When it comes to environmental issues we have noticed a tendency in folks to go to extremes. These extremes range from the: "Depopulate the earth so the whales can live." To the: "Slash and burn" mentality. Well, whether you are a "tree spiker", or a member of "nuke the whales", we believe that there is another way.
One of the best ways to illustrate this is with biofuels. These fuels offer a renewable source of energy, to replace much of our fossil fuel use, helping to lower our dependence on foreign oil, and alleviate some of the environmental problems we are experiencing. There could be a downside, however. If we move too many of our agriculture producers into the fuel production markets, we could experience shortages of some food items.
We could have erosion problems as larger and larger areas become farm land. We could lose native plant and animal habitats to the plow, and we could become so reliant on these products that some areas of the world would be stripped bare of vegetation. Like almost anything else moderation is in order. We just need to avoid becoming too reliant on any source.
The same methodology should apply to pest control. Honestly, very often, the safest, most environmentally friendly way of dealing with these problems is by using chemicals. The very best method, is prevention. IPM has been short on this side of the equation, but it is our best hope for balance. We explain a lot more about how we can do this in the following pages.
Come join in, and invite a friend! Open Source IPM Discussion!We are building a different template for IPM, and we invite you to participate! Write us with your ideas and thoughts, if you believe as we do, that's great! If you disagree, you are welcome to voice your concerns! The more open the discussion, the better the chance of a rational methodology. If we get enough response, we will open a forum of some type. Credit will be given where it is due. Just write james@texpest.com In my many years of working in agriculture, horticulture, outdoor pest control, and related fields, it has always struck me that we were approaching our problems in the wrong way. We are often so eager to start a project, that we don't think it through completely. If you are a home gardener, I am not just talking to you, I have seen even the most well educated, highly degreed, landscape contractors, foresters, architects, and engineers, make monumental errors in this area. It is very difficult to maintain out something that has been engineered in At some point, I began to take note of these things, and I share some of this from time to time. So I am doing this in the form of some tips and articles, which I hope to put into a more formal style at some point
When planning an outdoor addition, or a major landscape change, it is a good idea to think forward, not just how it will look when it is built, or full grown, but what will its effect be on the surrounding area? Will that new wall, back water up into a puddle, which could become a mosquito nursery? Will that unshaded concrete walk, provide heat to fuel a fire ant invasion beside the children's play area? These and many other factors should go into the long term planning for your project. One of my favorite sayings is, that "it is hard to maintain out what has been engineered in." Good planning will go a long way in preventing future pest problems. That is where IPM should begin, not after the problem has been created.
The pages of this site contain articles, random, but rational thoughts on ecology, environment, and pests, and other things that bug us
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Copyright (C) 2007 James Burns Note: The material on these pages is original content except where noted otherwise. This is the contents point of origin. Some of this content can also be found on blogs, and is published though ezines and various other media on the internet and in print, where it is on loan from the author