Mar 2, 2013

Salman Khan on Charlie Rose 2/26/2013 - YouTube



Published on Mar 1, 2013

There are still real heroes in the world!  I have great respect and regards for this man... Monte

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1455508381 - The One World Schoolhouse: Education Reimagined

Biochar making for farm scale with the Moxham. - YouTube


Published on Feb 25, 2013
A short video about making biochar with the Moxham Biochar making unit. Cheap low tech easy to make. Biocharproject.org Australia shows the way. Please give feedback on what I am doing and if you like it show your friends.

We need to spread the word Biochar without the price tag.

Biochar Videos --> http://biocharproject.org/tutorial/videos/

"Gratitude For Nature and Life - Video






Cultivating a "Gratitude For Nature and Life", a nice calming video, .....Monte

A Moving Art original short. This inspirational video was well responded at TED conferences and filmmaker Louie Schwartzberg motivates those around him as happiness is revealed. Spoken word and music montage created and composed by Gary Malkin. Narration written and spoken by Brother David Steindl-Rast.
Gratitude HD - Moving Art™ - YouTube
www.MovingArt.tv
YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/LouieSchwartzberg/videos
Art Brut - Moving to L.A. - YouTube
Origins - Moving Art™ - YouTube
Oceans - Moving Art ™ - YouTube

Hines Farm - Today's Cooked Receipes - italian-sausage-soup - high-temperature-eye-of-round-roast


Larger Image


Larger Image

Tried some new recipes today:
  • italian-sausage-soup with navy beans, tomatoe, spinich, zucchini, beef broth, ... great for a winter day
  • high-temperature-roast beef - make your own high quality sandwich meat - easy - we used all seasoning and garlic salt - very good
Hines Farm - Today's Cooked Receipes
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/italian-sausage-soup/
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/high-temperature-eye-of-round-roast/

Highly recommend both... Monte & Eileen

Feb 28, 2013

University of Illinois - Assembly Hall, Past & Future






Assembly Hall Renovation Video

In my roots... Opened in 1963... watched Alleman in State BB Tournament 1964 there, attended and graduated from U of I 1970... GO ILLINI !!! - Short Renovation Video   Monte

Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead - The Movie - YouTube


Published on Feb 28, 2013

Join Joe + Reboot! http://RebootWithJoe.com
Official Facebook Page -http://www.facebook.com/FatSickandNea...
Twitter - http://twitter.com/joethejuicer

100 pounds overweight, loaded up on steroids and suffering from a debilitating autoimmune disease, Joe Cross is at the end of his rope and the end of his hope. In the mirror he saw a 310lb man whose gut was bigger than a beach ball and a path laid out before him that wouldn't end well— with one foot already in the grave, the other wasn't far behind. FAT, SICK & NEARLY DEAD is an inspiring film that chronicles Joe's personal mission to regain his health.

With doctors and conventional medicines unable to help long-term, Joe turns to the only option left, the body's ability to heal itself. He trades in the junk food and hits the road with juicer and generator in tow, vowing only to drink fresh fruit and vegetable juice for the next 60 days. Across 3,000 miles Joe has one goal in mind: To get off his pills and achieve a balanced lifestyle.

While talking to more than 500 Americans about food, health and longevity, it's at a truck stop in Arizona where Joe meets a truck driver who suffers from the same rare condition. Phil Staples is morbidly obese weighing in at 429 lbs; a cheeseburger away from a heart-attack. As Joe is recovering his health, Phil begins his own epic journey to get well. What emerges is nothing short of amazing -- an inspiring tale of healing and human connection.

Part road trip, part self-help manifesto, FAT, SICK & NEARLY DEAD defies the traditional documentary format to present an unconventional and uplifting story of two men from different worlds who each realize that the only person who can save them is themselves.Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead - The Movie - YouTube

The Scale of the Universe - Science and Nature - Awesome!



