He rolled the dice again. This time, he was mimicking what he and his colleagues have been doing quietly around the globe for more than a half-century — using radiation to scramble the genetic material in crops, a process that has produced valuable mutants like red grapefruit, disease-resistant cocoa and premium barley for Scotch whiskey. […]
“Rape is kinda like the weather. If it’s inevitable, relax and enjoy it.” ~Texas Republican Clayton Williams Apparently, some people are fatalistic. In the recent controversies over Brett Kavanaugh and his sexual abuse accusations, some people, notably men of a given political persuasion, have decided that attempted rape or sexual harassment is just no […]
“No way those are rose hips,” I exclaimed, “Those things are huge!” We examined them more closely and I picked a few. Back in the house, I washed them off and split one open. The seeds came out easily, leaving a thick, meaty skin. I tasted it gingerly and confirmed that it was indeed a […]
… it occurs to me that whereas I WRITE a poem by dint of mighty cerebration, the yellow-leg WALKS a better one just by lifting his foot. ~ Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac Six or seven small brightly-colored bags hung from the pegboard. Occasionally, one would jerk or rock, then be still. Shirley takes […]
When our distant ancestors invented farming ten thousand or so years ago, they began altering these and other wild plants to make them more productive, easier to grow and harvest, and more enjoyable to eat. To date, four hundred generations of farmers and tens of thousands of plant breeders have played a role in redesigning […]
Those who hear not the music think the dancers mad. — Unknown “There he goes again,” my neighbor sighed grumpily, pointing to the older guy wandering our street with pruning shears. “Come on,” I replied, “he’s harmless.” “But I may not want my trees trimmed,” he grumped and went inside. Once again my weird old […]
Plastics in the oceans, fish and turtles choking on garbage, litter … what can be done? I strongly advocate for cleaning up the beaches, oceans and rivers. The cleanup schemes range from just individually picking up trash to complicated ocean plastic-collection systems. In the U.S. we’re also talking about banning plastic straws and water bottles. […]
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, a time to reap that which is planted; ~ Pete Seeger, Turn! Turn! Turn!, from Book of Ecclesiastes A hailstorm ravaged our garden last […]
Maybe it wasn’t that last straw that broke the camel’s back, it was the long-term accumulation of straws and other materials that did it. Can we reverse things by banning straws? Undoubtedly, no, but maybe we can slow the damage and take a little time to fix the problems. Plastic pollution in the rivers and […]
“I think we consider too much the good luck of the early bird and not enough the bad luck of the early worm.” ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt As the story is told by comedian Stephen Fry, the early Persian Shah wanted someone to give him a game that relied on intellect, not chance. That […]
