50% die off of bees worst in 40 years!!!!!!!


Spring is in the air, and as we plant our vegetable gardens and enjoy the blossoming flowers, it’s easy to forget the small creatures that keep many of our spring favorites alive and are essential to our food supply: bees.
One out of every three bites of food you and I eat is pollinated by honeybees. In fact, bees and other pollinators are necessary for about 75 percent of our global food crops. From nuts and soybeans, to squash and cucumbers, from apples, oranges, cherries and blueberries, to avocados, peaches and melons, bees play a critical role in producing the food we eat. Honey bees also contribute over $15 billion to the U.S. economy. Bees are a keystone species and with roughly 80 percent of all flowering plants on the earth reliant on pollinators to reproduce, if we lose bees we will likely lose a host of other important species.
As you may have read in the news, these critical pollinators are in trouble, victims of Colony Collapse Disorder – or CCD, a phenomenon in which bee colonies have been mysteriously collapsing when adult bees seemingly abandon their hives. This last winter, beekeepers reported bee die-offs of more than 50 percent – the worst loss in more than 40 years. CCD has pushed the beekeeping industry in the U.S. to the verge of collapse, and this could spell trouble for a variety of our favorite foods from almonds to blueberries.
For years, the cause of CCD was a scientific mystery, but a growing body of scientific evidence is pointing to a key factor, a class of neurotoxic pesticides called neonicotinoids, or neonics. In fact, a January 2013 EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) report labeled neonicotinoids as an 'unacceptable' danger to bees. And a new report from the American Bird Conservancy provides compelling evidence that neonics are also harming birds.
Neonics are the fastest-growing class of synthetic pesticides in history, and the neonicotinoid imidacloprid (Bayer Crop Science's top-selling product), is currently the most widely used insecticide in the world. Neonics are used as seed treatments on more than 140 crop varieties, as well as on termites, cat and dog flea treatments, lawns, landscapes and gardens. Neonics are persistent and last for years in the soil. They permeate the entire plant and are expressed in pollen, nectar and guttation droplets (dew). And, they can’t be washed off food, meaning that we are all eating them.
What’s worse, Neonics aren’t just in use in commercial agriculture. Many of the plants and seeds we buy in nurseries across the U.S. have been pre-treated with the pesticides and at much higher doses than is used on farms – so when we plant our gardens we may unwittingly be harming bees!
The EPA approved Bayer's products based on the companies own studies and despite mounting evidence – including a memo by the EPA’s own scientists discrediting Bayer’s original study – and 1.25 million public comments, the EPA has delayed action on neonics until 2018. Other governments haven’t been so slow to act. Governments in Italy, Germany, France and elsewhere have already taken action to limit neonics, and beekeepers there are reporting recovery.
The 2013 EFSA study has prompted the EU Parliament to consider a two-year ban on three popular neonics. And, due to a successful campaign by our sister organization Friends of the Earth England, Wales, Northern Ireland (EWNI), many of the major home and garden retailers in the UK have pledged to stop selling neonics.
Bees really are the “canary in the coal mine” when it comes to our food, telling us that the way we produce our food is unhealthy and unsustainable and needs a rapid transition to sustainable, just, ecological agriculture. A new USDA study shows that we could move away from chemically intensive industrial agriculture toward a system of ecologically friendly agriculture and continue to produce enough food for us all.
Friends of the Earth has some exciting actions coming up to save the bees and other pollinators. You’ll have an important role to play, so check back soon.
And in the meantime, choose to buy organic food as much as possible, and, as you plant your spring gardens, be sure to say no to the neonics and choose certified organic seeds and plants to help protect bees and other pollinators!

coloradogreennews@yahoo.com


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Publisher Robert Dunkley at Colorado Green News

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Taryn Kiekow’s Blog

Revolution

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Posted March 14, 2013 in Moving Beyond Oil, Reviving the World's Oceans, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places

Tags:

climatechange, coal, deforestation, endangeredspecies, film, fossilfuels, globalwarming, marinemammals, ocean, oceanacidification, overfishing, revolution, sharks, tarsands

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Director Rob Stewart set out to make a new movie to save sharks. Then the acclaimed director of Sharkwater, a 2007 documentary about shark finning, realized that it’s not just about fighting to save sharks.  It’s about fighting to save our entire planet. Revolution, his latest film, captures our fight for the future and is playing this Saturday at the D.C. Environmental Film Festival.

