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Chemtails Resume Today In The Sky above Southern Oregon | Facebook

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 04:00:00 -0700

Evergreen Aviation near Portland implicated as likely source of toxic aluminum plumes admittedly sprayed to mitigate the effects of global warming.

The chemtrails aerial-spraying program resumed in the skies above Ashland Oregon today. It stopped 6 weeks ago, consistent with a pattern in the past (just before the US invaded Iraq) likely to conserve tanker resources to support an attack against Iran. That being averted (for now) the airborne toxic aluminum fallout on the American people resumes. see chemtrails resume today in notes and below.

For 10 years the government lied about this program, telling anyone who observed and complained about it that they were misinformed or crazy. Now they publicly admit they are spraying the upper atmosphere with aluminum oxide and barium salts to create a reflective layer in sky to reflect heat from the sun back into outer-space to mitigate global warming.

This open admission now with a paper tail leading back to Evergreen Aviation near Portland Oregon as one of the sources of the tankers spraying this toxin out of airborne tankers-- raises the ante of intelligent and concerted response quite considerably.

The onus is now on the public to educate itself as quickly as possible about this dreadfully intimate and nefarious domestic assault against the health and integrity of our nation.

An independent US agricultural biologist using US lab certified tests has proven that aluminum falling from the sky over the last 10 years has dramatically and measurably impacted the Ph balance in the watershed on Mount Shasta, raising the level of alkalizing and toxic aluminum in the water and soil to more than 5 times the federally established level of aluminum toxicity.

It has alkalized the native acidity of the soil around Mount Shasta into a dangerously imbalanced alkalinity, impacting seed germination and normal insect procreation.

If we quietly and knowingly acquiesce to this publicly disclosed and admittedly unfolding program, we are explicitly consenting to an atrocity and crime against humanity in which we ourselves are now the victims if not the targeton both a national and global level.

There was reportedly a group in Ashland years ago like the chemtrails activists from Mount Shasta who had a booth at Peace Village in Ashland last weekendwho were actively engaged in educating the public about this formerly covert program, operating above US soil for at least 10 years. Now that this is an openly admitted program, it is time to resume the effort to stop it, in earnest. Please contact me if you are interested in participating.

Epidemic levels of acute non-specific respiratory distress (first documented by the BBC in England in 1998 when this program began) likely linked to mycoplasmic agents from the upper atmosphere falling to the ground (adhering to the positively-charged aluminum particles and breathed very deeply into the lungs due to their very small size) are one of the most directly experienced fall outs from this activity.

My family in Northeast Washington was directly affected by this program; it was and continues to be one of the most excessively targeted areas in the nation. The same in true in Eastern British Columbia, north of Spokane, above Nelson and the Kootenay region. Our neighbors three small children (home schooled, organic home-grown diet) all contracted walking pneumonia three times!

Will we knowingly consent to this?
Where do we draw the line?
Where do you draw the line?

Is this the world we will have our children, and all precious living things in the delicate web of life, being born and growing up and living?

Or maybe not?

Searching by Krishna | Ashland Resource Center

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 16:00:00 -0700

It is natural to search for truth during one's lifetime. That leads one to different paths, Gurus, Guides, Masters, Teachers, established Religions and what not! Everyone and everything brings us one step nearer to truth, irrespective of that person was what we thought or otherwise or totally a fake. But that experience takes us for sure faster to truth, reality, existence, god, life or love.

Nothing is there without the purpose and to mislead us or keep us away from our search of Truth. Wrong guide or guru or leader was there to cut-short our journey a bit atleast towards our goalless goal, as it will give us the yardstick to avoid such an experience again. We should be thankful to one and all, who shorten our pilgrmage from here to here. As all experiences of life makes one a seasoned being and makes one wiser by the day, if one is open, available, receptive and unconditioned from all dogmas, prejudices and spiritual-shit, which is the sure obstacle to the truth, as all these stuffs are of the mind and mind is the only barrier between us and the Truth.

