Will Monsanto Kill Us Before Yellowstone?

One has only to glimpse a graph of the historic corn yield per acre....

https://www.agry.purdue.edu/ext/corn/news/timeless/yieldtrends.html

"Yes. If our politicians want to subsidize corn growers, why not just force us to send them money and call it "Corncare"." -----

We do - its called crop and revenue insurance subsidies.

How many businesses do can you name where you can buy taxpayer subsidized insurance to guarantee yield and price?

"How many businesses (do) can you name where you can buy taxpayer subsidized insurance to guarantee yield and price?"

Isn't that called the futures market?

No.

At least the answer is easy: Yes

Yellowstone is not assumed to be a thread.

The volcanic system is still in a cool down phase and there are no signs of new magma arriving in the reservoir.

This type of volcano requires thousands of years or preparation for an eruption.

The changing temperatures and degassing is typical for cooling down: gas gets released from magma wich is "solidifying" and brings heat to the surface, influencing the ground water temperature.

There are other volcanos which are important to keep a close look on, even Supervolcanos. At least one time in history humans were at the edge of extinition due a volcano, requiring a few thousand to start all over again.

As there are other human induced disasters ready to take control over our extintion.

Whatever metaphor suits you (Cat is out of bag, horse is out of barn, etc.), you can get a good feel for the genetic engineering free-for-all with the results of Googling "Gene editing" and adding acronyms like CRISPR, TALEN and GEEN to your vocabulary.

If you think we have a problem with gun control (on a personal and global level), you ain't seen nothing yet with the fast food service version of genomics. Throw in a little climate change and a Pakistani or N. Korean nuke or two, we are advancing toward Hollywood sci-fi Road Warrior and Terminator thriller realities.

Jurassic Park?

More like Silicon Valley II. R and D chimes in:

http://www.rdmag.com/news/2015/10/boom-gene-editing-studies-amid-ethics-debate-over-its-use?et_cid=4874003&et_rid=54725787&location=top

No one needs no stinkin weed killers. I never use them. I basically live in the woods and with 2 cats and a whole forest of creatures wondering into my back yard every night, I refuse to conform and use chemicals just to get a pretty yard. I never believed Roundup was safe for everything but weeds. Anyone who did is a total fool.

Don't need no stinkin bug killers either, and darn, do we got bugs in the middle of the woods.

Time to re-evaluate our standards for "home improvements" and quit worrying that that thistle growing in our flower bed will make us look bad compared to the Jones. (this actually occurred in my flower bed)

I'm just waiting for the hammer to drop on the commercial lawn maintenance companies, as well, spreading their deadly chemical mess on lawns.

What is the population density there where you live ? How many souls/sqmile ?

Think how high it is in other parts of the earth. Your example is not guilty for the world but only for a very small part of the people living on this planet.

Basically, if you read what I said, I am criticizing the American "ideal yard" concept - that is crap and needs to stop. Chem Lawn laying down many gallons of insecticide and herbicide just so Joe Smith can have the greenest/cleanest yard in town is idiotic.

Hear hear.

And the watering and the fertilizing and the contest to see if at least one lawnmower type small engine can is running within earshot in every neighborhood from sun up till sun down at least on the weekends.

Monoculture fetishism. It isn't merely perverse, it's sick.

Tsk, tsk.

You and Phys seem to be grass haters.

You can keep nice lawns without much chemical intervention at all, if they are healthy.

Two cases. Arizona lawn gets minimal water during the summer. Twice a wek or less mowed when needed. Every two weeks. 1600 sq ft of grass, rest desert and a pool.

Minn. No water, ever. Mowed as needed about every two weeks. The only chemicals used is once a year dandelion spray. About 4000 sq fr.

Both lawns look normal for their respective neighborhoods.

Yes - I made my neighbors quite happy when I and my wife moved in. (we are in the woods, but do have next door neighbors)The former owner was one of those "beat thy neighbors lawn" freaks and I've been told the 6AM mowing did happen quite regularly. I have nearly an acre of lawn, and after 5 years my lawn tractor has just over 50 hours on it. Mow when necessary only. You ought to see the chemical warehouse he left for us. A chemical to kill any pest you can think of that would inhabit this part of the world. He even left me some DDT.

Bravo to you.

We keep our grass "kid ready".

Of course, dandelion killer has no long term effects on kids. Of course not. We can say that with 100% certainty. Anyway, dowsing the kids in chemical mixtures intended to kill various species is normal for the neighborhood, hell, normal for the country! Wouldn't want anyone to think you weren't exactly like them, especially reguarding flippancy towards the well being of children playing around the house.

.

I'm just jerking your chain a little, Lyn. A nice lawn can be a very nice part of a yard, and if you are accomplishing it without an excess of water and mowing noise and a minimum of mixtures intended to kill, awesome. That makes your yard something better than normal for many neighborhoods.

Well, we're here (Minn) one week out of the year. The lawn is sprayed months before we get here for that week. It has rained dozens of times or more, so I'm not worried about the kids.

The AZ lawn is chemical free, except around the citrus trees which get fertilizer.

I'm curious. Are termites out west as fond of citrus trees as they seem to be in Florida? Have you noticed?

In this respect I totally agree with you.

Yeah, we need to give this 'English lawn' concept back to England. It works in coolish, rainy areas, but not in the majority of the US.

I admit to follow your idea: in most cases you don't need it.

When do you need it: to save on personnel costs & to have a higher output.

I personally don't use chemicals to fight bugs: I sleep under a mosquito net, very cosy.

I took this decision when I made the relation to a chemical dry mouth in the morning and the chemical mosquito repellents.

Since then I have had no mosquito bate anymore.

This is a criticism of the American idea that our yards must be perfect and we are willing to poison ourselves to obtain that ideal. There are places where such chemicals are necessary, but not on family dwelling yards.

Did my songs make you feel guilty?
Oh Lyn. My entire world revolved around you, and your knowledge of everything...but you cast me aside.
Not many of us are awake with kidney stones and a cheating wife at 3 AM, but here you are, ready to challenge the truly stupid.
Setting things straight for those that are engineeringly challenged. For that...I applaud you my brother. You are the MAN!

Blame it on GMO's, this is not funny at all!