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also has a very good affiliate/network marketing program that goes public 4-1-11
get it now before the masses.
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Sunday, March 13, 2011
Friday, March 4, 2011
PRESS RELEASE: USDA seeks public input on conservation policy issues
PRESS RELEASE
USDA seeks public input on conservation policy issues
PORTLAND, ORE. March 2, 2011: One of six regional meetings seeking public input on natural resource policy issues will take place Friday, March 18, at the Smith Memorial Student Union on the campus of Portland State University, Portland, Ore.This Western regional meeting, which will be 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., is open to anyone with an interest in natural resource conservation policy issues.
As required by Congress in the Soil and Water Resources Conservation Act (RCA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture is to gather public input on natural resource conservation policy issues. The overall goal of this effort is to improve delivery of conservation services to landowners and communities, as well as to expand participation in conservation programs.
At each regional forum, discussion will focus on three broad topic areas: water security, climate variability and landscape integrity. A panel of invited speakers will present comments, followed by open discussion with forum participants.
Panelists confirmed to provide perspectives on water security at the Portland meeting are Joe Whitworth of The Freshwater Trust; Marc Thalacker of Three Sisters Irrigation District; and Dick Moss of Provost & Pritchard. Discussing climate variability will be Dan Keppen of the Family Farm Alliance, and David Ervin of Portland State University. Landscape integrity issues will be the topic for Jennifer Allen of Portland State University. Also invited to discuss landscape integrity issues are Michael Powelson of The Nature Conservancy, and Jim Stone, a Montana farmer.
There is no fee to attend the regional meetings but registration is requested. To register, go to www.farmfoundation.org and follow the link from the item on the home page.
The purpose of the RCA, which provides broad strategic assessment and planning authority for USDA, is to ensure that USDA programs for the conservation of soil, water and related resources are responsive to the long-term needs of the nation. The overall goal to improve delivery of conservation services to landowners and communities, and to expand participation in conservation programs. USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS) is the lead agency working on the RCA and is collaborating with nine other USDA agencies: Agricultural Research Service, Economic Research Service, Rural Development, Farm Service Agency, Forest Service, Risk Management Agency, National Institute for Food and Agriculture, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, and the National Agricultural Statistics Service.
Input is sought on specific natural resource conservation issues and economic and public policy issues related to agriculture and rural America, including: 1) natural resource status and trends; 2) emerging challenges; 3) emerging opportunities; and 4) long-term impacts on natural resource conditions and food, fuel, and fiber production.
A panel of nationally-recognized thought leaders in soil and water conservation and agricultural landscapes has been appointed to contribute to the regional and national meetings. Members are: Roger Allbee, former Vermont Secretary of Agriculture; Varel Bailey, Bailey Farms, Inc., Anita, Iowa; Craig Cox, Environmental Working Group; Otto Doering, Purdue University; P.J. Haynie, Haynie Farms, Hague, Va., and National Black Grower's Council; Teresa Lasseter, Moultrie, Ga.; A.G. Kawamura, former California Secretary of Agriculture; Pat O'Toole, Ladder Ranch, Wyoming and Family Farm Alliance; Ross Racine, Intertribal Agriculture Council; Charles Stenholm, Olsson, Frank, Weeda Terman Bode Matz PC; and Sara Wyant, Agri-Pulse Communications.
Information from the six regional forums will feed into a national agricultural landscapes conference planned April 7-8, 2011, at the Marriott Metro Center, Washington, D.C. The first forum was March 3 in Rock Island, Ill. The other regional forums will be:
March 10, Bouck Center, State University of New York, Cobleskill, N.Y.
March 10, Lory Student Center, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, Colo.
March 15, Polytechnic Campus, Arizona State University, Mesa, Ariz., and
March 22, 4-H Center, Columbiana, Ala.
Details on each of the forums are available on the Farm Foundation Web site, www.farmfoundation.org. This project is organized by USDA in collaboration with Farm Foundation, NFP and American Farmland Trust.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
fast growing trees: power your car with biomass
| : | So here we are 1/10th of the way through the 21st Century. Today, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles can get you to work leaving only a trail of water from the tailpipe. Plug-in electric cars take it a step further by eliminating exhaust all together. And yet, the feeling of | |
| : | One solution is Biomass. Specifically, harvesting fast growing trees for electricity production. While not all trees are suitable, fast maturing trees like Paulownias and Hybrid Poplars can be regrown every 7 years. Total lifetime carbon output is essentially zero, and new varieties can be grown without irrigation or chemicals. Paulownias can even grow from the stump once they are cut eliminating the need to re-plant. As an added benefit, such trees can be used to pull heavy medals, nitrates, and harmful chemicals out of the ground and away from our drinking water. Imagine passing several acres of Poplar trees like this one instead of a field of solar panels. | |
| : | As of 2008, 8% of sustainable clean energy produced in the US comes from Biomass compared with 70%from coal burning methods. As carbon dioxide and it's environmental effects become more evident, fast and cheap renewable energy will become higher in priority. The low startup costs of Biomass (dig a hole, plant a tree, and wait few years) makes it ideal for future energy production. California already exempts Biomass energy producers from Cap and Trade regulations. We can only hope the the rest of the world follows suit. |
Monday, February 14, 2011
Fueling the future, and your home fires FAST GROWING WILLOW TREES!
It may come as something of a surprise to many people that one of Co Mayo's most realisable long-term energy resource options, especially in terms of benefits to local communities and local economies, is the development of sustainable forestry.
