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The
Urban League of Eastern MA Annual Career Fair registration is open to diverse
candidates, recent high school and college graduates, and persons looking for a
new opportunity. Visit to register and the current list of employers: https://bit.ly/UL22VCF
Living Soil: A
Documentary. Now available with subtitles in more than 20 languages. Enable
closed captions by clicking the 'CC' icon, then click the gear icon to select
the subtitle language you want. Our soils support 95 percent of all food
production, and by 2060, our soils will be asked to give us as much food as
we have consumed in the last ... |
Living Soil: A Documentary. Now available with subtitles in more than 20 languages.
Enable closed captions by clicking the 'CC' icon, then click the gear icon to select the subtitle language you want.
Our soils support 95 percent of all food production, and by 2060, our soils will be asked to give us as much food as we have consumed in the last 500 years.
They filter our water. They are one of our most cost-effective reservoirs for sequestering carbon. They are our foundation for biodiversity. And they are vibrantly alive, teeming with 10,000 pounds of biological life in every acre.
Yet in the last 150 years, we’ve lost half of the basic building block that makes soil productive.
The societal and environmental costs of soil loss and degradation in the United States alone are now estimated to be as high as $85 billion every single year. Like any relationship, our living soil needs our tenderness. It’s time we changed everything we thought we knew about soil. Let’s make this the century of living soil. This 60-minute documentary features innovative farmers and soil health experts from throughout the U.S. Accompanying lesson plans for college and high school students can also be found on this site. "Living Soil" was directed by Chelsea Myers and Tiny Attic Productions based in Columbia, Missouri, and produced by the Soil Health Institute through the generous support of The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation.
Farming
techniques to reach the 22nd Century and our changing global
environment, and population.
Hydroponics vs. Traditional Farming: 8
Improvements Made by Hydroponic Systems Traditional farming has remained
mostly unchanged for centuries. Yes, there have been advances in irrigation, genetic engineering of
seeds, and commercial farm equipment. But we still place seeds into the soil,
apply water and sun, and wait for the harvest season. That’s how it’s always been.
But is that the best way to grow
produce on a commercial scale? Today, there are several newer farming
methods that are giving businesses within the food industry more options. Hydroponics systems
(particularly vertical ones) are the farms of the future, allowing to produce great amounts of healthy fruits and vegetables to
sustainably feed a growing population on a large scale. Here are just a few of the ways hydroponic
farming is an improvement over traditional farming methods. 1. Greater Yields First and foremost, a hydroponic system
grows nutrient-dense produce in quantities. In fact, hydroponic vertical
farms can grow about 240
times more than traditional farming methods. Partially, this is because hydroponic
greenhouses allow for more harvests per year. Additionally, because plants
get their nutrients directly from water instead of having to leech them from
soil, hydroponic plants grow faster and larger. Greenhouse
systems can produce 2.7 million meals per year. 2. Less Space Needed Growing more food in less space? It may sound too good to be true, but this
is exactly what vertical
hydroponic growing system can do. Greenhouses can be
designed to fit into about an acre and a half of space. That’s about
the size of a 200 car parking lot. And since there’s no soil requirement, they can
be built almost anywhere.
This means you can build hydroponic farms
downtown in what would otherwise be a food desert. Or add one on to your
company’s R&D department, allowing your research to be conducted on site
easily. The possibilities are endless!
In our rapidly changing world, clean water is becoming more
and more scarce. The World Wildlife Fund finds that about 2.7
billion people are facing water shortages at least one month out of the year,
with more than a billion having no access to clean water at all. Given this
increasingly dire situation, the ability to farm with less water has never been more
important. It may seem counterintuitive, but
hydroponic systems actually use about 99% less water than traditional
farming. This is because there is no water lost to the soil, no water lost to
evaporation, and the water in the system is recycled again and again. This
means that hydroponic greenhouses can be run in even the most severe drought
conditions with little to no disruption. 4. Sustainable Farming Traditional farming contributes greatly to
soil degradation around the world. We are currently losing fertile land at an alarming rate. By
contrast, in our greenhouses, you can regrow the same crops over and over
again without worrying about crop rotation. Since hydroponic systems require no
soil, they’re an
excellent way to stop this problem in its tracks. Our hydroponic greenhouses also seek to
use solar power as much as possible, leading to little or no need for fossil
fuel power sources. So you’ll be growing greens in the greenest way possible! 5. Climate Proof Speaking of changes in the global
environment, our increasingly
unpredictable climate has become a major problem for farmers. We
constantly see crops destroyed by flooding, drought, and other
climate-related problems. Greenhouses contain their own
microclimates, they are immune to early frosts and heatwaves, droughts and
flooding. They can also be built in areas where the climate is typically too
hot or too cold to grow certain types of food. This means year-round local produce in areas where it was
unthinkable before. 6. Seasonally Agnostic Imagine being able to grow 11-13 more
harvests per year than a traditional farm. Just as climate is no challenge
for hydroponic growing systems, seasons hold no sway over hydroponic plants.
