February 2021

Storm clouds

More on water and the drought

When it rains here on the central coast of California (not nearly enough of late) the water that splashes down on our rooftops runs through the gutters, then the downspouts and (if you live in the city) usually down a storm drain system and out to the ocean.Ever wonder how much water that is? I did when after just one downpour I collected enough water from an eight-foot length of gutter on my shop roof to overflow a fifty-gallon barrel in less than 1 hour!With a little research, I found that as a rule of thumb, for every 1,000 sq Read more

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fallen leaves in a pond

Water

Water. Our planet’s surface is covered about 70% by this life essential liquid. That is approximately 331 million cubic miles of water. However, all but 3% contains salt. Three-quarters of this 3% of freshwater is in the form of ice. Half of the remaining ¼ of freshwater is located 2,500+ feet below the surface and embedded in rock. That is too deep to be obtained economically and leaves the water in lakes, rivers, accessible aquifers, (groundwater), and the atmosphere. Just 1/8 of 3%, or 0.375 percent!Obviously, this precious resource, this gift of the earth, must be protected and utilized wisely,

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The Wild Wisdom of Weeds, by Katrina Blair

The Wild Wisdom of Weeds: 13 Essential Plants for Human Survival

Eat your weeds or there’ll be no dessert!At a lecture I once attended during an organic farming conference a speaker asserted that the best form of food security would come from learning to eat grass. “You would always have enough to share and next to no one would try to take it away from you.” Laughter followed.Seventeen years later. Climate change, extended drought, massive floods, failing agriculture systems, famines a world population of 7 billion+, who’s laughing now?These “scientific facts” do not care whether anyone believes in them or not. Food production, either organic or conventional, is, in its present

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