Revolution rivets the audience from the start.  It opens to stunning underwater footage of sharks – and the realization that Stewart is lost 900 miles off the coast of Equator.  In his words: “I’m in big trouble.” Our planet is in trouble, too.
             
Trouble is a theme that transcends the entire film.  Revolution is an extraordinary journey that documents some of the major threats to our planet.  Overfishing. Ocean acidification.  Global warming.  Fossil fuels.  Coal. Deforestation. The Canadian tar sands.  Climate change. 

Stewart realized there was no point in saving sharks if our oceans – and indeed planet – are headed for disaster. As he said in the film, “it’s no longer just about saving the oceans.  It’s about saving ourselves.”
Revolution is a story about the fight for our future.  It’s a story about sharks, the ocean, and climate change.  And above all, it’s a story about starting a revolution to save our planet.

It’s a powerful movie that makes you think about the possible, not simply dwell on the inevitable.  Revolution is more than just beautiful cinema: it’s an exceptionally well made documentary that inspires action…and change. It’s moving, engaging, astonishing, and enraging.
Revolution has been a festival winner abroad and made its American debut at the Santa Barbara Film Festival to great acclaim last January.  It is showing this Saturday, March 16 at 5:15 pm at the AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, Maryland.  For those of you in the D.C. area, it absolutely demands to be seen.

Manatees Dying in Record Numbers

Sometime this weekend, the record for manatee deaths caused by Red Tide will be broken.

A Red Tide bloom has been killing 10 or more manatees a day and the deadly algae bloom shows no sign of letting up any time soon, say state biologists.

"This is probably going to be the worst die-off in history," said Martine DeWit, a veterinarian who oversees the state's marine mammal pathology laboratory.

The record for manatees killed by Red Tide was set in 1996, with 151 killed by a toxin in the algae bloom. As of Friday, the number killed this year had hit 149, DeWit said, which means the record is likely to fall by today.

Eleven manatees have been rescued, alive but ailing, and taken to Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa for treatment. The treatment requires having zookeepers stand in the manatees' water tank and hold the manatee's head up out of the water so it can breathe.

"They're basically paralyzed and they're comatose," said Virginia Edmonds, the zoo's animal care manager for Florida mammals. "They could drown in 2 inches of water."

Although the zoo does have flotation devices to support the manatees' heads, said zoo spokeswoman Rachel Nelson, "they tend to have seizures, which makes them drown." So each staffer takes a three-hour shift holding the manatees' heads up, she said.

One that was brought in Thursday took a long time to recover and start breathing on its own. That meant that "for 29 hours our keepers held a manatee's head out of the water," Nelson said.

The problem is what to do with them once they've recovered, noted Pat Rose, executive director of the Save the Manatee Club.

"Right now we just have full pools," Edmonds said.

Releasing the recovered manatees back into the wild where the Red Tide is would just sicken them all over again.

"We're making arrangements to move them to other places and stabilize them and keep them there until the Red Tide goes away," Rose said.

SeaWorld has taken two, Edmonds said, and Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park will probably get four. But after that, no one is sure what will happen.

"We'll just keep taking them in," she said. "We want to save as many as we can."

Red Tide has plagued Florida's beaches for centuries. Spanish explorers recorded blooms in the 1500s. Karenia brevis — named for retired biologist Karen Steidinger, who spent decades studying its properties at the state's marine science laboratory in St. Petersburg — lives in the Gulf of Mexico all year long, usually without causing anyone any problems.

