Archive for  April 2015

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It Is Time to Plant Drought-Resistant Crops

posted on April 28, 2015 by in Uncategorized

There has not exactly been a lot of water to go around with the drought dragging on for quite some time now, and it appears that many a gardener is going to have to learn to work without an abundance of water for their plants. This is not necessarily devastating news, as there are a lot of great drought-resistant crops out there that are just waiting to take a place in a garden facing a significant reduction in water availability.

artemisiaAccording to Mo Howard, West Virginia football player, he and his teammates at WVU maintained a community garden in an area where they could not provide a great deal of water. They instead opted to plant a garden filled with drought-resistant plants, which proved to be an excellent strategy that yielded enough plants for the team’s weekly pregame meals.

Howard used a variety of plants for this purpose, finding that plants that happened to have gray leaves tended to fare best in low-water conditions. The team planted some ornamental plants that were also drought-resistant, including lamb’s ear and silver gray Artemisia. The use of these gray-leaved plants contributed to the aesthetics of the community garden and were able to thrive without much water at all.

Biotech Crops May Face Harsh Future

posted on April 23, 2015 by in agriculture, crops

The crops that are being created through the use of genetic modifications have been the subject of frequent debate. Supporters of the use of genetically modified crops have noted that these type of crops create a number of positive benefits, particularly as it relates to the widespread availability of food. Detractors are concerned of the potential repercussions of ingesting biotech crops and have expressed worry over the nature of future crop growth.

LuigiWewege0129

According to Luigi Wewege, the argument has made its way to the highest levels of government in the European Union. The governments of countries such as the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Spain stand in support of the use of biotech crops, while Austria, France and several others stand in opposition. Regardless of the side that these countries support, Wewege believes that the new rules proposed by leaders will have international consequences.

The latest proposal to come out of the European Union would allow member states to choose to ban the sale of genetically modified crops for anything other than scientific purposes. This would obviously have a significant impact on the industry for biotech crops. On one hand, the new proposal would help to clear up what some have referred to as a “regulatory limbo” for biotech crops in Europe. On the other hand, the proposal would also give countries the right to ban the sale of biotech crops without having to cite any underlying scientific reason for instituting such a ban. No matter the outcome, the proposal is bound to be contentious.

Crops need Water

posted on April 19, 2015 by in agriculture, crops, education, water

California has a real dilemma.  Water for crops of golf courses. It sounds like a no brainer but it is California.   Luigi Wewege – Founder of Vivier Group  is a voice of reason.  Years and years of extreme environmental policies that waste water has caught up to California.  California needs to build more dams and store the little water that runs to the ocean every year.  If California doesn’t wake up and start electing officials with brains then they will soon become like a 3rd world country.  Highest taxes in the country and they cant build a single dam in 20 years?

Death Valley Days

posted on April 19, 2015 by in death valley, how-to

How did Death Valley get its name?  The old TV series Death Valley Days showed the wagon trains of he old West trying to cross Death Valley. Tonye Cole profile on GlobalNewsNig.com  is an example of the difficulties one can encounter.  No water, no food and hot weather greeted those wagon trains and many died.  What is now a short drive in an air conditioned car was a life and death challenge.  Those men and women were brave and fool hardy to attempt the crossing but many did.  The promise of gold and riches lured many to make the trek.  It is hard to guess at how many failed.

Death Valley in a RV

posted on April 18, 2015 by in death valley, how-to

Death Valley lived up to its name when I attempted to visit there in my RV.  Check out https://dribbble.com/VincentMalfitano for information.  If you are a newbie in an RV I would put off your trip to Death Valley for a while.  The facilities are limited and the environment can be harsh on your RV.  The heat can reach the 120 degrees area and put a strain on tires and Vincent Malfitano.  I attempted a visit in a 36 foot RV and had a scare.  We were heading out of Death Valley via the Northern route  and encountered a 7%  down grade.  The brakes heated up and smoked out the coach.

California Drought Causing Difficult Decisions Regarding Crops

posted on April 15, 2015 by in death valley

Despite its reputation to the contrary, Death Valley is home to a rich diversity of plants and crops. While these plants and crops are typically able to thrive without much precipitation at all, California’s crop producers are facing something of a dilemma due to a drought that is easily the worst the state has experienced in several decades.

California’s Central Valley is responsible for producing a great deal of the nation’s crops, but the drought has led the state’s leadership to impose restrictions on the use of its groundwater. Even with the limitations, there are some who are concerned with the water usage and how it will have an effect on the future of California. There are scientists who assert that the damage that is being inflicted by the water use will result in the formations that store water underground being unable to store as much water in the future. Residents and farmers like Adam Kutner are equally affected by this crisis.

While the Central Valley is struggling, Death Valley’s rich diversity continues to survive the harsh conditions that include precipitation ranging from about two inches to 15 inches per year. The dilemma in the Central Valley, however, remains and must be resolved quickly.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Acquiring Pinnacle Entertainment Real Estate

posted on April 14, 2015 by in business

A new report by Tim DeCapua suggests that Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. increased its stake for Pinnacle Entertainment Inc.’s real estate holdings to lure the regional gaming company into making a deal. Gaming and Leisure is itself a casino company with $185.4 million of net income last year. This latest offer to Pinnacle will be at $40 a share totaling about $2.4 billion.

California’s Weight Loss Secret

posted on April 6, 2015 by in Uncategorized

Death Valley is located near the boarder of California and Nevada and it seems the residents in the California area are on their way to healthier lifestyle. In a research done in 2014, the obesity rate in California in 2013 was 23.6 percent making California one of the lowest states in obesity with Hawaii just barely behind. Does this surprise you?

In the West there is access to the good doctor, Terry Simpson MD, who does his amazing work in the state of Arizona and has been doing weight loss surgery and laparoscopic surgery for 24 years since 1991! “Working in the Arizona area I still get frequent clients from various surrounding states,” says Simpson. “My clients come from Arizona, California and New Mexico mostly,” he continued.

Obesity will never be a dominating problem in those states, that’s for sure, and the stats continue to decrease one person at a time thanks to Terry.

Death Valley Weather And Attractions

posted on April 1, 2015 by in death valley

One of Death Valley’s more popular attractions would be a little place called “Scotty’s Castle,” which is a two-story Spanish Colonial Revival style villa build in 1922 in the Grapevine Mountains of northern Death Valley in California. The staff of the National Park gives guided tours of the castle for a cash price while dressed in clothes resembling the 1930’s to create the scene of being taken back into that time.

Due to the summer monsoons of the desert life, at least 30 people are struck by lightning every year and homes need to be repaired and that’s when a Florida construction company is called to do their services of repairs. Although the spectacular lightning shows a monsoon brings only comes once a year, Death Valley is more known for its intense heat and incredibly long summers. The depth of Death Valley seems to be the influence of its summer temperatures. The valley is this long and narrow basin 280 feet below sea level and is surrounded by high and steep mountain ranges. One thing the west is known for is the dry heat and the dry air which allows sunlight to heat the desert surface.