Throw Away Your Round Up, revisited!

On March 22^nd, we will replay our show from 4/20 when host Terri Wilke discussed the dicamba drift lawsuit with Paul Johnson and Rob Faux.  Paul Johnson is an organic farmer and the lobbyist/policy analyst for the Kansas Rural Center (KRC) which is working on local food systems, water, environment and noxious weed law. Rob Faux is a diversified vegetable and poultry producer in northeast Iowa.  He is also the Communications Associate in Iowa for  Pesticide Action Network (PAN).   He has been involved in work sponsored by PAN that includes their drift catcher citizen science project and is working to educate sprayers regarding specialty crops and to develop resources for those who have been subjected to pesticide drift.

https://kansasruralcenter.org/

http://www.panna.org/

In February 2020, a U.S. jury’s decision awarded a Missouri peach farmer over $265 million in compensation for years of crop losses as a result of drifting Dicamba weed killer. Dicamba is  produced by Monsanto, which Bayer acquired in 2018.  Dicamba kills plants, whether they are desired crops or otherwise.  Dicamba is a highly volatile chemical that drifts away from the place of its application, causing damage to plants other than those it was applied on.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/02/17/victory-farmers-jury-awards-grower-265-million-damages-drift-monsantos-dicamba

Our show will discuss how to address chemical damage in crops and how to successfully grow crops without chemicals.  Rachel Carson wrote, “Sprays, dusts and aerosols are now applied almost universally to farms, gardens, forests and homes – non-selective chemicals that have the power to kill every insect, the ‘good’ and the ‘bad’, to still the song of the birds and the leaping of fish in the streams, to coat the leaves with a deadly film and to linger on in the soil – all this though the intended target may be only a few weeds or insects,” she wrote.

 

We at EcoRadioKC are glad to encourage non-chemical farming practices.  We can create a sustainable present for a sustainable future! Let’s continue to disturb the sound of silence.

This will be a great radio hour!

We hope you tune in!

Thanks for listening to EcoRadio KC on 90.1 FM, KKFI – Kansas City Community  Radio.

Environmental news for the week of 3/22:

Democracy Now reports: 

• Deb Haaland was sworn in as Secretary of the Interior. Haaland is a tribal citizen of the Laguna Pueblo. She has previously opposed fracking, the Keystone XL oil pipeline and other fossil fuel projects. Haaland is a 2020 recipient of the Nuclear-Free Future Award for her efforts to address the impacts of uranium mining in the American Southwest.

 

• Indigenous land and water protectors led several direct actions across the U.S. and Canada against the construction of Enbridge’s Line 3 pipeline, which would carry more than 750,000 barrels of tar sands oil a day through fragile ecosystems. Enbridge is not an American company. It is bringing oil from Canada in the form of tar sands oil.

New York Times reports:

 

• As the ocean rises, homeowners in a tiny town on the Outer Banks of North Carolina are confronting a tax increase of almost 50 percent to defend the only road into town. But the proposed fix, spending millions to add one million cubic yards of sand to the beach, is temporary because the sand will wash away again. Countless towns and cities along America’s coast are increasingly being forced to raise taxes or borrow money to protect their homes, roads and schools. As seas keep rising, so will the cost of holding back the water.

 

• Older gasoline powered cars could stick around on the roads for decades. The slow pace of “fleet turnover” to electric vehicles poses a major challenge for climate policy. Policymakers may need to look at additional strategies, such as increased mass transit to enable people to be less dependent on cars, if we want to meet ambitious climate goals.

 

• When more than 180 nations came together in 2019 to place strict controls on the export of plastic waste from richer countries to poorer ones, it was supposed to transform how the world handled plastic. Environmental groups had hoped the new rules would stem the mountains of scrap plastic that countries like the United States dump on developing nations, where much of it ends up polluting rivers and streams. However, latest reports show, that Americans are exporting more plastic waste.

 

• You may have heard of something called 30×30 (30 by 30). The idea is to get the world’s leaders to agree to protect 30 percent of Earth’s lands and waters for biodiversity by 2030. NY Times found was that nature is already healthier in places managed by Indigenous communities who have managed to make a small, sustainable living from the plants and animals around them, not fence it off. There many different models used to protect biodiversity. What they all had in common was that to see ourselves as part of one ecosystem. To make a living from nature by protecting it, by not taking too much.

 

Inside Climate News reports:

 

• Another historic winter storm pelted the central United States, dumping anywhere from a foot to 40 inches of snow and rain across Rocky Mountain states. Heavy snow and strong winds caused airport and highway closures, power outages and avalanche warnings in parts of Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska.

 

• Americans of color who were once forced to purchase houses in less-desirable neighborhoods – a practice known as redlining – are now in greater danger of losing those homes to flooding caused by climate change. According to a new study, about historically redlined homes are 25 percent more likely to be flooded than non-redlined ones.

 

• The Federal Emergency Management Agency says it wants to do better on equity, and it acknowledges that disasters and disaster recovery programs unfairly burden low-income and minority populations. The agency pointed to recent grants given to protect mansions in an affluent Houston neighborhood as an example of the inequitable way it has approached disaster relief.

