Agriculture Archives - Page 3 of 5

The Latest BLM Hoodwinkery: “Fuel Breaks” in the Great Basin

February 19, 2020 by Kollibri terre Sonnenblume

BLM photos (top, then clockwise): a fuel break along a road; a mower chopping down vegetation for same; a “green strip” fuel break of reseeded vegetation, in this case non-native Crested Wheatgrass for cattle.

If there’s one thing we can count on when it comes to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), it’s that they’ll say whatever they need to in order to serve their primary constituents: the ranching and resource extraction industries. Not for nothing are they known as the Bureau of Livestock and Mining. On February 14th, they released their latest con: the “Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Fuel Breaks in the Great Basin” (hereinafter, “the PEIS”).

“Fuel breaks”? Must have something to do with fighting wildfires, and we all know what a problem those have been lately, so this must be a good idea, right? Moving right along, then…

Wait—not so fast! Even a cursory look with an environmental eye reveals the act of wanton destruction that this project actually is, and a practical appraisal shows that it won’t even be effective in fighting the big wildfires that are becoming the new normal under Climate Change.

The basics of the plan: Create “fuel breaks” by clearing vegetation along 11,000 miles of BLM roads and rights-of-way, to a width of 500 feet (250 feet on each side). The total area that will potentially be directly affected is just over 1,000,000 acres.

This is a big project and a big fraud.

Ecology & Empire: The Need to Step Aside for the Indigenous

November 24, 2019 by Kollibri terre Sonnenblume

*Huckleberries in the Cascade mountains of southern Oregon, August 2019 (Photo by author)*

This is the third part of a trilogy made up of “Ecology & Consciousness” and “Ecology & Economy“

Human survival is most at risk from two threats: environmental disaster and war. The two are closely linked, so much so that if you care about one, you can’t ignore the other.

First, because militarism is hostile to the environment. The US is the biggest villain in that department, with the Pentagon being the worst institutional polluter on the planet, more than 140 countries combined. That’s not just from flying drones, driving tanks and moving around fleets of ships; it’s also from heating, cooling, powering and otherwise keeping up nearly 800 bases around the world, and from feeding, clothing and outfitting at least 1.3 million active personnel. Additionally, the military is also responsible for an untold amount of toxic waste, some of it radioactive, at an uncountable number of locations around the world, including 900 superfund sites in the US.

Secondly, US warmongering is a significant roadblock to the kind of one-for-all/all-for-one global cooperation that’s needed to tackle the multiple environmental crises we are facing, from climate change to agricultural pollution to habitat destruction. Everyone is constantly kept on edge by the big bully who doesn’t want to see anybody acting independently. Sanctions, coups, missile strikes and full-on invasions are among the all-too-common punishments for those who dare try, as recent news bears out.

US militarism fits the description of imperialism. That’s an unpopular word in the US, but to any honest student of history, it is clear that the US is a indeed bona fide empire. No, it’s not the same shape as the British Empire, but that one was in turn different from Napoleon’s or Alexander’s or Genghis Khan’s. Each takes its own form.

In the case of the US, “empire” refers not just to the nation’s role in the world, but also to the circumstance of its existence on the North American continent. The area was invaded by several European powers starting in the 16th Century and most of the original inhabitants were killed or driven off and their land stolen. But this is not merely a set of events in the past; it is an ongoing reality. The “Indian Wars” never ended.

What we label as “the United States” is not a legitimate nation but an illegal occupation.

“Roadtripping at the End of the World”

August 26, 2019 by Kollibri terre Sonnenblume

My new book, “Roadtripping at the End of the World,” is now available! For a limited time, you can order an autographed copy direct from me. When these run out, the book will be available only on Amazon.

When you order the hard copy, you will also get the book in all its digital versions (PDF, epub, Kindle). Or you can order just the digital versions.

This book is a collection made up of eight essays inspired my travels around the USA and six interviews with activists I met along the way. A few appeared online previously, but much of the material is brand new.

Check out this excerpt: “Virgin Prairie: Rarer Than Old-Growth Forest”

The book is available at four prices:

Regular Price (includes shipping in USA): $17.50
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Patron Price (extra support for the author): $35.00
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Solidarity Price (low income/student): $10
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Digital downloads only (PDF, epub, mobi & azw3): $5
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If you would like to order multiple copies, please contact me.

Virgin Prairie: Rarer Than Old-Growth Forest

August 26, 2019 by Kollibri terre Sonnenblume

Purple Poppy Mallow (*Callirhoe involucrata*) – Photo by author

The following is an excerpt from my new book, “Roadtripping at the End of the World.“

I was born and raised in Nebraska, but my curiosity about the native prairies was not piqued until years later. In September 2018, over twenty-five years since the last time I lived in the state, I finally visited a remnant of original, unplowed prairie, located outside the city of Lincoln and entirely surrounded by the farmland that replaced most of it. I was entranced by what I found.

