Our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) bee keeping project uses biodynamic and organic methods as much as possible.
August 2010 - It's over, the hives all died. Predation and dumbed-down bees ... But we inspired one person to get hives and is doing well. The hives and the fence around the "no fear" zone are gone. We never got any honey either.
November 2010 Strange Event - A Thanksgiving Day Note: If the bee hives have not merged due to dysfunctional instincts (from 3 to 1 hive), but due to predation, things should be done differently. A few weeks ago, I saw these tiny miniature sparrow-like birds fluttering on leaves of weedy trees around the hives - eating bees. This was quite by chance, because normally I try not to intrude on the bees lives, and stay out of their "no fear" zone. The observation deck is maybe 25 feet away - and these birds cannot be seen from that distance. On this one day, I had walked up playing my Native American Flute, and just stood there for maybe 5-8 minutes before the birds came out of hiding and started doing their thing. These birds are so cute, I don't mind helping them survive by feeding them a few bees. But maybe they have eaten too many and the zone needs to be whacked clean of the weeds?
August 22: Today’s Anacostia River is the US’s most polluted river! A joint True Cost of Food / True Cost of Housing (TCOF/TCOH) meeting on this topic will be held at the Seafarers Yacht Club on the Anacostia River. July
4 - Independence Day: We celebrated our "no fear" zone's success. One died and was totally replaced. Then another died. Toxins and dumbed-down bees are suspected. April 22 - Earth Day Event: We had a great day: new beds with bee-oriented plants were built. It
was a thrill during our "Treasure Hunt" to see so many kids and adults
in the zone - without a speck of fear. March 19 (Thurs), 2009 our 3 queens & packages went into their new homes.
August 22 Event: The TCOF/TCOH Gathering is a rain-or-shine event on Sat., Aug. 22, from 2 - 5 pm, at the Seafarers Yacht Club, 1950 M St SE, Washington, DC 20003, please RSVP to Diana Artemis at: artemdi@yahoo.com
In keeping with the traditions and practices of the TCOF/TCOH, we will have a grand potluck meal (at picnic tables by the Anacostia River). Please bring enough of one dish for six people, keeping in mind that many of regular attendees are vegan and avoid all animal products. To focus our attention on the issues we face, this event will be as plastic free as possible, so please bring (and then take home) your own plate, cup, forks, chopsticks, etc.
Today’s Anacostia River is District of Columbia's most polluted river! Come see first hand how our simple taken-for-granted luxuries add
to the ongoing pollution of our local watersheds, the Anacostia River and the
Atlantic Ocean. The Anacostia has been called today's most polluted river in the USA, and
the host site, the Seafarers' Yacht Club, overlooks the most polluted
downstream portion of the Anacostia River Watershed. Come see this for yourself!
Winding from
Maryland through the eastern sections of the District of Columbia, each driver
and passerby is probably not aware of a tributary of the Anacostia River that
is only yards away. Pavement, parking lots and building tops stretch across the
horizon. Every time it rains, it scours the air and the surfaces. Polluted
runoff from impervious surfaces goes into the tributary: sediment; bacteria
from pet waste, people and wild animals; fertilizers, herbicides and
pesticides; discarded medicines; car emissions and oil; plastics and all sorts
of other trash.
Roughly 2 to 3
billion gallons of raw sewage discharge and storm-water-runoff is dumped into
the Anacostia each year. The bacterial and viral concentrations in these
discharges cause the few remaining fish to have diseases. This means a river
that was once drinkable and swimmable is not healthy for people. Tidal movements
and currents are not enough to clear out the mess.
People and
businesses in the Anacostia River Watershed provide the discarded plastic -
bags, bottles, bottle caps, straws, syringes, toys, and utensils. Not to
mention the cigarette butts, shtuff from their exhaust and used car oil,
floating glass - mostly wine and beer bottles. Biodegrading of all this shtuff
will probably not occur during our lifetimes – think between 100 years from now
and never.