Science and Nature - Awesome!    Monte 


Secret Worlds: The Universe Within

Nicole learns all about the history, the process of making and the many uses of "BIOCHAR" from an unexpected source - Waste No More


Published on Feb 21, 2013

The challenge is simple, turn a type of waste into something useful. Nicole has found the perfect solution. Biochar! Join her as she learns all about the history, the process of making and the many uses of biochar from an unexpected source.

Fun way to introduce biochar to young children.

Waste No More

One Man’s Stand Against the Keystone XL Pipeline


THIS pipeline is B...S...!

This pipeline needs to get killed!!!

It is outrageous to give up your property for eminent domain by a foreign, private corporation for project that will push us over the tipping point of recovery from global warming.    It will 
not have any net benefit to US citizens... Any one of us could be in Michael Bishop's position... read his story     Monte

Michael Bishop

[Editor's note: Thanks to Michael Bishop for providing EcoWatch this firsthand account of what happens when a company like TransCanada claims eminent domain on one's property and begins building a tar sands pipeline—the southern leg of the Keystone XL. Unfortunately, this is one of many examples of corporations putting profits before human health and the environment in pursuit of extreme fossil fuel extraction. The good news is that people like Michael Bishop are fighting back. This is the first of a three-part series.]

My name is Michael Bishop and I am a landowner in Douglass, Texas in Nacogdoches County. I am the victim of eminent domain by a foreign, private corporation. I received a letter from TransCanada in 2008 informing me that my property had been selected as a potential route for their “crude oil” pipeline. At that time, the line was to go on the eastern border of my property and would cross my creek. It was also going to adversely affect my neighbors as well.


On Nov. 13, 2012, TransCanada started bulldozing Michael Bishop’s property to build the southern leg of the Keystone XL pipeline in Nacogdoches, Texas. Photo courtesy of Tar Sands Blockade

My neighbors and I met with the company’s representatives. At that meeting, I offered them a suitable and reasonable alternative on the western edge of my property where existing pipelines were located. They informed us that we “could not tell them where to put their pipeline, according to Texas law.” I left that meeting feeling helpless and betrayed by the very laws that are supposed to protect me and other people in this state.

It was something beyond my control and I simply forgot about it until my wife woke me up one morning to let me know people were on our property. I immediately went out and confronted the trespassers who informed me they represented TransCanada and that they were there to perform historical and archeological evaluations and to survey the route of the proposed pipeline. I immediately told them to leave my property. They had not notified me, given me the courtesy of a phone call or knocked on my door. I was told that if I refused to allow them access to my property, I would go to jail. As a former Marine, this became a major point of anger for me and I told them that if they did not leave my property, I would call 911. They left. I did not hear anything from them for quite some time.

When they decided to move forward with the project, I was called by two members of the survey team—Bob Johnston and Chad Wren—who wanted to meet with me to discuss the “new” route for the pipeline. I took a witness with me and met them for coffee. I was told at that meeting that the company (TransCanada) had decided the best route was indeed on the western edge of my property. I told them that I did not want any money from them, would move any buildings or equipment in their way and would sign any releases they required as long as they agreed to stay on the western edge of the property and away from the 14 acre tract of land where I raised my boys and where my six grandchildren now play.

The western edge of my property is also away from where I raise food for my family since 1988. I was told by those two individuals that I was one of the few people in the county that had “not settled” and that TransCanada had all of their construction permits in place and were ready to begin work. We agreed, shook hands and I left with a fairly good feeling. It’s important to remember that I refused any compensation for the right of way they were seeking.

Time went by and I had heard nothing from the two representatives from TransCanada, so I emailed Johnston. He finally responded but informed me that the company had decided to come across my 14 acre tract (the homestead tract) instead of the “free offer” of the adjacent, adjoining six acre tract where existing pipelines already existed. I was furious and felt betrayed. His explanation was, “Your neighbor in the land behind you has a lake that we cannot bore under and therefore we had to reroute the pipeline.”

