Comments cmello has made

just as I suspected

The US really needs to stop accepting studies of drugs, pesticides, and GMOs from the companies that created them in the first place.  Before government approval of a new product is given,  studies need to be done by some independent agent.  Companies requesting approval should be required to fork up the money for the independent agent (selected by the government and with no ties to the requesting company) to study the product.  

Every milk carton I buy says "does not contain rBST" but also "rBST is safe."  Yet studies, not those done by the rBST company nor by the dairy industry, have proved rBST is not safe for either treated cows or people who drink milk from treated cows.

We have to stop the fox from guarding the chicken house.

cmello

GM crop scam?

Yet again, I am left wondering about the "value-add" of GM crops.

Monsanto's

high-tech cottonseeds genetically engineered to contain a natural pesticide

needs pesticides???

To keep these monocropped cottonseed fields free of pests, farmers lean heavily on pesticides.

I had a thought (no, please don't fall on the floor laughing). So Monsanto genetically modifies some seed (whether the modification really works is beside the point) so they can patent the modified seed and sell it exclusively to farmers for an arm and a leg year after year thereby making themselves lots of $$$ for something of questionable value. It sounds like a legal scam.

cmello

stopped eating tuna years ago...

...but for the wrong reason, apparently.

I noticed that whenever I ate tuna (steaks), my tongue would get sore. I figured it was a Sign. Tuna had changed: there was a trace of something in modern tuna not good for me and my sore tongue was signalling that. I guess I have inadvertently saved myself from years of exposure to mercury.

It's not just tuna...

I have developed lots of sensitivities to consumer products that I had not had a problem with before in the last 20 years. In nearly every case, I have been able to track my sudden sensitivity to the product to a change in its contents. (I check out the contents on products I use on the EWG site nowadays -- Environmental Working Group.)

cmello

another misnamed government agency

Just as the EPA should really be called the Environmental Pollution Agency, the US Fish and Wildlife Service has been making lame wildlife decisions like this one concerning elk, deer and wolves for years. Every time I read about them in the news lately, it seems like they are doing something else stupid.

Besides bashing the federal government, we should also be addressing the policies of certain states that don't appear to care about anything (the environment, their wildlife, the future condition of land in their states) except making money. On Rule change eases restrictions on wolf kills in northern Rockies posted 1 year, 10 months ago 16 Responses

Gore is wealthy but not one of the richest

A net worth of about $100 million does not make Al Gore one of the richest people on the planet.

Forbes Top 400 in the US all have net worths of a minimum of $1 billion.

The CEO of the company I work for takes home nearly $100 million in salary, bonuses, stock options, etc, each year.

Now that Al & Tipper have some money, I am not going to throw brickbats at them.

Now Bill Gates, there is a person we need to get interested in the environment. He has over $50 billion. Imagine what he could do for environmental issues with his money and still have plenty left over for a comfortable life for his wife and kids.

cmello

IMHO...

OK, I am not up on all of the scientific issues like many of the others in this discussion. Just because I am ignorant does not mean I don't have an opinion.

I don't like GMO or cloning because I think they both reduce random biodiversity. They go against the principles of the theory of evolution. The greater the biodiversity, the greater the likihood of finding an individual (plant or animal) with a natural resistance to the rapidly modify bacterias and viruses (or infectious proteins).

re: "cows not evolving fast enough"...evolution, to me, is about the advantages of biodiversity, not immediate change. It's about the survival of some already existing individuals who have a naturally occuring beneficial mutation when faced with a biological threat that the majority, non-mutant, individuals do not possess.

IMHOOn Cloned meat and milk just as safe as conventional, says long-awaited FDA report posted 1 year, 10 months ago 28 Responses

the Bush admin has never liked California...

What is the Navy doing off of the coast of California with all that sonar?

I was not aware that our enemies in the GWOT (global war on terror) had big naval fleets of submarines and other ships lying off the coast of California, just ready to attack the state.

Since the Navy seems intent on maiming marine mammals, have marine mammals become terrorist and no one warned California residents to beware of seals, whales, etc?

The Federal Government just does not like California, especially our judges. We are always being picked on.On Judge temporarily drops two restrictions on Navy's use of sonar, retains others posted 1 year, 10 months ago 2 Responses

CF life, migraines, etc.

I switched most of my lamps to CFs in May 2001 (they were hard to find & expensive at the time too) due to the Enron-induced energy crisis in California that spring. I had to change the harps and shades on some of the lamps to fit the CFs available at that time. Last fall the first one burned out after 6 years of fairly heavy use. It was suppose to last 7 years but I am not complaining.

