Infographic: United States of the Environment. In the spirit of two popular infographics that map out the best and worst of all 50 U.S. states — the United States of Awesome and the United States of Shame — MNN decided to see how each state shines or suffers in regard to environmental and public health.
Our "United States of the Environment" maps depict each state's No. 1 and No. 50 ranking for issues such as conservation, agriculture, energy efficiency, disease prevalence, pollution, natural resource availability and education, among others. Check out the two maps below, and see our list of states, stats and sources for more information. Sources for "good U.S. " map:Alabama: Lowest rate of alcohol abuse or dependence (U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) Alaska: Most wetlands (U.S. Geological Survey) Arizona: Most solar power potential (USA Today, National Climatic Data Center) Arkansas: Home of Buffalo River, first U.S.
How to Grow Carrots. How to Grow Carrots Orange carrots are the traditional standard, but you can try growing white, yellow, crimson, or even purple-skinned carrots, too.
More important than color, though, is choosing the right root size and shape to suit your soil. Carrot size and shape varies by type, and there are five major categories. Ball-type, Chantenay, and Danvers carrots have blocky shapes that can handle heavy or shallow soil, while slender Nantes and Imperator carrots need deep, loose soil. All types are available in early and late cultivars; many are disease-and crack-resistant. Some catalogs don’t describe carrots by type, but will point out which cultivars do better in heavy or poor soil.
Planting: To produce the best crop possible, double-dig your planting area or build up a raised bed. Start sowing this cool-weather crop 3 weeks before the last expected frost; plant again every 2 to 3 weeks after that. Rake the soil free of lumps and stones. Solar highways. Wik-Bee Leaks: EPA Document Shows It Knowingly Allowed Pesticide That Kills Honey Bees. The world honey bee population has plunged in recent years, worrying beekeepers and farmers who know how critical bee pollination is for many crops. A number of theories have popped up as to why the North American honey bee population has declined--electromagnetic radiation, malnutrition, and climate change have all been pinpointed. Now a leaked EPA document reveals that the agency allowed the widespread use of a bee-toxic pesticide, despite warnings from EPA scientists.
The document, which was leaked to a Colorado beekeeper, shows that the EPA has ignored warnings about the use of clothianidin, a pesticide produced by Bayer that mainly is used to pre-treat corn seeds. The pesticide scooped up $262 million in sales in 2009 by farmers, who also use the substance on canola, soy, sugar beets, sunflowers, and wheat, according to Grist. The leaked document (PDF) was put out in response to Bayer's request to approve use of the pesticide on cotton and mustard.