Thought for a Friday
“Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity!” — Henry David Thoreau.
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Maybe I should go vegetarian …
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I’m reading a Mother Jones article about a report that suggests there’s a link between meat-factory farms that give animals antibiotics, and instances of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections in humans. The USDA commissioned a university scientist to create a summary of other research about “the growing problem of antibiotic-resistant infections and their link with factory animal farms.” The USDA published the report on its website, but after a while, the report disappeared. The article says:
… what [the report is] telling us is disturbing: In addition to mountains of cheap product, the food industry is churning out a major public-health menace. And instead of informing the public about it, the USDA seems intent to keep it on the down-low. Justin Tatham of the Union of Concerned Scientists, who has been observing the drama since it started in June, put it to me like this: “As a science-based group, we’re concerned about how the USDA is withholding this information from the public.”
By the way, you can read the original report (PDF).
Basil harvest = Pesto time
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It’s the end of summer, and our basil plants looked like jungle weeds. That is, before Aaron harvested all of them to make pesto today. Last year, we procrastinated so long that we lost most of our basil harvest. This year we were nearing that same tragedy, but we’re not going to let it happen again. Aaron will be busy making pesto today. We’re going to make two types–The traditional pesto with pine nuts, and an alternate with some other type with yet-to-be-determined nuts.
Austin buying land to protect aquifer
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“The City of Austin plans to buy 611 acres in the heart of the sensitive Edwards Aquifer recharge zone, a deal officials are hailing as a major step in protecting water quality in the aquifer and in area springs, including Barton Springs,” reports the Austin American-Statesman. “The 611 -acre parcel has sinkholes, caves and other porous features through which rainwater filters into the Barton Springs portion of the Edwards Aquifer. The aquifer replenishes Barton Springs Pool and is a source of drinking water for rural areas in Travis and Hays counties.”
This part is particularly awesome:
The tract will help weave together 9,000 acres of contiguous, conserved lands in Travis and Hays counties. Along those properties, the city and two nonprofits — the Austin Parks Foundation and Hill Country Conservancy — plan to create the Violet Crown Trail , a 30-plus-mile regional public trail system that will run from Zilker Park to Hays County.
The homemade mosquito spray works!
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A while back I blogged about a homemade mosquito spray recipe I found in one of my favorite magazines. The recipe mixes a handful of essential oils with rubbing alcohol. You load the mixture in a spray bottle and use it just like ordinary, store-bought mosquito spray. My brother came over for dinner the day I first made my spray. After dinner we went outside to watch our chickens for a while. Aaron and I both sprayed ourselves down, but my brother declined because he was leaving shortly. After five or 10 minutes outside, Jason commented that a mosquito had just bitten him. Aaron and I remained unscathed! The spray smells great, too. I definitely recommend it.
The ingredients cost about $30, but they’ll probably last me for 5-7 batches. It was difficult figuring out the correct ratio of ingredients before I figured out I needed to convert the oz. figures into ml.
Thought for a Friday
“To insure good health: Eat lightly, breathe deeply, live moderately, cultivate cheerfulness, and maintain an interest in life.” — William Londen.
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Turning sewage into…Drinking water?
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Faced with a dwindling water supply, a West Texas town has started construction on a $13 million plant to reclaim water from sewage. An Associated Press story in The Washington Post says, “the new system could actually improve the taste of the region’s water by removing the minerals and salt that give it a distinctive briny flavor.”
Here’s how it works:
The wastewater recycling process is long and complex. The first steps remove salt and impurities such as viruses and even traces of medicine. Then the wastewater is channeled into a lake or reservoir, where it’s blended with fresh water and eventually gets pumped into a water-treatment facility. There, it undergoes several more rounds of cleaning, disinfection and testing before finally reaching home faucets.
Culling old laying hens for meat
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Aaron is going to love this article from HobbyFarms.com about how to harvest your worn-out laying hens for their meat. He’s talked about taking out our old girls for food for a while now. The article explains when and how one couple with a farm in New Hampshire does this: “culling is usually done in the fall of the hens’ second year of laying, when the total number of eggs produced begins to noticeably decline.”
According to Jay Rossier, author of Living with Chickens (The Lyons Press, 2004), young pullets begin to lay around 18 to 20 weeks of age and will lay continuously for approximately one year before the first molt, when chickens “shed” their old feathers, so new ones can grow. Hens typically stop laying during the molting period, which may last from a few weeks to a few months, depending on the bird. Once they resume laying, hens usually produce as many eggs during the second year as they did during the first year, but then are most often culled.
Tips to conserve energy in peak energy times
I get press releases from the Gov. Rick Perry’s press office, and one came today urging people to conserve energy from 3 to 7 p.m., the peak hours of the day for energy use. In Texas, we’re nearly blowing out our power grid because it’s always scorching outside–even more so than normal nowadays.
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These tips are handy:
- Turn off all unnecessary lights, appliances and electronic equipment.
- When at home, close blinds and drapes on windows that get direct sun, set thermostats to 78 degrees or higher, and use fans in occupied rooms to feel cooler.
- When away from home, set thermostats to 85 degrees, turn off all fans, and close blinds or drapes on windows that will get direct sun.
- Do not use your dishwasher, laundry equipment, hair dryers, coffee makers or other home appliances during the peak hours of 3 to 7 p.m.
- Avoid opening refrigerators or freezers more than necessary.
- Use microwaves for cooking instead of an electric range or oven.
- Set your pool pump to run in the early morning or evening instead of the afternoon.
State climatologist: This drought officially worst on record
“If Texas gets less than four-and-a-half inches of rain in the next two months, 2011 is set to surpass 1956 as the driest 12 months on record,” reports The Texas Tribune. State Climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon shares equally troubling statistics in this story about the hot, hot temps we’ve experienced. The conditions are the worst in Central Texas!
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