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MONSANTO'S WAR AGAINST NATURE
HIGH COUNTRY NEWS - Monsanto, the storied, St. Louis-based chemical
company. Monsanto not only manufactures Roundup, but also genetically
engineered the Roundup-resistant gene into [alfalfa]. Today, "Roundup
Ready" alfalfa is planted on some 220,000 acres nationwide. . .
On May 3, a federal district judge banned the sale or planting of
Roundup Ready alfalfa until the U.S. Department of Agriculture conducts
a full environmental impact statement on the crop. It is the first time
such a rigorous review has ever been required of a genetically modified
crop, and the ruling could have significant implications for all such
crops, which now cover the vast majority of the nation's farmland.
Over the past decade, genetic engineering has profoundly transformed
American agriculture. Monsanto stands at the forefront of that endeavor.
Today, roughly half of the U.S. corn crop, three quarters of the cotton,
and 85 percent of the soybeans are genetically modified in some way. . .
The legal fight over Roundup Ready alfalfa attests to just how far
Monsanto's massive foray into crop genetics has reached — and it is just
one piece of a pair of larger, interrelated controversies in which the
company is now entangled.
One centers on the environmental impacts of genetically modified crops.
Evidence is mounting that such crops, which were introduced after
undergoing only cursory review, have led to the appearance of
"superweeds" that have themselves mutated to survive Roundup herbicide
and threaten to impose new costs on farmers and the environment. And,
while the long-term human health implications of those transformed crops
are still not understood, there are reports that Monsanto's proprietary
genes have contaminated traditional and organic crops, transforming the
very nature of the food we eat.
But Monsanto is also embroiled in a second controversy. The company has
intervened not only in the genetic architecture of the nation's food and
feed crops, but in the very business of American farming itself.
Monsanto now faces mounting legal challenges from its seed-growing
competitors. It appears that the saga of Roundup Ready crops is
ultimately less about genetic manipulation than about corporate power.
Through a comprehensive scheme of takeovers, acquisitions and alleged
strong-arming of competition, Monsanto is building an empire. Along the
way, it seems to be erasing the line between what is genetically
engineered and what is not. . .
http://www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.Article?article_id=17054
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DIRTY SNOW FOUND TO CONTRIBUTE TO WARMING
RANDY BOSWELL, CANWEST NEWS SERVICE - A team of U.S. scientists has
found that "dirty snow" is a surprisingly significant contributor to
global warming. . . The researchers have measured, in the first
comprehensive study of its kind, how snowy landscapes tainted by carbon
particles from inefficiently burned fuels and forest fires are absorbing
more of the sun's heat than the less sooty snow cover of centuries past.
"Snow becomes dirty when soot from tailpipes, smokestacks and forest
fires enters the atmosphere and falls to the ground," the team explains.
"Soot-infused snow is darker than natural snow. Dark surfaces absorb
sunlight and cause warming, while bright surfaces reflect heat back into
space and cause cooling." . . .
"When we inject dirty particles into the atmosphere and they fall onto
snow, the net effect is we warm the polar latitudes," says Charlie
Zender, a University of California atmospheric physicist and co-author
of a study published in the latest Journal of Geophysical Research.
"Dark soot can heat up quickly. It's like placing tiny toaster ovens
into the snow pack.". . .
In their NASA-funded project, Mr. Zender and three colleagues from
UC-Irvine and the University of Colorado calculated that dirty snow
caused the Earth's temperature to rise 0.1 to 0.15 C, or up to 19% of
the total warming of 0.8 C over the past 200 years. In that time, the
Arctic has warmed about 1.6 C, and dirty snow there has caused at least
0.5 C of the warming, the team found.
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=06afb7a1-
4e77-4044-a44d-ca50a95b5657&k=0
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
MONSANTO'S WAR AGAINST NATURE
HIGH COUNTRY NEWS - Monsanto, the storied, St. Louis-based chemical
company. Monsanto not only manufactures Roundup, but also genetically
engineered the Roundup-resistant gene into [alfalfa]. Today, "Roundup
Ready" alfalfa is planted on some 220,000 acres nationwide. . .
