A reminder: disagreeing with policy doesn't mean you want children to die. Carbon sponges and unanswered questions. And herbs alive!
Another reminder, should you need one, that simply because you disagree with policy doesn't mean you're obstructing things or not interested in protecting people.
You just see the solution differently.
See the quote attached in the screenshot and read the op ed below.
My God, I found myself proud of CPR news? I think I might need a brain scan.
A little ways back in the news a minor splash occurred when Polis (and even Nancy Pelosi was in the act!) went to tour a facility that uses a machine to pull carbon from the air.
I am not sure of the chemistry and technology involved here. I'm not sure that I care enough to research it too deeply. Some way or another it moves air over a carbon "sponge". This "sponge", upon being saturated can be then "wrung out" and the carbon put to use (say, in carbonating sodas).
Sorry for the multitude of quotes. What I could quickly and easily find online used a lot of metaphor so we're not talking literal sponges and wringing.
The first thing I remember asking myself when reading the first article I saw on this topic was: how much energy does this thing take to remove carbon? The second thing I wondered was: does this machine, by using electricity generated with fossil fuels remove a net amount of carbon relative to the amount put into the air to make it go?
I am apparently in the minority on questions like these because there was only one news outlet that I saw who asked this. CPR's Samuel Brasch did. I have my disagreements with him on many things. I hold to what I've said earlier about him being more advocate than journalist, but I have to give to give the devil his due in not simply being blinded by (wowzers!) new technology.
Now if we could just get answers to questions like these from either the company or the politicians who were there to shake hands and smile for the cameras.
https://www.cpr.org/2023/04/05/carbon-capture-explainer-global-theromostat/
Last one of the day and you know what that means, something for fun and not related to politics!
I was out this last weekend getting the small plants uncovered and tossing out some fertilizers. That included the herb beds.
I thought I would share results. I'd enjoy seeing or hearing about yours too if you want to add to comments.
Most were pretty mundane: just cut away the dead stuff and get them ready to ... grow.
If you look at pictures 2, 3, 4, and 5 those are the soldiers. The rocks. The ones that overwinter just fine and start up early. They don't really need much extra care save for some mulch around the base.
The chives (#2) were already up and going, as are my garlics. The sage (#3) has started up too though not as much as the garlic. It got a major haircut this year because there were some huge woody stems and I'm not trying to grow a bush here. I don't use that much sage! The thyme (#4) is also fine. Cut off the dead bits and saw some new life. Again, thinned this guy considerably. The French tarragon (#5) is up and growing too. It's in a grow bag and so spends its winters surrounded by a layer of leaves tucked up with the blueberries against the house. If you don't have any yet, get yourself some tarragon--for the smell if nothing else! Goes good with eggs too.
The surprise were the oregano (#1). There was no way I thought it would survive. As with parsley's hardiness, however, this one threw me a curveball. The top layer was crispy and dead and so I figured that it was gone and I'd be replanting and doing it as a perennial. Deep, deep down in the mulch a bit of green!
I had covered it with mulch, put it in a milk bottle cloche and then covered up the sides of said cloche with mulch. That'll be the plan for next year.
There was one last one to report on and that's the rosemary. This one I'm unsure of. It's picture #6. It spent the winter in the garage with the fig. I kept it surrounded by water bottles and had a heat lamp for extreme cold. The tops of it definitely were dead. They snapped off like dry twigs. Farther down the stalks, though, they bent and didn't snap. I am thinking it's likely gone, but maybe it'll be "mostly dead" like in the Princess Bride if you're familiar.
How about you? Any surprises this year in getting your plants up?
Please add to the comments if you'd like.
p.s. I wrote earlier about the agaves. Yeah, I think they died. My optimism at uncovering them wilted and yellowed like they had. Back to the drawing board at overwintering them. I think one lesson from this year is that I need to overwinter things in the dirt, not containers. If I want containers, I should bring 'em indoors.
Have a good Friday!