Tell The Senate "No" on the "National Uniformity for Food Act"

**PLEASE CLICK POST TITLE TO TAKE ACTION**

The House of Representatives has passed a controversial "national food uniformity" labeling law that takes away local government and states' power to require food safety food labels such as those required in California and other states on foods or beverages that are likely to cause cancer, birth defects, allergic reactions, or mercury poisoning. This bill also prevents citizens in local municipalities and states from passing laws requiring that genetically engineered foods and ingredients such as Monsanto's recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH) be labeled.

Organics Goes Big!!

This just in from Diane.
8-}

Mmmmmm...Antimicrobial Agents In Farmers' Fields

This article is about how all of these "germ-aside" soaps aren't being processed in sewage treatment and are winding up in sludge used as agricultural fertilizer. "If a consumer goes to the supermarket and buys a bar of soap, three-quarters of the active ingredient could end up in agriculture because the sludge is being recycled...Scientists haven't yet discerned whether the chemical degrades or accumulates in soils or what its effects are on natural soil microbes." I can't imagine all that triclocarban is beneficial to maintaining a vibrant subterranean ecosystem. Kiss My Face indeed!

The Happy Gopher Sez...

THANK YOU to everyone who has uploaded photos!!
They look awesome =*)

Update: May 22-27

Tuesday:
5:30 PM Apprentice/Faculty Mixer (optional)
Wednesday:
8:30 AM Independent Learning Time:
Grains and Beans with Christof (optional)
2 PM Report for Duty:
Strawberry Shortcake Festival
Thursday:
7:30 PM Critical Perspectives on US Food (required)

Have a berry nice week!

p.s.--next Monday is a day off!!

Web Soil Survey

You must use Firefox or another advanced browser to view it, but clicking the post title accesses the automated soil survey maps that Edd spoke about.

Reminder, Bike Tuning Salon 7:30 PM

Please bring your bike, your questions, any extra tools you may have and your willingness to get dirty! We will attempt to unlock the mysteries held deep within the functioning of these fabulous time machines. I also brought a video that has an incredible segment on overhauling a frame and building a new bike from scratch.
Happy trails to you!

Evapotranspiration

Greetings,
I've added evapotranspiration to our permalinks. CIMIS requires that you create an account. The login is CASFS2006 and the password is the same as for everything else. The link doesn't seem to work the first time you do it on a computer, but once you've logged in once it works everytime. E.g. click on it, it will prompt you to login, it will come up with a blank screen, hit back until you go back to the blog and then follow the link again. This just worked for me on four different computers. If people have different problems though, let me know.
peace
dp

An Inconvenient Truth

Howdy Campers,
This movie by Al Gore was just brought to my attention. It seems pretty powerful. You can watch the trailer here.
peace
dp

PutFwd Follow Up

Greetings,
I took the initiative to follow up on my own post here and created us an account on PutFwd.com, which I subsequently added it to our permalinks. The login is "CASFS2006," and the password is the same as for our Flickr account. I envision farm-related files posted and stored here for reference, e.g. irrigation and propogation handouts, sewing schedules, crop rotation charts, etc. Julie and Hank have already responded positively to this idea, and I hope to help them get some files uploaded as soon as possible. In the meantime, if people have other farm-related documents, recordings of lectures, etc. feel free to post them. We have a gig of space, and if we somehow manage to fill it, we can create another.
dp

Free Online Storage

Greetings,
I just wanted to tell everyone about http://www.putfwd.com/
Putfwd is a free online file storage and sharing service. I've been using it since its inception, and it rules. You get a gig of storage and can drag and drop any type of file or folder up there. It also allows very easy sharing of files either via e'mail or via public web-sharing. Essentially, it's a free, effective and user-friendly way to securely store and organize files or folders that you would otherwise have on the library computers.
dp

Phun With Photos

A big community THANK YOU to Mike for setting up our Flickr account! I just took the liberty of securing us a permenant web address through them. The photo record of our CASFS experience will live forever at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/casfs/
Point a browser there and upload when you get a chance!! I am very psyched to see everyone's shots. Note: I added a permalink in our links section.
peace
dp

ps-please remember to kick down $$$ to Mike :-)
pps-login and uploading logistics:
1. go to the website above
2. click login, which appears in the top right
3. click the Yahoo option
4. Use the login/password that Mike sent out in his e'mail
5. click the "upload" button, use the browse button to choose the appropriate file, and click "upload" again (feel free to ask me if any of this proves confusing).

UPDATE FOR WEDNESDAY 5/3

Schedule Change:
Morning: In Site
Lunch: In Site
2:00 PM: Intro to Social Justice Advocacy Committee
2:30 PM: Mechanical Tillage (taught by Jim)
5:00 PM: Down Gardeners to Down Garden/Up Gardeners to Field
8:00 PM: Salon- (either) Watch & Discuss Two of Dave Shaw's Documentaries
.............................(or) Social & Environmental Ethics with Albie

ps-be sure to check out the rambling roses in the Up Garden. They are gorgeous!!
pps- [from Hank] there is a copy of the sign up list for the plant sale chores, all filled in (including point persons), and it lives underneath Diane's communication board.
peace
dp