In New York City, 25 activists blockaded a CitiBank. Dressed as Billionaires for Dirty Energy, the group stopped business in the CitiBank location until 2 were arrested and the rest were moved away. While they were there, the group drew attention to the connections between high finance and low pollution. Oddly enough, the New York Times has no story on this high-profile incident.
In Boston, 4 activists locked themselves to a Bank of America branch to similarly draw attention to connections between investments and global pollution. They were forcibly removed and arrested. The Boston Globe has no coverage of the event.
“Oddly enough, the New York Times has no story on this high-profile incident.” Oddly enough? I wish. The New York Times, as much as it loves to think of itself as cultured, is obsessed with New Yorkers with money. The little people who try to be heard on the street are regarded by their reporters as riff-raff.
the house had energy hearings today on global warming/oil profits
http://www.speaker.gov/blog/?cat=12
Did you ever hear such bloviation in your life as some of the weak rhetoric these mega-rich corporate clowns were spewing as reasons for Big Oil to keep getting billions of dollars in tax breaks over the next 10 years while they rake in record profits and fail to commit to researching and funding renewable energy?
On another note: Iroquois – i’m thinking about planting fruit trees (particularly peach and apple) this spring. Do you know anything about or have any experience with this that you’d care to share?
I’m afraid the only experience I have with fruit trees, Tom, is with ornamentals, so I can only give you generic advice.
First I would look for the extension service at a state university–college or agriculture? agronomy?–or a country agent, if there are any still around. Ask about what varieties work in your area, sometimes they have variety lists. The university isn’t trying to sell anything outright, so they don’t have any ulterior motive for trying to get you to do a particular thing, as a nursery might. They might also have information about planting and pruning and sources.
In figuring out where to plant a tree I go by appearance. I arrange the pots where I think they should go then stand back and look at it. A tree has a face side. When you look at this side of the tree it will look like it is holding out its arms for you. This is the side you want to show. It’s probably also the side that has grown towards the light the most and if you try to orient this away from the light or towards the building instead of away from it, the pundits say the tree will not be happy and if it does not die outright, it will not thrive either.
When I plant a tree I like to mix some peat moss and potting soil in with the dirt–whatever soft stuff I have on hand to go next to the roots. I also loosen the soil at least double the depth of the root ball. That way you find out if there is a rock or a brick directly under the tree and have a chance to get it out, and also to condition the soil a bit to encourage the new roots. You want the tree to establish deep roots as soon as possible to be able to withstand temperature and water extremes.
The people who tell you to plant a tree with the burlap bag around the root ball in my opinion are people who want to sell you a new tree the next year. I put the tree on its side and take off whatever packaging is around the roots, and stretch out the roots a little if they are growing in circles around the bottom of the container, if I can do it without disturbing them too much. At this point I take off any mulch they have planted it with and mix it into the soil the tree will to into. Then the tree gets gently stood up in the hole and the soil firmed around it. My secret weapon is watering. You have to mud it in. Leave a little earth dike around the tree and fill it up with water several times, then give it a slow trickle of the hose over a long period of time to get out any air bubbles. You want to water it deep because if you water it shallow the roots will stay close to the surface and the sun will be able to damage them easier. You can probably tell I really enjoy this mud and water part.
I don’t know if that’s the info you’re looking for, you’ll probably have to google for a lot more. Personally I’m not fond of planting fruit trees as they are high maintenance in terms of mowing and picking up the fruit, also I imagine you would have to learn a lot about insect control. My grandfather’s farm had an orchard, most of the trees were for canning or pies but one was sweet enough to eat. They didn’t have insecticides in those days (or couldn’t afford them) so we were taught how to eat an apple off the tree. You take a bite, then look at the apple. A worm will leave a small brown hole. If you see a worm hole (or half a worm) you spit that piece on the ground.
Thanks Iroquois.
i planted a southern Magnolia in a protected corner of my former home. The tree was marked down to where it was a complete give-away ($500 down to $50). i had a large pick-up truck then and they used a front-end loader to put it on the back (it only weighed about 200 pounds with the root ball and was about 10 feet tall, sickly yellow leaves, thin, it was in bad shape). i pre-dug the hole for it and prepared it much as you described and transported it from the nursery to the back of the house. My boys helped me lift it off and plant it, and a “technician” from the nursery came by to check it all out while we were doing this. He told me that southern magnolias LOVE water and that i could pretty much “drown” it when i water it (and like you, he said to leave the drip hose on for the first few days and water it heavily otherwise). Well, when i finally moved from the house the magnolia had grown up past the roof line, and it graced us year after year with the most beautiful smelling large white petals nestled among vibrant dark green leaves. We really miss that one. It was a bit messy too, but well worth it.
Now that i have an acre to plant, i’m looking into gardening, fruit trees, berry vines, and growing my own as much as possible. i like working with plants and ornamentals, it’s like therapy or something.
Thanks again.