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resoluteThe #noplant19 tag on Twitter has the info, image after horrible image, of flooded and unplanted fields in the Midwest of the U.S. The corn isn't going in, y'all. (May 31st is the last day in, for instance, Wisconsin, to get your fields planted. If you miss that date, you fill against insurance for a failed crop.) Something like 50% of fields in the entire Midwest are not planted yet. They won't be this year.
Corn is in every single food we eat. It's in the packaging. It's in our fuel. Our meat is made of corn. Basically, the only food in the U.S. that is NOT part of the corn cycle is vegetables you grow in your own yard using no commercial additives or fertilizers.
In other news, the air quality where I live is dropping rapidly due to the wildfire smoke brought in by the jetstream.
So what the *fuck* can we do?
We can look after our tiny corners. What is global is local, but what is local is also global. Here are some things YOU PERSONALLY can do that make a huge impact.
1. Plant some sort of local insect-friendly plants. I cannot be more specific than that, I don't know where you live. But google "native plants near me" or "pollinator garden [your city or state]," or look up your local university extension office and ask them, or google "native landscaping [your city or state]. Put a plant on your apartment balcony or hang it from your window. Put plants in planters on your front or back steps. Plant a small bed in a corner of your yard. Dig up your lawn and plant a native species, go crazy, whatever! But you can do this, and it really matters.
2. Check in on your neighbors during bad air days or very hot days. Keep an eye out for those who might have more trouble with air quality. Ask them if they need anything.
3. See if your community has a farmer's market. Try to buy produce from them if you can, it really helps the local farmers who AREN'T part of the global corn economy.
We can help each other.
We're going to HAVE to help each other.
Corn is in every single food we eat. It's in the packaging. It's in our fuel. Our meat is made of corn. Basically, the only food in the U.S. that is NOT part of the corn cycle is vegetables you grow in your own yard using no commercial additives or fertilizers.
In other news, the air quality where I live is dropping rapidly due to the wildfire smoke brought in by the jetstream.
So what the *fuck* can we do?
We can look after our tiny corners. What is global is local, but what is local is also global. Here are some things YOU PERSONALLY can do that make a huge impact.
1. Plant some sort of local insect-friendly plants. I cannot be more specific than that, I don't know where you live. But google "native plants near me" or "pollinator garden [your city or state]," or look up your local university extension office and ask them, or google "native landscaping [your city or state]. Put a plant on your apartment balcony or hang it from your window. Put plants in planters on your front or back steps. Plant a small bed in a corner of your yard. Dig up your lawn and plant a native species, go crazy, whatever! But you can do this, and it really matters.
2. Check in on your neighbors during bad air days or very hot days. Keep an eye out for those who might have more trouble with air quality. Ask them if they need anything.
3. See if your community has a farmer's market. Try to buy produce from them if you can, it really helps the local farmers who AREN'T part of the global corn economy.
We can help each other.
We're going to HAVE to help each other.
no subject
Date: 2019-05-31 08:33 pm (UTC)It is also infuriating as hell that my in-laws and like-minded people in their community staunchly refuse to admit that climate change is both real and an oncoming calamity that we can do our best to mitigate.