Millions of missing bees in Taiwan
Taiwan is experiencing extraordinary bee losses in the millions. The article I found is four days old, but why aren't people more upset about something like this. This is not only a great environmental disaster, but also a looming threat to our food supply worldwide. In three parts of Taiwan most of their bees are gone...around 10 million bees to be exact! A bee farmer in north east Taiwan reported 6 million bees gone for no reason! The Taiwanese government is reporting this mass die off of bees as an isolated incident, when clearly the rest of the world is also experiencing the same problem. All this has happened in the last two months. Someone needs to do something...and fast. I have covered the bee losses from the beginning in this blog and will continue to do so as I feel it is an important issue as the story progresses.
Source:Reuters
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The largest solar power plant in North America will soon be providing electricity to an Air Force base in the Nevada desert.
Italian researchers who previously suggested the artificial sweetener (made by Searle/Monsanto, the FDA's best buddies) heightens the risk of cancer are saying it again, based on a new study they did. The FDA not surprisingly disagrees. The study shows that in rats, there are significant increases in cancer. Oh but the FDA, my favorite government agency is doing what it does best and protecting the corporations and screwing over the American people. There are huge amounts of counter studies done on humans that show no sign of a link between the artificial sweetener and cancer, but some say more studies still need to be conducted to make sure. Another question one might need to ask is, who is funding these counter studies? I for one would rather not have any artificial sweeteners in my body, especially when the scientist that developed it accidentally discovered it when he was trying to make an insecticide. So here a is a little research on Aspartame thanks to 
If it breaks up in your house, you are advised not to vacuum or sweep because you are then just spreading the mercury contamination around the house.
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A controversial new directive from the USDA threatens to deny organic certification to thousands of small organic coffee, tea, banana, rice, sugar cane, cacao and other farmers around the world. The USDA's directive would eliminate the longstanding practice of certifying organic and Fair Trade family farm cooperatives as a group, rather than forcing each coop member to pay for individual certification. Thousands of organic and Fair Trade farming cooperatives around the world have been established over the past few decades to help low-income farmers in financing and marketing, and in acquiring otherwise cost-prohibitive certification for their farms. Most of the world's small-scale organic coffee farmers take part in these cooperatives, so eliminating group certification, will drive thousands of family farmers out of business while giving large-scale commercial coffee plantations a competitive advantage.
The FDA is on a rampage to remove more labeling making consumers unaware of the food they are eating. The FDA currently has a policy for food manufacturers to display the international radura symbol and the statement "treated by irradiation" or "treated with radiation" clearly displayed on the packaging of foods that have essentially been nuked with radiation from powerful x-rays and gamma rays to remove bacteria and prolong shelf life. A move like this would be beneficial to food manufacturers and grocery stores, but bad for farmers and consumers.
China has successfully created artificial snow in Tibet using modern weather modification techniques. The process works by seeding the clouds with silver iodide, which has a cooling effect. Officials in China are worried that global warming will cause the Himalayas to melt and create widespread drought. They view artificial snowfall as a possible way to thwart off drought.
After watching a global warming documentary last night I learned of something that I have never heard before. The creation of synthetic trees that could capture carbon dioxide and release them in a calcium carbonate form (the stuff sea shells are made out of) or sodium carbonate liquid, and store the carbon permanently. Geo-physicist Professor Klaus Lackner thinks he has found a solution that could solve our problem of too much carbon dioxide output. Regardless of whether or not you believe global warming is affected by carbon dioxide, within 100 years from now, carbon dioxide will reach levels never seen before.
Too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere does affect the environment in negative ways. It also affects animals, plants, and humans. According to Professor Lackner, it would take about 250,000 of these synthetic trees to soak up the amount of carbon dioxide we emit annually. It works by having chemical veins that are compacted very closely with a solution of sodium hydroxide. The solution then absorbs carbon dioxide and then forms a sodium carbonate liquid which can then be piped away for final storage. This in effect mimics mother nature, except that plants store carbon in their tissues.
One way to alleviate dependence on city or county water supplies is to purchase a rainwater capturing system. The system can be as simple or complicated as your budget allows, and would help alleviate water shortages and drought problems. Not to mention, that capturing water from the rain is a free renewable source that could serve as a backup in case of any type of emergency. In some states across the US and in some countries, rebates are offered to citizens by the government who purchase a water tank to capture rainwater to alleviate water shortage areas. Rainwater can be as simple as a plastic barrel with a gravity feed to a flowerbed or vegetable garden, or it can be as complex as serving all your water needs. Here is a link to 
This GPS system has been tested by a group of 250 volunteers, but still has some bugs to work out. Before signing up for the program the volunteers were told that in case of a criminal investigation the GPS system would be used to subpoena them. What else would "they" use this system for?!? Many other states around the US and even the UK are looking towards Oregon as they finish up there final testing reports in June to one day replace the old gas tax. But if my gut tells me something it’s... the high failure rate of 15% which is unacceptable is on purpose. The failure occurs at the pumps, when receivers get confused on which cars go to which pump, in which it would revert to the old gas tax. So an easy way of "fixing" this problem would be the combo use of GPS and radio frequency identification, or RFID systems. This would solve the confusion problem and everyone in the state of Oregon would be tracked. Oregon already has RFID readers at various locations on I-5. I know what these look like, I know what they do, and I know what they are capable of doing. 
