another case of the uglies

 So here we are, gearing up for another season of spraying in the cropland below our home. The same fields that are currently flooded...poor soil quality and erosion surely contributing to their lack of ability to hold the water we've been getting. Largely, I try not to think too much about what goes on just a mile away and to focus on my own little plot, thankfully uphill of the GMO monoculture. 

Just about a week ago, though, my mom sent me a link to help out our local FFA chapter by registering our little farm and then selecting the FFA chapter of our choice to receive funding. Having once been a member of such chapter (though not because I was interested in farming - was it that jacket we got to wear? Oh, dear...I hope not!), I was happy to help out.

Until I went to the site and saw that the sponsor for the project was...Monsanto. Now, you can call me paranoid if you like, but there was no way I was going to register my little organic farm with Monsanto, which required me telling them what it was, exactly, I was growing. Maybe I've seen too many slow food documentaries, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. My apologies to the Future Farmers of America in Putnam County...

On a positive note, for those of you in Indiana, I added a blog to the list on the right dedicated to local food in the state. Also, I recently read this article about the potential for technology entrepreneurs in the slow food movement (found via facebook friend and local organic farmer, Mark Apple).

Knowing the Source

The Drying Oil Well

There is a wonderful article in the LA Times today about the possibility and effects of $200/barrel oil in America, which you can read here.  One of the obvious effects would be to keep persons closer to their homes, which in LA is a fundamental shift in the nature of the city.  As Michael Woo, a current member of the LA Planning Commission, acknowledges, LA has grown on the assumption of cheap energy resources (i.e. - the ability to drive far away from home and across town to work).  Consequently, "Sky-high gas prices 'would basically reorient society to where proximity would be more valuable,' said Tom Gilligan, finance professor at USC.

The reality of oil consumption limiting how we operate as a country and as individuals seems hard to ignore, but it seems even harder to imagine.  We have been so blessed with so much that our living is characterized by "blind" consumption.  We - I included - don't know a great deal about the nature of our energy resources:  where they come from, how they are produced, what affects their price (this also goes for all the other products, services, and food that also come to us magically and easily from great distances as a result of cheap oil).

Bill Moyer's Journal on PBS last night closed with a great commentary by Moyer regarding the current Iraq war and the role oil played in it (watch it here).   The short of it includes that the four big oil companies have recently been rewarded no bid contracts to re-enter Iraq, after thirty plus years of being evacuated by rising nationalism and Saddam's raise to power.

But, I really don't think we can point the finger at Washington or the White House or big corporations, not at least until we point the finger right back at ourselves.  The fact is it is hard to shift behavior, to change, and we would prefer to remain in the ignorance and beauty of being able to pump cheap gas into our cars without having to think about how it got there.  Until we change our consumption habits, how can we blame other people for giving us what we demand? 

The reality of how we are living cannot be hidden forever.  It - unlike oil - will continue to emerge.  And the fact of the matter is that we have untied ourselves from local communities and local markets.  We have outsourced our living and life.  We've lived high on the hog a good while now.  But, change is here.  Maybe not $200/barrel gasoline, but reality is setting in and people are getting to know the source of oil fairly well these days.  Or, better yet, we're getting to know the lack of sources of oil these days.

Wes

Hot as Hades

Goodness gracious it is hot in Owensboro!

I rode home from work today, and I kept expecting an inferno the size of a city block just around the corner. That would presume that a wave of fiery exhaust was spewing from something the fire department could at least contain. But, noooo, the heat I felt on the way home was nothing but the searing sun and heavy humidity - turning Owensboro into a kiln.

I think this is what walking the rim of a volcano feels like.

Weather predictions have the heat ranging in the mid 90's (low 100's) with the heat index for the rest of the weekend and well into next week.

Wyatt and I go outside for some play time most afternoons when I get home, but even those are becoming unbearable. Thankfully, there is some shade to protect us. I am still nervous that the grass (or worse, myself) might suffer instantaneous combustion.

Just to make sure you know I'm not lying ... here is the weather report from the National Weather Service:

...DANGEROUS AFTERNOON HEAT INDEX VALUES EXPECTED NEXT WEEK...

WIDESPREAD HEAT INDEX READINGS BETWEEN 100 TO 105 DEGREES ARE
EXPECTED TO OCCUR...BEGINNING OVER PARTS OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI
AND SOUTHWEST ILLINOIS SUNDAY AFTERNOON...AND OVERSPREADING THE
REMAINDER OF THE QUAD STATE REGION EACH AFTERNOON THROUGH MOST OF
NEXT WEEK.

A LARGE AREA OF HIGH PRESSURE WILL BECOME ENTRENCHED ACROSS THE
REGION STARTING THIS WEEKEND AND EXTENDING THROUGH AT LEAST THE
MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. HEAT AND HUMIDITY WILL CONTINUE TO BUILD AND
LEAD TO SOME OF THE HOTTEST WEATHER SO FAR THIS SUMMER.

AFTERNOON HIGH TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO RISE INTO THE MIDDLE
AND UPPER 90S....WITH DAYTIME RELATIVE HUMIDITIES EXPECTED TO
REMAIN AT OR ABOVE 50 PERCENT. THE COMBINATION OF THE HEAT AND
HUMIDITY...AS WELL AS RELATIVELY LIGHT WINDS WILL PRODUCE HEAT
INDEX VALUES IN THE EXTREME CAUTION TO DANGER CATEGORY...WITH
READINGS RANGING FROM 100 TO 105 DEGREES.

HERE A FEW TIPS TO GUARD AGAINST THE UPCOMING HEAT WAVE...

STAY OUT OF THE SUN...WHEN POSSIBLE.

SLOW DOWN. ANY STRENUOUS ACTIVITY SHOULD BE REDUCED...ELIMINATED
OR RESCHEDULED TO THE COOLEST TIME OF THE DAY.

DRESS IN LIGHT COLORED CLOTHING THAT REFLECTS HEAT AND SUNLIGHT.

DRINK PLENTY OF WATER OR OTHER NON ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES. BE SURE TO
DRINK FLUIDS...EVEN IF YOU DO NOT FEEL THIRSTY.

PERSONS WITH SPECIAL MEDICAL CONDITIONS SHOULD CHECK WITH THEIR
DOCTOR ON HOW TO DEAL WITH MEDICATIONS...FLUIDS AND DIET DURING HOT WEATHER.

THOSE ESPECIALLY SENSITIVE TO HEAT SHOULD SEEK SHELTER IN A COOL
PLACE. IF A COOL PLACE IS NOT IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE...CONTACT YOUR
LOCAL GOVERNMENT OR COMMUNITY AGENCY TO FIND AIR CONDITIONED
LOCATIONS TO STAY IN DURING THE HOTTEST PART OF THE DAY.

IF YOU HAVE LIVESTOCK OR PETS...MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE PROVIDED
WITH PLENTY OF WATER AND SHADE...WHEN POSSIBLE.

FINALLY...TAKE TIME OUT TO CHECK ON THOSE NEIGHBORS OR FAMILY
MEMBERS THAT MAY BE PARTICULARLY SENSITIVE TO HEAT.

The Great Sea Harvest

"In America, you have the steak. In Japan, you have tuna." - Robert Wiedmaier, chef

If you have ever eaten sushi or if you simply enjoy eating Chinese food in the middle of the United States, this is a worthwhile read about the pleasures and risks that come from global markets:

Rare Tuna.

Wes