In other words, everything is spiritual, as there is not two. To know our oneness is an experience and not the sloagan, as it is like experience of love. Talk of love is the impediment to love. Also it is two diametrically different things - to love and to talk ABOUT love. Similarly to experience Truth and to talk about truth are like east and west and keeps one in darkness with spiritual-ego, which is very deadly poison than ordinary passion, attachment and worldly mundane affairs.
It is very difficult to get out of Golden prison / cage than iron one.

The Cancer Risk Lurking in Your Drinking Water | E/The Environmental Magazine

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 04:00:00 -0700

What you need to know about chlorine.

"Dear EarthTalk: I am very concerned about the amount of chlorine in my tap water. I called my water company and they said it is safe, just let the tap run for awhile to rid the smell of chlorine. But that just gets rid of the smell, perhaps, not the chlorine?" - Anita Frigo, Milford, CT

Thousands of American municipalities add chlorine to their drinking water to neutralize contaminants. "Chlorine, added as an inexpensive and effective drinking water disinfectant, is also a known poison to the body," says Vanessa Lausch of filter manufacturer Aquasana. "It is certainly no coincidence that chlorine gas was used with deadly effectiveness as a weapon in the First World War." The gas would severely burn the lungs and other body tissues when inhaled, and is no less powerful when ingested by mouth.

Lausch adds that researchers have now linked chlorine in drinking water to higher incidences of bladder, rectal and breast cancers. Reportedly chlorine, once in water, interacts with organic compounds to create trihalomethanes (THMs) - which when ingested encourage the growth of free radicals that can destroy or damage vital cells in the body. "Because so much of the water we drink ends up in the bladder and/or rectum, ingestions of THMs in drinking water are particularly damaging to these organs," says Lausch.

The link between chlorine and bladder and rectal cancers has long been known, but only recently have researchers found a link between common chlorine disinfectant and breast cancer, which affects one out of every eight American women. A recent study conducted in Hartford, Connecticut found that women with breast cancer have 50-60% higher levels of organochlorines (chlorine by-products) in their breast tissue than cancer-free women.

But don't think that buying bottled water is any solution. Much of the bottled water for sale in the U.S. comes from public municipal water sources that are often treated with, you guessed it, chlorine. A few cities have switched over to other means of disinfecting their water supplies. Las Vegas, for example, has followed the lead of many European and Canadian cities in switching over to ozone instead of chlorine to disinfect its municipal water supply.

As for getting rid of the chlorine that your city or town adds to its drinking water on your own, theories abound. Some swear by the method of letting their water sit for 24 hours so that the chlorine in the glass or pitcher will off-gas. Letting the tap run for a while is not likely to remove any sizable portion of chlorine, unless one were to then let the water sit overnight before consuming it. Another option to consider may be a product called WaterYouWant, which looks like sugar but actually is composed of tasteless antioxidants and plant extracts. The manufacturer claims that a quick shake of the stuff removes 100% of the chlorine (and its odor) from a glass a tap water. A year's supply of WaterYouWant retails for under $30.

Of course, an easier way to get rid of chlorine from your tap water is by installing a carbon-based filter, which absorbs chlorine and other contaminants before they get into your glass or body. Tap-based filters from the likes of Paragon, Aquasana, Kenmore, Seagul and others remove most if not all of the chlorine in tap water, and are relatively inexpensive to boot.

GOT AN ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTION?
Send it to: EarthTalk, c/o E/The Environmental Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; submit it here or via e-mail. Read past columns here and check out the recent book Earthtalk: Expert Answers to Everyday Questions about the Environment

Source: The Daily Green

Fungi Perfecti: Cleaning Up the Petroleum Problem by Paul E. Stamets

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 04:00:00 -0700

Paul Stamet's Statement on Mycoremediation and its Applications to Oil Spills.

The BP oil spill has inflicted enormous harm in the Gulf of Mexico and will continue to do so for months, if not decades, to come. While we will need a wide array of efforts to address this complex problem, mycoremediation is a valuable component in our toolset of solutions. Mycoremediation has demonstrated positive results, verified by scientists in many countries. However, there is more oil spilled than there is currently mycelium available. Much more mycelium is needed and, fortunately, we know how to generate it.

Here is what we know about mycoremediation, based on tests conducted by myself, my colleagues and other researchers who have published their results. (See attached references.)

Oil being absorbed by mushroom mycelium.