The
combination of flotsam and pollution will lead to a damaged food chain,
unintended diseases, and the death of birds, fish and both sea and land
mammals. The contamination that passes the Seafarers' Yacht Club winds up in
the Potomac River, then in the Chesapeake Bay, and finally is diluted and
dispersed in the Atlantic Ocean.
Four short video clips address other major issues:
*******************************************************************************
Thanks to public pressure, every US river that was once called the “US’s
most polluted river” – has been cleaned up. Today, the Anacostia River is the most polluted US river! We can do it here, too!
In the other rivers, changes came from local community action groups rallying together, leading the charge with cleanup funding from Federal, State and
local governments, and from grants given to organizations willing to do the
work. These actions helped the public to see our efforts as what they are –
“altruistic”.
How WE Can Change This!
From their
particular vantage point, over the last 60+ years, the Seafarers have watched
these changes unfold on the Anacostia River - and their root cause analysis of
the problems remain unchanged. Needed are: Education and Jobs!
Both
“Education” and “Jobs” can be provided through generous grants for
Environmental
Education:
·
Ecology Training => River Cleanup => Water
Conservation
·
Clean Marinas + Water Safety = Success
Communities everywhere have bought into the reality
that over the total life cycle, we save money and time when we take care of our
land and waterways. This happens when we “just do it”. Local community action is needed to clean up the Anacostia River.
If you are coming from a Grant-giving organization, please bring a successful grant proposal with you (electronic copies will save us time and effort, too), so we can use it as a template for a grant proposal. If you are coming from a Grant-receiving organization, ditto. If you know a Project Manager in either kind of organization, please contact them and ditto. Let's build the synergy!
After the Background section (below) are ELEVEN SUGGESTIONS on ways citizens in an urban watershed can help manage storm-water runoff:
Rain benefits us in many different ways. Recent
droughts remind us that we rely on rainwater to keep our vegetation green and
to help recharge our groundwater that, among other things, helps keep our
reservoirs from running dry. Heavy rainfall, however, can both scour the air and create stormwater
that is a destructive force.
Unchecked storm-water runoff can scour trash into
streams, wash pollutants into drinking water supplies, tear up roads and
driveways, flood basements, erode streambeds and sweep barren soil into
sediment. This runoff unleashes unintended environmental consequences.
Rainwater is prevented from penetrating into the soil
where there have been changes in land use. How is this natural water absorption
derailed? By:
·
Changing the slope of
land during construction;
·
Creating hard,
impervious surfaces (roads, parking lots, driveways); and
·
Stripping vegetation
away from the earth, leaving it bare.
Increases in population density can lead to more
trash, more runoff and more environmental problems. This means more people need
to be aware that their behaviors have trickle-down, ripple-out, down-stream
effects. Each property user, therefore, needs to consider whether it is worth
taking the time to make changes carefully - and to consciously opt on the side
of caution.
Roughly 2 to 3 billion gallons of raw sewage
discharge and storm-water-runoff is dumped into the Anacostia each year. The
bacterial and viral concentrations in these discharges cause the few remaining
fish to have diseases - if there are any fish. This means a river that was once
drinkable and swimmable is not healthy for people. Tidal movements and currents
are not enough to clear out the mess.
People and
businesses in the Anacostia River Watershed provide the discarded plastic -
bags, bottles, bottle caps, straws, syringes, toys, and utensils. Not to
mention the cigarette butts, shtuff from their exhaust and used car oil,
floating glass - mostly wine and beer bottles. Biodegrading of all this shtuff
will probably not occur during our lifetimes – think between 100 years from now
and never.
******************************************************************************* The Environmental Impact of Plastic
Flotsam is Huge!
Scientists are becoming alarmed about massive
“garbage patches” that are building up in nearly all of the world's
oceans. Ocean currents and winds are
slowly bringing debris -- estimated to be 10 percent of the world's plastic
production -- to the center of five major ocean gyres in the North and South
Atlantic, North and South Pacific, and the Indian Oceans.
The best-known patch consists of an estimated 100
million tons of plastic debris that has accumulated inside a circular vortex of
currents known as the North Pacific gyre.
