Art Goes Organic...*sellouts*

Salad for lunch? You got a little something on your lip there...I think it's the G train.


I'm not an art guy. But even my void of artistic appreciation was drawn in by the New York Times article about recent "organic art" trends. This stuff is fantastic. Mosaics of cockroach carapaces and sardines, a bicycle made out of cow bones, and some Dutch guy with moss glued to his face. I will be honest though, when the times article mentioned Levi van Veluw using his flesh as soil, I got really excited. But he isn't. It's just glue.

Probably better for his skin in all honesty.

Pigweed for Everyone

The New York Times today has an article on the spread of Roundup-resistant weeds. Those who are familiar with the issue of the evolution of resistant pest species won't find too much additional information in the article, although it does point out some evidence that despite Monsanto's claims that the problem is manageable, they apparently are concerned enough to subsidize certain farmers' purchases of other herbicides to target resistant weeds.

On a whim, I looked up one spectacular-sounding weed highlighted in the article. According to the article, Pigweed (Amaranthus palmeri) "can grow three inches a day and reach seven feet or more, choking out crops; it is so sturdy that it can damage harvesting equipment. In an attempt to kill the pest before it becomes that big, Mr. Anderson and his neighbors are plowing their fields and mixing herbicides into the soil."

It turns out that this terrifying giant pigweed actually isn't so evil, and maybe even its resistance to glyphosate could be a benefit.

Mapping Environmental Change - The Past 70 Years

I find it interesting how so many people in recent days have questioned the world's track record with handling oil drilling due to the recent disaster in the Gulf. I hate to break it to you people, but we have a terrible track record of existing...

70 Years of Environmental Change