That neighbor’s lake is a small cattle “tank,” not a pond, and I couldn’t drown in it if I was trying to commit suicide. I told them to f**k off and that I would fight them.
Full Article:
PART I: One Man’s Stand Against the Keystone XL Pipeline – EcoWatch: Uniting the Voice of the Grassroots Environmental Movement

Related:
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/46979745/#50929085 - Great Video Discussion of Pipeline

Feb 27, 2013

Farming Magazine - Keeping Deer and Bear Out - March, 2013 - FENCING & CONTAINMENT EDITION

Eight-foot-high woven wire deer fence with a 98-inch-by-10-foot gate with 4x4 mesh.
Eight-foot-high woven wire deer fence with a 98-inch-by-10-foot gate with 4x4 mesh.

Biochar - NC Now - YouTube


Biochar - NC Now - YouTube

The Meat Industry Now Consumes Four-Fifths of All Antibiotics | Mother Jones

Image by Shutterstock

Do GMO Crops Really Have Higher Yields? | Mother Jones

Science and scientists that can't be bullied, blackmailed, or threatened are presenting true facts about GMO Crops!   Monte
-----------------
—By Tom Philpott
| Wed Feb. 13, 2013
Rastoney/Flickr

According to the biotech industry, genetically modified (GM) crops are a boon to humanity because they allow farmers to "generate higher crop yields with fewer inputs," as the trade group Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) puts it on its web page.

Buoyed by such rhetoric, genetically modified seed giant Monsanto and its peers have managed to flood the corn, soybean, and cotton seed markets with two major traits: herbicide resistance and pesticide expression—giving plants the ability to, respectively, withstand regular lashings of particular herbicides and kill bugs with the toxic trait of Bacillus thuringiensis, or Bt.

Turns out, though, that both assertions in BIO's statement are highly questionable. Washington State University researcher Charles Benbrook has demonstrated that the net effect of GMOs in the United States has been an increase in use of toxic chemical inputs. Benbrook found that while the Bt trait has indeed allowed farmers to spray dramatically lower levels of insecticides, that effect has been more than outweighed the gusher of herbicides uncorked by Monsanto's Roundup Ready technology, as weeds have rapidly adapted resistance to regular doses of Monsanto's Rounup herbicide.

And in a new paper (PDF) funded by the US Department of Agriculture, University of Wisconsin researchers have essentially negated the "more food" argument as well. The researchers looked at data from UW test plots that compared crop yields from various varieties of hybrid corn, some genetically modified and some not, between 1990 and 2010. While some GM varieties delivered small yield gains, others did not. Several even showed lower yields than non-GM counterparts. With the exception of one commonly used trait—a Bt type designed to kill the European corn borer—the authors conclude, "we were surprised not to find strongly positive transgenic yield effects." Both the glyphosate-tolerant (Roundup Ready) and the Bt trait for corn rootworm caused yields to drop.

Then there's the question of so-called "stacked-trait" crops—that is, say, corn engineered to contain multiple added genes—for example, Monsanto's "Smart Stax" product, which contains both herbicide-tolerant and pesticide-expressing genes. The authors detected what they call "gene interaction" in these crops—genes inserted into them interact with each other in ways that affect yield, often negatively. If multiple genes added to a variety didn't interact, "the [yield] effect of stacked genes would be equal to the sum of the corresponding single gene effects," the authors write. Instead, the stacked-trait crops were all over the map. "We found strong evidence of gene interactions among transgenic traits when they are stacked," they write. Most of those effects were negative—i.e., yield was reduced.

Overall, the report uncovers evidence of what is known as "yield drag"—the idea that manipulating the genome of a plant variety causes unintended changes in the way it grows, causing it to be less productive.

More encouragingly, the authors found that crop yields for GMO varieties are more stable year-to-year—that is, their yields fluctuate less than those of conventional varieties. As a result of this stabilizing effect, the authors conclude that "our results show how transgenic technology can improve farmers' ability to deal with a risky environment," especially given "current concerns about the effects of climate change on production uncertainty in agriculture." Simply by planting Roundup Ready or Bt crops, they claim, farmers face less risk from yield fluctuations.

