Free Republic

When Jadav Payeng was 16 years old, he confronted a problem quite unlike those most teenagers devote their attention to. He lived in remote northeast India on Majuli Island, the largest river island in the world. Abnormal monsoon flooding was bombarding the island’s eastern side. It was rapidly eroding the landmass and stripping all vegetation from the remaining land. Jadav looked at the wasteland where lush forest had once stood, and made up his mind to reverse the trend. So he planted a tree. That was in 1979, and Jadav has continued planting trees, spreading seeds and nurturing the forest...

Could it be possible that large manufacturers of chemicals have encouraged and promoted hydroponic and hybrid agriculture in order to maintain sales and profit margins? Hydroponic tomatoes have finally arrived in Romania. A video from Antena 3 entitled,“Pofta Buna la Otrava,” (Good Appetite for Poison), describes how an entrepreneur from Reghin, Mures County, has grown last year nine huge tomato plants per square meter, the size of “tropical arbors.” The plants grew out of a special bed without soil. The seeds were treated with a special fungicide designed to resist disease, grew roots in a bed of cotton and other...

The U.S. is seeing a growing number of “preppers” or survivalists who prepare to live for months at a time in the event of a disaster. CCTV America’s Sean Callebs reported this story from Atlanta. (VIDEO-AT-LINK)There are those who believe you have to be prepared now, because the end will come in a flash. A pandemic flue nearly 100 years ago, for example, killed as much as five percent of the global population. Preppers say they’re ready to survive in the worst scenaro. “I had a friend who described it very well as — there’s those who prep because they...

SURVIVE MY WILDERNESS : Nationwide Type: Reality TV NOW CASTING: The Producers of Naked and Afraid are seeking Families who want to live OFF THE GRID in ALASKA! A Major Network with the Producers of Naked and Afraid are looking for families with 2+ kids (ideally ages 2-18) who want a more authentic lifestyle where there’s actual value in your work and family time is more than just 15 minutes in the car on the way to school. Should you be chosen for the show, you and your family will move to Alaska for 3 months (as of now, August-November)...

If you were to build a city from scratch, using current technology, what would it cost to live there? I think it would be nearly free if you did it right. This is a big deal because people aren’t saving enough for retirement, and many folks are underemployed. If the economy can’t generate enough money for everyone to pay for a quality lifestyle today, perhaps we can approach it from the other direction and lower the cost of living. Consider energy costs. We already know how to build homes that use zero net energy. So that budget line goes to...

I'm writing on a story I heard about the spread of the Burmese python in Florida. This is also my first post on this site. Despite all our objections against the dangers of blind and excessive "green" regulations by the federal government, conservationism SHOULD NOT be seen as a strictly progressive movement. In the context of invasive species, these types of pests infest an area the size of Delaware every year in this country (according to the Audubon Society). Pythons roam the Everglades. Chinese privet chokes out vital understory species in the Southern uplands. Zebra mussels crust the surface of...

Last spring, for the first time in 20 years, Indiana farmer Jim Benham planted his fields entirely with soybean seeds that hadn’t been genetically modified to withstand herbicides. It wasn’t because the 63-year-old suddenly had embraced the anti-GMO movement. Instead, he was drawn to a nearly 14% per-bushel premium for non-GMO soybeans offered by a local grain terminal, which sells them to Asian feed processors. Mr. Benham is among a small but growing number of Midwestern farmers moving away from biotech seeds developed by Monsanto Co. , DuPont Co. and other companies in response to lower crop prices over the...

In Seattle, wasting food will now earn you a scarlet letter — well, a scarlet tag, to be more accurate. The bright red tag, posted on a garbage bin, tells everyone who sees it that you've violated a new city law that makes it illegal to put food into trash cans. "I'm sure neighbors are going to see these on their other neighbors' cans," says Rodney Watkins, a lead driver for Recology CleanScapes, a waste contractor for the city. He's on the front lines of enforcing these rules. Seattle is the first city in the nation to fine homeowners for...

Sure, the incentive to compost is the putative reason for this regulation, but exactly how is it enforced? In order for city officials and trash collectors to know you have committed the civic sin of disposing of leftover food in your trashcan, they have to examine the contents of your trashcan. Let’s hope the citizens of Seattle and trash collectors can come to some kind of silent truce over this. Do they collectors really want to examine every load they dump into the truck for transgressions? (Lord help us, the city probably offers a bonus of taxpayer money for tagging...

This morning on Meet the Press, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said that the city will "explore every option" in regards to getting Initiative 71 enforced in the city. Initiative 71, which would have permitted the legal use of marijuana for recreational purposes, was passed with overwhelming support on Election Day, yet was blocked by Congress. Bowser had previously been against legalized marijuana, but has since changed her position to align with the will of the voters of the District of Columbia. Bowser also said that she intends on "forging a path" for increased autonomy in the District of Columbia. Mayor...