In San Francisco Bay Area, people who want to skip the long wait to cross a bridge are given a Fast Track RFID device that allows them to skip the traffic and cross the bridge with their toll being deducted straight from their bank accounts. Well the department of transportation alongside with Sprint developed a project to monitor traffic flow electronically through the use of two devices: radar guns installed on almost every major freeway and RFID wireless receivers. The system inputs all the information into a computer program and that was how 511.org was born. 
Meanwhile people who willingly signed up for Fast Track unknowingly are delivering data to computer systems all over as they drive about their daily lives. Not that this information is being used to spy on the American public, its the fact that it has the capability to spy on the American public at the discretion on some government agency that has become obsessed with Domestic Terrorism in the name of freedom. Any who, just to my two cents for the day...
According to Wikipedia, overfishing occurs when fishing activities reduce fish stocks below an acceptable level. In Lake Victoria, the 2nd largest freshwater lake in the world, the lake is home to catfish, lungfish, and other small fish, but the real prize is an invasive species called the Nile perch. Europeans pay good money for this fish, as it is a favorite in European supermarkets. British colonizers introduced this fish to the lake which came to dominate native species. The Nile perch can reach up to 5 feet long and weigh up to 400lbs, and is worth $1.15 per kilo (2.2 lbs) to the fishers. This has created a $250 million fishers market for the people of Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda and has created literally hundreds of thousands of jobs for Africans. The export business has also created modern processing plants, trucking companies, and air cargo brokers. On the downside it has also attracted cheap hotels, restaurants, bars, and prostitution.
The Nile perch also attracts another invasive species which is creating a serious problem for fishers, the water hyacinth. The water hyacinth is a fast growing weed that chokes the waterway, making it difficult to fish in parts of the lake. It often makes a suitable habitat for mosquitoes which can harbor disease, as well as a species of snails that are known to harbor parasites. Since using toxic chemicals is often too expensive and ineffective, 
the USDA has introduced the Weevil as a method of bio-warfare, a beetle that feeds on the water hyacinth. The bottom line is, in 2001, the fishing catch amounted to 1.29 million tons. In 2006, the catch dropped to 820,000 million tons. This drop has creating an even higher demand for fish and created a sharper decline in fish stock due to heavy competition between African fishers who depend on catch for their livelihood.
Scientists in 1989 estimated there were 170,000 elephants left in the wild. Today the number may be much lower. With new roads being constructed in central Africa, poachers gain more access to the valuable ivory they seek. Many poaching camps and slaughtered elephants have been discovered, leading scientists to fear a dramatic decrease in the elephant population. 
"It is not the physical effect of the road that is the issue—forest elephants actually like roadside vegetation—rather it is the fact that unmanaged roads bring people, with their guns and ammunition," says the lead author of the study being conducted by the Wildlife Conservation Society.
WholeFoods and Starbucks have taken a vested interest in their consumers to purchase milk from organic milk producers or producers that have labeling of "rBST-free", "rBGH-free", or "hormone-free". Monsanto claims that its use of hormone injections in dairy cows produces no harmful effects on the milk, and claim it to be the same as milk produced without injections. Dairy farmers, and industry professionals have come to Monsanto for a solution to their shortfall in sales due to what they call "misleading labels".
say that there is no test that can detect the difference between cows milk produced with rBGH or without. Then they have the audacity to continue and say that labels such as "rBGH free" are misleading because it leads consumers to think that that milk is safer than other milk, which according to the FDA is the same. What people fail to realize is that the FDA, USDA, and EPA, are corrupt. Despite their intentions, they are filled with members of industries of interest, i.e. agriculture, bio tech, and pharmaceutical. These industries, one way or another get there way in order to keep there profits rolling in.
According to the associated press, experts estimate that up to 50,000 cases of ciguatera poisoning occur every year. This mostly comes from eating exotic fish that feed on toxic algae produced when coral reefs get bleached. The bleaching occurs due to pollution and warming waters. Many fish including grouper and barracuda live near reefs and feed on smaller fish who eat the toxic algae. Now there are more toxins, and there are more species of algae producing the toxins all over the world. In recent years ciguatera poisoning has worsened dramatically compared with 20 to 30 years ago.