Can Our Veggie Gardens Feed us in a Real Crisis?

July 14, 2019 by Kollibri terre Sonnenblume

A haul from the Author’s urban farming operation in Portland, Sept. 15, 2007 *(Photo C.H.White)*

Massive flooding and heavier than normal precipitation across the US Midwest this year [2019] delayed or entirely prevented the planting of many crops. The situation was sufficiently widespread that it was visible from space. The trouble isn’t over yet: Hotter-than-normal temperatures predicted to follow could adversely affect corn pollination. Projections of lower yields have already stimulated higher prices in UN grain indexes and US ethanol. Additionally, the USDA is expecting harvests to be of inferior quality. Furthermore, the effects of this year could bleed into 2020; late planting leads to late harvesting which delays fall tilling, potentially until next spring, when who knows what Mother Nature will deliver.

Accuweather’s characterization of this as a “one-of-a-kind growing season” is literally true only in terms of its exact circumstances (given increasingly chaotic events) but not in its intensity (which will surely be exceeded). Prudence would dictate that we heed this year’s events as a warning and get serious about making preparations for worse years. Literal cycles of “feast or famine” have marked agriculture since its birth and sooner or later we will experience significant shortages here in the US, if not from the weather, than from war or lack of resources.

The Midwest floods and their possible repercussions for the food supply got some attention in the news (though not enough). One of the most common suggestions I saw on social media was: “Plant a garden!”

If only it were that simple.

I used to be a small-scale organic farmer so take it from me: totally feeding yourself from your own efforts is very, very challenging. Though some friends and I tried over multiple seasons, we never succeeded, or even came anywhere close.

Our problems are deeper than “capitalism” (and “socialism” alone can’t solve them)

May 13, 2019 by Kollibri terre Sonnenblume

Plowing a field

Complaints about “capitalism” have become more common the last few years in the United States. This has been a welcome development. Anytime the collective perspective is widened, it’s beneficial to at least some degree. In a complementary way, calls for “socialism” have also become more frequent.

We can credit these trends to social conditions. First, as such conditions have worsened by several measures — such as those that track economic factors and health statistics — more people have been willing to question the status quo. As the system falters, the number of folks no longer willing to play along goes up.

Secondly, some credit is due to the activists, scholars, artists, etc., who have kept fringe ideas alive through the times that were leaner philosophically (though wealthier financially). Occasional eruptions of activity have provided necessary exercise for these ideas, such as the turn of the century Anti-Globalization movement, and Occupy.

However, I put “capitalism” and “socialism” in quotation marks for a reason. The main issues that have been raised — income inequality (including falling wages and rising executive compensation) and a disintegrating social safety net (like lack of access to affordable healthcare, housing and education) — are grievances with Neoliberalism,* and the principal solutions, especially as enumerated in the Green New Deal (the Democratic party version) — such as increased government action and spending to create jobs, redistribute wealth and provide essential services — would not be Socialism, per se, but rather a return to, and ramping up of, Keynesianism.

This is not about splitting hairs. This is about getting to the root of the matter.

FDR’s New Deal (and Johnson’s Great Society) were both Keynesian; that is, they followed the theories of economic philosopher John Maynard Keynes, who developed them in the 1930’s (good summary). Keynesianism was not at all Socialist, and in fact sought to preserve Capitalism by blunting its sharper edges. With Keynesianism the sword is left entirely intact, and remains in the grip of the ruling class. With actual Socialism, by contrast, the workers seize the sword from the ruling class and wield it themselves.

What is the nature of this sword? Ironically to some — not the least of whom would be many in the Pacifist movements — this sword is a kind of plowshare; both are murderous. The multiple, intertwined crises we are facing today — whether economic, social or environmental — all precede Capitalism by several to many millennia. Capitalism emerged in Europe in the 1500s and 1600s (with no small help from the colonialism and slavery that marked the euphemistically named “Age of Exploration”) and Socialist thought rose in the mid-1800’s, as the massive dislocations of the industrial revolution demanded a reasonable response.

Yes, the depredations of Capitalism (and “capitalism”) have been horrifying, and yes, Socialism (and even “socialism”) offer something marginally softer, or more “humane” in comparison, but we must look back further in history than these relatively recent philosophies and practices if we want to address underlying causes.

I am speaking here of what Jared Diamond called “the worst mistake in the history of the human race”: Agriculture, which burst onto the scene about 11,500 years ago.

