Adventure Ausrama Blog

Chemistry: Weeds are becoming resistant to selective herbicides. Herbicides have officially been used since 1890, though common salt could have used to kill weeds for possibly a thousand years before. The first selective herbicide was identified in 1940. It later became 2,4-D compound and was released in 1946.  Seventy years later we face the problem of weed resistance to selective chemicals. Western Australia can no longer get significant kill of weeds growing around crops. It is costing farmers a fortune. Project Kangaroo has been initiated. It is managed by Australia’s Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) and receives assistance from Bayer of Germany. Money from growers is funding it: they are paying $45 million in levies. The Federal Government is promising money. Knowing how government has behaved recently the project might get a dollar! Wild radish and ryegrass are the main culprits affecting crops. Glyphosphate was used widely to control these weed...

Australia's slaughter of wildlife continues despite warnings from CSIRO. Nearly half of Australian mammals will end their existence very soon. Zoologist Fred Ford said 11 extinctions have occurred in recent years in the south-eastern forests of Australia. The reserve system is not working. They are just for show. Plants are doing well because they are surviving outside and inside reserves. Nothing is being done to protect small native mammals. Reserves are havens for introduced feral animals and invasive weeds. Rangers are not being trained to look after the endangered species. Money should be allocated more efficiently. With all the money put into reserves there must be more positive outcomes. Native animal need to be researched and the data must be analyzed. Records should be kept to formulate action. An astounding 65 per cent of reptiles in Australia have been discovered in the last 35 years. The public has not been adequately informed of this. http://www.adventure--australia...

There are some good points about global warming. If you live off leaf vegetables you won't go hungry. Weeds and vegetables such as cabbage and lettuce grow much better with more carbon in the environment. Grass will also be thicker and grow faster, so cattle will fatten-up quicker. The problem is herbicides will no longer be effective in controlling weeds. With the price of fuel going up this means they will have to be removed by hand in the future - a very arduous and expensive process. It is conceivable that more herbicide will be used. This will pollute the environment. Diclofenac a chemical to reduce inflammation in humans and animals was widely used in India for cattle. The native vulture was nearly wiped out by consuming dead cattle carcases. More chemicals use is quite frightening. Similar disasters will probably occur. http://www.adventure--australia.blogspot.com/ http://www.tysaustralia.blogspot.com/ http://www.feeds.feedburner.com/AdventureAustralia http://www.technorati....