As Biodiversity Declines, Tropical Diseases Thrive
National Public Radio - 12/29/2012. By Eliza Barclay – Global health advocates often argue that the tropical diseases that plague many countries, such as malaria and dengue, can be conquered simply with more money for health care – namely medicines and vaccines. But a new paper is a reminder that ecology also has a pretty big say in whether pathogens thrive or die off. |
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Price of milk could rise steeply without new farm bill
Bangor Daily News - 12/28/2012. By Jia Lynn Yang, Washington Post – Washington: Add another, more prosaic item to the list of things Congress has left until the last minute to resolve this year: the price of milk. Distracted by dealing with the Bush tax cuts, lawmakers are running out of time to pass the latest version of the country’s sweeping farm bill and avoid what’s become known as the “dairy cliff.” |
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Go organic, local grown: almost a thousand words about this picture
Bangor Daily News - 12/28/2012. By Jenna Beaulieu - I took this picture at the Commonground Country Fair in Unity this past September. It was a perfect photo op. I mean, come on now – vegetables with kid-size head holes on top? A great message bannered above them? Easy peasy, lemon squeezy. |
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Big farm, small farm
Down East - 12/28/2012. By Michaela Cavallaro – Farming in Maine is an exercise in contrast. On one end of the spectrum are the lifestyle operations, with one farmer, a few acres, and a small but diverse array of crops sold to individuals. Located largely within easy driving distance of the state’s population centers, these farms can satisfy their owners’ urges to till the earth — but perhaps not their desire to draw a steady paycheck. On the other end are Maine’s large producers. |
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