The Generator is founded on the simple premise that we should leave the world in better condition than we found it. The news items in this category outline the attempts people have made to do this. They are mainly concerned with our food supply and settlement patterns. The impact that the human race has on the planet.
New research being done on farms in Vermont in the USA indicates that the artificial diet fed to cattle since the second world war is responsible for a large part of the methane emitted by agriculture. The experiment introduced plants like alfalfa and flax seed into the cattle’s diet mimicing the natural grasses that cows Continue Reading →
From the NY Times
Chewing her cud on a recent sunny morning, Libby, a 1,400-pound Holstein, paused to do her part in the battle against global warming, emitting a fragrant burp. Libby, age 6, and the 74 other dairy cows on Guy Choiniere’s farm here are at the heart of an experiment to determine whether a change in diet will help them belch less methane, a potent heat-trapping gas that has been linked to climate change.
Since January, cows at 15 farms across Vermont have had their grain feed adjusted to include more plants like alfalfa and flaxseed — substances that, unlike corn or soy, mimic the spring grasses that the animals evolved long ago to eat.
As of the last reading in mid-May, the methane output of Mr. Choiniere’s herd had dropped 18 percent. Meanwhile, milk production has held its own.
The NSW Premier, Nathan Rees and Primary Industry Minister Ian MacDonald have both claimed that mining is more important than farming to the state of NSW. The government has based the statement on the relative export value. NSW exported $12.6 billion worth of minerals, largely coal, and only $5.6 billion worth of food. Pam Allan Continue Reading →
With the clock running in the climate change countdown, post-
Enlightenment faith in technological fixes may not be
Ten months have passed since pointing out that we have, at best, 100 left before a new, far more dangerous phase of global warming begins. The “chatter” of concern is getting louder. But at the same time, the political system in Britain has been wracked and absorbed more by its own inadequacies than by this fundamental threat to civilisation.
The fall of the Roman Empire was due to a large extent, writes the historian Adrian Goldsworthy, to a system of government that became inward-looking and weakened by internal dissent. Gone was the singular focus from the golden days of the Republic, when a small, trusted coterie of around 1,000 administrators ran the whole empire efficiently.
In its place was a bloated, inefficient and suspicious bureaucracy of 35,000, seeking power and personal advantage. Worst of all, gripped with self-obsession, they took their eyes off the Goths at the gates, and paid a devastating price. Any similarities to actual people alive today and current political circumstances are, of course, entirely unintended and circumstantial. Goldsworthy points out that every age can project its own experience onto the Romans, which just goes to show how much they did actually do for us.
An environmental group has welcomed the introduction of the Great Barrier Reef Protection Bill.
The Queensland Government has introduced the Bill into Parliament to regulate farm practices and pesticide use.
World Wildlife Fund spokesman Nick Heath says the legislation will help the environment and farmers.
“The Government’s just released a new estimate that there’s over $30 million worth of fertiliser and pesticide going onto the reef every year,” he said.