It is estimated to be anywhere from 270 square miles to almost 580
square miles -- between six and thirteen times the size of the Commonwealth of
Virginia -- depending on how it is measured.
In the environmental degradation of plastic items as
they break down, all the toxic additives they contain -- including flame
retardants, antimicrobials, and plasticizers -- are released into the
environment. Many of these chemicals may disrupt endocrine systems -- the
delicately balanced set of hormones and glands that affect virtually every
organ and cell. In marine environments,
excess estrogen has led to male fish and seagulls with female sex organs.
What are the True Costs of this Mess?
Within the True Cost of Food and the True Cost of
Housing are externalities - uncosted aspects of food and housing. These
externalities are typically either at the beginning of the total life cycle
(e.g., pollution from fertilizers), or at the end of the life cycle (e.g.,
disposal into a tributary, river or ocean).
Cleaning up the Anacostia River’s flotsam and
polluted waters are both uncosted externalities that occur at the end of the
total life cycle. Promises of Clean Water Act to funding to correct these
issues are hopes and motes. Local action to tax plastic bags is a beginning,
but will not provide enough funding. Cost estimates range upwards from $2-3
billion dollars for just the Anacostia River stormwater runnoff.
“Our environment is literally choking on plastic
bags,” said Congressman Jim Moran (D-VA). “Whole swaths of our oceans, in some
places up to 580 square miles – 13 times the size of the Commonwealth of
Virginia -- have become floating landfills. Ingested marine debris,
particularly plastic bags, are killing thousands of birds, turtles, marine
mammals, fish, and squid each day.
“Equally disturbing, as these plastics break down,
toxic chemicals are being released into the environment. Some environmentalists
believe we may be witnessing the negative repercussions locally in the Potomac
and Anacostia Rivers with the advent of inter-sex fish (80% of the male bass in
the Potomac River were found to have female reproductive organs in recent
study). While research is limited, it
doesn’t take a leap of faith to conclude that humans may be adversely affected
if this trend continues.”
******************************************************************************* Local Community Action is needed to
stop this ocean of flotsam!
Our host for
this event is the Seafarers' Yacht Club. This club, the oldest African American
Yacht Club in the USA, has a long tradition of community activism and
environmental protection.
Join Jim
Disbrow, a biodynamic bee keeper/farmer, recognized energy expert and member of
the Seafarers Yacht Club, as he leads the event. Jim will point out the
difference between a disposable’s total life cycle within 1) a cradle to cradle
sustainability approach, and 2) a cradle to grave approach (i.e., whatever
shtuff left at the end of the flotsam's life is going to be landfilled, sunk or
left floating in the ocean).
Communities
everywhere have bought into the reality that over the total life cycle, we save
money and time when we take care of our land and waterways. This happens when
we “just do it”.
ELEVEN SUGGESTIONS: Public opinion has tipped in favor of urban watershed management of storm-water
runoff:
·
Allow attendees to see first-hand some of the unintended
consequences of our daily living and lifestyle choices;
o Encourage each
attendee to opt to walk with us by the Anacostia River, as an introduction to
an "Opt 2 Move" lifestyle;
o Introduce
options available to us, both individually and collectively;
o Identify a
number of simple daily choices that affect this waterway;
o Propose an
easy template where we each: §
Accept responsibility for opting into the notions of
"My Active Environment" and §
Make the right life-style changes.
·
Discuss and encourage input on how to address these problems
on a larger scale by:
o Getting money
to solve the problems;
o Getting
organized in a community of interest;
o Collaborating
on solving the problems; and
o Encouraging individuals to understand and champion
the ELEVEN suggestions.
1. Watch
the water during a storm!
a. One
of the most valuable things you can do - up front - is also the easiest:
i.
Make careful
observations of what happens on your road and property during and after a
rainstorm.
b.
Pay close attention to: i.
Where the ground gets
soggy or temporarily ponded; ii.
Where the water from
your roof goes; iii.
Where the muddy runoff
forms; iv.
Where (and what) trash
accumulates before being swept downstream? v.
