers in New Brunswick have found some cases of "White-Nose Syndrome" in some hibernating bats in caves. From what I've read so far, this fungus seems to affect primarily little brown bats, like the ones we had in our little roost. The fungus disturbs their hibernation patterns, making them wake up during the winter and fly out the mouth of their cave. Then they basically die off as they can't survive the winter.
Researchers don't really know what causes the disease and there doesn't seem to be a way to combat it yet, other than restricting access to caves so people don't help spread the spores that spread this nasty fungus. With a disease that can have a mortality rate of 50-90%, these poor little bats need all the help they can get.
I hope something can be done to help the bats, cause I loved watching them at our old urban homestead. We'd sit on the deck and watch them criss cross the yard eating away ;o) I'll be keeping an eye out on this issue and hope to introduce some homemade bat roosts next year as we move along with our plans.
For more information on White-Nose Syndrome, check out U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service website dedicated to this topic:
http://www.fws.gov/WhiteNoseSyndrome/
The Future of Food Documentary
Thursday, August 25th, 2011 at 9:00 am
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The Future of Food DVD
I was searching through YouTube vids and stumbleupon "The Future of Food" Documentary by Deborah Koons Garcia. You can watch The Future of Food directly from their website for free as well. It was released in 2004 to bring attention to genetically engineered food and seed patents by mega corps to control food production and seed consolidation.
I had already watched and commented on Food inc. on SustainabeUrbanHomestead.com which touches on GMO seeds and seed patents, but this documentary goes into much greater detail.
One of the great stories is of Percy Schmeiser, the Saskatchewan Canada farmer who fought Monsanto in court for GMO contamination of his Canola fields. Truly a David vs Goliath story and will wake you up regarding how our farmer are being bullied by the mega-corps.
Overall I thought this was a great film and really made you think of where your food comes from now and more importantly, where would you like it to come from in the future. Our society has become far removed from our food and it's time we educate ourselves and speak our minds. Remember you can make a change with every purchase and/or non GMO/heirloom seed you plant so grow your own and support your local farmers.
My personal view is you shouldn't genetically modify crops and definitely should not be patenting seeds, which is life. As with everything you read, watch, listen and learn... do your own due diligence, research and don't be afraid to ask questions.
Homesteading 1 Acre of Land
Saturday, July 23rd, 2011 at 12:36 pm
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- Planning a 1-Acre Self Sufficient Homestead
Although this is not technically a recent item in the news, it's an article about an excellent subject. John Seymour published an excellent book called "The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It", which has gone through several editions, growing with each one. I've read many different Homesteading / Self-Sufficient books and this one is by far my favorite.
Mother Earth News recently covered one of the items covered in this book. It's an excerpt of the book covering different aspects of starting and maintaining a 1 acre self-sufficient farm.
This is not a one stop guide, but more of a starter guide to wet the appetite to lead into more research and reading. It covers items such as raising livestock, growing fruits, vegetables, garden plot management and more... The article is worth the read and if you like it, you'll love the book for sure!