Read More…

#WeedsArePeopleToo: Springtime reflections on farming & its damages

May 3, 2019 by Kollibri terre Sonnenblume

Dandelions (Taraxacum officinale)

I woke the other morning to the staccato sound of a Woodpecker pecking. He (I am guessing, based on appearance) was tap-tap-tapping on a dead branch on a nearby Oak. The rhythmic noise was not disturbing, even first thing upon waking, because I had been observing and appreciating this bird and his habits for the last few days on this particular tree. But the vibration also brought me sadness, as I knew the tree was not much longer for the world, and was in fact scheduled to be cut down that very day. Why? Such is agriculture. Read on…
Read More…

Counterpunch review of my book

April 13, 2019 by Kollibri terre Sonnenblume

I was thrilled that writer Nick Pemberton reviewed my book, “The Failures of Farming and the Necessity of Wildtending” on Counterpunch. Here is an excerpt and a link:

Kollibri’s book is wide-ranging. He shows us how agriculture is unhealthy for us. He exposes the health effects of agriculture as well as the sevre environmental impacts. He interviews a Native Americans about Western world views. The format varies but the themes seems fixed. Kollibri successfully links the rise of the so-called modern world with the rise of the West and the rise of agriculture. Thanks to the many formats of his chapters, Kollibri can take the reader to places both specifically scientific and broadly historic. I won’t give away the details here. But much of the book’s strength lies in the way it addresses accepted and practiced everyday truths by pointing to an alternate history seldom explored by our history books.

…The term intersectionality, while extremely useful, is often used in a superficial way. What struck me about this book was how well it used intersectionality in a material sense. This is an uncompromising book in regards to the patriarchy and U.S. history. There is a certain deep imagination here that uses history to point to the development of present conditions and assumptions.

The most unique and rewarding part of the book is the specific details about how the world actually works in a scientific sense. There is great detail and well-organized science in the book. Such material is not necessarily the internal biology one learns in school. Rather, Kollibri is most interested in real world application. Upon learning about the earth and the way it functions the reader is met with shame. How ignorant our modern world is. But the book is not there for that purpose. It is there to uncover the truth in both a historical and ecological sense.

Read the whole review here

The Troubles of “Invasive” Plants – zine

January 16, 2019 by Kollibri terre Sonnenblume

“On the topic of so-called ‘invasive’ plants, we don’t have an axe to grind, but there sure is one we would like to dull.”

“The Troubles of ‘Invasive’ Plants” is a 21,000+ word project by Nicole Patrice Hill & Kollibri terre Sonnenblume for Macska Moksha Press. Excerpts are posted online (see below), but the full version is available only as a zine that you can download here free-of-charge.

Hardcopies are for sale here.

The Scarlet “I”: Climate change, “invasive” plants & our culture of domination

January 16, 2019 by Kollibri terre Sonnenblume

This is part three of a three part series. Read part one & part two. The full series, along with additional material, is available as a zine, here.

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinalis) [Photo by KtS]

By Nicole Patrice Hill & Kollibri terre Sonnenblume

Changing plant communities at the local scale are symptomatic of the changing climate globally. Patterns of temperature, precipitation and seasonal timing are shifting, and with them, the patterns of birth, growth, reproduction—and survival—of all living creatures.

One widely observed syndrome is “season creep,” in which Spring has been arriving progressively earlier in the calendar year. This does not mean that every Spring starts sooner than the year before, but that an overall trend has been observed. For example, a survey of leafing, flowering and fruiting records from 1971-2000 for 542 plant species in 21 European Union countries showed advanced timing for 78% of the plants. According to other sources, “Spring events, such as blooming, frog breeding and migrant bird arrivals, have advanced 2.3 days per decade.” Winter snow cover duration—as measured from Fall to Spring—has decreased throughout the Northern Hemisphere since 1978. The earlier the snow melts, the less water is available during the hot summer, which affects a wide range of plants, animals and other life.

Winters have been warming. For example, the average February maximum temperature in the US rose by 0.3 F per decade from 1895-2016. This general rise in the “floor” has been accompanied by an increase in “extreme” events, such as “false Springs” when temperatures warm up enough to trigger life cycle stages in a variety of species. When more “normal” weather arrives later—or another extreme event follows, but this time on the cold side—a plant can be injured or even killed. A common example is when a hot spell causes fruit trees to flower, and then a frost—even just a “normal” one—zaps the flowers, thereby taking out that year’s harvest.

When we were farmers, we experienced how extreme events affect crops. In the Spring of 2013, periods of warmer-than-average weather alternated with periods of colder-than-average weather a few times, and the transitions between them were quick, as in 36 hours. Spring greens thriving in “normal” cool temperatures would go to flower prematurely when the temperature rapidly heated up. Then, warm weather crops would stall out when the temps fell. Annual vegetable plants don’t do well with such erratic conditions and we watched helplessly as our failure rate climbed.

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