The future is always filled with uncertainty, especially for individuals involved in growing and producing safe, nutritional food for the world. As the agriculture community, spends a great deal of time and effort in pondering the “what ifs”, consumers still sit in the driver seat. One thing futuristic minds can agree on is the world population clock is clicking away at much quicker rate than the U.S. population. Recent estimates show a global population will not slow down its pace even after it reaches the United Nation’s projection of 9.2 billion in 2050. For now, the drop in global population...

I have been on this website for almost 12 years and I have never asked for anything. Now I need a favor...we have a close friend in the Salt Lake City area who needs part time work while going to school. He is a 21 year old strongly conservative in every way most awesome guy! Please...if anyone knows of anyone who might have anything for him I would be indebted to you forever!!!

Time to counter the powerful Green voices that are dictating policy and harassing property owners Tired of land trust agents frequently abusing the public trust and the rights of property owners, Tom DeWeese, President of the American Policy Center, Martha Boneta, owner of Liberty Farm in Paris, Virginia and other major property rights advocates are organizing a property rights rally, conference, and an early morning hearing before the Virginia Outdoors Federation on November 6, 2014 in Richmond, Virginia at the Department of Conservation and Recreation. “It’s time to counter the powerful Green voices that are dictating policy and harassing property...

American farmers who have farmed for generations are being squeezed out by the NGO environmentalist assault on property rights, refugees and illegal aliens are given land, money While we are fighting in Virginia and around the country for small farmer’s rights to maintain their freedom to farm, unencumbered by local government permits and environmental NGOs that are determined to force all farmers under conservation easements and regulatory control, war refugees are given land and grants to farm in our country. A recent report by the Associated Press from Des Moines, Iowa, stated, “The rapidly rising demand for locally grown fruits...

Nicotiana benthamiana, already used to produce West Nile virus antibodies, offers similar protection against the devastating Ebola virus The already wide horticultural field has expanded yet more to the new science of pharming. This involves the production of pharmaceuticals through the use of genetic engineering to insert genes that code for desired and otherwise expensive and complicated to produce pharmaceuticals into plants. Today, thanks to the herbaceous plant and close relative of tobacco, Nicotiana benthamiana, already used to produce West Nile virus antibodies, offers similar protection against the devastating Ebola virus. Found amongst rocks on hills and cliffs throughout the...

The first case of the "mystery" virus affecting kids all over the country has been reported in Maine. The mainstream press has shown an astonishing lack of interest in the obvious. Over 900 cases of this illness have appeared, scattered throughout the country and they have only one thing in common. The introduction of illegal alien children. How has the press handled this? By ignoring it. At CBSEnterovirus spreads across the nation There is another virus sweeping the country. The enterovirus mostly strikes children and causes a severe respiratory illness. In the past three weeks, it has spread from 12...

You may have enough weapons and ammo stashed away to fight the next World War all by yourself… You may have fortified your home and have 3 different routes mapped out to get to your bug-out retreat… You may have a food stockpile that will see you, your family, heck, the whole darned neighborhood, through until the Second Coming… You may tirelessly watch militant YouTube videos that show you how to take down your opponent in 3 easy maneuvers… But.. If you aren’t realistic about your skills and your physical abilities, you are likely to be just as dead as...

Kylene and Jonathan Jones' book "The Provident Prepper" (Plain Sight Publishing, $16.99) gives straight forward and easy-to-understand details on emergency preparedness. It's a great resource for families or individuals who'd like to learn how to take care of the necessities during an emergency. Written in conversational style, readers can adapt the information to fit their situations. The 358-page book has sections on a variety of topics including survival kits; communication; water storage and purification; food and fuel storage; emergency heating; lighting; and cooking. Here are a few tips the husband and wife team share: In the case of an emergency...

The unbearable sadness of climate activism: Nicole Thornton remembers the exact moment her curious case of depression became too real to ignore. It was five years ago and the environmental scientist – a trained biologist and ecologist – was writing a rather dry PhD on responsible household water use. Fair enough. That would make anyone depressed. Thornton had always been easily upset by apathy towards, and denial of, environmental issues. But now she began to notice an oddly powerful personal reaction to "the small stuff" – like people littering, or neighbours chopping down an old tree. So, she's a bossy...

When Rachel Carson’s book, “Silent Spring”, was published, filled with totally false claims about DDT, the Environmental Protection Agency looked it over and concluded she had used manipulated data. They concluded that DDT should not be banned, but its first administrator, William Ruckleshaus, overruled the agency and imposed a ban. Ruckleshaus was a lawyer, not a scientist. He was also politically connected enough to hold a variety of government positions. He got the nod for the EPA job from John Mitchell, Nixon’s Attorney General who later went to jail for his participation in the Watergate cover-up.