Earth Day OT: Do your part, townies!
“This is one of those great initiatives where you get to save money and do less and relax and do something really good for our planet, so it’s a win for the month of May,” said Council Member Erica Briggs, D-5th Ward.
its a nice idea, but the bees aren't starving, they are dying from mites from asia which carry diseases that aren't native to the U.S. besides, most common grasses don't produce flowers that bees like, excepting maybe dandelions (weeds).
Ecosystems produce flowers that bees like.
i think that's his point. pure grass doesn't really flower. less "lawn" and more "natural field" is better for the environment in a million ways
I agree. I overlooked the word "common" in the comment when referring to grasses.
You are supposed to let your dandelions grow along with the grass dummies.
https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2018/06/20/want-help-bees-take-break-lawn-mowing
However, it was the lawns cut every two weeks that supported the highest abundance of bees. These lawns hit the sweet-spot, as it were, with plenty of lawn flowers combined with shorter grass that made access to lawn flowers easier.
So maybe just cut your lawn once in mid-May.
They love the clover that grows everywhere but people like to dump a billion gallons of weed killer on their lawns that not only kills off a great food source but also kills off the bees themselves.
if you REALLY want to help the bees, ban use of pesticides and weed killer for your lawn. it's grass dude. the ego of a perfect lawn does massive harm to the environment.
individually, you can stop using fertilizer, pesticides, and weed killers. take a year or so to let the weeds grow in your lawn while planting lots of perennials they are known to enjoy so they have a variety.
Then, get a bee suit and buy an apiary kit, and order a queen off the interwebz
love some of the folks who are apparent authorities (not talking about you, doc) but who, i'm going to guess, don't farm, don't live on a working organic farm, never raised bees before or at best, haven't done it in years, and don't even own a bee suit.
best 'lawn' is fertilized by your livestock. we use chicken tractors and the birds are called 'pastured poultry'. a number of mgobloggers have been given some of our pastured poultry over the years. looks like this while in use:
I thought about building one of those. I have a few acres and take a "let nature take it's course" philosphy. I mean, I mow an acre and a half or so but that's all the lawncare I do. I don't care if it's grass or weeds ... actually prefer weeds as it looks pretty when they flower.
You're right the best fertilizer is livestock. Poop spreaders exist for a reason. Chickens are excellent for getting rid of pests and fertilizing the lawn. Owned some when I lived in Tennessee. Greenest lawn around.
With all the wildflowers that have come back since I have moved in, I have crazy amount of bees, humming birds etc. on my property. I get stung pretty often riding over a bees nest with the mower or weed whacking too close to them but that's fine, bees (and lack of chemicals) are good for my apple trees.
I don't blame farmers for being non-organic. Yield per sq meter makes all the difference and that is much easier to optimize non-organically, though organic is healthier for the environment.
Tried to mow less, not use fertilizer last summer in the yard and these things called army worms ate a large portion of it. Had to drop some kind of shit to kill those things off
Navy worms wouldn't have done you dirty like that. Just sayin'
April 23rd, 2022 at 11:21 PM ^
But (if he lives near a stream, a pond, or a lake as you're implying) the Coast Guard might be another option. And best of all, the USCG probably has time to be of assistance now that their seasonal ice-breaking duties are over with.
Those green eggs were delicious! I'm glad, though, that you didn't give me any green ham along with them.
Did you read the article? They've thought it through pretty well. It's sound ecologically, and embedded in a larger initiative. And yes--part of it is a matter of staying away from fertilizer.
not sure if this is a response to my post, but if so, what they are 'thinking' we are 'living'. we raise all-organic beef, lamb, and chickens and they're all pastured, no GMO feeds, no hormones, no vaccines, no pesticides/herbicides, no fertilizers, nothing. we manage our fields using our animals as the prime drivers of the health of the fields, layering the different animals and what we need to grow so they are symbiotic in their relationship to one-another. our fields are rich precisely because of how we do that, and in the complete absence of chemicals. it is possible i might know a lot more than the mlive writer, and have put it into action for decades. is that okay?
