The Food System The Food System The Food System - Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems Social Issues Team and Elliott Kuhn (graphic artist), 2004. Agricultural Treadmills PDF version of Agricultural Teadmills For more detail see: Howard, Philip H. 2009. PDF version of Connect Four: The Percentage of Sales Controlled by the Top Companies in Specific Food SectorsData: Hendrickson, Mary, and Bill Heffernan. 2005. Poultry Networks Typical relations among broiler growers, integrators and other agents in broiler growing networks. Beef Networks Typical relations among cattle growers, feedlots and other agents in beef cattle networks. Commodity Crop Networks Typical relations among farmers and other agents in corn and soybean commodity crop growing networks.
Des colonies de microbes dans la plastisphère océanique Ce macrodéchet de plastique a été découvert dans la zone d'accumulation est de l'océan Pacifique, durant l'expédition 7e continent, le mois dernier. Les mollusques s'en servent au même titre que les rochers ou récifs. Ces déchets de plastique sont aujourd'hui de véritables nouveaux récifs, nids de microbes en tout genre, tels que le choléra. © Soizic Lardeux, OSL Des colonies de microbes dans la plastisphère océanique - 2 Photos Les débris marins les plus abondants sont les déchets plastiques. Ce nouvel habitat océanique soulève un grand nombre de questions. Une ciliée Suctoria couverte de bactéries symbiotiques et des diatomées, fixées sur un morceau de plastique fissuré et altéré. © Erik Zettler, Sea Education Association L’équipe a étudié des débris plastiques récoltés en différents points du gyre de l’Atlantique nord, à partir de filets au maillage microscopique. Sur le même sujet
WildAid | Why is Plastic Pollution a Problem in Our Oceans? A sea turtle spots a plastic bag floating among the waves. To him, it looks like a jellyfish, its general shape and consistency swaying and catching the light in just the right way. He swims toward it and ingests the bag in one gulp, satisfying his hunger, and then goes on his away. This is why a sea turtle could confuse a plastic bag with a jellyfish (Plastic Pollution Coalition) This story is all too common in the marine environment. Only 9% of plastics in the United States are recycled, and since most are not biodegradable, much of this refuse floats around for years, breaking down into smaller and smaller pieces that are invisible to the naked eye. This problem can’t be solved by any one person or organization, but efforts to recycle our trash, repurpose plastic waste (such as the collaboration between Parley and Adidas), organize beach clean-ups and develop policies to eliminate single-use plastics all help to reduce the amount of waste we produce.
about brainpickings.org Hey there. My name is Maria Popova and I’m a reader, writer, interestingness hunter-gatherer, and curious mind at large. I’ve previously written for Wired UK, The Atlantic, The New York Times, and Harvard’s Nieman Journalism Lab, among others, and am an MIT Futures of Entertainment Fellow. Maria Popova. Brain Pickings is my one-woman labor of love — a subjective lens on what matters in the world and why. Founded in 2006 as a weekly email that went out to seven friends and eventually brought online, the site was included in the Library of Congress permanent web archive in 2012. Here’s a little bit about my seven most important learnings from the journey so far. I think of it as LEGOs — if the bricks we have are of only one shape, size, and color, we can build things, but there’s a limit to how imaginative and interesting they will be. Please enjoy. For more on the ethos behind this labor of love, here is my On Being conversation with the wonderful and generous Krista Tippett:
Une solution alternative, la phytoépuration © Antoine Bosse-Platière Nos eaux usées polluent trop souvent la nature sans que l’on s’en rende compte. Un grave problème dans les zones rurales qui ne connaissent pas le tout-à-l’égout. L'épuration autonome classique avec tranchées d'épandage © D. La phytoépuration fait appel aux bactéries présentes dans les systèmes racinaires des plantes pour épurer l'eau. Comment ça marche ? Différents cas de figure sont possibles pour la phytoépuration. Le prétraitement se fait soit dans un lit vertical planté de roseaux, soit dans une fosse toutes eaux. Pour le traitement, il faut ensuite prévoir un bassin à écoulement horizontal planté d'espèces végétales capables d'absorber les charges polluantes (bambous, massettes, iris des marais, laîches...), suivi d'une mare ou d'un fossé planté d'espèces semi-aquatiques ou ornementales gourmandes. Filtres à roseaux - © D. Si vous optez pour le lit vertical planté de roseaux en prétraitement, prévoyez un dénivelé d'environ 90 cm avec le second bassin.
21st-Century Capitalism Is Killing Ocean Life | Yves Engler Sea turtle lies lifeless, wrapped in plastic on the shores of Porto de Galinhas beach on January 12, 2017 in Ipojuca, Brazil. (Photo: Marcos Souza/Brazil Photo Press/Getty Images) For 21st century capitalism the more disposable the better. Ocean life and human health be damned. According to a recent Ellen MacArthur Foundation study, the world's oceans are set to have more plastic than fish by 2050. There are currently 150 million tonnes of plastic debris floating in the world's oceans. The Canada-U.S. During the second half of the 20th century plastic production rose 20 fold and it's on pace to double over the next two decades. Approximately half of plastic is for single use. Before wreaking havoc on ocean fauna, plastics also harm human health. The toxins in plastics should be better regulated. The Canadian Environmental Protection Act provides the federal government with a tool to restrict toxic substances while Environment Canada operates a scientific review to test for possible harm.
Bread cetera Enjeux pour la gestion de l'eau L’eau est une ressource essentielle au maintien de la vie, et participe à de nombreux usages. L’eau à l’état brut est abondante en Guyane, mais l’accès à l’eau potable pour un usage quotidien n’est pas garanti partout. Des épisodes climatiques exceptionnels, comme récemment le déficit hydrique de 2009, ont également montré que le manque d’eau dans les fleuves peut accroître la remontée du biseau salin et menacer les captages d’eau potable du littoral, rendre difficile la navigation et donc l’approvisionnement des communes isolés, ainsi que mettre en péril la principal source de production d’hydroélectricité. Aussi est-il nécessaire d’adopter une bonne gestion de l’eau afin d’en garantir les différents usages de manière raisonnée. 10 axes prioritaires Le Comité de Bassin a identifié dix axes prioritaires pour la gestion de l’eau, et les a inscrits dans le Schéma Directeur d’Aménagement et de gestion des Eaux de Guyane SDAGE. Axe 9 : Mettre en œuvre le principe usager-payeur
Take Three Guesses At What Researchers Just Found At The North Pole A British-led expedition to the Arctic has made a depressing discovery in the middle of the Arctic Ocean: polystyrene. The researchers found chunks of plastic and polystyrene on ice floes in the ocean where previously they hadn’t been able to even access due to sea ice. This is the furthest north of any ocean that plastic detritus has been discovered, only 1,000 miles from the North Pole. It would seem there really is no getting away from plastics in the oceans. The researchers were part of Pen Hadow’s Arctic Mission to sail to the North Pole, collecting important data along the way, which is still taking place. British explorer Hadow is the only person to have ever trekked solo from Canada to the geographic North Pole without resupply. The team wasn't expecting to find polystyrene so far from land, but then they weren’t expecting to be able to access an area that is usually covered by ice all year round. [H/T: The Guardian]
Photojournal: NASA's Image Access Home Page