What happens to the
creeks near your house, apartment or office?
c.
Documentation - Take
pictures with notes.
2. Use landscaping to your advantage to limit runoff.
a.
Development disrupts
the natural features of the landscape by removing vegetation, compacting soil,
and preventing water from soaking into the ground.
b.
This disruption allows
stormwater to quickly flow into waterways where it creates the following
problems:
i.
Introduces harmful
pollutants, including sediment, nutrients, bacteria, pesticides, and metals; ii.
Blocks sunlight that
underwater grasses need to survive; iii.
Reduces oxygen and
water clarity required by fish, crabs, and other aquatic life; iv.
Smothers insect larvae,
fish eggs, oysters, and other bottom-dwellers; v.
Damages stream banks,
navigation channels, and reservoirs; and vi.
Harms fisheries,
swimming, recreation, tourism, property values, public health, and adds to
clean-up costs.
c.
Having rainwater
absorbed into the ground provides many benefits:
i.
It is the only way to
refill our aquifers and reservoirs; ii.
We need it to recharge
our ground water and some of our wells, and to water our gardens and crops; iii.
It can reduce the
overflow of sewage and surges in storm-water systems during and after each
deluge; iv.
It can minimize or
prevent potentially damaging torrents from racing down your driveway, road,
storm-water system and tributary; v.
It can keep wetness out
of your basement and away from your foundation; vi.
It will hold your lawn,
garden and field chemicals where you want them – in the ground with the
vegetation. vii.
It will not carry
shtuff down the Anacostia River to join other flotsam in the Chesapeake Bay.
d.
Several ways are
available to improve your control of runoff from your yard or property. These
will save you (and others) time, money and effort in the long run, and will
help the water soak into the ground: i.
Avoid having areas of
bare soil.
1.
Plant grass or other
ground covers; 2.
Put straw / mulch over
newly-seeded areas; ii.
Mow your grass higher
and less frequently; iii.
Use shrubs, trees and
flowers, particularly on hillsides (but not on top of septic drain-fields,
which must be kept clear of water-loving shrubs or trees); iv.
Make mini-gardens at
every opportunity, including verdant roofs; v.
Arrange for downspouts
and for roof runoff to drain into vegetated areas or rain barrels rather than
flowing down roads or driveways and into storm drains.
3. Limit impervious surfaces a. Ideally, impervious surface runoff should be
discharged uniformly off the surface, resulting in laminar sheet flow
into a grassed or wooded area where it will gradually percolate into the
ground without creating channels or causing erosion; i.
If this is not what you
are seeing run off from your roof, on your driveway, or down your road during a
heavy rain, make notes and take steps to correct the problems as soon as
possible.
b.
Limit where possible
the use of hard, impervious surfaces such as pavement, concrete walkways, solid
patios or compacted gravel, which are major contributors to runoff;
i.
When you have a choice,
consider alternative materials - such as loose gravel, wood chips or open,
porous patterns; and
ii.
Keep these surfaces
crowned and graded smoothly.
4. Plant and maintain vegetation because vegetation can
also greatly reduce the severity of floods a.
Plant raised bed
garden-boxes to change the impervious surface into spaces you can call "My
Active Environment"
b.
Plant beside streams
and tributaries:
c.
Plant tall grasses,
shrubs and trees in the buffer area along a stream to provide many benefits to
water quality, fish and wildlife, the stability of stream banks, and
groundwater;
d.
Allow as long and as
wide a vegetated buffer as you can: i.
An easy way to do this
is to stop mowing near a stream or pond; and ii.
Creating a buffer as
wide as 100 feet on each side of the stream is best if you can manage it. Studies show this width is necessary to
contain both large volumes of runoff and the pollutants they may carry.
5. Protect areas during new construction
a.
Whenever carrying out
any new construction, i.
Protect bare soil from
erosion by reseeding with grasses, then covering the seeds with straw or other
ground cover; ii.
Use silt fences as
appropriate; iii.
Ensure that you and
your contractor maintain best-management practices to meet and exceed State and
County codes - to meet the true goals of erosion and sediment control.