What we know:

More than 120 novel enzymes have been identified from mushroom-forming fungi.
Various enzymes breakdown a wide assortment of hydrocarbon toxins.
My work with Battelle Laboratories, in collaboration with their scientists, resulted in TAHs (Total Aromatic Hydrocarbons) in diesel contaminated soil to be reduced from 10,000 ppm to < 200 ppm in 16 weeks from a 25% inoculation rate of oyster (Pleurotus ostreatus) mycelium, allowing the remediated soil to be approved for use as landscaping soil along highways. (Thomas et al., 1999)
Oil contains a wide variety of toxins, many of which are carcinogens.
Mycelium more readily degrades lower molecular weight hydrocarbons (3,4,5 ring) than heavier weight hydrocarbons. However, the heavier weight hydrocarbons are reduced via mycelial enzymes into lighter weight hydrocarbons, allowing for a staged reduction with subsequent mycelial treatments.
Aged mycelium from oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) mixed in with compost made from woodchips and yard waste (50:50 by volume) resulted in far better degradation of hydrocarbons than oyster mushroom mycelium or compost alone.
Oyster mycelium does not degrade keratin-based hair as it produces little or no keratinases, whereas other mold fungi such as Chaetomium species (which include some high temperature-tolerant leaf mold fungi) produce keratinases.
Worms die when put into contact with high concentrations of hydrocarbon saturated soils, but live after mycelial treatments reduce the toxins below the lethal thresholds.
Spring inoculations work better than fall inoculations as the mycelium has more time to grow-out. Bioregional specificities must be carefully considered.
Amplifying native mushroom species in the bioregion impacted by toxic spills work better than non-native species.
More funding is needed to better understand and implement mycoremediation technologies.
Oil spills will occur in the futurewe need to be ready for them!

Oyster mushrooms producing on oil contaminated soil (12% = 10,00020,000 ppm). We do not recommend eating food crops from contaminated soils.
Photo credit: Susan Thomas.

Soil toxicity reduced in 16 weeks to less than ~ 200 ppm, allowing for plants, worms and other species to inhabit whereas control piles remained toxic to plants and worms.
Photo credit: Susan Thomas.

What we dont know:

The effect of salt water on the growth of mycelium on hair mats soaked in oil. The Presidio project with Matter of Trust did not test the hair mats used to soak up the Cosco Busan oil spill in San Francisco bay. The hair mats that were tested were ones that were put into contact with motor oil and Bunker C oil collected from the bowels of the Cosco Busan, without saltwater.
The differential gradients of decomposition of the complex oil constituents from contact with Oyster mushroom mycelium. Different toxins degrade at different rates when placed into contact with mycelium.
The variables that influence the success of mycoremediation, particularly since the targeted toxins are often complex mixtures of volatile and non-volatile hydrocarbons.
How many other species of fungi could be applied for mycoremediation beyond the few that have been tested? Up to now, Oyster mushroom mycelium (Pleurotus ostreatus) has been tested successfully but there are literally thousands of other species yet to be tested for mycoremediation.
How each fungal species used pre-selects the subsequent biological populations and how these further enable plant communities as habitats recover from toxic waste exposure?
Whether or not the mushrooms grown on decomposing toxic wastes are safe to eat.
To what degree of decomposition by mycelium of toxic soils makes the soils safe for food crops.
How economically practical will it be to remove mushrooms that have hyper-accumulated heavy metalswill this be a viable remediation strategy? Which species are best for hyper accumulating specific metals?
How to finance/design composting centers around population centers near pollution threats.
How to trainon a massive scalethe mycotechnicians needed to implement mycoremediation.
How to fund Myco-Us, learning centers with emphasis on implementing myco-solutions to human made and natural catastrophes.
How extensively and diversely will mycoremediation practices be needed in the future?

Pouring crank case oil onto oyster mushroom compost after it has
produced several crops of mushrooms.

New crop of mushrooms form several weeks later. The spores released by these mushrooms have the potentialas a epigenetic responseto pre-select new strains more
adaptive to this oil-saturated substrate.

How can we help?
Knowing that the extent of this disaster eclipses our mycological resources should not be a reason to not act.