But every now and then the algae population just offshore explodes into something called a bloom, staining the water a rust color and releasing large amounts of toxins. No one knows what spurs those blooms or how to stop them, but they can wreak havoc with the state's fishing and tourism industries by causing massive fish kills.

The current Red Tide bloom affects about 70 miles of the southwest Florida coast, extending along the shores of Sarasota County south through the middle of Lee County. It has been floating out there since last fall, hanging on despite changes in the weather, but it did not begin killing off manatees in earnest until last month, DeWit said.

Roughly 40 percent of the state's estimated manatee population of 4,000 to 5,000 animals lives in southwest Florida from Tampa Bay down to the Ten Thousand Islands. Virtually all of the manatees killed by the Red Tide have turned up in the center of that stretch, in Lee County.

During the winter, manatees tend to congregate in areas where they can stay warm, such as springs and the outfalls of power plants. One of the most used of those refuges is in Lee County, where the Caloosahatchee and Orange rivers flow together.

DeWit said biologists figure the manatees that were huddled up in the rivers during the winter have left it and ventured out into the wider waterways — and run into the Red Tide.

In 1996, biologists were at first baffled about what was killing so many manatees. Eventually, once the Red Tide bloom dissipated, the die-off ended, which helped solve the mystery. Biologists figured out that the manatees were breathing in the toxins from the algae bloom, producing the spasms and paralysis that led to their death.

This time, Dewit said, scientists believe the toxins have settled onto the sea grass that the manatees eat, so when they feed they become paralyzed and drown.

Unfortunately, she said, that means that even after the Red Tide bloom ends, the sea grass beds are likely to retain their poisonous coating for another two months, extending the die-off that much longer.

Craig Pittman can be reached at craig@tampabay.com

Up to

5,000

Estimated statewide manatee population

392

Manatees killed last year from all causes

151

Manatees killed by Red Tide in 1996 (record)

146

Manatees killed by Red Tide in 2013 (as of Friday)

About Red Tide

Red Tide is a higher-than-normal concentration of microscopic algae. The blooms stain the water a rusty tint and can kill fish, manatees, dolphins and other marine creatures. The algae contains at least 12 different toxins that can also be harmful to humans, particularly those with respiratory problems. No one knows what spurs the algae growth that produces a Red Tide bloom, but it can wreak havoc with the state's fishing and tourism industry.

.FAST FACTS
How to help
Anyone who notices an ill manatee should immediately notify the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission by calling 1-888-404-FWCC (1-888-404-3922). Cell phone customers can punch in *FWC or #FWC. Be prepared to answer the following questions:
. What is the exact location of the animal?
. Is the manatee alive or dead?
. How long have you been observing the manatee?
. What is the approximate size of the manatee?
. What is the location of the public boat ramp closest to the manatee?
. Can you provide a contact number where you can be reached for further information?

. FAST FACTS
Hed goes here
Anyone who spots an ill manatee should immediately notify the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission by calling 1-888-404-FWCC (1-888-404-3922). Cell phone customers can punch in *FWC or #FWC. Be prepared to answer the following questions:
. What is the exact location of the animal?
. Is the manatee alive or dead?
. How long have you been observing the manatee?
. What is the approximate size of the manatee?
. What is the location of the public boat ramp closest to the manatee?
. Can you provide a contact number where you can be reached for further information

Been away for a while seeking funding for the Colorado Green News Paper. Since the election it is time to turn up the focus and PROMOTE our green living agenda!! Let's begin!!!! Good to be back.

Why is Grilling with Gas Instead of charcoal worth a big spicy impactful 30 points on Practically Green?

Grilled food tastes fantastic—and what’s more fun than a cook out? But grilling is far from an eco-friendly experience. If you’re using charcoal, it can have a negative impact on both personal health and the environment. Charcoal burns dirty, releasing soot and other greenhouse gas pollutants into the air. Because it is made from trees, it also promotes deforestation. And lighter fluid is far from safe.

