Waxing Full Moon of Critique and Dream… Let’s “Make America’s Rivers Blue Again”
We welcome the return of indefatigable devotee of informing the Citizenry, founder of Nutiva, advocate for Regenerative Agriculture, an executive producer of great film “Kiss the Ground” (Netflix), and has founded six nonprofit organizations, including his latest: Great Plains Regeneration.
John W. Roulac on Medium: https://medium.com/@johnroulac
Latest Article: Making America’s Rivers Blue Again: Connecting the Dots Between Regenerative Ag & Healthy Waterways
Kiss the Ground Movie: https://kissthegroundmovie.com/
Caroline in ‘conversation’ with John Roulac make up today’s Themes
Thames River
London by William Blake:
I wander thro’ each charter’d street,
Near where the dirty Thames does flow.
And mark in every face I meet
Marks of weakness, marks of woe.
*note Billie used “dirty” for Thames, then changed to chartered…
“Regenerative Agriculture” describes farming and grazing practices that reverse climate change by rebuilding soil organic matter and restoring degraded soil biodiversity — resulting in both carbon drawdown and an improved water cycle. There are five recognized principles of regenerative agriculture: keep the soil covered, minimize soil disturbance, maximize crop diversity, maintain living roots in the ground year-round, and integrate livestock.
Quoting my 2017 Ecowatch article Spaceship Earth, Your Main Oxygen Systems Are Collapsing:
“Industrial agriculture not only contaminates our oceans with pesticide and nitrogen-fertilizer runoff . . . it is stripping our soils of carbon, which ends up in the oceans and creates acidification. At the current trajectory, in just a few decades there won’t be much left alive in our oceans as the phytoplankton dies — all because of how we grow our food.”
It’s important to understand that fertilizer is predominantly made from fracked natural gas, releasing nitrous oxide (N2O) — a greenhouse gas 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide but virtually ignored in climate change discussions. In a recent study published in the journal Nature, an international team of scientists discovered that N2O emissions are increasing at a faster rate than any other type of greenhouse gas emission, mainly due to a rise in nitrogen fertilizer application for food production.
“Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) are also a big contributor to U.S. river pollution. There are somewhat more cows today in the U.S. versus bison (which are much larger) two centuries ago. The real issue is nitrous oxide belching from fertilizer plants not from cows munching grass. Monsanto, the fertilizer industry, and Impossible Foods is betting they can pull a fast one on Americans.”
CWC: all one story… breath…
George Floyd to Corona,
and that the horrific manner in which our species
imprisons animals in factory farming
is one of the main realms of Virus mutation…
and the Amazon, Manaus – 70 % infection rate –
no herd immunity, also speaks to our species disregard
for Indigenous people, who could guide us out of this horror…
Christi Belcourt, Honor Water
“Over 20% of rural wells in ag regions are contaminated from synthetic fertilizers.
Let us remember “Mni Wiconi” (a Native American saying meaning Water is Life). Farmers who practice regenerative agriculture can reduce their chemical inputs, saving millions of dollars while building healthy, spongy soil with an increased water-holding capacity. Such practices will keep our streams, rivers, lakes, and gulfs flowing with clear, fresh blue water.”
CWC: Also Arabic saying “Water is Life.”
“This isn’t a bee problem. The bees are the canary in the coal mine. This is the worst mass extinction event that the planet has ever experienced. Agriculture has become much too simplified.” The use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is promoted as if they were the only way to produce food in the 21st century. Ken Roseboro, editor of The Organic & of the Non-GMO Report recently said, “Several regenerative farmers have told me they just don’t need the GMO traits, and their yields are better with non-GMO seeds.”
The problem of pesticides is intimately linked to that of GMOs. The majority of GMO seeds sold today are genetically engineered to work with toxic herbicides such as glyphosate.”
CWC: and decline of song-birds….
and rooting for beloved cicadas,
due to emerge on East Coast this Spring, as they do every 17 years…
Cicada cycles are all prime numbers so they don’t overlap…
Beautiful respectful ingenious symmetry…
“The Myths of Fake Meat
“The mad rush for fake food and fake meat . . . is a recipe for accelerating the destruction of the planet and our health.” — Dr. Vandana Shiva“
“As Aldous Huxley eloquently wrote, “Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.” In this case, the fact ignored is that hoofed animals are essential to restoring the earth’s vast grasslands through holistic grazing, with a huge upside for carbon sequestration achieved where farm crops cannot grow.”
“In holistic regenerative systems, animals graze the grass and do not return until the grass is knee-high. While it seems counterintuitive, over time more animals — not less — will be needed as the grassland regenerates. On February 17, 2021 The New York Times article featured Texas rancher Adam Isaacs and his goal of turning his 5,000 acres into something closer to the lush mixed-grass prairie that once thrived in this part of the Southern Great Plains and served as grazing lands for millions of bison.”
“Soil Regeneration Is the Answer
Regenerative agriculture is a renewal of hearts and minds that transforms farming and ranching. It is a conscientious agricultural system that mimics nature’s patterns and prioritizes the health of the soil. Regenerative farmers use cover crops (keeping soil covered year-round), agroforestry, and holistic animal grazing. Large-scale farmers like Rick Clark of Indiana, who successfully manages a 7,000 acre, no-till organic regenerative farming operation, are demonstrating how soil health is transforming agriculture.”
CWC: let’s note the supportive Mars in Taurus trining Pluto…
A Nordic Sami woman playing lur horn in the evening.
Made after nature by Emma Edwall, Mid 1800’s.
The Beautiful Sun at 7+ Pisces,
“Girl with a trumpet calling in a new tide of cultural energy,”
exactly sextile (opportune cahoots)
Uranus 7+Taurus, Genius Mind of Nature-
encouraging “sleigh without snow,” dedicated foresight…
Photo of the Moon from the International space station,
Jeff Williams (6.20.2016)
Waxing Moon square Mars, inconjunct Neptune…
That all radio etc in our lives, be not “performance,”
but reverent magic dedicated to collective well-being…
Mars sextiles Neptune, that we may live the Dream,
and here be some ways to do so:
Regeneration Six-Punch List
Here are six things you can do to help regenerate our lovely earth:
1. Purchase more regionally grown, non-GMO, organic and regenerative food that is raised in harmony with soil health principles, and where possible, know your farmer.
2. Look for pasture-finished meat or organically grown or ethically raised meat labels. Seek out regional, small-farm butchers and ranchers. Avoid industry-owned grocery brands such as Applegate (owned by Hormel) or Tyson.
3. Compost food scraps and leaves at your dwelling, land, organization, or municipal facility.
4. Contact your members of Congress to encourage President Joe Biden and USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack to support soil health and regeneration.
5. Invest in or volunteer your support for local food producers working to improve their soil and regeneration practices.
6. Watch soil-health documentary Kiss the Ground on Netflix and share it with your network.
Let’s build a regenerative food system where bees buzz, dragonflies hover, and fish and frogs thrive. It’s going to take a change of hearts and minds; only then will America’s rivers run blue again. Let’s regenerate.”
!!!!!