I proposed in 1994 that we have Mycological Response Teams (MRTs) in place to react to catastrophic events, from hurricanes to oil spills. We need to preposition composting and mycoremediation centers adjacent to population centers. We should set MRTs into motion, centralized in communities, which are actively involved in recycling, composting and permacultureutilizing debris from natural or man-made calamities to generate enzymes and rebuild healthy local soils.

I see the urgent need to set up webinar-like, Internet-based modules of education to disseminate methods for mycoremediation training so people throughout the world can benefit from the knowledge we have gained through the past decade of research. Such hubs of learning could cross-educate others and build a body of knowledge that would be further perfected over time, benefiting from the successes and failures of those in different bioregions. The cumulative knowledge gained from a centralized data hub could emerge as a robust yet flexible platform that could help generations to come. Scientists, policy makers, and citizens would be empowered with practical mycoremediation tools for addressing environmental disasters.

There are additional opportunities here. By encouraging strategically placed gourmet mushroom production centers near debris fields from natural and human-made disasters, we can open a pathway for mycoremediation. The aged compost that is produced after mushrooms are harvested is rich in enzymesa value-added by-product and this waste product is aptly suited for mycoremediation purposes. What most people do not realize is that most mushroom farms generate this compost by the tons and are eager for it to be used elsewhere.

On a grand scale, I envision that we, as a people, develop a common myco-ecology of consciousness and address these common goals through the use of mycelium. To do so means we need to spread awareness and information. Please spread the word of mycelium. Educate friends, family and policy makers about mycological solutions. Bring your local leaders up the learning curve on how fungi can decompose toxins, rebuild soils and strengthen our food chains. What we lack is the widespread availability of mycologically skilled technicians and educators and a more mycologically informed public. We need a paradigm shift, a multi-generational educational infrastructure, bringing fungal solutions to the forefront of viable options to mitigate disasters. An unfortunate circumstance we face is that the field of mycology is poorly funded in a time of intense need.

To support this expanded mycological awareness, I offer my books as resourcesespecially Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World and Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms. Also, please see my talk on Ted.comthis is an excellent primer for those wanting to understand how mushrooms and fungi can help mitigate disasters and heal ecosystems.

Let's become part of the solution. We may not have all the answers now but we can work towards an integrated strategy, flexible in its design, and yet target specific to these types of disasters. We should work in preparation to resolve ecological emergencies before and after they occur. Together, we can protect and heal our communities and ecosystems.

For the Earth,
- Paul Stamets

THE PROBLEM: OIL IS A COMPLEX MIXTURE OF TOXIC HYDROCARBONS

Not many people, even experts, fully grasp the diverse range of toxins that are present in oil. Bunker C oil is used as a fuel, particularly in cargo ships, and is especially dirty. Here is a list of some of the hydrocarbons typically found in Bunker C oil:

TOWARDS AN INTEGRATED SOLUTION: MYCOREMEDIATION RESOURCES

Recommended texts:

Gadd, G. 2001. Fungi in Bioremediation. Cambridge University Press.
Singh, H. 2006. Mycoremediation: Fungal Bioremediation. Wiley Interscience.
Stamets, P. 2005. Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World. Ten Speed Press, Berkeley , California

Recommended articles:

