http://www.twnside.org.sg/title2/susagri/susagri011.htm

Organic Farming Can Feed the World, Research Finds

A new study published in the journal Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems has found that organic agriculture has the potential to contribute substantially to the global food supply (Item 1). This finding is particularly important for developing countries, where farmers can access the materials needed for organic agriculture more easily.

The researchers examined a global dataset of 293 examples, and found that on average, in developed countries, organic systems produce 92% of the yield produced by conventional agriculture. In developing countries, however, organic systems produce 80% more than conventional farms. The authors also found that organic methods could produce enough food on a global per capita basis to sustain the current human population, and potentially an even larger population, without putting more farmland into production.

Moreover, contrary to fears that there are insufficient quantities of organically acceptable fertilizers, the data suggest that leguminous cover crops could fix enough nitrogen to replace the amount of synthetic fertilizer currently in use....cont'd at link

http://www.seattlearch.org/FormationAndEducation/Progress/LessonsCaring10-4-07.htm

Pet project combines love of animals, teaching

Accompanied by four-legged friends, Sister Margaret Lederer returns to classroom with lessons in caring for God’s creatures

Sister Margaret Lederer shows students a rescued cat named "Lil Dude."
[Photo at link]

LONGVIEW
BY BARBARA MULVEY LITTLE

Sister Margaret Lederer of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur works every day with an Angel. Her dog, “Angel” that is.

As a staff member for the Humane Society of Cowlitz County, Sister Margaret shares Angel – and her love of animals - with school children, the elderly, the disabled and the community at large. Her work gives her the opportunity to teach respect for all God’s creatures, share companionship with the lonely and find shelter for abandoned animals.

For nearly 40 years Sister Margaret worked in traditional education both as a teacher and administrator. At one retreat before a school year began a few years ago, she was asked to reflect on what she would do if she could do anything she wanted. She realized her dream job would be doing some sort of work that would include her dogs (she had two at the time).  When staff cuts were necessary at her school, she volunteered to leave so that a younger person could keep her job. Her act of love opened the space for God to respond to the desires of Sister Margaret’s heart.

A dream job appears
As luck would have it, there was a job opening for educational outreach coordinator at the Humane Society. She applied, was hired and now combines her love of animals with her love of teaching and she gets to work with her newest, shelter-rescued dog, Angel. Angel, and a harness-trained rescued cat, accompany her when she goes into schools to teach children about bite prevention and responsible pet ownership.  She regales the youngsters with stories about abandoned pigs, iguanas, sheep, horses, plus dogs and cats, which make their way to the Humane Society. Good homes are found for all.

Sister Margaret and fellow volunteers also visit preschools, programs for special-needs infants, homes for the elderly and disabled to share love and companionship.  She enjoys watching the spirits of people lift as they pet the animals. “It is very healing,” she said. A few times a month, Sister Margaret helps set up “shop” at the Three Rivers Mall for shelter adoption events. In a single month last year, they were able to adopt out about 75 cats and dogs from mall events.

Sister Margaret Lederer and Angel teach children to have care and compassion for animals.
[Photo of Angel at link]

People could learn a thing or two from dogs
The outreach program teaches more than respect for animals. “When I teach children to have care and compassion for animals, I am teaching them to have care and compassion for each other,” Sister Margaret noted. She also sees that “there is an aura around critters that make kids feel safe. Dogs don’t make any judgment calls, they love unconditionally and they don’t ask for much. People could learn from dogs.”

Her work with the Humane Society is a second career that makes her feel better than when she was younger, and she said it fulfills a dream to work with her dogs (her two older dogs have retired now that Angel keeps up the visits). It is also an opportunity for the rest of the staff to interact with a nun, which Sister Margaret said is “a good thing, a really good thing.”

This is the best positive news yet!    (And I see the editor liked this one, too.)

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/84141.php
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Symptoms Reduced By Dark Chocolate Consumption
*Editor's Choice
Main Category: Neurology / Neuroscience News
Article Date: 01 Oct 2007 - 0:00 PDT

If you suffer from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome you may well find that your symptoms are significantly reduced if you regularly consume dark chocolate - that means chocolate with a high cocoa content and without any milk in it. A pilot study carried out on patients with chronic fatigue syndrome found that their symptoms were alleviated when they consumed dark chocolate, much more so than when they consumed milk chocolate that had brown dye added to it.

According to the scientists from Hull York Medical School who carried out the pilot study, it is possible the dark chocolate is boosting levels of serotonin, a brain chemical. They also stressed that Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) patients should consume moderate amounts of chocolate.