We do have one ceiling light that burns out all kinds of bulbs in a couple of months. My husband is going to put in a new fixture and rewire the whole thing because obviously there is something wrong with the socket/wiring and not the bulbs.

I get migraines. I have noted lots of triggers for my migraines over the years. I have not noticed an increase in the frequency of my migraines since installing CFs in my home in 2001. The only light induced migraines I have personally experienced were caused by flickering light, not by a bad bulb but from driving in/out of shade/sunlight on a tree covered road.

My husband complains that the CFs are not as bright as the incandescents. I offered to change all the lamps back to incandescents which he declined since they are saving us quite a bit and it is really really nice not to have to change light bulbs frequently.

Wouldn't the fact that one uses (and discards) many fewer CF bulbs than incandescents (due to the longer life) be another plus ecologically?

cmello

my 2 cents: pet cats who hunt

The only cats whose hunting behavior I have studied have been those owned as pets by my extended family. My family has had 23 pets cats over the past 45 years. Hunting in our pet cats has had nothing to do with hunger (prey have not been eaten). Hunting does not appear to be the norm for well cared for pet cats (only 5 out of 23 have been hunters). Although hunting is in the genes for pet cats, most cats fortunate enough to be pets do not appear to feel the need to hunt (perhaps because the cats are lazy and it is unnecessary exertion?). Those cats who have been hunters have always brought their prey to the door of their homes (gifts for owner? bringing home take-out?). No carcasses have been found elsewhere in the yards or neighboring yards. If you are home at the time, the cats will scratch on the door (or meow) with the live prey in their mouths. You can often get the cat to drop its prey without killing it and then haul the cat into the house (on occasion live prey have made it into the house). Otherwise, the prey are killed at the door and dropped there as soon as dead. Dropped prey who are gravely wounded do not fly or run away. Based on episodes of human assisted escape for run away prey (indoors and outdoors), I doubt the prey goes off to die (the escape assistance can take anywhere from 15 minutes to 1 hour during which time the escaping prey have exhibited quite athletic behavior). The family pet cats who have hunted have specialized. 1 hunting cat (Smokey) only went after chipmunks (and did not catch many and never killed any). 1 hunting cat (Barney) only killed rats (Norwegian roof type) in the house or garage (no outdoor rodents). 1 hunting cat (Ivy) only killed birds and only for 1 summer (the mockingbirds retaliated and attacked her so she quit and never killed again). 1 hunting cat (Squeaker) only kills salamanders and lizards. The last hunting cat (Sandy) is the most deadly of all 5. She is a hyperactive cat and it is impossible to keep her contained. She has captured a couple of dozen mice over the years but only killed about 5. She has captured and, sadly, most often killed, birds. During her most deadly year she killed about 40 birds but each year since, as she grows older, the number of birds caught and killed has dropped. Sandy is down to about 20 now. Initially she killed mourning doves. She then switched to sparrows. The past 2 years, she has been catching non-breeding male finches (based on my audobon western bird book). So I think the "studies" which claim pet cats each kill 37 birds per year is a gross over-estimate. Not many pet cats are like Sandy and 37 birds would be a peak year even for Sandy. I currently have another cat who has never killed anything at all (except for a catnip plant). IMHO, humans have caused many more species extinctions (including birds) than pet cats (who may not have caused any at all). I would be interested in seeing a well documented study on specific bird species that have been driven to extinction by pet cats - one that is based on observation and not speculation. Since pet and feral cats and their small feline ancestors have been around as long as humans, I very much doubt this recent allegation that cats are causing bird species extinction. It seems much more plausible to me that human activity (hunting, habitat destruction, pollution), not cat activity, has been causing bird species extinctions. My statement about humans and bird species is mostly speculation but I do know that in California the near extinction of the condors is well documented and human based.

On office buildings with reflective glass windows: For 2 years I had a small window office in such a building on the 4th floor. At least once per week, a bird would crash into my window and slide 4 stories down to the ground. The birds were dying, not flying away. The carcass of the song bird could be found at the base of the building if one went out and looked soon (outdoor building maintenance cleaned them up regularly). So my office window was killing about 50 birds a year and it was only one of about 1000 similar office windows in my building complex. That building complex killed more song birds in one year than the total number of birds, rodents, and lizards killed by 23 pet cats over a period of 45 years.On Umbra on cats and birds posted 2 years ago 72 Responses