S. Thomas, P. Becker, M.R. Pinza , J.Q. Word, 1999. Mycoremediation of Aged Petroleum Hydrocarbon Contaminants in Soil. NASA no. 19990031874.
S. Thomas, 2000. Personal Communication. "Subsequently to the end of the study, WSDOT retested the soils at its own expense, with a more detailed sampling regime, and found that it did indeed meet the EPA criterion of less than or equal to 200 ppm TPH, which allowed WSDOT to use the soil in highway landscaping." Nov. 30. Email to Paul Stamets.
V. ©a¹ek, John A. Glaser, Philippe Baveye, 2000. The Utilization of Bioremediation to Reduce Soil Contamination: Problems and Solutions. Nato Science Series IV. Earth and Environmental Sciences vol. 19.
M. Bhatt, T. Cajthaml and V. ©a¹ek, 2001. Mycoremediation of PAH-contaminated soils. Folia Microbiologica, Springer Netherlands ,Volume 47, Number 3 / June, 2002.
Eggen, T., and V. Sasek. 2002. "Use of edible and medicinal oyster mushroom [Pleurotus ostreatus (Jacq.:Fr.) Kimm.] spent compost in remediation of chemically polluted soils." International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms 4: 225261.
T. Cajthaml, M. Bhatt, V. ©a¹ek, and V. Mateju. 2002. "Bioremediation of PAH-contaminated soil by composting: A Case Study." Folia Microbiologica 47(6): 696700.
T. Cajthaml, M. Moder, P. Kacer, V. ©a¹ek, and P. Popp. 2002. "Study of fungal degradation products of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons using gas chromatography with ion trap mass spectrometry detection." Journal of Chromatography A, 974: 213222.
V. ©a¹ek, 2003. Why mycoremediations have not yet come into practice The Utilization of Bioremediation to Reduce Soil Contamination: Problems and Solutions, 247-266. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Netherlands .
Giubilei, Maria A; Leonardi, Vanessa; Federici, Ermanno; Covino, Stefano; ©a¹ek, Vaclav; Novotny, Cenek; Federici, Federico; D'Annibale, Alessandro; Petruccioli, Maurizio, 2009, June. Effect of mobilizing agents on mycoremediation and impact on the indigenous microbiota. Journal of Chemical Technology & Biotechnology, Volume 84, Number 6, June 2009, pp. 836844(9). John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

AT&T wants to put 12 antennas on roof of Ashland Street Cinemas | Ashland Daily Tidings

Sat, 08 May 2010 04:00:00 -0700

The Hidden Springs Wellness Center expects more than 50 supporters to attend Tuesday's Planning Commission meeting to speak out against AT&T's plans to put 12 cell phone antennas on the roof of Ashland Street Cinemas.

The supporters say they're concerned that radiation from the antennas could harm their health and hurt business at the wellness center and shops surrounding the theater at 1644 Ashland St.

"We're alarmed," said Will Wilkinson, a life coach at the center. "We perceive this as a real threat to our health and our livelihood as health practitioners."

The commission will hold a public hearing on the proposed antennas at 7 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, 1175 E. Main St.

At a community meeting AT&T held in July to discuss the antennas, representative Kevin Provance said the antennas would meet Federal Communications Commission radiation regulations and would be encased in a translucent material that would help buffer emissions. He said the government has received no quantitative data showing that radiation from properly placed antennas causes cancer or is otherwise harmful.

AT&T and six other cell phone companies already have antennas on the top of the Ashland Springs Hotel, said Provance, a principal planner for Portland's Goodman Networks, which has a contract with AT&T.

The company wants to put more antennas in south Ashland because its cell phone and wireless internet coverage is spotty there, he said. The antennas will also allow AT&T to support more smartphones, such as Apple's iPhone.

The antennas have an approximately 1.5-mile radius, so they can't be placed in a rural Ashland area, Provance said.

AT&T's plan calls for increasing the height of the Cinema building's pointed façade to 40 feet and placing the antennas inside the new façade.

The company has negotiated a deal with the owner of the Ashland Cinema building, and would pay the owner rent each month for providing the space for the antennas, Provance said.

The wellness center has received feedback from dozens of Ashland residents who are concerned about the antennas, since sending out an e-mail alert Thursday, Wilkinson said.

Naomi Marie said she would refuse to take her children to the theater if the antennas are installed on the roof.

"I will not go get cooked with my kids while I see a movie," she wrote in an e-mail message.

The wellness center is circulating a petition against the antennas and plans to present it to the commission Tuesday.

The commission can not use potential health risks as a criterion in determining whether the antennas can be placed on the theater, according to city planners.

"Federal law prohibits cities from using the associated dangers of electronic emissions as a criterion in the sitting of towers," the city's staff report on the project states. For that reason, the wellness center plans to argue that the antennas would hurt its business and would be aesthetically unsightly," Wilkinson said. "The health issue is what drives the economics," he said. "If people perceive that there's a health risk from a tower, then that could destroy our livelihoods."

If the antennas are built, the wellness center could close, Wilkinson said.