Weber Portable Gas Grill: looks small but boasts 12,000 BTUs & 280 sq inch cook top. Enough to serve up a mean bbq.

The eco-friendlier alternative to charcoal is gas. Natural gas, propane, and even electric grills burn cleaner and are more efficient than charcoal. Grilling meat—on any kind of grill—can further pollute the air with smog from released fatty acids.

PG Grill Guru reminds that almost ANYTHING can be grilled to perfection! Check EatingWell for an abundance of recipes

Environmental impact is only half of the story here; cooking over an open flame can be a health hazard. According to the American Cancer Society, carcinogenic compounds (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons or PAHs and heterocyclic amines or HCAs) can form directly on your meat as it chars. When burning fat drips on charcoal it creates smoke, which then deposits these compounds back onto your food—so says the Texas Commission on Environmental Air Quality. And Texans know a thing or two about grilling.

Extreme Grillers will love this PG recommendation: It seems only natural to cook up yr organic grass-fed burgers with a Verde grill set made of bamboo & recycled stainless.

Grill less, and less meat. When grilling, gas grills are easy to use—even for beginners. Choose one that works for your needs.

Source meats, veggies, and seafood well. Look for local and organic when possible.

If having a cook out, opt for reusable plates and utensils.

Clean charred material on your grill—before and after use—with a natural cleaner.

Wouldn’t it be great if the answer to every decision could be “all of the above?” It would make life easier. But I'd be a bad father to my newborn son if I told him there's no difference between right and wrong, good and bad -- if I taught him the moral ambivalence of “all of the above.”

When it comes to protecting the environment, President Obama is refusing to choose. He’s now touting “all of the above” as his energy answer, all the while staying appallingly silent on the accelerating climate crisis we face.

It’s a cop-out -- an excuse to continue to embrace dirty, dangerous energy sources, including climate-wrecking tar sands oil and dangerous, outdated nuclear reactors, while purporting to be a leader.

Friends of the Earth has been fighting for the right energy choices since our founding 42 years ago, not because it’s easy, but because it’s necessary. Make a contribution of just $5 or more today and help strengthen our campaigns to stop harmful choices like dirty tar sands oil and dangerous nuclear reactors.

We face steep challenges, which is why we cannot sit back and accept pandering to the purveyors of a “drill baby drill” mentality.

When President Obama stood in front of pipes intended to build the Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline and promised to fast-track the southern portion to the Gulf Coast, we stood with David Daniel, a Texas landowner and father who is organizing to stop the pipeline. Our Stand with David photo petition is showing the resilient grassroots opposition to Keystone XL and its threats to our climate, air and water.

Your pressure has stopped this pipeline and the dirty tar sands oil it would carry for more than two years. Your support will enable us to continue fighting every step of the way, from the streets to the media to the courts.

Will you pitch in just $5 or more to Friends of the Earth and help give us the strength we need to keep up the pressure on the president?

The president’s “all of the above” energy policy also means he’s embraced more nuclear reactors. After the meltdown and radioactive crisis in Japan -- a disaster that has left an area almost twice the size of Manhattan contaminated with radiation -- the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is acting as if safety upgrades are not urgent, and even approved the first new reactors in 30 years.

We’re working in the courts to block the new reactor design, and we're not stopping there:

• We're working to prevent a potential crisis in California, where nuclear reactors at San Onofre, situated within fifty miles of millions of people, are shut down because of serious malfunctions. A nuclear engineer's analysis we released Tuesday was covered by the Associated Press and Los Angeles Times -- and compelled federal regulators to intervene.
• We're on the ground in Iowa campaigning to stop legislation that would allow a utility company to raise consumers' electric rates to pay for new reactors, guaranteeing windfall profits while passing the risks on to Iowans.