 

• Over 10 million people were displaced by climate change-induced events such as flooding and droughts in the last six months, the majority of them in Asia. Just over 2 million others were displaced by conflict in the same period, indicating that the vast majority of internal displacements are now triggered by climate change.

 

The Climate Reality Project reports:

 

• In the US, you don’t have to look hard to see environmental racism and climate injustice in action. On the environmental front, race is the number one predictor of exposure to pollutants – even more so than income. People of color are exposed to as much as 63% more pollution than they produce – while whites are exposed to 17% less.

On the climate front, the story is much the same. Studies show that coastal communities in the South, where the Black population is large, are those most threatened by rising seas. And other research has found that, because of discriminatory housing policies, predominantly Black neighborhoods often have more pavement, fewer trees, and higher average temperatures — a problem that will only worsen in a warming planet.

Calendar of events for the week of 3/22:

• Application period is open now for NEW Living Lands and Water Virtual Community Exploration & Challenge! for 4th thru 8th graders. They are looking for 40 committed students with a strong interest in STEM education to participate.  These students should be prepared to learn, be challenged, explore and get creative with their virtual peers about the natural environment! It will be a 6-month-long journey of lessons, challenges, reflection sessions, and community engagement.  Application period open until March 26th 5 PM.  See at https://www.livinglandsandwaters.org/what-we-do/education/

 

• Mon, March 22^nd is World Water Day! Go to https://www.worldwaterday.org/ to share thoughts.

 

• Just in time for spring planting, you can order native tree and shrub seedlings for as little as 22 cents each from the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC). Even residents of other states can get seedlings shipped. The MDC George O. White State Nursery grows three-million tree seedlings each year and sells one-year-old, bare-root seedlings with sizes varying by species. Tree and shrub seedling varieties include pine, pecan, oak, dogwood, tulip poplar, cottonwood, sweet gum, cypress, birch, hickory, willow, persimmon, pawpaw, deciduous holly, redbud, wild plum, ninebark, witch hazel, serviceberry, mulberry, elderberry and others. The online Seedling Order Form Catalogue displays a full listing and order form. Some species are already sold out for this year. Seedlings are available in bundles of 10 or 25 per species. Prices range from 22 cents to 90 cents per seedling depending on the variety and quantity. Orders can be placed until April 15 and will be shipped or can be picked up at the State Nursery near Licking, MO (four hours from the Kansas City metro) through May 2020. Customers with a Heritage Card receive a 15-percent discount, or up to $20 off.The MDC will ship seedlings to other states for a fee, or residents of other states can find additional conservation departments and resources by state from the Association of Fish and Wildlife Associations.Native trees, shrubs, and woody vines can help improve wildlife habitat, soil and water conservation while also improving the appearance and value of property. Native plants can also be used for reforestation, windbreaks, erosion control, wildlife food and cover. For more information and to download the Seedling Order Form catalogue, visit MDC or call 573-674-3229.

 

• TUES, March 23^rd, 1 PM, Creek Course: An Introduction to Mayflies is   This online workshop is one of a series of online presentations highlighting the three orders of mayfly, stonefly, and caddisfly taxa occurring in Missouri streams. Each presentation is open to anyone interested in learning to identify these sensitive aquatic insect orders. You can register online:
• https://mdc.webex.com/mdc/onstage/g.php?MTID=e82ee0ef2b48cad71f9e335097a76846f

 

• WED, March 24^th, 4 – 5 PM Grow Native! Master Class: Native Shrubs of the Lower Midwest with Alan Branhagen. Designing with, Maintaining, and Enjoying Native Shrubs of the Lower Midwest. This program is a guide for those who wish to enrich their gardens or landscapes with native shrubs, and create an aesthetic that captures their spirit of our place in the Lower Midwest. The program will explore how to effectively use native shrubs to create a functional and sustainable landscape. A diversity of shrubs will be explored — designed to stir one’s imagination with the inherent beauty of our native shrubs’ forms, foliage and flowers that contribute a symphony to our senses through each season. Access info at https://grownative.org/

 

• THURS, March 25^th, 1 PM, Creek Course: An Introduction to Stoneflies is a virtual workshop highlighting stoneflies occurring in Missouri Streams.  Each presentation is open to anyone interested in learning to identify these sensitive aquatic insect orders. You can register online:

https://mdc.webex.com/mdc/onstage/g.php?MTID=e82ee0ef2b48cad71f9e335097a76846f

 

• SAT, March 27th, 8 AM to noon, Project Blue River Rescue – 31derful Years! Meet at Lakeside Nature Center (supply pickup only before heading to cleanup site – to be assigned) 4701 E. Gregory Blvd, KCMO. You can join Missouri Stream Teams for the 31st Project Blue River Rescue.   To register, one registration for individuals or groups, go to https://mdc.mo.gov/ .  Masks and social distancing required. Dress for the weather, bring your own water. For questions, contact 816-269-6835.

 

• SUN, March 28^th, 1 PM,  Kansas Green Party meeting.  Access info at Kansas Green Party on Facebook.

 

Thanks for listening to EcoRadio KC on 90.1 FM, KKFI – Kansas City Community  Radio.

 

 

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