That may be true, but it's a long way from "generating higher crop yields with fewer inputs." And it's not clear at all that GMOs' marginal advantages over conventional seeds when it comes to risk mitigation trump the benefits offered by organic ag in that department. Here's how the authors of a major paper published in Nature last year put it:

Soils managed with organic methods have shown better water-holding capacity and water infiltration rates and have produced higher yields than conventional systems under drought conditions and excessive rainfall.
Full Article:
Do GMO Crops Really Have Higher Yields? | Mother Jones



Food and Ag Blogger
Tom Philpott is the food and ag blogger for Mother Jones. For more of his stories, click here. To follow him on Twitter, click here. RSS | TWITTER

Time to Stop Worrying and Learn to Love Industrial Agriculture?
That's what some food writers glean from a new study. Here's why they're wrong.

Food and Extreme Weather: It's the Soil, Stupid
Organic methods build carbon in soil, which allows crops to grow better under heat and drought stress.

Nearly Half of All US Farms Now Have Superweeds
Roundup-resistant weeds colonized 60 million US acres in 2012—up 50 percent from the year before.

Superinsects Are Thriving in This Summer's Drought
Despite Monsanto's efforts to control rootworm, the dreaded pest is spreading. Hot, dry conditions aren't helping.

Monsanto Superinsects Eating Your Corn? Diversify!
Monsanto wants to sell farmers the solution to the problems it causes. Real answers lie elsewhere.

Feb 26, 2013

OSGATA President Keynotes at Public Interest Environmental Law Conference - Salem-News.Com

Feb-25-2013
Jim Gerritsen Speaks About OSGATA et al. v. Monsanto at One of the Oldest and Largest Environmental Law Conferences.


Learn more, visit www.osgata.org

(WASHINGTON DC) - OSGATA President Jim Gerritsen will deliver a keynote speech on theOSGATA et al. v. Monsanto lawsuit before a plenary session of the 31st Annual Public Interest Environmental Law Conference (PIELC), at the University of Oregon School of Law in Eugene, OR, on March 1.

This year's conference theme "Earth Too Big to Fail" speaks to how attorneys, environmental activists, students, and concerned citizens can reclaim the bailout phrase, "too big to fail," for the environmental movement.

Dating back to 1983 when the conference had just 75 participants, PIELC now annually draws a crowd of 3,000 global participants: making the conference one of the oldest and largest of its kind.

"OSGATA was honored when asked to present at this prestigious environmental law conference," said Jim Gerritsen, President of the national trade group and Maine-based organic seed potato farmer.

"OSGATA et al v. Monsanto represents a historic opportunity to establish significant legal protections for family farmers. We are convinced that our lawsuit against Monsanto is necessary to once and for all establish legal clarity that organic and non-GE farmers do have a right to farm as they choose on their own farms without being subject to threats, trespassand intimidation. When these rights of family farmers are protected, then the people win because they are assured of their right to choice in the marketplace for a future of something besides genetically engineered food," said Gerritsen.

Monsanto has sued, or settled out of court with, more than 844 family farms since 1997 over assertions of patent infringement. The landmark lawsuit OSGATA et al v. Monsanto challenges the validity of Monsanto's genetically engineered seed patents and seeks Court protection for family farmers who, through no fault of their own, may have become contaminated by Monsanto's patented genetically engineered (GE) seed and find themselves accused of patent infringement.

Gerritsen is one of several luminary speakers slated for this year's PIELC- which kicks off on Thursday, February 28, and ends on Sunday, March 3.

Over the course of four days conference participants have access to over 125 panels, workshops, and multi-media presentations addressing a broad spectrum of environmental law and advocacy on topics from genetic engineering and corporate responsibility to environmental justice and international environmental law. The full conference schedule is available here.

Gerritsen will be delivering his 45-minute keynote address at 5:30 pm on Friday, March 1, following his participation in a panel discussion themed "Building a Sustainable, Community-Oriented Food Systems" earlier that day at 10:30-11:45 am.

Registration is free and open to the public. For more information, view the conference brochure.

