Animal Development At Hamburger Central, Antibiotics for Cattle that Aren’t Sick Over 70% of antibiotics used in the US are for confinement livestock – cattle, pigs and chickens – about 75% of which pass through to humans. This is a huge health issue for consumers. And the antibiotics damage ecological systems. In addition, these meat factories are inhumane to livestock, environmentally harmful, and
"Invasion Biology" Mowing Encourages Yearly Return of Grasses and Wildflowers in Texas' Roadways The reason that Texas’ roadways are brush free, have excellent grass cover and lots of wildflowers is because at just the right time of their growth – once or twice per year – they are completely mowed. The next time you drive down the highway, compare the condition of the grass in
Bio-Diversity Otters Making a Welcome Return to Texas Waterways The return of otters and beavers to Texas rivers is a very good thing for the environment. NOTE: this article was published to SAExpressNews.com on February 15, 2018, written by Shanon Tompkins. HOUSTON — Don Greene was sick and weak, dying of pancreatic cancer. But that late-winter morning four years
"Invasion Biology" Uprooting FDR’s ‘Great Wall of Trees’ This article highlights the environmental mentality of the modern farming methods taught in our universities. As described below, farmers are destroying the Northern Great Plains shelter belts which the WPA planted – for their benefit and at great cost – during the Great Depression. Quoting the authors: “FDR, long fascinated by forestry,
Conservation Fall Will Be Warmer And Wetter Than Normal; El Niño Onset Likely “This is good news for Texas’ wildlife and habitat, ranchers and farmers. NOTE: this article was originally published to ExpressNews.com on September 25, 2018. It was written by S.M. Chavey. It’s going to be a warm and wet fall in San Antonio, the National Weather Service said
"Invasion Biology" Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf Scientist? The wolf debate is more about politics than economics or the environment. NOTE: this article initially appeared on NYTimes.com on July 5, 2018. It was written by Christopher Solomon. Rob Wielgus was one of America’s pre-eminent experts on large carnivores. Then he ran afoul of the enemies of
"Invasion Biology" Supplemental Water and Feed for Desert Bighorn Sheep Years ago I read an article by a man in the Sierra Nevada of California whose mine was being closed by the feds. They said his mining operation was harming sheep populations. He said, no, he had operated for many years with no problem to sheep: the problem was increased
Bio-Diversity Humans and Mastodons Coexisted in Florida, New Evidence Shows New archaeological discoveries in Florida establish earlier dates for human presence in North America than those that were previously accepted. The same discoveries show that early Native Americans hunted mastodons – a now-extinct, ancient relative of elephants. For 30-million years, mastodons were a keystone species of highly productive savanna ecosystems across
"Invasion Biology" Elk Country Chronicles - The Sounds of Elk Country Volume 7 Take a minute to enjoy the peaceful sounds of elk country. With good game management policies, this could be anywhere in far-West Texas. Instead these animals are shot out on all state-managed lands under the scientifically bogus belief that they are non-native ‘invasive’ species that harm bighorn, mule deer and
Clovis Discoveries Challenge Beliefs on Humans’ Arrival in the Americas These findings reflect our own: In the Indian Cave at Circle Ranch in far-West Texas, Arizona State University has radio carbon dated charcoal samples at ages 23,000-years older than the 10,000 BC date previously accepted. NOTE: this article was originally published to NYTimes.com on March 27, 2014
"Invasion Biology" Book Review... "Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter" A reader remarks: “Ben has woven together a holistic picture about beavers, illustrating the remarkably diverse interactions between this species’ biology and the history of the North American landscape, both geologically and culturally.” NOTE: this book, Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter is available for
"Invasion Biology" Coyotes & Prairie Dogs Coyotes and prairie dogs are essential to the the health of desert grasslands. For decades, both were targets of widespread eradication efforts, paid by the public and conducted by ‘conservation’ agencies.
Artificial Beaver Dams Using Artificial Beaver Dams to Restore Incised Streams The problems of eroded streams and valleys, and decreased river flows, exist across the Desert Southwest. They can be addressed with the same practices described below. NOTE: this document below is from the Northwest Climate Hub – U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
food safety He's Dying of Cancer. Now, He's The First Patient To Go To Trial To Argue Roundup Made Him Sick “Like the tobacco companies before them, the agro giants have been able to forestall their liability for the harm their products have done to human health. Their reckoning is coming, but great damage will have been done in the meantime. NOTE: this article was originally published to CNN.com on
"Invasion Biology" Hunting's Remarkable Resilience Hunters defend their tradition because it helps control population, generates conservation revenues and Fair Chase expresses good sportsmanship. But predation is also physiologically better for wildlife and habitats. Hunters are often as unaware of this natural principle as non-hunters. Just like wolves, cougars, bears and other apex predators, humans have
Beaver Rio Grande Beaver Survey In Big Bend National Park In 2015, beaver populations in Big Bend Park were surveyed.The paper is printed below. According to the authors: “Beaver create and modify their habitat by building dams. These dams exert such a strong influence on aquatic and riparian communities that the beaver is considered a keystone species. We delineated
Bio-Diversity Cooperative Efforts with Private Landowners to Help Endangered Species “Almost since its enactment in 1973, the Endangered Species Act has generated controversy and political conflict. Its supporters tout the many species saved from extinction, while its critics cite the high economic costs to landowners and business. This report proposes modest changes that will prevent extinctions and promote recovery of
Beavers Partnering With Beaver: Nature's Hydrologists and Ecosystem Engineers Utah State University researchers study beaver dams’ effects on habitat restoration and the possibility of utilizing beaver dams as an alternative to man-made dams. These practices will work in many parts of far-West Texas.
climate change In a Warming West, the Rio Grande Is Drying Up Agency, university and other water ‘experts’ blame climate change for declining river flows. They ignore the primary influences on land and rivers: Irresponsible agricultural practices. It is a misuse of precious Southwestern desert water to irrigate low value crops – let alone subsidize this. And next, Industrial Agriculture’s farming methods
"Invasion Biology" Can Dirt Save the Earth? This article concludes, “The essential (environmental) insight is one often overlooked when we talk about climate change: The element that threatens to smother civilization is also, in different forms, the fundamental building block of life. To prevent carbon from causing misery and destruction, perhaps we just need to change its
Bison Restoring an Icon The story has been told again and again: During the late 1800s, hunters all but wiped out one of the continent’s most iconic animals, the American bison. By the beginning of the 20th century, a species of huge ecological and cultural value had vanished from the prairie, surviving only
Bio-Diversity Jamon Iberico in Texas This company is betting that South Texas’ rangelands and savannahs can produce the world’s finest pork. Their efforts point the way to solving Texas’ so-called ‘feral pig problem’. Big Pork and their regulators created this by declaring that free-ranging South Texas pigs are unsafe to eat, and unfit for
"Invasion Biology" How Spanish Ibérico Pork Found Its Way to Texas In the Spanish deserts, pigs which forage for themselves and fatten on seasonal acorns produce hams that can bring $2,000 apiece. In Texas, anticompetitive regulations and bureaucratic red-tape effectively prevent Texans from marketing free-range feral pigs. Before the Civil War, the primary source of income for German settlers in
"Invasion Biology" The Art Of The Cattle Move II: Grazing Plans This beautiful video discusses the importance of the grazing plan in sustainable ranching. The authors explain, “The most important tool we use in management of the land is being able to control the amount of time that cattle graze a particular pasture. Too long in a pasture and the grass