And there's so much more to be done. Will you make a contribution of just $5 or more right now and help strengthen our work for the right energy choices -- choices for clean, safe 21st century energy that will protect our health and the climate?

When you contribute to Friends of the Earth, you’re standing with thousands of fellow supporters who are fired up and taking action to define and fight for the right choices -- those that will protect our health, the climate and future generations.

Senate Victories

Today we celebrate International Women's Day. But, thanks to historic Senate votes, we can also celebrate some important victories for the environment.

Moments ago, the Senate passed the bipartisan RESTORE the Gulf Coast States Act, a landmark bill that will dedicate 80% of BP's Clean Water Act fines where they're needed most — to restore the Gulf Coast economy and the wildlife and communities who live there.

Today's victory is the culmination of an all-out, year-long effort combining all of EDF's great strengths — policy expertise, legsilative savvy, scientific know-how, and grassroots pressure.

In the last year, 100,839 online activists took action in support of this bill and hundreds of donors contributed more than $50,000 to support our efforts. On behalf of the entire EDF staff who worked so hard on this bill, I want to thank you all for every action taken and dollar donated. It made a huge difference.

Today's victory follows the House's recent approval of a similar amendment to the House transportation bill. The next step is for the House and Senate to resove the very bridgeable differences between these two amendments and enact the RESTORE Act into law to bring this victory home for the Gulf region.

Senate Also Rejects Toxic Air, Dirty Energy Assaults
In separate votes, the Senate also rejected two other bills we were closely watching.

The first vote was on a bill that would have blocked a life-saving clean air rule limiting mercury and other toxic pollution from industrial boilers. This rule will prevent up to 8,100 premature deaths every year and reduce the threat of toxic mercury pollution, which causes brain damage in kids.

The Senate also rejected a bill that would have fast-tracked the controversial Keystone XL pipeline project, which would transport dirty tar sands oil 1,700 miles from Canada's boreal forest to American refineries in Texas.

Since November, more than 90,000 activists have taken action against the Keystone pipeline project and nearly 150,000 activists have taken action in the last year in support of stronger clean air standards.

Together, our voices were heard and today's victories on these important bills demonstrate that when we stand together we are a powerful force for environmental progress.

Thanks to everyone who has taken action, donated, recruited friends, and helped spread the word on Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks in support of our efforts on these and many other critical environmental issues.

Posted: 29 Feb 2012 10:13 AM PST

Clean Your Microwave Safely
It’s a pain to clean the inside of a microwave. Whatever you have to do to get the zapped on gunk out of there, don’t use a conventional cleaner! When you clean with them, they leave behind residues that can get in the air you breathe but also the food you’re heating. Most chemicals in these products should not be heated to the temperatures generated by a microwave.

To clean microwave safely, Ingredient #1: LEMON

To clean microwave safely, Ingredient #2: GLASS CONTAINER (this one's from Williams-Sonoma)

It’s difficult to know exactly what a cleaner contains as cleaning product formulas are currently considered government-protected trade secrets. Manufacturers aren’t required to disclose their contents to consumers. So they don’t. Sometimes there are warning labels like “danger” “poison” “toxic” or “hazardous.” These are best not sprayed in a microwave. Generally speaking conventional cleaners contain hazardous, often petroleum-derived, chemicals including ammonia, glycol ethers, synthetic fragrances, and even the synthetic antibacterial agent triclosan—which have been linked to cancer, asthma, hormone disruption, liver and kidney damage, and more.

If you have an oven-cleaning product already, you might want to check it on GoodGuide.com

Using a natural cleaner reduces your exposure to these chemicals and keeps their residues out of our waterways. But when it comes to cleaning a microwave, it’s just as easy—and very safe—to rely on a few household staples.
Either place a half of a lemon or distilled white vinegar with water in a microwave-friendly bowl (preferably glass). Heat for five minutes. The steam generated by either mixture will loosen food re

If climate change is a hoax and you can prove it a free shotgun is yours!!!!!

