Thursday, November 3, 2022
Sunday, September 23, 2018
Check out this
http://share.buzzvideo.com/s/Ncvfcx
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Why not join us and enjoy TopBuzz with your friends?
http://bit.ly/2AoKXI5
Thursday, August 23, 2018
Check out "PictureThis - Plant Identification" app for Android. iPhone version probably available.
Saturday, March 25, 2017
Friday, March 17, 2017
Monday, September 12, 2016
Tuesday, August 30, 2016
Sunday, August 28, 2016
Wednesday, August 10, 2016
Fighting invasive species in michigan [feedly]
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Fighting invasive species in michigan
// Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories
Researchers from Michigan Technological University have received significant grants to tackle Eurasian Watermilfoil and Phragmites. They are developing novel strategies and community-based methods to combat the aquatic invaders.
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Monday, July 25, 2016
Thursday, June 23, 2016
During National Pollinator Week, USDA Announces Key Measures to Improve Pollinator Health
>
> Release No. 0152.16
> Contact:
> Office of Communications (202)720-4623
>
> During National Pollinator Week, USDA Announces Key Measures to Improve Pollinator Health
>
> USDA's Conservation Reserve Program Currently Provides 15 Million Acres of Healthy Forage for Pollinators, and New Partnership Will Ensure Additional High-Quality Habitat in the Future
>
>
> WASHINGTON, June 23, 2016 – Today, during National Pollinator Week and in advance of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) seventh annual Pollinator Week Festival, the USDA is announcing two initiatives in support of the President's National Strategy to Promote the Health of Honeybees and Other Pollinators, announced just over one year ago. A review of USDA's most popular conservation program found that farmers and ranchers across the country are creating at least 15 million acres of healthy forage and habitat for pollinators, and the department has also entered into a new partnership with leading honey bee organizations that will help to ensure future conservation projects continue to provide benefits to these important species.
>
> "Pollinators are small but mighty creatures who need our help as much as we need theirs, and that is why USDA is dedicating resources from all corners of our department to boost their habitat and better understand how to protect them," said Agriculture Secretary Vilsack. "In addition to creating healthy habitat and food for pollinators through our conservation work, USDA research is leading to breakthroughs in pollinator survival that may reverse the declines we've seen over the past few decades. We look forward to continued collaboration with America's beekeepers and honey producers to ensure this work is meaningful and effective."
>
> USDA has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with two honey bee organizations, the American Honey Producers Association and the American Beekeeping Federation, to facilitate an ongoing partnership that will ensure USDA's conservation initiatives are as advantageous as possible to pollinators and that beekeepers understand how they can benefit from USDA's conservation and safety net programs. For several years, USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) have worked closely with these groups and others to help improve habitat for honeybees and other pollinators in various conservation programs. The National Strategy emphasized the need for public-private partnerships like this one to expeditiously expand pollinator-health initiatives to achieve the scale necessary to make meaningful and long-term improvements.
>
> FSA also plays a critical role in the delivery of programs that provide a safety net for beekeepers who experience losses due to natural disasters, and the agency administers the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program, which provides assistance for the loss of honeybee colonies, in excess of normal mortality, due to Colony Collapse Disorder or other natural causes. These groups have helped to ensure that these safety net programs work well, and they have helped focus research to learn more about the impacts of USDA programs and make continuous improvements. This MOU creates a framework to ensure ongoing, meaningful information sharing to help beekeepers and honey bees into the future.
>
> In addition to this MOU, a thorough review of USDA's Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) has revealed that farmers and ranchers across the country have created more than 15 million acres of healthy habitat and forage for pollinators through the Conservation Reserve Program. Of these, 269,000 acres are enrolled in a pollinator-specific initiative, but these creatures are also helped by several other CRP initiatives on private land that provide wildflowers, shrubs, and safe nesting sites through measures that are intended to improve water quality or create bird habitat.
>
> The National Strategy called for seven million acres of land to be enhanced or restored for pollinators. Since then, USDA has more than tripled the acreage enrolled in CRP's pollinator initiative, through which USDA helps to cover the cost of planting pollinator-friendly wildflowers, legumes and shrubs, and USDA has increased the limit on this initiative in response to landowner demand so that more acres can be enrolled in the future.
>
> USDA conducted the high-level review of existing conservation practices and other studies by the U.S. Geological Survey and universities to determine which voluntary conservation practices benefit pollinators. FSA continues to work with USGS to assess which strategies work best to support pollinator health, and future studies may indicate that additional acres also can be considered pollinator friendly.
