today’s birthday: Ransom E. Olds (1864)

Ransom E. Olds (1864)

Olds was a pioneer of the American automobile industry and the namesake of the Oldsmobile and Reo car brands. After developing an internal combustion engine and incorporating it into a car, he opened the Olds Gasoline Engine Works. In 1899, he moved to Detroit, formed the Olds Motor Works, and designed and produced the popular Oldsmobile. With its low price and stylish curved dashboard, it was the first car to be produced in quantity. When was the Oldsmobile brand discontinued? More… Discuss

word: petulant

petulant

Definition:	(adjective) Unreasonably irritable or ill-tempered.
Synonyms:	peevish, testy, cranky, fractious
Usage:	After their fight, her friend came to make amends, but she was feeling petulant and sulky and ignored him. Discuss.

word: palaver (vorbe, vorbe!) (Si uite-asa s-a lasat seara si noi tot stam de palavre!)

palaver

Definition:	(noun) Talk intended to charm or beguile.
Synonyms:	blandishment, cajolery
Usage:	Then she would pounce upon me with a lot of that drivelling poodle palaver and kiss me on the nose—but what could I do? Discuss.

What Is Organic Food? (I remember a time when all food was organic: Do you?)

What Is Organic Food?

Growing health consciousness has caused organic food to skyrocket in popularity. Proponents of organic farming claim that it yields more nutritious, safer, and tastier food because it is not prepared with the synthetically compounded fertilizers, pesticides, hormones, medicated feed, and chemicals that are often used in food processing. Food whose ingredients are at least 95% organic by weight may carry the “USDA ORGANIC” label. Who is credited with coining the term “organic farming”? More… Discuss

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word: sumptuous

sumptuous 

Definition:	(adjective) Of a size or splendor suggesting great expense; lavish.
Synonyms:	deluxe, opulent, princely, luxurious
Usage:	The sumptuous homes of the wealthy were full of gilding and ornament. Discuss.

today’s holiday: Ghana Farmers’ Day

Ghana Farmers’ Day

Much of Ghana‘s national economy revolves around agriculture, so it is only appropriate that this African country reserves a date to honor its farmers and provide them a day off from their labors. An important component of the day is the awards ceremony, which is held on the regional and the national levels. Judges who have followed farmers’ achievements throughout the year bestow prizes for excellence in such categories as husbandry practices, ecological awareness, use of new technology, and contributions to the local community. More… Discuss

Rice Paddies

In Asian countries where traditional methods of rice cultivation are practiced, rice is grown in flooded fields called rice paddies. The fields are first prepared by plowing, fertilizing, and smoothing, and seedlings are started in seedling beds. They are then transplanted by hand to the fields, which have been flooded by rain or river water. Irrigation is maintained by dike-controlled canals or by hand watering until the fields are drained for harvesting. What is the origin of the word “paddy”? More… Discuss

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word: intimate

intimate 

Definition:	(verb) To indicate or make known indirectly.
Synonyms:	hint, imply, suggest
Usage:	The young gentleman smiled, as if to intimate that the latter fragments of discourse were playfully ironical. Discuss.

today’s holiday : National Agriculture Fair at Santarém

National Agriculture Fair at Santarém

The most important agricultural fair in Portugal is held for 10 days in June each year at Santarém, capital of the rich agricultural province of Ribatejo. Although the focus of the Ribatejo Fair is on farming and livestock breeding, there is also a colorful program of bullfighting, folk singing, and dancing, as well as a procession of campinos, or bull-herders. Many other European countries exhibit farm animals and machinery at the Feira Nacional de Agricultura. More… Discuss

Rising Carbon Dioxide Levels Could Make Crops Less Nutritious

Nutrient levels in staple food crops may fall as carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere continue to rise. Researchers grew wheat, rice, soybeans, corn, sorghum, and field peas in fields subjected to carbon dioxide concentrations anticipated on Earth by the middle of this century. In four out of the six crops, zinc and iron levels were found to be reduced. The wheat and rice also had a reduced protein content. Sorghum and corn alone were able to resist the effects of the elevated carbon dioxide levels. More… Discuss

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NEWS: FOOD SECURITY THREATENED BY GLOBALIZED DIETS

Food Security Threatened by Globalized Diets

Traditional crops and diets around the globe are falling victim to globalization. Over the past five decades, diets have become 36 percent more similar. At the same time, farmers are increasingly giving up traditional crops, like cassava, sorghum, and millet, in favor of things like wheat, rice, soybeans, and sunflowers. This trend of cultivating less diverse food crops poses a threat to food security, as a single pest or disease has the potential to wipe out crops on a mass scale. Furthermore, though these staple crops have played a major role in combating hunger, they are also contributing to the rapid rise of obesity. More… Discuss

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QUOTATION: Charlotte Bronte

Prejudices, it is well known, are most difficult to eradicate from the heart whose soil has never been loosened or fertilized by education; they grow firm there, firm as weeds among stones.

Charlotte Bronte (1816-1855) Discuss

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• I have little left in myself – I must have you. The world may laugh – may call me absurd, selfish – but it does not signify. My very soul demands you: it will be satisfied, or it will take deadly vengeance on its frame. – Charlotte Brontë
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BIOLOGICAL PEST CONTROL

Biological pest control involves the introduction of natural enemies, such as predators, parasites, or pathogens, into the environments of pests. Once a natural enemy is successfully established, it rarely requires additional human action. Examples of effective biocontrol include using ladybugs to prey on aphids and treating turf with the bacterium Bacillus popilliae, which is fatal to Japanese beetle larvae. What pest were dachshunds originally bred to control? More… Discuss