By Brad Johnson

17 Feb 2012 3:35 PM

Photo by Andrew Nicholson.

Cross-posted from ThinkProgress Green.
The founder of Conservation Hawks, an organization of sportsmen dedicated to fighting climate change, will give up his gun if global warming is a hoax.
“If you can convince Conservation Hawks chairman Todd Tanner that he’s wasting his time, that he does not have to worry about climate change, he will present to you his most prized possession: a Beretta Silver Pigeon 12 gauge over/under that was a gift from his wife, and has been a faithful companion on many a Montana bird hunt,” Hal Herring writes at The Conservationist. “I know the gun, and I’ve hunted and fished with Todd for years. He’s not kidding. You convince him, he’ll give you the gun.” Tanner told The Conservationist:

Let’s say you are walking down a trail in the wilderness with your wife and kids, and you come upon a grizzly sow, standing on a carcass. She charges, flat out. You’re in front of your family. What do you do? Just give up? Pretend it’s not happening? Let her maul you and everything you care about? Of course you don’t. You take action. That is how I see climate change. It’s real, it’s threatening everything we love. Not taking action is not an option.

Tanner rebuffed the argument that action on global warming pollution just means a government takeover. “You want to talk about government intrusion, think about what it means if we don’t address this now while we have the time and resources,” he said. “We will lose the freedoms that we have because somebody — and it will be government — will be in an all-out effort to try and address the effects of our neglect. We’ll face the worst thing of all — losing our freedom. And we’ll already have lost most of hunting and fishing. That’s how serious I believe this is.”
So those of you who deny the threat of global warming — Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney, Rush Limbaugh, Rick Perry, Sarah Palin, David Koch — this could be yours if you can convince Tanner that there’s really just a scientific conspiracy to trick people that greenhouse pollution is dangerous:

A Beretta Silver Pigeon 12 gauge shotgun.

Brad Johnson is the editor for ThinkProgress Green at the Center for American Progress Action Fund. Brad holds a bachelor’s degree in math and physics from Amherst College and master’s degree in geosciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is the co-author of Technomanifestos, a history of the Information Revolution, and the founder of HillHeat.com, which covers climate policy in our nation’s capital.

Washington County Maine to hold last caucus to add to final tally of the Maine 2012 vote this weekend. Ron Paul is less than 200 votes behind Romney in the Maine vote, and if he can pull it out Mitt will have another primary loss and one taken away. Washington County Maine is solidly in Ron Paul hands so it looks bad for Mitt!!!!

Goodnight Mother Earth, protect your creatures, oceans, land & air from our human onslaught,we will do our best to join the battle with you!

By David R Arnott, msnbc.com

Fishermen in the Pakistani port of Karachi got more than they bargained for Tuesday as they reeled in one of the biggest fish in the sea: a whale shark.
The Express Tribune, a Pakistani newspaper, reported that the 40-foot fish was first spotted ten days ago in seas about 150 km (93 miles) from the city. Mehmood Khan, the owner of a local fishery, said the shark was unconscious at that time and other reports said that it was found dead Tuesday. 
A large crowd gathered as a succession of cranes were brought in to lift the shark on to the pier. After several hours and a number of failed attempts, the leviathan was finally brought ashore and promptly sold for 1.7m Rupees ($18,750).
The whale shark was added to the World Conservation Union's list of threatened species in 2008.