"It'd be really hypocritical to have a health center pretty close to a tower," he said.

Contact staff writer Hannah Guzik at 482-3456 ext. 226 or hguzik@dailytidings.com.

Source: Ashland Daily Tidings

Pesticide-Free-Parks Can Be a Reality! | Ashland Resource Center

Mon, 05 Apr 2010 04:00:00 -0700

Ashland, Oregon is supposed to be committed to a path of sustainability. Apparently some of our city leaders have gotten lazy with regards to the pesticide issue. So the citizen's have become active in reducing the use of pesticides in all the cities parks.

Ashlanders are opposed to the continued use of pesticides for park, turf and grounds maintenance when there are solid, proven alternatives to such practices.

Instead of just writing letters, you could make copies of the attached "Non-Herbicide Park Maintenance" plans already implemented by various municipalities in California and Oregon and send them to the mayor, city manager, city council, park supervisors, etc.

If they require more information they can contact a coordinator for NCAP in charge of the pesticide-free parks program.

Shelly Connor, NCAP, Pesticide-Free Parks Program Coordinator
sconnor@pesticide.org
(541) 344-5044 x17

The City of Ashland, or any other municipality committed to sustainability has absolutely "no excuse" for still using pesticides.
Source: NCAP

Former Ashland restaurateur convicted in tax fraud case | Mail-Tribune

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 04:00:00 -0700

Editor's Note: Having had direct experience in federal courts, I've concluded you cannot believe a single word you read about these federal cases especially with regards to taxes. With a 99% conviction rate in federal courts even the innocent are wrongfully convicted.

An Ashland man accused of helping people set up sham businesses to avoid taxes was one of eight people convicted Wednesday of tax fraud by a federal jury in Florida.

Following a month-long trial in Pensacola, Eugene "Gino" Casternovia, 61, was convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He faces a possible 25-year prison sentence and $750,000 in fines. Sentencing is set for July 6.

The U.S. Department of Justice contended Casternovia presented and sold tax-fraud schemes at various trade shows and conferences around the world, including a presentation for 400 people aboard a cruise ship in the Mediterranean in May 2007.

Casternovia was arrested in August 2008 and indicted in September of that year. He and his wife, Kathryn, had lived in Ashland for 25 years and owned the now-defunct Northlight vegetarian restaurant and the Rainforest Cafe.

Department of Justice prosecutors alleged that the defendants promoted fraudulent schemes through Pinnacle Quest International, also known as PQI and Quest International. (PQI was described as an umbrella organization for vendors who sold tax and credit card debt elimination scams.)

Prosecutors said some of the PQI vendors, including Casternovia's Southern Oregon Resource Center for Education (SORCE), sold bogus theories and strategies for tax evasion. For fees starting at $10,000, they said, SORCE assisted clients in the creation of a series of sham business entities in the United States and Panama.

Source: Mail-Tribune

Ashland-Talent Growers Collaborative | Ashland Locals Guide

Tue, 30 Mar 2010 04:00:00 -0700

With spring blooming, one can almost taste tomatoes, corn and other treats from local farms. Luckily, a new crop of farmers is growing to fill our plates with goodness. The Ashland-Talent Growers Collaborative unites three farms, with other producers, to provide fresh, sustainable foods. The farms, Village Farm, HappyDirt Veggie Patch and Meadowlark Family Farm, grow more than 50 varieties of produce. Theyre offering a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Program, and 'Farm Bucks' to purchase individual items. I interviewed the farmers to dig up the details.
What brought your group of farmers together?
Chris Hardy (CH): We wanted to see if we could make small-scale agriculture more viable and resource-efficient through collaboration - sharing marketing, equipment, planning, labor and purchasing. The current economic reality is inequitable for farmers. Together, we can achieve more with less, and serve customers better by providing more diverse items.

What are your farming methods and philosophy? How does this benefit us?
Matt Suhr (MS): Our methods start and end with the soil. Maintaining its integrity is key to a healthy bioregion and soil food web. Though none of us own the land we farm on, we steward it as if it were going to be growing food for future generations. We use organic and permaculture techniques, are adapting plant varieties to our bioregion and are saving seeds, ensuring long-term food security and a healthier planet. Our goal is to sell what we grow locally, keeping dollars in our economy and providing local fresh food thats more healthful and alive, and tastes incredible.

