GMO SEEDS YIELD NO ECONOMIC ADVANTAGE
Though GMO's are heavily marketed under the guise of increasing
a farmers profits, the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture
recently studied a cross-section of USDA data on corn and soybean
farms in Iowa, and found that the "use of genetically modified seed
did not appear to impact a farmer's bottom line for either corn or
soybean production." Farmers planting genetically modified
soybeans spent, on average, $6.17 per acre less on herbicides, but
$5.69 per acre more on seeds. The slight economic advantage was
wiped out by the fact that yield for genetically modified soybeans
was 1.6 bushels per acre less than that for traditional seeds. A
similar trend occurred for Bt versus traditional corn: the genetically
modified seed cost $4.31 more per acre, required $4.63 per acre
more for fertilizer, and yielded three more bushels per acre.
www.leopold.iastate.edu/newsletter/2001-4leoletter/gmo.html
NAFTA BAD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
The North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation,
which was established to document the environmental impacts of
the North American Free Trade Act (NAFTA), has released "The
North American Mosaic: A State of the Environment Report." The
report concludes that economic activity has had detrimental
environmental effects across the continent, increased greenhouse
gas emissions, a rise in air pollution, unacceptably high levels of
toxic chemicals, and declining health of biodiversity, forests,
agricultural systems and fisheries. One of the CEC's recommendations for correcting these problems is a move toward sustainable energy.
The full report is available at: http://www.cec.org/pubs_docs/documents/index.cfm?varlan=english&ID=629
"Consumer lawn care is a major source of water pollution. Instead of
using herbicides on your lawn, try natural weed control. Pull out
weeds, use compost, and leave grass trimmings after you mow. It
will decrease weeds without toxic chemicals around your home that
flow into drains." Care2 Action Alerts
A BETTER WAY: Why not a clean energy future?
"The Bush-Cheney energy task force all but ignored a U.S. Department of Energy report that concluded that improved efficiencies and renewable power could meet 60 percent of the nation's need for new electric power plants over the next two decades. Increasing the fuel efficiency of cars and SUVs by only 3 miles a gallon, for example, would save more oil within 10 years than could ever be extracted from the Arctic refuge. And scientists at the country's five national laboratories have concluded that a government-led efficiency program emphasizing new technologies could cut growth in electricity demand in half without sacrificing our quality of life." DENlines 5-21-01
"Did You Know?
Every $1 invested in space programs has generated $7 in economic growth and technology?
Space exploration has contributed nearly 40,000 technological marvels to our everyday lives?
Most everyone in the world has used Space Technology Spinoffs at some point in their life?"
SPAACSE, Inc.
Check out the Space Exploration link below!
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