So many harvests per year is a reality, rather than a dream. The climates
inside hydroponic farms are carefully monitored and controlled, meaning
summer crops can grow even in the coldest months and harvest season is year round. 7. Outdoor Contamination Proof Traditional farms are subject to
contamination from any number of sources. Birds
drop waste from above. Runoff from nearby animal agriculture can contaminate
the groundwater. Air pollution and water pollution are constant concerns.
Open air farming is increasingly leading to dangerous food-borne illnesses
and their resulting food recalls. Recall-proof produce be kept in carefully monitored greenhouse
conditions, away from contamination risks. 8. Less Food Waste Since hydroponic farming can be managed
within the community it supports, there’s less time wasted in shipping
produce across the country or around the world. Most of our crops reach their
intended market within 48 hours of harvest. This means a longer shelf life
once they hit the store, are purchased, and brought home. Not only that,
because our greenhouses are outdoor contamination proof, there is zero risk
of recalls and food-borne illnesses from typical outdoor threats. All of this
amounts to less food waste and more healthy meals that actually make it to
the table.
Or maybe your R&D department could use a way to grow plants
year-round in laboratory-like conditions? |
Black
Emergency Managers Association International Washington,
D.C. |
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https://atlantadailyworld.com/2022/06/08/the-rise-of-violence-in-america-how-many-more-must-die/
Digital
Daily The
Rise of Violence in America: How Many MORE Must Die? Site
Editor June 8,
2022 The Rise of Violence in
America: How Many MORE Must Die? By Santura Pegram According to theologians,
murders have taken place since the beginning of time. And, according to
historians, murders on what is now known as U.S. soil have taken place since
long before America was founded in 1776 when The Thirteen Colonies (also
known as the United Colonies) merged in 1607. However, what should be
disturbing about these seemingly never-ending tragedies that have left most
Americans stunned or borderline desensitized is the increasing frequency and
vulnerability of such public acts of violence taking place at a moment’s
notice, and how they leave us wondering when the next incident will take
place and who the next victims will be. A mentally unstable Howard
Unruh did not commit the deadliest mass shooting of all time when he shot and
killed multiple people by himself in Camden, New Jersey in 1949 (his rampage
claimed 13 lives and wounded 3 others). Sadly, there have been and continue
to be other encounters that have unjustly claimed equal or far greater
numbers of mass casualties ever since then with alarming intensity over the
decades thereafter. • In 1966, a mentally ill
ex-Marine took the lives of 17 and injured 37 others at the University of
Texas tower shooting. • In 1975, the Easter Sunday
Massacre in Hamilton, Ohio, took the lives of 11 people (all relatives of the
shooter). • Throughout the 1980’s, 4 more
separate mass shooting incidents killed a total of 73 victims and injured
another 27. • In the 1990’s, 2 other
separate mass shootings took 39 lives and injured a combined 51 people. • From 2000 to 2010, 72 more
people combined lost their lives in 4 more separate mass incidents and 66
were injured in those combined incidents. • From 2011 to 2020, 267
additional people lost their lives in 13 separate mass shooting incidents and
1,132 others were injured in those combined incidents. • And, from 2021 until June
2022, there have been 3 separate mass shooting incidents in public that have
claimed the lives of 44 people total and injured a combined 23. The latest
being an unfathomable ordeal that snatched the lives of 19 third and fourth
grade defenseless children between the ages of 9 to 11-years old. We know the numbers of innocent
victims of such encounters are continuing to rise at record levels. We know
that a growing segment of society is battling with serious mental health
issues that need immediate psychological attention. We know that at any given
moment any one of us (or one or more of our loved ones) can be caught in the
midst of such a fateful encounter. Yet, two questions remain: First, why does
it take such tragic events to happen to people directly to spark them to want
to do something about a life-or-death problem that possibly could have been
prevented? And secondly, why must it take
more public policy makers at every level of government to risk suffering a