6. Make rain
gardens
a.
In most places, it
makes sense to build "rain gardens" to capture stormwater runoff and
allow the water to percolate into the soil, filtering pollutants from the
water: i.
To see this in action,
come visit the rain garden being constructed on 11th St SE, under the
underpass; and ii.
Harvest rainwater for
re-use.
b.
Thousands of gallons of
rain fall on each typical house, apartment, business and industrial roof here
each year: i.
You can design your
landscaping to take advantage of this runoff; and ii.
Capture the water into
rain barrels or storage cisterns to use in gardening or for other purposes. iii.
Certain structures may
also be appropriate for "green roofs" which are planted with
vegetation for both temperature control and to capture runoff.
7. Pick up and properly dispose of trash that can be washed into the tributaries, the
Anacostia River and into an Atlantic Ocean gyre. Ocean gyres with hundreds of
millions of pounds of this floating trash exist in each of our oceans. The
Atlantic gyre is larger than 5-13 Commonwealths of Virginia. The Pacific gyre
is even bigger:
a.
Thoughtlessly discarded
shtuff (cigarette butts, household discards, pet waste);
b.
Abandoned shtuff (tires
and car parts, refrigerators, tree trimmings, garbage);
c.
Plastic throw-aways
(bags, wrappers, dishes, utensils, straws, bottle caps, bottles, toys,
syringes);
d.
Glass containers (beer
and wine bottles).
8. Reduce pollutant runoff
a.
This runoff contains
harmful substances such as: i.
Toxic waste
(herbicides, pesticides, used car oil); ii.
Excess nutrients
(fertilizer, pet and animal waste); iii.
Sediments (eroded soil,
car exhaust particles); iv.
Pharmaceuticals (old
medicines, birth control pills); v.
Chemicals (household
hazardous waste, household cleaners, disinfectants, antifreeze); vi.
Plastics’ decomposition
by-products and outgassings.
b.
Citizens can help
lessen polluted runoff into waterways by: i.
Land filling whatever
needs it (in time capsules with multiple engineered barriers); ii.
Storing chemicals in
waterproof containers away from rain; iii.
Disposing of old
medicines in their containers into trash cans, not by emptying them into the
toilet; iv.
Keeping pet and animal
wastes away from paved surfaces, bare soil, or mowed grass; v.
Maintaining cars and
trucks, keeping them in good repair to prevent leakage of oil, antifreeze,
brake fluids, unburned gasoline, etc. from getting onto roads and driveways; vi.
These chemicals wash
into the storm-water systems and cause all kinds of problems first in water
processing plants and then downstream in unintended ways; 1.
If you change your own
oil a.
One gallon of used
motor oil can pollute and kill living things in up to 2 million gallons of
water; b.
So, take the used oil
to a recycling station. 2.
If you put wood
preservatives on your decks, a.
One tablespoon of wood
preservative can kill all the spawn and fish fry in a 5 acre pond; b.
So, don't spill a drop
and take the leftovers to a recycling station. 3.
If you use pesticides,
herbicides, or fertilizers a.
The nitrogen and
phosphorous in fertilizers are major sources of non-point pollution in our
streams, rivers, and the Chesapeake Bay; b.
The chemicals in
pesticides and hericides are bad for a natural environment; c.
So, use as little
fertilizer or chemicals on your lawns, fields or gardens as you absolutely can.
9. Build and
maintain private roads, open spaces and driveways to avoid erosion, pollution,
and costs
a.
We have hundreds of
miles of private roads and driveways in the Anacostia Watershed. These private
roads are a major contributor to storm-water runoff, land and streambed
erosion, sedimentation, and other types of pollution in streams. Properly
designing and maintaining your private road or driveway to handle rain runoff
will repay you many times over in the avoidance of future costs and
damage.
b.
Keep road ditches
stable and vegetated. Use the right gravel mix for your situation.
c.
Do not allow the runoff
to go directly into a stream or pond. Instead, make it spread into a vegetated
area which can absorb it and cleanse it of sediments and pollutants.
d.