More information on the OSGATA et al v. Monsanto lawsuit is available here.<

The Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association is a not-for-profit agricultural organization made up of organic farmers, seed growers, seed businesses and supporters. OSGATA is committed to developing and protecting organic seed and it's growers in order to ensure the organic community has access to excellent quality organic seed free of contaminants and adapted to the diverse needs of local organic agriculture.www.osgata.org

David vs. Goliath
We will keep fighting until David and justice wins!   Monte

Feb 25, 2013

Obey on Vimeo

YIKES! WOW! - Thought Provoking - Nothing like a a wake up call...!!!!!!!!!!!

With Respect and Regards To All,
Monte & Eileen

The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity.
Albert Einstein

WATCH--> Obey from Studiocanoe on Vimeo http://vimeo.com/59002146

This is a film based on the book "Death of the Liberal Class" by journalist and Pulitzer prize winner, Chris Hedges.

It charts the rise of the Corporate State, and examines the future of obedience in a world of unfettered capitalism, globalisation, staggering inequality and environmental change.

The film predominantly focuses on US corporate capitalism, but it is my hope that the viewer can recognise the relevance of what is being expressed with regards to domestic political and corporate activity.

It was made completely of clips found on the web.

Music by Clark (warp.net/records/clark)

Warning - this film contains scenes that some viewers may find disturbing.

Related Link:
Buckminster Fuller - "on the end of labor"

Buckminster Fuller - "on the end of labor"

Something to ponder...???
Maybe we could spend more time taking care of "our" family, village, community, country, world, ... planet and all life... and less time intent on achieving what we are constantly told that we have to have to make us happy..."money and stuff..."
....and creating "peak everything",
including peak climate change,
peak gun violence, 
peak incarceration........on and on............. !

With Regards and Respect To All,
Monte & Eileen


Buckminster Fuller-on the end of labor 
Discussion on reddit.com
http://tinyurl.com/ac26h84






John Maynard Keynes
Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren
(1930)
http://tinyurl.com/5sauk4

"We are being afflicted with a new disease of which some readers may not yet have heard the name, but of which they will hear a great deal in the years to come--namely, technological unemployment. This means unemployment due to our discovery of means of economizing the use of labor outrunning the pace at which we can find new uses for labor."

Art and The Singularity (aka Durka DERRR!!!!!!!!!)
by Eric Fortune
http://tinyurl.com/aq263tf

Feb 24, 2013

John Kerry: 'We Share Nothing So Completely As Our Planet'

Very encouraging words from our new Secretary of State, John Kerry... I am hopeful of real progress on renewable energy development... and disapproval of the the dreadful Keystone XL Pipeline.
(-: Monte

Published on Feb 20, 2013
http://act.engagementlab.org/signup/c... 2/20/13: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks forcefully on climate change.

Transcript:
KERRY: The stories that we need to tell, of standing up for American jobs and businesses and standing up for our American values, intersect powerfully in the opportunity that we have now in this moment of urgency to lead on the climate concerns that we share with our global neighbors. We as a nation must have the foresight and the courage to make the investments necessary to safeguard the most sacred trust we keep for our children and our grandchildren, and that is an environment not ravaged by rising seas, deadly superstorms, devastating droughts, and the other hallmarks of a dramatically changing climate. President Obama is committed to moving forward on that, and so am I, and so must you be ready to join us in that effort. (Applause.)
. . .
So think about all these things that I've listed. Think about the world as you see it today. Let's face it: We are all in this one together. No nation can stand alone. We share nothing so completely as our planet. When we work with others, large and small, to develop and deploy the clean technologies that will power a new world -- and they're there waiting for us, $6 trillion market, huge amount of jobs -- when we do that, we know we're helping create the new markets and new opportunities for America's second-to-none innovators and entrepreneurs so that we can succeed in the next great revolution in our marketplace. We need to commit ourselves to doing the smart thing and the right thing and to truly take on this challenge, because if we don't rise to meet it, then rising temperatures and rising sea levels will surely lead to rising costs down the road. Ask any insurance company in America. If we waste this opportunity, it may be the only thing our generation -- generations -- are remembered for. We need to find the courage to leave a far different legacy.
John Kerry: 'We Share Nothing So Completely As Our Planet' - YouTube