You criticized the initiative, and not your farm. And like a lot of people--it's human--you take the anecdotal, your experience, for the universal. Lots of us examine these issues, many of us for a living, I as an ecologist. Among other things, the Ann Arbor initiative is an experiment. I salute your growing practices, but they don't make you an expert about a project to curtail mowing in Ann Arbor. Different systems. I'm sure we could mount a critique of the project--from several viewpoints I can think of. All I said was that, after looking myself, I thought it was pretty sound.
not critical of it as much as it misses the point - the bees aren't lacking pollen sources, they are dying for different reasons. i would join you and others in your (i assume) distaste for fertilizers and 'perfect' lawns. my idea of a perfect lawn is full of all manner of critters, chicken scat, worms, etc. and grows like you sprayed fake chemicals on it but without any chemicals and much of it is still green when the snow melts - ours does.
if you don't mind sharing, describe what you do as an ecologist, what do you specialize in, etc. would be interested to hear/read.
April 23rd, 2022 at 11:23 AM ^
I know that many will dive right in with your rhetoric, but as a chemistry teacher there's a number of things in your posts about farming that make me cringe. It's like watching a Panera commercial. You can do the exact style farming that you do without bagging on those who produce more with lesser environmental impact. Farmers have managed to produce more food with less land and WAY fewer workers and much of that is done while mitigating environmental impact. And they use science to get there.
? What the heck are you talking about, and what methods do you think we use that have adverse environmental impact? I challenge you to describe and point out where you think our chemistry is somehow off, at a farm you’ve never been to.
Scooter, you have got to get past this automatic bristling for no reason. What is eating at you? We feed a lot of people and do so in about as real-life environmentally friendly way as possible. Many mgobloggers have been here in person and seen it for themselves , for instance see the mod/robf comment above. Maybe you should come visit. Might help get rid of some of the undeserved anger you direct my way.
I thought the cell phones were killing them?
this. they fly and talk, but don't use wings-free, and then 'boom!' they hit a tree or a house or something and its all over.
That's one big problem. But another huge one is the declining number of native flowers and other plants. Native insects need native plants to use as host and nectar plants. Don't plant non-native plants in your yard if you want to help native bees and other insects. Most plant nurseries sell mostly non-natives since those plants live longer without the normal predator organisms in this environment. Do the research.
Not worth it.
Unleash Recyclops!
One of my favorite days of the year. Conservation of the planet and wildlife.
As an Ann Arborite who heard about this a few weeks ago, I am torn between doing the right thing for Mother Nature, on the one hand, and my HOA rules and regulations on the other. Mother Nature mostly just lies back and takes the abuse, while my HOA regulations are STRICTLY ENFORCED BY VERY UPTIGHT PEOPLE I DON'T EVEN KNOW. The latter have tried to fine me for not taking my trash can in fast enough, and drove around during the last election taking ALL political signs away in a pick-up truck (as these violate our HOA policies). I can't even imagine what they's do to me if my grass got above Achille's Heel height. I think I'll just get my grass mowed. :-D
I got a nasty gram from my HOA after just 10 days once.
I cannot imagine having enough free time to care that much about someone else's lawn. These people are nucking futs...
I lived (for a short time) in a neighborhood with an HoA and within weeks was getting regular emails and notices. I ignored them.
I then got an email threatening me with a $500 fine for parking on the street during the "off months" (it apparently prevented a snow plow from getting through, but they NEVER plowed our roads). So, I decided to fight back, but I decided it needed to be as petty as possible since HoAs are pretty much impossible to sue and win.
Every violation I got I would flood their inbox with emails containing of photos and descriptions of neighbors with the same violation and ask if they received a notice of violation as well as myself. Thoroughly read the HoA bylaws and did annoying shit that was technically not a violation. One of my neighbors was sick of them telling him to either a) cut his grass or b) fix up his crappy lawn and make it look nice. So he dug up all the grass and covered his entire yard in gravel. They were pissed but couldn't do anything about it.
They left me alone pretty quick and I moved 6 months later cuz fuck those bastards.
from personal experience, i would rather jam a bent rusty nail through my hand then ever live somewhere with an HoA.
I will NEVER buy a place with an HOA ever again. It still passes me off 14 years later after selling my house in California we had to pay an exit fee to those bastards at the HOA.
