People think pesticides cannot be used on organic farms, but that's not true. Organic farms do use pesticides, but the pesticides they use are "natural" instead of "synthetic." This may sound better, but we actually know less about a lot of these toxic natural pesticides than we do about the synthetics. Want to know a few more myths about "organic" food? Head over to RealClearScience.
The Evolution of Taxidermy
Everything eventually dies, but a few rare animals become as close to immortal as we can make them. Only animals that help produce advances in scientific research, medical progress, and genetic improvement have longer-lasting legacies than taxidermied museum specimens.
Bears Kills Deer in Suburban Backyard
Warning. This video is pretty horrific, as this is not a quick kill. This bit of video does underscore a few points I routinely make: that wildlife is coming back all over, including top-end predators, and that nothing in field or or forest dies with a morphine drip and Mozart on the Victrola. (Thanks Karen C!)
The Devil's Advocate
Tasmanian Devils have been devastated in recent years by a type of infectious cancer, but a new vaccine has been created and the first vaccinated animals have been release back to the wild. Of course, a vaccine hardly stops the spread of the disease beyond the vaccinated. For things to turn around, thousands of devils in an area would have to perpetually vaccinated in order to create "herd resistance" to control the cancer's spread.
This Is Where Your Coffee Comes From
Every bean that goes into your morning coffee has been touched by multiple human hands. This is product of blood, sweat and soil. See this terrific photo essay.
A Book Worth a Look
A Naturalist Goes Fishing: Casting in Fragile Waters from the Gulf of Mexico to New Zealand's South Island by James McClintock comes out October 27th and looks pretty interesting. A good one to put on the Christmas list for the anglers in your family!
Teach Your Kids About Math and Money
Teach your kids about math and money with this set of 100 plastic pennies. Cost? Over $9.00
Food for Thought
If you loved vagina yogurt, then you really should try toe cheese. And yes there is even cheese made from Michael Pollan skin scrapings.
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