Robert Dunkley, Ph.D., Jan 28 11:56 (PST):

Hi friends,
This is Robert Dunkley in colorful Colorado. I hope you are enjoying the winter here in the West. Right now we are waging a war for our environment and natural resources! I heard you are an active outdoor lover, and participate in the outdoor lifestyle. Skiing, snowboarding, hiking, camping, mountaineering, biking, anything outdoors! I publish a newspaper the Colorado Green News. We have an environmental protection group at the Green News, and we battle for clean air, water, and forests across the Western United States. Become a member of our group. Help stop corporate greed, pollution and their onslaught on our forests and wildlife.Anything you can do would benefit our green sustainable future. I am offering you a complimentary copy of our new newspaper, the Colorado Green News, and hope you will visit our website at www.coloradogreennews.com. Visit the second website page (Vol. #1-02) and click on the link to get your copy of the newspaper. We report
on many areas of  interest to the green community so you can stay informed. Please donate today $1.00 or $5.00 or even $10.00 anything will help us win this eco-war and save our green sustainable home. Please forward..

Best wishes for your green future!
Robert Dunkley, Ph.D.
Publisher, Colorado Green News

Colorado Green News Winter Pledge Drive!!!!!!!!!!!!  We are seeking 2000 individuals to pledge to purchase a subscription to the our newspaper. The February 14th, 2012 paper is online now. Your pledge will allow us to fight the ongoing battle against pollution, environmental damage, non renewable energy, and corporate greed. Know that while you are busy at work or home we are battling for you and the environment.Annual subscription is $24.00 thank you all for your help and support in our Winter Pledge Drive!.

Vegetarians, vegans, and pescatarians have the day off. But those of us who love eating meat from time to time are invited to Buy Meat that is Raised Using Sustainable Farming Methods: and boost your score by 50 points! (Vegetarians already have 200 points! And weekday vegetarians have 100 points! See dozens of Food actions here.) Leading up to Superbowl Sunday, we’re looking forward to buffalo wing platters, chili bowls, and an alternative boeuf bourgignon along with everyone. Today’s action encourages you to be picky about the meat in those tasty recipes: Buy Meat Raised Using Sustainable Farming Methods.
By the way, Practically Green’s actions are written by our editorial director Alexandra Zissu, the author of The Butcher’s Guide to Well-Raised Meat (among other books), so rest assured this is prime tenderloin info.

The word sustainable is widely used in natural food circles. Unlike USDA organic, it isn’t government defined or third party certified. It signifies a lot: healthy farming practices that don’t harm the environment, humane animal treatment, support of farming communities, fair wages and treatment for laborers. But in order to know what is truly meant by sustainable, and if you can trust it, you need to know your producers. Since sustainable meat is local meat, it’s pretty easy to ask questions of your farmer. Good subjects to raise include farming practices (i.e. if they’re using pesticides and fertilizers for the animal’s feed), drug use (i.e. are they administering hormones and non-therapeutic antibiotics to their animals), and general questions about how the animals spend their days. Just because something is local doesn’t mean it is automatically sustainable.

There are many benefits to meat from sustainably raised local animals: it’s usually safer and better for you and the environment, and its transportation footprint can be considerably less than its factory-farmed and mass distributed counterparts.

Smart shortcut: buy Applegate Farms meat products... totally know where each product came from (as in what farm, what town)... and enter their recipe contests on Facebook!

The biggest challenge related to buying sustainably raised meat is finding the good stuff. The process of figuring out what is truly sustainable and where you can buy it can take some time. But it’s very worthwhile. And well-raised meat is becoming increasingly available as consumer demand grows—in butcher shops, farmers’ markets, CSA-style meat shares directly from farms, natural food stores, and even in some supermarkets.
Browse the recommended links to locate farms near you that are producing sustainably raised meat.

