Permaculture Blog

the more scientists test animals, the more they find that many species may have inner lives and be sentient. A surprising range of creatures have shown evidence of conscious thought or experience, including insects, fish and some crustaceans.

This is an important quote and most of the above average people in the world recognize the intelligence of their dogs, cats, fish, lizards, snakes, mice, rats, and other animals. But there is a second quote further down in the article (I would suggest you actually read the entire article) that says:

The declaration says there is “strong scientific support” that birds and mammals have conscious experience, and a “realistic possibility” of consciousness for all vertebrates — including reptiles, amphibians and fish. That possibility extends to many creatures without backbones, it adds, such as insects, decapod crustaceans (including crabs and lobsters) and cephalopod mollusks, like squid, octopus and cuttlefish.

“When there is a realistic possibility of conscious experience in an animal, it is irresponsible to ignore that possibility in decisions affecting that animal,” the declaration says. “We should consider welfare risks and use the evidence to inform our responses to these risks.”

Poisoning any living animal without having any idea of the pain and suffering that poison may generate is unconscionable. And the collateral damage that that poisoning generates in our endangered species is doubly unconscionable. Our premier environmental organizations have fallen flat on their face and are simply crawling in the mud. I am working on a project I have designated as Our Toxic National Parks (OTNP). For more information search this blog for otnp.

Positive results for re-uniting baby bats with their mothers. Stepladder, tea towel and hot water bottle required.

Source: Re-uniting Baby Bats

The thing that I find most fascinating about this article is that they let the bat rescue go for two, three, even four days.
We have _got_ to stop focusing on instant ratification laughing! Voice recognition Freudian slip. Maybe it is ratification as opposed to gratification.  The weeds have to die tomorrow, this afternoon would be even better. I have to _fix_ an invasive species by poisoning it (I don’t care about all the other species I’m poisoning too).
Be well my friends.

Unfortunately, the EPA has not been as aggressive as regulatory bodies in other nations, making the U.S. lag behind in banning pesticides and herbicides that have already been prohibited elsewhere. Hundreds of harmful pesticides are still in use in the country, despite having been banned in the European Union, Canada, China, the United Kingdom and other nations.

Source: 10 Pesticides/Herbicides Used In The U.S. But Banned Elsewhere

A personal injury lawyer website laughing. A strange bedfellow 😆 but I found the information intriguing.
I was looking for pesticides banned in California but still used in California’s national parks because federal law trumps state law. Hmmmmmmm.

Center for Biological Diversity: Pesticide Use on Crops Grown in Refuges Spikes in California, Oregon, Arkansas, Tennessee, Maryland

Source: Analysis: 490,000 Pounds of Toxic Pesticides Sprayed on National Wildlife Refuges

The center for Biological Diversity has done more for our wild lands and endangered species in the last year then the sierra club world wildlife fund and audubon society has done in 50 years.

These pesticides kill bees, butterflies, bats, and birds: _in Wilderness areas_ .

Why? For profit. The national park service approves some of this simply because a farmer wants to grow something to then poison you. It is not being done organically.

Don’t you be an enabler: stop promoting and giving money to Mammoth Environmental groups who have simply forgotten their roots.
🌿🌲Three little _easy_ things! 🌄

OTNP April 2024 www.puravidaaquatic.com/wordpress/why-i-started-this/

I want to clarify something I said in last months posting with respect to new classes of pesticides that target molting. I said: This is done by looking for chemicals that target, modify, and damage complex DNA regulatory based molting systems …. Couldn’t possibly hurt humans or endangered mammals because we don’t molt. But … these DNA regulatory systems also have homologues in mammals such as mice, and … bats …, and us. What could _possibly_ go wrong?

To expand: Some of the (molting) DNA homologues that occur in mice, bats, and virtually all mammals, make up part of the largest family of transcription factors in the human genome. They are known as zinc finger (ZNF) proteins if you want to look them up. They regulate genetic systems; some of which we have not even started to identify yet! Systems such as brain development (Micro encephaly www.puravidaaquatic.com/wordpress/report-says-monsanto-linked-pesticide-is-to-blame-for-microcephaly-outbreak-not-zika/), cancer defense, immune system regulation, and even organ development. Hey let’s spray a compound that causes an increase in cancer and then another compound that damages our body’s ability to fight that cancer. And then argue for 20+ years about which _one_ is at fault. I would like to reiterate; what could _possibly_ go wrong😀

There is utterly no reason for mega environmental organizations to be hoarding the FOIA information that they have been able to acquire from the government. This is one of the most non-sustainable behaviors with respect to society that I have seen in ages. I am seriously, and passionately encouraging everyone to reconsider _all_ contributions to big businesses that advocate one thing and do another in the name of the environment.

I have sent many emails to dozens of environmental groups, and there are two that have responded in a kind and open manner, and even publish information on pesticide overuse. These two environmental groups are the Center for Biological Diversity, and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Since I’m in North America I would recommend contributing to the Center for Biological Diversity. And I particularly like their recent post https://act.biologicaldiversity.org/1m3X0nfTM0ee5Wmc2euDjg2
If you are in the UK I would encourage it to be the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

I would however like to encourage the CfBD to not get lost in the fracking debate. If the CfBD wants to research and identify specific fracking chemicals that it believes are a problem that would be great.