Team leader, Prof. Steve Atkin, said that a patient had commented to him that she felt much better after eating dark chocolate with a high cocoa content. She had mentioned that her habit had been to consume milk chocolate, which did nothing for her. This comment got him interested in high cocoa (dark) chocolate, which led to the pilot study......

I found it on EBay! Take a look...
http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQfsopZ32QQfsooZ2QQrprZ125?satitle=The+Kit-Cat%AE+Klock

Some are worth quite a bit.

Cynthia,  Way Cool!!  Thanks.

ROFL, Klondike!

I recently read that the owners of this company are donating $1,000 a month to our local food bank and many personal hours of volunteer work and other donations.  Bless them!

http://www.splyce.com/index.html


http://www.portorchardindependent.com/portals-code/searchd.cgi

London Convention Puts Brakes on Ocean Geoengineering

ETC Group
News Release
9 November 2007
www.etcgroup.org
 
London Convention Puts Brakes on
Ocean Geoengineering
Risky ocean fertilisation schemes "not justified," require
oversight and regulation, says international maritime body
 
In a shot across the bows of geoengineering companies, the London Convention (the International Maritime Organization body that oversees dumping of wastes at sea) today unanimously endorsed a scientific statement of concern on ocean fertilisation and declared its intention to develop international regulations to oversee the controversial activities. It further advised states that such large-scale schemes are "currently not justified."
 
 "We applaud the London Convention for addressing a major gap in global governance," said David Santillo, of Greenpeace International's Science Unit who attended the London Convention meeting this week. "The Parties meeting here this week confirmed that large-scale ocean fertilization schemes are not scientifically justified and they urged governments to exercise utmost caution when considering such proposals," said Santillo.
 
Geoengineering refers to intentional large-scale manipulation of land, ocean or atmosphere in an attempt to 'fix' climate change. The governments meeting at the London Convention were confronted with a rash of private 'carbon trading' schemes that claim to sequester greenhouse gases by dumping large quantities of iron, urea or other additives into the sea. These techniques, known collectively as "ocean fertilisation," claim to draw climate change gases out of the atmosphere by prompting growth of plankton. The geoengineers seek to win 'carbon credits' as a financial reward for these activities - despite the fact that international scientific bodies have warned of potentially devastating ecological consequences for marine ecoystems.
 
The historic decision of the international body meeting in London this week came just as one controversial ocean fertilisation company, Planktos, Inc., announced it had set sail from Florida, USA to dump iron in the ocean at an undisclosed location, possibly west of the Galapagos islands. A second private geoengineering outfit, Ocean Nourishment Corporation (ONC) of Australia, caused uproar this week in the Philippines with the discovery of a proposal to dump industrial urea in the ecologically sensitive Sulu Sea region. ONC is reportedly in discussions with the government of Morocco on another proposed dump. Meanwhile, a third private geoengineering firm, Climos, Inc. of USA, attended the London Convention meeting where it proposed a voluntary "code of conduct" for ocean fertilisation - a proposal met with little enthusiasm.
 
"Geoengineering profiteers should have no right to alter the ocean commons for their private gain. Until now they've been exploiting the lack of international governance," said Jim Thomas of ETC Group. "The London Convention is sending a clear message to geoengineering cowboys that ocean-dumping schemes are scientifically unjustified and must be regulated. We welcome the London Convention's decisions on ocean-based geoengineering. We urge governments meeting at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Bali next month, as well as the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, to follow the London Convention's lead and begin an international process to put all geoengineering technologies under intergovernmental oversight," said Thomas.
 
The London Convention decisions were greeted with enthusiasm in the Philippines, where civil society organizations, small-scale fishers and environmentalists are protesting a proposal by Ocean Nourishment Corporation "to dump urea in the Sulu Sea. The groups will hold a press conference on Monday 15 November in Manila to outline concerns and actions in the region.
 
"There's clearly an urgent need for international oversight," said Neth Dano of Third World Network. "We were alarmed to discover that a geoengineering company had already approached the Philippines government. Although no permit has been issued yet, at least one experimental dumping of urea has already occurred in the Sulu Sea - without a permit, without environmental assessment, and without public consent," said Dano.
 
 "The London Convention has taken a first, important step to prevent these abuses," said Hope Shand of ETC Group. "However, we maintain our call for a moratorium on large scale and commercial geoengineering projects until there is public debate, intergovernmental oversight and thorough assessment of social, economic and environmental impacts," said Shand. "Geoengineering techno-fixes are not an acceptable response to climate change."