On May 3, a federal district judge banned the sale or planting of
Roundup Ready alfalfa until the U.S. Department of Agriculture conducts
a full environmental impact statement on the crop. It is the first time
such a rigorous review has ever been required of a genetically modified
crop, and the ruling could have significant implications for all such
crops, which now cover the vast majority of the nation's farmland.
Over the past decade, genetic engineering has profoundly transformed
American agriculture. Monsanto stands at the forefront of that endeavor.
Today, roughly half of the U.S. corn crop, three quarters of the cotton,
and 85 percent of the soybeans are genetically modified in some way. . .
The legal fight over Roundup Ready alfalfa attests to just how far
Monsanto's massive foray into crop genetics has reached — and it is just
one piece of a pair of larger, interrelated controversies in which the
company is now entangled.
One centers on the environmental impacts of genetically modified crops.
Evidence is mounting that such crops, which were introduced after
undergoing only cursory review, have led to the appearance of
"superweeds" that have themselves mutated to survive Roundup herbicide
and threaten to impose new costs on farmers and the environment. And,
while the long-term human health implications of those transformed crops
are still not understood, there are reports that Monsanto's proprietary
genes have contaminated traditional and organic crops, transforming the
very nature of the food we eat.
But Monsanto is also embroiled in a second controversy. The company has
intervened not only in the genetic architecture of the nation's food and
feed crops, but in the very business of American farming itself.
Monsanto now faces mounting legal challenges from its seed-growing
competitors. It appears that the saga of Roundup Ready crops is
ultimately less about genetic manipulation than about corporate power.
Through a comprehensive scheme of takeovers, acquisitions and alleged
strong-arming of competition, Monsanto is building an empire. Along the
way, it seems to be erasing the line between what is genetically
engineered and what is not. . .
http://www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.Article?article_id=17054
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
DIRTY SNOW FOUND TO CONTRIBUTE TO WARMING
RANDY BOSWELL, CANWEST NEWS SERVICE - A team of U.S. scientists has
found that "dirty snow" is a surprisingly significant contributor to
global warming. . . The researchers have measured, in the first
comprehensive study of its kind, how snowy landscapes tainted by carbon
particles from inefficiently burned fuels and forest fires are absorbing
more of the sun's heat than the less sooty snow cover of centuries past.
"Snow becomes dirty when soot from tailpipes, smokestacks and forest
fires enters the atmosphere and falls to the ground," the team explains.
"Soot-infused snow is darker than natural snow. Dark surfaces absorb
sunlight and cause warming, while bright surfaces reflect heat back into
space and cause cooling." . . .
"When we inject dirty particles into the atmosphere and they fall onto
snow, the net effect is we warm the polar latitudes," says Charlie
Zender, a University of California atmospheric physicist and co-author
of a study published in the latest Journal of Geophysical Research.
"Dark soot can heat up quickly. It's like placing tiny toaster ovens
into the snow pack.". . .
In their NASA-funded project, Mr. Zender and three colleagues from
UC-Irvine and the University of Colorado calculated that dirty snow
caused the Earth's temperature to rise 0.1 to 0.15 C, or up to 19% of
the total warming of 0.8 C over the past 200 years. In that time, the
Arctic has warmed about 1.6 C, and dirty snow there has caused at least
0.5 C of the warming, the team found.
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=06afb7a1-
4e77-4044-a44d-ca50a95b5657&k=0
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1 comment:
Although polls have indicated that 80-90% of Americans want mandatory labeling for GMO-based foods, and although 70% of processed foods contain GMO's, these foods are still not labeled.
Demand mandatory labeling for GMO foods; we all have a right to know what we are eating.
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