A research project I was involved in a few years ago (the Mayo Energy Audit) found that Co Mayo could meet over one third of its total heating requirements from wood produced in sustainably managed deciduous woodland, in combination with a smaller area of coniferous plantation.
The most viable method of production was identified as medium-term rotation coppicing, whereby relatively slow-growing deciduous trees are coppiced on an 8-20 year cycle. Under a coppicing system, trees are cut to near ground level when they reach a useful size and then are allowed to grow back before being cut again at the end of the next cycle. Well-managed coppiced woodland can be maintained for many centuries without there ever being a need to replant. The only problem is, most of this woodland has yet to be planted!
A number of native and non-native species of deciduous trees are suitable for coppicing. These include ash, sycamore, alder, sweet chestnut, hazel and oak. Oak is a slow-growing tree so an oak coppice cut now will not be ready for its next cut until the children of the people doing the cutting reach adulthood! Generally, coppicing species do best on drier land, and will often thrive in rocky terrain where little else will grow.
What is not a good choice for coppicing is hybrid (biomass) willow, as it is very fussy in terms of suitable soils, demands heavy doses of artificial fertilisers in order to maintain yields, and requires specialist harvesting machinery. The only type of willow worth planting is the native grey or bog willow, on waterlogged ground where nothing else will grow.
Whatever the varieties of trees used, the wood harvested needs two to three years to dry properly so it pays to have good storage facilities where cut wood can be stockpiled. Anyone who cuts turf will be familiar with this concept of always cutting a few years ahead. Like turf, wood will dry outside moderately well if stacked properly. It is only necessary to move it into a shed after the first year of drying, by which time the moisture content should be down to 25-30 percent. Well-dried wood has a moisture content of around 16-18 percent.
Although there is a widespread belief that burning wet fuel somehow saves fuel (because it burns more slowly) the reality is that wet fuel cannot begin to burn efficiently until all the moisture has been boiled off. The result of this inefficient combustion is much lower heat output, and production of carbon monoxide combined with and lots of corrosive tarry residues that clog up flues and increase the risk of chimney fires. So if you're going to burn wood (or turf) burn it dry.
When it comes to burning wood, the choice is between purpose-designed wood stoves and multi-fuel stoves. The former generally are unsuited to burning anything else except wood, but are generally designed for maximum efficiency. Multi-fuel stoves are a very mixed bag - many are designed for burning coal or turf briquettes and have the wrong type of firebox for efficient combustion of wood. Wood requires a tall firebox that provides room for secondary combustion to take place. The three-sided wrap-around boilers often found in multi-fuel stoves are a particularly unsuited for burning wood, as they excessively lower combustion temperatures. Either find a stove with a boiler located only at the rear, or forget the boiler option completely.
The final word is on open fires - they're a disaster! >>> http://www.dslfarms.com
A research project I was involved in a few years ago (the Mayo Energy Audit) found that Co Mayo could meet over one third of its total heating requirements from wood produced in sustainably managed deciduous woodland, in combination with a smaller area of coniferous plantation.
The most viable method of production was identified as medium-term rotation coppicing, whereby relatively slow-growing deciduous trees are coppiced on an 8-20 year cycle. Under a coppicing system, trees are cut to near ground level when they reach a useful size and then are allowed to grow back before being cut again at the end of the next cycle. Well-managed coppiced woodland can be maintained for many centuries without there ever being a need to replant. The only problem is, most of this woodland has yet to be planted!
A number of native and non-native species of deciduous trees are suitable for coppicing. These include ash, sycamore, alder, sweet chestnut, hazel and oak. Oak is a slow-growing tree so an oak coppice cut now will not be ready for its next cut until the children of the people doing the cutting reach adulthood! Generally, coppicing species do best on drier land, and will often thrive in rocky terrain where little else will grow.
What is not a good choice for coppicing is hybrid (biomass) willow, as it is very fussy in terms of suitable soils, demands heavy doses of artificial fertilisers in order to maintain yields, and requires specialist harvesting machinery. The only type of willow worth planting is the native grey or bog willow, on waterlogged ground where nothing else will grow.
Whatever the varieties of trees used, the wood harvested needs two to three years to dry properly so it pays to have good storage facilities where cut wood can be stockpiled. Anyone who cuts turf will be familiar with this concept of always cutting a few years ahead. Like turf, wood will dry outside moderately well if stacked properly. It is only necessary to move it into a shed after the first year of drying, by which time the moisture content should be down to 25-30 percent. Well-dried wood has a moisture content of around 16-18 percent.
Although there is a widespread belief that burning wet fuel somehow saves fuel (because it burns more slowly) the reality is that wet fuel cannot begin to burn efficiently until all the moisture has been boiled off. The result of this inefficient combustion is much lower heat output, and production of carbon monoxide combined with and lots of corrosive tarry residues that clog up flues and increase the risk of chimney fires. So if you're going to burn wood (or turf) burn it dry.
When it comes to burning wood, the choice is between purpose-designed wood stoves and multi-fuel stoves. The former generally are unsuited to burning anything else except wood, but are generally designed for maximum efficiency. Multi-fuel stoves are a very mixed bag - many are designed for burning coal or turf briquettes and have the wrong type of firebox for efficient combustion of wood. Wood requires a tall firebox that provides room for secondary combustion to take place. The three-sided wrap-around boilers often found in multi-fuel stoves are a particularly unsuited for burning wood, as they excessively lower combustion temperatures. Either find a stove with a boiler located only at the rear, or forget the boiler option completely.
The final word is on open fires - they're a disaster! >>> http://www.dslfarms.com
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Saturday, February 5, 2011
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