Whats the scoop on your CSA program?
Quinn Barker (QB): The CSA lasts 20 weeks, with boxes available every Friday from June 4th to October 15th. We offer two CSA box sizes: Family share for $560 (3-4 people) and Single share at $360 (1-2 people). There are two pickup points in Ashland, with more to be added. We also offer delivery for an additional $5 per week.

What can a CSA subscriber expect to savor? What if Ive never heard of the veggies I get?
Michael DiGiorgio (MD): CSA members will receive a delicious bounty, changing as the seasons evolve. This includes many varieties of beets, carrots, lettuce, eggplant, spinach, tomatoes, onions, beans, peas, squash, garlic, peppers and herbs. Well also offer farm updates and recipes on our website to help members enjoy their produce fully.

How do Farm bucks work?
Matt Suhr (MS): Farm Bucks are pre-paid vouchers that can be spent with our Collaboratives farmers, at our farms or our stands at the Ashland Growers Markets. Theyre available in increments of $50, with a discount of 10% through April, and 5% thereafter.

How will partnerships with other farms and producers expand your offerings?
Chris Hardy (CH): Were working with additional farms and value-added producers to offer fruit, eggs, mushrooms, bread, dairy, sauces, pickled foods and more great local products.

Why is it important to support local farms?
Chris Hardy (CH): Our community's health depends upon this. With less than 3% of our food supply grown in the Rogue Valley, unprecedented global political and economic challenges facing us, and food safety issues increasing through consolidated, industrial agriculture, its time we bring it back HOME, to the farm.

Quinn Barker (QB): We also need land stewardship that considers the development and conservation of soil fertility to be of the highest good, recognizing this priceless resource.

What are the challenges you face as young farmers in the Rogue Valley?
Matt Suhr (MS): Our biggest need is affordable farmland, especially land that will be maintained for agricultural use. As long as land is seen as a commodity it's never safe from development for short-term gain. We may get offers from land owners to farm on their properties, but who don't share our vision. Ideally, a land owner would make a long-term commitment to keep land in sustainable agriculture use for 100 years or more. Ron Roth at Eagle Mill Farm did this by putting his farm into a Conservation Easement, a great example.

Michael DiGiorgio (MD): Working capital is also a challenge and that's why we do CSA's. When people buy CSA shares, they reserve a share of the harvest and provide working capital to buy compost, seeds and equipment. So, please support your farmers and buy into CSAs!

Can people volunteer? Are you planning events?
Liz Blanco: Our farms have diverse volunteer needs. Interested folks can contact our farms. Throughout the season we'll host family friendly work parties, potlucks and celebrations so our community can get to know their farms, farmers and soil

Sascha Meier: We've also teamed up with Farm to Fork Events, which seeks to provide unique culinary experiences and reconnect people to the source of their food. We'll be hosting benefit dinners on local farms, featuring freshly harvested foods prepared by local chefs, with proceeds supporting our collective and other area food organizations.

How can people get information and sign up for your CSA and Farm Bucks?

Michael DiGiorgio (MD):
See you at the farm!

Websites:

www.happydirtveggiepatch.wordpress.com
http://meadowlarkfamilyfarm.blogspot.com
Email: farmerscircle@gmail.com
Phone: 541-531-7467.

Source: Ashland Locals Guide

Pink dolphin appears in US lake | Telegraph

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 04:00:00 -0800

The world's only pink Bottlenose dolphin which was discovered in an inland lake in Louisiana, USA, has become such an attraction that conservationists have warned tourists to leave it alone.

Charter boat captain Erik Rue, 42, photographed the animal, which is actually an albino, when he began studying it after the mammal first surfaced in Lake Calcasieu, an inland saltwater estuary, north of the Gulf of Mexico in southwestern USA.

Capt Rue originally saw the dolphin, which also has reddish eyes, swimming with a pod of four other dolphins, with one appearing to be its mother which never left its side.

