Self-reliance and sustainability in the 21st century.
The first part of this article focused on natures miracles -vs.- attempts to improve on what is in the natural order such as the monarch butterfly that metamorphoses from one form to a totally different form. It goes from a liquid state in the cocoon to a beautiful butterfly that can actually migrate up to 2,500 miles. Clearly an undisputed miracle in every aspect and we all observe them every day as they flit around from flower to flower. Or the bat and its sonar that can pinpoint a mosquito flying through the air in total darkness. Or the hummingbird that has such a remarkable memory that it can remember every flower in its territory and when that flower will produce nectar again. Or is able to fly hundreds of miles and months later return to a exact location where it last fed before migration.
These are fragile organisms that survive in a fragile environment in an equally fragile world. As new herbicides/pesticides are developed we can’t hardly seem to wait to try them. Are we actually damaging that fragile environment and putting other valuable environmental organisms at risk and upsetting their chance for survival? What makes a genetically modified organism better than what nature does every day? Does the use of these re-engineered products damage us and our survival? These products are being introduced in the market and we don’t even know what the long term effects will be on the environment or our lives. The EPA who is supposed to be the watch dog for protecting us from chemicals with hazardous properties are clearly asleep at the wheel. It is my opinion that the independent organization Beyond Pesticides is a far better watch dog than the EPA, but all they can do is warn because they lack regulatory power like the EPA.
It is my belief that chemical companies rely on the frog and hot water example. If you drop a frog into hot water it will quickly leap out. If you put the frog in cold water and slowly increase the heat it will stay in the water until it dies from the heat. Chemical companies slowly increase the heat on us humans in the same way through the toxins we breathe, ingest in the form of GMO’s, and ever increasing exposure to herbicides/pesticides. So I ask myself why tamper with something that already works? Is the risk of our future and our planet worth the risk? Then I see that countries like Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Greece, Bulgaria, Luxembourg, France, Madeira, Switzerland, India, Thailand and three counties in California have banned or partially banned GMOs and I then wonder what they know that we don’t know here in the USA. If that were not bad enough I learned that Poland, Peru, Austria, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary and now Italy have not only banned GMOs but they have banned Monsanto from their countries. Again, what do they know that we don’t? If GMO is so good why does the USA turn a blind eye to what other countries consider very risky.
Why are we introducing these modified products into our food chain with possible disastrous results before they are sufficiently studied or their long term effects known? Why do we need to re-engineer the environment anyway? Where are our politicians and government agencies that are supposed to be looking out for us? If all these other countries have gone as far as banning GMO and Monsanto why are we not taking a closer look into this genetically modified program. Shouldn’t our officials be looking into this or does Monsanto now own the USA too? Our government can’t even agree on whether we should label GMO products or not. Shouldn’t we citizens at least be afforded a choice as to whether we want to use these modified products or not? Why does an average person like myself have these questions and our politicians don’t seem to have any have any answers or even care for that matter? Is this another one of those partisan political footballs that Washington can’t agree on? Why do other countries take GMOs seriously and here in the USA we seem to believe that if the environment is destroyed we have another planet we can escape to?
So, while we engage in the technology of putting Roundup in seeds that we subsequently ingest, along with all its toxins, where are our officials? In other countries it is banned so what is being done in the USA? I have concluded from what I have read that going down this path is a bad direction until we at least know more than we do now. I can clearly see it could have hazardous long term effects on our civilization and I don‘t understand why the EPA and our government officials don‘t question this practice. Perhaps all those pundits have something when they say our government is dysfunctional. It seems to me the evidence is starting to mount rapidly. It would sure be nice to have someone from our government answer some of these questions so we citizens could understand them better and not a lot of double talk. It is highly unlikely however that any one in authority will respond or answer questions as that seems the normal reaction from our leaders now days. As for myself I have read enough to decide that this is the wrong path to go down and it could end up destroying us and our way of life.
For more on Bruce and Carol McElmurray and mountain living go to: www.brucecarolcabin.blogspot.com
Or if you are interested in our mountain homestead go to: www.coloradomountaincabinforsale.blogspot.com.