violent attack on themselves or a member of their own family (like former
Congresswoman Gabby Gifford; the victims of the Kirkwood, Missouri City
Council shooting; Clarksburg, West Virginia City Councilman Jimmy Malfregeot
or the son of former Florida state legislator Daphne Campbell) before such
political windbags will stop squandering their time in office and find the
courage to move swiftly and push for widespread, mandatory changes to
firearms manufacturing (which includes biometric – RFID technology and Ghost
Gun fabrication), limiting the number of outlets where guns are sold in each
state, implement intense sales specifications with severe punitive sanctions
against sellers who violate the law, and strengthening licensing mandates? The NRA must begin to
understand that the government is not and should not be out to take away the
right to bear arms of NRA members. Instead, the people (‘government’) merely
seek to prevent guns from continuing to get into the hands of mentally and
emotionally challenged people and irresponsible children and young adults who
misuse such weapons. Oddly enough, if the U.S.
government was able to disrupt the Goliath tobacco industry (an annual
multi-billion dollar generating sector) and make tobacco companies legally
liable for the effects of their harmful products upon consumers, then surely
the same approach should be applied to another annual multi-billion dollar
generating industry – gun manufacturing companies – when their weapons are
used to take a life unjustifiably. The families of deceased shooting victims
and/or living survivors deserve the right to file a major lawsuit against not
only the person/people responsible for maiming or killing an innocent
victim(s), but judicial systems should help hold gun manufacturing companies
accountable like Philip Morris International, R.J. Reynolds Company, Altria
Group, and other tobacco companies have been The NRA and their lobbyists
appear out-of-touch attempting to downplay the fact that the United States
has had more mass shootings than any other country. That should be
unacceptable. A mass shooting, according to the Washington, D.C.-based Gun
Violence Archive, is defined as “firearm violence resulting in at least four
people being shot at roughly the same time and location.” In the U.S., there
have been well over 2,100 mass (public) shootings since 2013. Latest research
reveals 417 in 2019, 610 in 2020, and 692 in 2021. See how bad it really is –
(https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/) Unfortunately, community
violence is a monster that will require
EVERYONE to tackle it if
you expect to live in a peaceful community without the fear of becoming a
potential victim. Stop
depending solely upon the police to protect you
because this animal is much bigger than even law enforcement can handle
alone, and despite what any clergy leaders tell you this is not something you
can simply pray away. Prayer (meaning
faith) without ‘action’ is dead. So, everyone must do more to
thwart potentially violent situations. Take the time
to sit and talk with younger people and genuinely get to know them
on a personal level.
Don’t judge
them for making a few errors along the way, but let them
know the importance of making good decisions and not-so-good decisions
throughout their lifetime. Show
them…don’t just tell them…what “respect, love, and altruism” really means, and watch them improve because many (if not most) want to
come out of the streets but do not know how or lack other realistic (economic)
options. Teach them
about anger management & conflict resolution skills. Those
variables may likely save their life one day or prevent them from throwing it
away. And, whatever you do, be
conscious of who you choose to vote for and expect to represent you in public
office. Advocate for
term limits to be implemented at every level of government to prevent
corruption and complacency by those holding such
positions. Without hesitation, vote incumbents out of office who display a
disinterest or refusal to fight for the necessities of your
community…safety-wise, economic-wise, and general service-wise. Society may have gone astray
the last few decades, but we can still turn things around and find our way,
back to a sensible, safer community before it’s too late if we seek to find
the right roadmap to follow.
* Santura Pegram (santura.pegram@yahoo.com) is a
freelance writer and socially conscious business consultant who has helped to
advise small businesses; nonprofit organizations; city, county, and state
governmental committees; elected officials; professional athletes; and school
systems. His son died from gun violence in 2012. |