Earth Day is a great time to remind people that the best way to do your part is to hold corporations accountable as they are responsible for most of the Earth's pollution.
I'm surprised there isn't a more nationwide effort by environmentalists to make Earth Day an emission-free day; encourage all Americans to work from home and spend the day there unless absolutely necessary (I feel stupid because I just ran some pointless errands today that really did not need to be done). Maybe one day it will be a federal holiday and schools and government buildings will be closed (and ideally, all flights grounded/canceled; that will never happen but commercial air travel is horrible for the atmosphere).
Anyway, that's my fever dream. I still can't get over how much the environment responded when everything was shut down during coronavirus and I would love to see a way we can replicate that in the future...without, you know, shutting everything down.
Also: Earth Day started at U of M! GO BLUE!
Would not be surprised at all to see lockdowns for environmental reasons in the not so distant future.
I love this post. We spend a lot of time working to discipline one another to recycle, adopt alternative sources, etc. But a recent study showed that 100 companies are responsible for 71 percent of global emissions throughout recorded history. Of course, taking on those companies, most of which are still in business, would require a different mindset. . .
I think that you are referring to the carbon majors report? That actually focused on greenhouse gas emissions from 1988, not all emissions and not throughout recorded history. One thing that is important to understand is that they assign emissions to the upstream fuel source, not the end user. Therefore Exxon is assigned the emissions from the gasoline bought and used by the consumer. Peabody Energy is assigned the emissions from the coal burned at the power plant supplying the electricity used by the end consumer. While that is one way to do the accounting, other methodologies would come up with different companies and a different percentage for the top 100 companies.
There are many ways to assign emissions, but ultimately if your goal is to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions that means burning less carbon emitting fuels and/or capturing the emissions from the burning of those fuels as well as reducing emissions of other greenhouse gases.
Making choices such as driving less and/or driving lower ghg emitting fuels would reduce the ghg impact of companies like Exxon. Pushing for lower ghg electricity (either through purchasing zero ghg electricity- which is an option in many states, lending your voice (through your vote, speaking up at meetings with your public utility commission etc.) can help reduce coal consumption lowering the emissions of companies like Peabody.
The weather in Michigan for April so far has been doing its part to stop me from mowing
I had the same thought. We're expecting 70 tomorrow but then back into the 30s by Monday here in MN. And as my dad tells me, it hasn't been much better over in the mitten.
Are you talking to me?
Here in Florida, we aren't supposed to use plastic straws because of the Sea Turtles. I have never seen a solid explanation why, but I assume said turtles have a cocaine problem. Why else would straws be an issue? So perhaps, here on Earth Day, we could find a way to educate/rehabilitate the aforementioned sea creatures?
As usual, I'm just posting for a friend. Thank you for your time.
MMB, you nailed it. this injustice, this inhumanity (inturtlry?) must not stand!
I had no idea this was actually a thing! I was just trying to be creatively stupid. I should have known I was way behind the curve, as usual...
In some cases the turtles, and even other animals play with the straws and accidentally swallow the straws. If you go to many Zoos, they do not provide straws with drinks because if they fall into enclosures the animals are liable to play with them and could do some choking harm.
Animals are stupid. But so are children and we look out for them.
I wouldn't say animals are stupid. If you can survive in the wild off of instincts and learned experiences with whatever grew on your body and no technology, then I would say you are pretty damn smart.
My upscale suburban neighborhood is full of self proclaimed environmentalists. Yet they are deforesting the town in order to build McMansions and then douse their smaller green footprint with pesticides and herbicides. This is followed by hoardes of hired "landscappers" firing up 2-cyle blowers to get the now dead bugs and "weeds" off their lawn which then gets doused in N2 that drains into the local lakes. They then complain about the algae blooms.
I grew up in a fairly well-to-do "quiet" suburb and my folks still live there. Every time I'm there, you can't sit outside or on the porch because landscaping crews are working nonstop and they're loud as hell. You can't even really sit inside with the windows open without hearing it. I was there a few weeks ago and at 6PM on a Saturday, a crew was still working down the block. And none of them seem to use cleaner, quieter electric equipment. Plus, the town and various homeowners will chop a century-old oak tree down without a second thought. It's pretty frustrating.