EXPOSED PROBLEMS SHOULD SPELL THE END TO SHALE GAS (News from Canada about an issue affecting the Arkansas Ozarks) - by Jim Emberger

While we wait for the government to write its new regulations for shale gas development, much has been happening in the world beyond New Brunswick that’s relevant to the government’s task. Observers of shale gas development have often commented that their most serious concern is the lack of any long-term studies, particularly on health effects. The first studies are now arriving.

NOTE: The following letter was penned by our very own Tom Kruzen, who for various reasons is unable at present to post to this forum. Because the letter is worthy of re-publication, and this is as good a forum as any, here it is:

January 26, 2012

Dear Editor,

From the Arkansas Ozarks..
The days lengthen and begin to warm, though we’ve seen little cold or snow as winter fades. Premonitions of a hot, dry summer haunt these temperate days. After last years record heat, hopes are that this year will not be a repeat.. or worse. But we all know the data and the trends.. floods followed by droughts, getting worse instead of better. Unless.. says the Lorax.

Anyone who has ever seen Oyster Mushrooms will probably recall their unique habit of growing in a cascade along a tree trunk, in a upward or downward direction, depending one one's point of view. One mass of them I observed for several consecutive years grew on a dead or dying sycamore tree.

This is one mushroom, according to experts, that is almost impossible to confuse with any poison variety, however, I still do not recommend anyone gathering or collecting them based on an online mention. Always be certain of what you collect before ingesting it/them.

The common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris, is one of the most common vegetables grown by the home gardener. There is quite a wide variety in beans, and this particular article is about "green beans", which is a rather general term itself. Almost any variety of common bean can be harvested while still small, tender, and green, or can be allowed to dry on the vine for later harvest as dry pods, containing dried bean seeds. If one wants seeds for the following year, then green beans are allowed to mature into dry pods full of dry beans.

Squash is one vegetable most people like, and which few people hate, presumably because it has no overly strong taste, and is easy to incorporate into just about any soup, rice dish, or stir fry.

Summer squash comes in many varieties: zucchini, crookneck, patty-pan, and more, plus many sub-varieties too numerous to mention here.

There is one vegetable that most people either love or hate. Or, maybe they've never eaten it. It is okra. Eaten more in the southern states, as well as in warmer climates of other countries, okra has one characteristic that seems to annoy many people, and that is the "slime factor". That seems to be the reason given most often as to why people don't like okra.