I have to correct myself

Thanks to an internet friend a long while ago on the loss of millions of lives due Rachel Carson's Ecological Genocide with her 1962 book, "Silent Spring." It's painful enough having to acknowledge this to the general public, but one that is necessary because I try to be balanced, even when it means exposing the harmful truth from my own values.

The correction being even though it is the human race that is most dependent on the environments future, it was Rachel Carson's fabrications that undid the green message some 30-40 years ago.

Other green news:

Looks like the old advice on water conservation is true afterall.

Much of the problems stem from current methods of irrigation. Sprinkler systems lose much of their water through leaks and much of the water applied by that method or flood irrigation ends up as runoff.

Farmers should turn to drip irrigation, a system that pipes water directly to plants, or better sprinklers that can cut water use by 50 to 80 percent, Postel said. In the Texas high plains, more efficient systems are now easing the strain on the Ogallala aquifer, she said.

But drip systems could be at least 30 percent more expensive, may require more energy to run and require clean water to prevent clogging.

Then it would appear drip irrigation isn't going to be the answer if it requires more energy and clean water.

Pimentel suggests consumers can help reduce water usage by buying locally produced crops instead of those grown far away and by switching the types of foods they eat.

For the Northeast, that means eating cabbage instead of lettuce grown in California or choosing chicken and pork over beef. It takes 3,500 liters of water to produce one kilogram of chicken, but 43,000 liters for the same amount of beef, he said. Rice needs about 1,600 liters of water per kilogram, but corn requires just 650 liters.

The beef industry won't like this. But it doubly makes sense for those concerned about more mad cow news as another is found to contain the deadly disease.