Farmers know how dangerous dicamba is

Highlights: 

1. Dicamba use will expand a lot in 2017.
2. Make sure to wash dicamba tanks REALLY well. Not doing so can result in crop damage and legal problems.
3. A triple rinse is advised.
4. Damage from that chemical "shows up at much lower levels" than some other herbicides, said Fred Whitford, a professor in Purdue University's pesticide program. 
5. Disposing of rinse water can be tricky as even small amounts of dicamba are dangerous. 

Source
The Progressive Farmer.

Food additive might be linked to stomach and several other problems.

Researchers at Binghamton University in New York found that chronic exposure to titanium dioxide — an additive present in chewing gum, candy and bread — changed digestive cells’ structure and function. Ultimately, the study suggests that frequent consumption of foods with the additive may lead to less nutrient absorption, impaired digestive function and a slower metabolism. Chronic exposure also led to more inflammation, an effect that is tied to chronic diseases such as cancer and heart disease.

Source
Fox News.
The news from Phys.org.

Is Power over Ethernet cable the next big thing?

New CREE light fixtures (not just bulbs, fixtures) use power from ethernet cables. They can also be controlled by the computer over the network. It looks like a special router just for these lights is needed.

There are several levels of PoE:

1. PoE (IEEE 802.3af) provides up to 13 W (37 to 57 V, max 350 mA).
2. PoE+ (802.3at) bumps it up to 25 W (42 to 57 V, max 600 mA), but requires Cat5 cabling or better. (If each LED draws 3.3vdc then PoE+ port can support up to 7 of those LEDs. The volts drawn by each LED seems to be the limiting factor, not the amps.)
3. UPoE: 60vdc limit but at how many amps?

Source
Treehugger.

100s of lipsticks contain lead

Out of 20 brands the FDA tested 100s of lipsticks and found lead in every one. Red lipstick pigments are more likely to contain lead.

Lead causes irreversible brain damage, personality changes, and violent behavior and there is no safe level of exposure. Try to avoid it. 

Source
EWG.

Self-charging battery from Phys.org

Usually 2 separate units are used to generate and store energy. 1. Something to generate the energy, like solar, coal, gas, etc. 2. A battery to store the energy. Now for the first time, using nanomaterials, a self-charging battery has been made.

They used a PVDF film, which is a piezoelectric material. That means when it's compressed, it generates a small amount of electricity. This is how many cigarette and barbecue lighters work. You have to press that "ignite" button pretty hard to make a spring-loaded hammer smack a piezoelectric material, to generate that spark.

A compressive force at 2.3Hz could generate 327 to 395 millivolts. While that is not enough to power an LED, which requires about 2200mv, that voltage can be boosted somewhat. This important because it creates energy from mechanical movement in one step.

A compressive force with a frequency of 2.3 Hz could increase the voltage of the device from 327 to 395 mV in 4 minutes.

Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2012-08-self-charging-battery-energy.html#jCp

A compressive force with a frequency of 2.3 Hz could increase the voltage of the device from 327 to 395 mV in 4 minutes.

Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2012-08-self-charging-battery-energy.html#jCp

A compressive force with a frequency of 2.3 Hz could increase the voltage of the device from 327 to 395 mV in 4 minutes.

Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2012-08-self-charging-battery-energy.html#jCp

Source
Phys.org. 2012-08.

Study: Xinyu Xue, et al. “Hybridizing Energy Conversion and Storage in a Mechanical-to-Electrochemical Process for Self-Charging Power Cell.” Nano Letters. DOI: 10.1021/nl302879t.

Xinyu Xue, et al. “Hybridizing Energy Conversion and Storage in a Mechanical-to-Electrochemical Process for Self-Charging Power Cell.” Nano Letters. DOI: 10.1021/nl302879t

Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2012-08-self-charging-battery-energy.html#jCp

This is what love is

How to tell if someone loves you. This goes for the women too.

Video.

Interesting Vertical Wind turbine

Near VAWT. I wonder if they just sell the turbine?

A 3-d printed VAWT that uses old plastic shades for some parts.

A box fan wind turbine. NOTE: box fan motors are not normally DC motors. You will probably have to swap out the old motor for a DC motor.

A PC fan wind turbine. These are often DC motors but not always. Check the motor carefully. You need a DC motor for generating electricity easily.

And another one that looks easy to make out of PVC tubing glued to plastic sheets.

Here's a style where you can use winder PVC pipes instead of having to build them.

Source
OneMoreGadget.com.
More news about clean power: CleanTechnica.

GMOFreeUSA testing foods for glyphosate

GMOFreeUSA is testing foods in the US for GMO content along with glyphosate. This program is called Operation Label GMO. In the future they also want to test 2,4-D, dicamba, atrazine, and neonicotinoid insecticides. A combination of these toxic chemicals is likely responsible for lots of bee deaths around the US. The chemicals overwhelm their immune system, and they can get fungal or mite infections, and die. These infections then spread to the rest of the hive and can wipe out most of the hive. Commercial bee keepers, who help pollinate many of the US crops, are very concerned.

Sunchips and Gerber Lil Crunchies have already been found to contain pesticides by GMO Free USA. So have Cheerios, Doritos, Goldfish crackers, Oreos, and Ritz crackers (source).

Related articles
Pollinators being killed by pesticides
Wikipedia Colony Collapse Disorder. 
85% of tested foods contain pesticides.
How to test your food and water for pesticides.
60% of bread tested in the UK contains pesticides. 

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Second class action lawsuit against Monsanto for dicamba damage

2/16/2017

A new class action lawsuit against Monsanto, in US district court in Missouri, is about damage from dicamba. Even small amounts of dicamba are dangerous to crops, and can directions advise triple rinsing dicamba tanks and carefully disposing of rinse water. Even spray that drifts from one property to another can kill many crops costing the farmers a lot of money.

Monsanto's Xtend cotton and soybeans are resistant to dicamba, and so farmers spray them to control weeds. But spray drift can kill neighboring farmers' crops.

A Missouri bill wants to stop illegal dicamba use. And farmers must be careful about spraying in windy conditions.

Source
Progressive Farmer.