>
> In its 30th year, CRP provides incentives to farmers and ranchers with the cost of establishing long-term, resource-conserving plant species, such as approved grasses or trees (known as "covers") to control soil erosion, improve water quality and develop wildlife habitats on marginally productive agricultural lands. This helps to combat global climate change and provides resiliency to future weather changes. This analysis shows that among its many other benefits, CRP also is extraordinarily beneficial to protecting and promoting pollinator species, from honeybees to monarchs, that are essential to agricultural health.
>
> In addition to CRP, other conservation programs like NRCS' Environmental Quality Incentives Program and Conservation Stewardship Program have enabled landowners to make pollinator-friendly improvements on working lands. This voluntary conservation work also strengthens agricultural operations, supports other beneficial insects and wildlife and helps to sustain natural resources. More than three dozen NRCS conservation practices, such as prescribed grazing and cover crops, can provide direct benefits to pollinators. In recent years, NRCS has launched targeted efforts to help honey bees and monarch butterflies to accelerate efforts to create habitat.
>
> USDA's research and outreach agencies are working in other ways to contribute to the President's National Strategy to Promote the Health of Honeybees and Other Pollinators. For example, the U.S. Forest Service is also conducting research on pollinators while restoring and improving pollinator habitat on national forests and grasslands. Over the past six years, the USDA's Agricultural Research Service has invested more than $82 million in cutting-edge pollinator research and over the past decade has published nearly 200 journal articles about pollinators. USDA's People's Garden Initiative has launched a number of efforts to expand pollinator public education programs, including a bee cam that gives real time insight into the 80,000 bees who live on the roof of USDA's Headquarters and pollinate the surrounding landscape.
>
> This fact sheet contains more information about USDA's work to keep pollinators buzzing and contributing to a diverse domestic and global food supply.
>
> To learn more about FSA's conservation programs, visit www.fsa.usda.gov/conservation or contact a local FSA county office. To find your local FSA county office, visit http://offices.usda.gov.
Wednesday, June 22, 2016
: When the desert smells like rain
> When the desert smells like rain, it's time to plant the seeds for our future.
>
> "Above all, these seeds are tiny manifestations of hope for a changing landscape."
> - Debbie Weingarten, Edible Baja Arizona
>
> Did you know that in addition to water, air, and soil, crop diversity is one of the most important resources for human life on earth? Historically, humans used more than 7,000 plant species to meet their food needs. Today, less than a dozen plant species provide more than 75% of the world's food.
>
> At the same time, 2015 marked the warmest year in recorded history. "With rapid global climate change upon us, we need a greater diversity of seeds, breeds, fruits, and roots out in our fields, adapting to the dynamic conditions there more than ever before. Food diversity is no longer a luxury; its careful use and stewardship are once again a necessity if we are to feed future generations so that they cannot survive, but thrive." - Gary Paul Nabhan, Native Seeds/SEARCH Co-founder
>
> Your donation is key to maintaining this vital agricultural diversity!
>
> Native Seeds/SEARCH is a non-profit organization working to conserve and promote arid-adapted crop diversity to nourish a changing world. By supporting Native Seeds/SEARCH you are proactively preserving this biodiversity; rich with flavor, beauty, history, and hope for the years ahead.
>
> Your gift will SAVE, GROW, SHARE, EDUCATE:
> SAVE: Safeguard access to more than 1,800 collections of Southwest arid-adapted agricultural crops and their wild relatives for generations to come.
> GROW: Ensure the yearly regeneration of rare food crops at our Conservation Farm, crops which are key to creating a healthy and resilient future.
> SHARE: Provide free seed to farmers and gardeners to sustain their agricultural traditions through our Native American Seed Request, Bulk Seed Exchange, and Community Seed Grant Programs.
> EDUCATE: Meet the increased demand for educational outreach and support for individuals and communities seeking guidance in seed saving and arid-land farming practices.
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Watch Old Dollar Bills Get Turned into Dirt [feedly]
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Watch Old Dollar Bills Get Turned into Dirt
// io9
 
When the Fed constantly replaces old, tattered dollar bills with new, crispy cash, millions of notes get pulled out of circulation while new dollar bills get put in circulation. So what happens to all that old money? It gets shredded. But then what?
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Friday, June 17, 2016
Friday, June 3, 2016
Tuesday, May 31, 2016
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
Peeling a thick layer of ivy from a building [feedly]
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Peeling a thick layer of ivy from a building
// Boing Boing
"The physician can bury his mistakes, but the architect can only advise his client to plant vines." – Frank Lloyd Wright
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