He said: "I just happened to see a little pod of dolphins, and I noticed one that was a little lighter. It was absolutely stunningly pink. I had never seen anything like it. It's the same color throughout the whole body and it looks like it just came out of a paint booth. The dolphin appears to be healthy and normal other than its coloration, which is quite beautiful and stunningly pink. The mammal is entirely pink from tip to tail and has reddish eyes indicating its albinism. The skin appears smooth, glossy pink and without flaws. I have personally spotted the pink dolphin 40 to 50 times in the time since the original sighting as it has apparently taken up residence with its family in the Calcasieu ship channel. As time has passed the young mammal has grown and sometimes ventures away from its mother to feed and play but always remains in the vicinity of the pod."

"Surprisingly, it does not appear to be drastically affected by the environment or sunlight as might be expected considering its condition, although it tends to remain below the surface a little more than the others in the pod."

Regina Asmutis-Silvia, senior biologist with the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, said: "I have never seen a dolphin coloured in this way in all my career. It is a truly beautiful dolphin but people should be careful, as with any dolphins, to respect it - observe from a distance, limit their time watching, don't chase or harass it. While this animal looks pink, it is an albino which you can notice in the pink eyes. Albinism is a genetic trait and it unclear as to the type of albinism this animal inherited."

A close relation of dolphins, the Amazon River Botos, called pink dolphins, live in South America in the Amazon.

Source: Telegraph

Lawsuit Launched to Defend Pacific Fisher | KS Wild

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 04:00:00 -0800

The Center for Biological Diversity, Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center, Sierra Forest Legacy, and the Environmental Protection Information Center today filed a formal notice of intent to sue the Department of the Interior over its failure to protect the Pacific fisher - a relative of the mink and otter that has been decimated by historic fur trapping and logging of old-growth forests.

Following a petition from the groups, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service acknowledged in 2004 that the fisher warranted protection under the Endangered Species Act, but has yet to provide that protection, arguing that it lacks resources. The groups notice asserts that continued delay of protection for the fisher is illegal because the Service is failing to make sufficient progress listing species that are waiting for protection.

"The Pacific fisher needs the protections of the Endangered Species Act," said Joseph Vaile, campaign director for the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center. "The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service needs to move ahead and begin recovering this important species."

The fisher is one of 249 species that are designated as candidates for listing as endangered species - a designation that provides no protection. Many species have been waiting decades for protection and most are gravely endangered. Although lack of resources is the purported reason for delaying protection for these species, the Obama administration has proposed to cut funding for listing of endangered species by 5 percent. To date, the administration has only protected two species under the Endangered Species Act. By comparison, the Clinton administration protected an average of 65 species per year.

"The fisher and hundreds of other species have been waiting too long for protection," said Noah Greenwald, Endangered Species Program Director for the Center for Biological Diversity. "The failure to protect the fisher is nothing but foot dragging."

The fisher once roamed from British Columbia to the southern Sierra. Today, it has been reduced to two native populations - one in the southern Sierra Nevada and one in Northern California and extreme southwestern Oregon and an introduced population in the southern Oregon Cascades. These populations continue to be threatened by habitat loss.

Fisher Description and Natural History

The fisher has a long, slender body with short legs. Its head is triangular, with a sharp, pronounced muzzle and large, rounded ears. Fishers are mostly brown, with a long bushy tail. Males range up to 47 inches in length, while females typically only reach 37 inches. Fishers run in a bounding gait, with their front feet leaping forward together, followed by the back feet. Unlike other carnivores, such as cats and dogs, fishers walk on their whole foot.

Contrary to its name, the fisher does not eat fish. The name probably relates to a poor translation of the name for the European polecat, which is a relative of the fisher and is called the fitch ferret, fichet or fitche. Rather than fish, the fisher has a diverse diet, preying on small mammals, snowshoe hare, porcupine, and birds, and also eating carrion, fruit, and truffles. Because it is the only animal that regularly preys on porcupines, which often kill or damage small trees, the timber industry reintroduced the fisher to many parts of the United States, including the southern Cascades of Oregon. The fisher kills porcupines with repeated bites to the face, devouring the porcupine via the quill-less underbelly. Where fisher reintroductions have been successful, porcupines have indeed declined in number.

Source: KS Wild