Our local DC and
Maryland District offices offer free, professional advice on the best ways to
construct and maintain roads and driveways to handle runoff and protect against
damage both to your road and to downstream areas.
10. Consider lifestyle changes - then be patient as you "just do it"
a.
When you distinguish
between needs and wants, meet your needs first.
b.
Decide to take
responsibility for your actions, and include the decision to have a healthy,
active body - then do it.
c.
Life-style choices of
active people make for less trash, lowered food and health costs, and a happier
state of being.
d.
Free information and
resources on this are always available (e.g., "Opt To Move" is a 2009
Earthday Program that takes this approach - http://activebodyworks.com/opt2move).
e.
Accept that many little
baby steps are necessary to address the many aspects of these decisions, for
example: i. Reduce paper use (e-bills and reusable shopping bags) and save.
ii. Use the same shopping bag and avoid the “plastic or paper” question.
iii. Reuse the water bottles, fill them yourself, and
decrease plastics use. iv. Find and use “recycling malls” with still-useful
stuff. v. Recycle – especially things with mercury and other
highly toxic stuff.
vi. Shop and “Live Green”.
vii. Buy locally produced foods and avoid the fuel/energy
component of produce shipped long distances.
viii. Save gasoline – drive within the speed limit.
Use bamboo, cork and ozonated water. Each has a fine
sustainable, cradle-to-cradle total life cycle. Bamboo and cork are both
naturally anti-bacterial, moisture resistant, and self-healing - and they are
sustainable materials. Their qualities
make them perfect for use in our kitchens, as bamboo plates and utensils, and
as cork cutting boards. Ozonated water is a fine non-hazardous cleanser.
Cork
• Cork cutting boards are made from only
the bark of the cork tree. This bark is moisture repellent by virtue of a
natural substance called suberin - and it is also anti-bacterial. Using only the bark, the tree is left intact
and healthy while the bark rejuvenates indefinitely. The use of cork this way prevents cork forests from being cut
down for development and supports a thousand year old industry.
Bamboo
• Bamboo products can come from the Moso
species - which is not the food source or part of the habitat for pandas. Bamboo is a fast-growing grass, becoming
harvest-sized in 3-5 years (hardwoods take between 35-60 years). Bamboo
requires no pesticides or chemicals due to its naturally occurring
anti-bacterial agent, kun. It needs no
re-planting, requires less energy and water to grow, and returns 30% more
oxygen to the atmosphere than trees. It
can be used to reclaim land that has been overgrazed and overbuilt - and
cleanses the soil and mitigates water pollution due to its high nitrogen
consumption.
• Bamboo kitchenware has a far more benign
total life cycle than its plastic equivalents, especially since they have the
potential of a cradle-to-cradle life cycle - while most plastics are made from
fossil fuels (coal and natural gas). Fossil fuels are not sustainable and have
a large environmental impact, with only the hope of having a planned
cradle-to-grave life cycle.
11. Get help
Free resources are available to the home, business or property owner interested
in better managing stormwater. For more information, contact:
a.
Anacostia Riverkeeper
Dottie Yunger
Anacostia RIVERKEEPER, Inc.
PO Box 29197
Washington DC, District of Columbia 20017
UNITED STATES Phone: 202-391-9807 Fax: 202-547-6889
Email: anacostiariverkeeper@earthlink.net
URL: http://www.anacostiariverkeeper.org
b.
District of Columbia
The Environmental Quality and Safety Division of the
District Dept. of the Environment (DDOE);
The mission of DDOE is to protect and monitor air and
water quality through its Environmental Quality office, and to seek to prevent
pollution and serious health risks through its office of Hazardous Materials
and Toxic Substances;
URL: http://ddoe.dc.gov
Contact By Mail District Dept. of the Environment (DDOE)
Government of the District of Columbia
51 N Street NE
Washington, DC 20002
Phone: (202) 535-2600
Fax: (202)
535-2881
Email: ddoe@dc.gov
TDD/TYY: (800)
855-1000
c.