When we have family and friends for a big festive tailgate, we like to consult The Family Dinner: go-to cookbook for fun events at home. Pictured: Greek Meatballs

• Bookmark This Site: EatWild.com
• Grist: USDA Inspector General–Meat Supply Routinely Tainted With Harmful Residues
• Sustainable Table: Serving Up Healthy Food Choices
• Practically Green Book Pick: The Butcher’s Guide To Well Raised Meat
• Bookmark This Site: Farm Fresh Directory
• PracticallyGreen.com: Meat Advice To Live By–Alexandra Zissu Introduces Her New Book, “The Butcher’s Guide To Well-Raised Meat”

Snowy owls soar south from Arctic in rare mass migration

By Laura Zuckerman | Reuters – 12 hrs ago

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• Enlarge PhotoA snowy white owl takes flight in this undated handout photo courtesy of U.S. Fish …

SALMON, Idaho (Reuters) - Bird enthusiasts are reporting rising numbers of snowy owls from the Arctic winging into the lower 48 states this winter in a mass southern migration that a leading owl researcher called "unbelievable."

Thousands of the snow-white birds, which stand 2 feet tall with 5-foot wingspans, have been spotted from coast to coast, feeding in farmlands in Idaho, roosting on rooftops in Montana, gliding over golf courses in Missouri and soaring over shorelines in Massachusetts.

A certain number of the iconic owls fly south from their Arctic breeding grounds each winter but rarely do so many venture so far away even amid large-scale, periodic southern migrations known as irruptions.

"What we're seeing now -- it's unbelievable," said Denver Holt, head of the Owl Research Institute in Montana.

"This is the most significant wildlife event in decades," added Holt, who has studied snowy owls in their Arctic tundra ecosystem for two decades.

Holt and other owl experts say the phenomenon is likely linked to lemmings, a rodent that accounts for 90 percent of the diet of snowy owls during breeding months that stretch from May into September. The largely nocturnal birds also prey on a host of other animals, from voles to geese.

An especially plentiful supply of lemmings last season likely led to a population boom among owls that resulted in each breeding pair hatching as many as seven offspring. That compares to a typical clutch size of no more than two, Holt said.

Greater competition this year for food in the Far North by the booming bird population may have then driven mostly younger, male owls much farther south than normal.

Research on the animals is scarce because of the remoteness and extreme conditions of the terrain the owls occupy, including northern Russia and Scandinavia, he said.

The surge in snowy owl sightings has brought birders flocking from Texas, Arizona and Utah to the Northern Rockies and Pacific Northwest, pouring tourist dollars into local economies and crowding parks and wildlife areas. The irruption has triggered widespread public fascination that appears to span ages and interests.

"For the last couple months, every other visitor asks if we've seen a snowy owl today," said Frances Tanaka, a volunteer for the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge northeast of Olympia, Washington.

But accounts of emaciated owls at some sites -- including a food-starved bird that dropped dead in a farmer's field in Wisconsin -- suggest the migration has a darker side. And Holt said an owl that landed at an airport in Hawaii in November was shot and killed to avoid collisions with planes.

He said snowy owl populations are believed to be in an overall decline, possibly because a changing climate has lessened the abundance of vegetation like grasses that lemmings rely on.

This winter's snowy owl outbreak, with multiple sightings as far south as Oklahoma, remains largely a mystery of nature.

"There's a lot of speculation. As far as hard evidence, we really don't know," Holt said.

(Editing by Steve Gorman and David Bailey)

Go to the website www.coloradogreennews.com  and the second page vol1#01  and the link there to our Newspaper January 25th edition. Give us some feedback on what you all think. Any questions or comments or ideas?

Colorado Green News supports the addition of the 28th Amendment to the US Constitution: The right to a green sustainable America shall not be denied to our citizens. We hold these truths self evident, and a green sustainable America is as important as Life, Liberty, Freedom and the Pursuit of Happiness for without a green sustainable America all other rights are meaningless..

Our closest cosmic neighbor the Moon is a great example of how unsustainable cosmic practices influenced its outcome. Earth bound skeptics need just take a short stay on the Moon to see up close how unsustainable, anti-green thinking works!    Barren Death is the final outcome!  Now you get it? While this scenario would seem far-fetched it speaks volumes about how those who are still involved in unsustainable practices and old fossil fuel use need to wake-up and smell the coffee....time grows short