We all know that our native mammalian rodent predators (mountain lions, bobcats) are suffering from the widespread use of rodentcides. But it seems to me that snakes would be even more at risk. A snake gets much much more of it’s nutrition from single meals. And if one of those meals was a poisoned rodent it would receive a much higher concentration of the rodentcide then a mammalian predator. I have called UC schools, Environmental departments, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, I have called snake conservation groups and I am having a hard time finding anyone who will return a call or who knows who I might speak with who has some knowledge of historic snake populations (particularly rodent predators such as rattle, gopher, racers, and red rat) and whether they are declining due to the rodentcides. I did receive one response; a _wonderful_ reply from a woman at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and she gave me the contact immediately below. Do we even have an estimate of various snake species’ _current_ populations so that in 20 years we could compare: no.

I have recently learned from two different sources of a project sponsored by The Friends Of Griffith Park to learn more about our snake friends. The biggest problem with this research that I can see is that it does not separate the likelihood of acute toxicity by rodentcides from chronic toxicity but it’s wonderful that this group is putting money into much needed research!

Also, while I generally favor mechanical control methods over poisons. I agree that glue traps are particularly problematic.

All of this above; and a great question by Pam from the Sierra Club Margarita Group, is what actually led to my concern about natural rodent control (ie snakes) being poisoned by the chemical companies the same way that mosquito predators are poisoned by aerial spraying by Southern California county programs. And bats being poisoned too! 53$ billion my friends.

I have seen so many insecticide products advertised as being “bee safe” because it has to be ingested.
🛑 … whiskey … tango … foxtrot.
Ever seen a bee cleaning itself — or worse, not cleaning itself right away and taking it back to the hive. I’ve seen many a praying mantis, lace wing, spider (natural predators) cleaning themselves and thus ingesting whatever they have been forced to live in and walk around in. Please remember we are spraying where they live, essentially inside their homes!

Every single item above is why I started thinking about what we could actually _do_ (see the link at the top) about these issues.

I think it is criminal so many conservation organizations are enablers of the big pesticide manufacturers in our national parks. The nature conservancy should not be advocating that they are “conserving nature” while spraying pesticides on ” their” property and refusing to disclose what they are spraying.

😊 I truly believe that there are three little things that _we all_ can start doing today to begin holding our environmental groups accountable once again. 😊. Don’t you be an enabler for these groups.

www.puravidaaquatic.com/wordpress/what-can-anyone-do-about-the-pesticide-use-in-our-national-parks/
www.puravidaaquatic.com/

An outspoken member of the r/NativePlantGardening community expressed disappointment that The Arbor Day Foundation sells invasive plant species.

Source: Gardener raises concerns after suspicious experience with popular nature nonprofit: ‘I’ve also cut them out’

“I think as a nonprofit grows too big they lose their mission and instead focus on fundraising.”

Sound familiar? laughing.

Carbon Robotics LaserWeeders kill weeds among specialty row crops such as baby spinach, broccoli, kale, carrots, lettuce, cilantro, and onions. As you can see in the photos, weeds can’t compete with crops when Carbon Robotics patrols the fields.

Source: Laserweeding results — Carbon Robotics

I fuss about pesticides! I seriously object to pesticides, particularly Roundup, still being sprayed in our national parks!  Why I started this.  We need to support alternatives!  If you want to make a difference contact this company and ask for a handheld system for home gardeners :-)

 We desperately need to stop funding the enablers such as the sierra club, world wildlife fund, and audubon society.

🌿🌲Three little _easy_ things! 🌄

The best to everyone who actually works at and doesn’t depend on others to do their environmental work for them.  Stop enabling the big business environmental say one thing and do another businesses. Promote business alternatives! 

Homeless woman with all of her possessions in a shopping cart just stopped on the side of a highway and carefully picked up a butterfly and carried it very carefully 10 ft off the road talking to it in Spanish, and set it in the sunshine so it could fly away. I saw this from my community garden plot where they have just padlocked the porta potty to make sure that a homeless person can’t use a porta potty. All you arrogant, self-absorbed, money grubbing, entitled, fine examples of human beings could certainly learn a little bit about, and from, the homeless. And I’m not talking to you.

Source: New study finds little-known toxic crop chemical in four out of five people tested

“EWG’s new study on chlormequat is the first of its kind in the U.S.,” said EWG Toxicologist Alexis Temkin, Ph.D, lead author of the study. “The ubiquity of this little-studied pesticide in people raises alarm bells about how it could potentially cause harm without anyone even knowing they’ve consumed it.”

Source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlormequat

Chlormequat has been called the “most important inhibitor of gibberellin biosynthesis.”[2] As such, it inhibits cell elongation, resulting in thicker stalks, which are sturdier, facilitating harvesting of cereal crops.[4] It can also be used as an adjuvant for herbicides by retarding their oxidative disposal by plants. This is due to cytochrome P450-inhibition.[3]

An “adjuvant” means an additional compound that enhances the activity of the advertised compound. It’s often one of those proprietary ingredients that manufacturers add but they don’t have to tell you what it is.
“Facilitating harvesting of cereal crops” Anyone want to bet me 2 cents that it is being added to _organic approved_ pesticides?
“cytochrome p450 inhibition” = likely carcinogen

Anybody want to bet me two cents that the integrated pest management is approving this in our national parks? Soon to be your public schools.

https://www.puravidaaquatic.com/wordpress/why-i-started-this/