Maryland
Prince George's County Soil Conservation District
The mission of the Prince George's Soil Conservation
District is to protect and promote the health, safety and general welfare of
the citizens of the State and County, and otherwise enhance their living
environment, by conserving soil, water, and related resources. The District
works to control and prevent soil erosion in order to preserve natural
resources, control floods, prevent impairment of dams and reservoirs, assist in
maintaining the navigability of rivers and harbors, preserve wildlife, protect
the tax base and protect the public lands.
URL: http://www.co.pg.md.us/Government/AgencyIndex/Soil/index.asp
Contact Phone: (301) 350-9700 or http://www.co.pg.md.us/Site_Help/phonebook.asp TDD (301) 925-5167
Everyone is welcome to our events:
CSA members and wanna-bees, environmentalists and grant-associated citizens, paddlers and politicians, home schooling families and those curious
about bees, honey and bee lovers, biodynamic / organic gardeners and anyone who wants to get started with their own bees or water-cleanup program.
The
bee-tending events will happen on farmers' time - dawn to dusk. We have
had have river bottom soil delivered, but it still needs to be worked
into homes for the flowers & herbs. We have the bee perimeter to
plant with medicinal plants. Bring your own tools, gloves, green thumbs, plants that the bees and the watershed might like and their seeds, etc., please.
The
bees will collect the pollen and store it in the honey for us. A
reasonable expectation is that we might harvest 5-10% off the bottom of
the comb next year.
If you're coming for sure to the bee tending events, please email: jim@eeck.us subject line: Bee Party
If you're coming to the TCOF/TCOH Gathering, please RSVP to Diana Artemis at: artemdi@yahoo.com subject line: Anacostia River Event
Behind this "Know Water" graphic is one with each piece having its own link.
True words.
Click & check it out.
As beekeepers, why should we “Know Water?”
Water is one of our most valuable natural resources. Bees use water without giving it a second thought. Without clean, healthy water, bees, like people, do not thrive.
We consume water as a beverage, use it in cooking, and bathe in it. We use water to fight fires and to generate electricity. The economy of Virginia relies on water. Every product made in Virginia, such as computer chips, coal, furniture, textiles, Chesapeake Bay oysters, Virginia hams, and peanuts rely on water. We also use water for recreation -- including swimming, canoeing, waterskiing, and fishing. Water is necessary for all life. Most people can live several weeks without food but only a few days without water. Pets, lawns and gardens, livestock, and wildlife must also have water. Because water is so important to us, it is important to “Know Water?”
When it comes to knowing water, we encourage everyone to participate in learning more about the waters; to investigate how we can keep the waters clean; and to communicate the information learned about our water to others. By learning about the impact of water quality on honey bees, we can: Understand the impact of human activity on our waters Encourage pollution prevention and environmental stewardship Determine if our water supplies are safe for drinking Know if our waters are able to support healthy fish and other aquatic organisms Tell if our waters are safe for swimming and other recreational uses Provide information to help manage our waters Verify if we have enough water for new industries and community growth And much more
Beekeepers look at the physical, biological, and chemical conditions of their bees. With this information, they can estimate the amount of food, water and test for pollutants.
Here we have examples of some common water quality indicators.
These indicators range in size from the very small to the very large.
How many can you identify?
Some are bigger than Others are too small Some are in your finger: to be seen: between:
Bald Eagle Ammonium Ion (NH4+) Aquatic Worm Barking Treefrog Bacteria (E. coli) Caddisfly Larva Big-eared Bat Mercury (Hg) Hellgrammite Larva Brook Trout Nitrate Ion (NO3-) Stone Fly Larva Eastern Mud Salamander Phosphate Ion (PO43-) Loggerhead Turtle Peregrine Falcon Polychlorinated Almost hidden in River Otter Biphenyls (PCBs) their backgrounds are: Duck Duck Hunter Angler DNA (hint: it's bait) and more
Here, the mission is to be a local community where the trading of honey for other organic products can help us make informed decisions to preserve, protect, and use our honey supplies effectively and properly.
